A question from reader Brooksflow:

What are your thoughts on a trade involving Ian Kinsler for either Julio Lugo, Sammy Sosa, or Carlos Pena? I'm tempted to let go of Sosa, but the grand slam the other night made me hesitate. While Sosa's been a nice surprise, I'm skeptical.  Additional reasoning for letting Sosa slide is that I already have the injured Mark Teixeira. Please help.

Let's take a look at the players involved.

We'll start with the player you're thinking about obtaining. Kinsler started out on fire, hitting .298 with nine homers in April. Since then, he's gone yard just twice, and his average is down to .231. I wouldn't recommend giving up on Kinsler yet. Despite his terrible May and his struggles in June, Kinsler is still the 11th-ranked fantasy second baseman, according to ESPN.com rankings. He's stolen 11 bases to match his total from a year ago. The truth is Kinsler's not as good as he showed in April, but he's not as bad as he's shown since then. Be patient with him.

Meanwhile, Lugo is batting just .207 in his first season in Boston and was recently dropped to ninth in the lineup. While he still has fantasy value -- 19 SBs, 34 RBIs -- Lugo has been a disappointment. It's tough to imagine he'll continue to hit so poorly (he's usually around a .270 hitter), but Lugo is not a player I'd be looking to trade for at this point.

The last two players you mentioned are Sosa and Pena. Sosa's comeback bid has gone better than expected. He's hit 11 homers to go along with 51 RBIs. However, like Kinsler, Sosa started off hot (seven homers in April) and has since cooled down. He's batting .246 and offers nothing in the speed category. Also, at 38 years old, injury is always a concern.

And finally, Pena is having a big year, hitting .317 with 16 homers and 42 RBIs. He's not a bad sell-high candidate, considering he's never hit better than .248 in a season where he had at least 250 at-bats. However, Pena has shown power in the past, hitting 27 homers with Detroit in 2004. Given how well he's playing, I'd see what I could get for him, and if it's not enough, ride out the hot streak.

There you have it. Lugo and Kinsler are pretty comparable, but I like Kinsler to have the better season from here on out. I'd unload Sosa for Kinsler also. As for Pena, see if you can find an owner who just looks at his numbers this season and realize he won't keep up this pace.

Hope this helps!