Links for Tuesday before the Angels and Dodgers face off in Anaheim…
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports breaks down the trade candidates on the D'Backs. How many of these players will be moved? One person in the D'Backs organization put the over-under at two.
- In an appearance on WEEI, Peter Gammons suggested Manny Ramirez will be earning $5-6MM in the American League next year. Click here for more on Ramirez's free agent stock.
- Mets starters Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana told Peter Botte of the New York Daily News that they would be pleased if the Mets added an ace like Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt, even though R.A. Dickey, Jon Niese and Hisanori Takahashi have pitched well.
- As Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times points out, the disappointing Cubs would be doing much worse if not for their acquisition of Carlos Silva.
- Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News says the Rangers wouldn't have to fear the Yankees, Red Sox or Twins if they add an ace pitcher.
- Woody Paige of the Denver Post suggests a number of paths the Rockies could choose if their next nine games don't go well. Among the many options Paige suggests: trade for Dan Uggla.
TytheSportsGuy
Dan Uggla would DOMINATE at Coors Field.
gigantes2425
anyone who can swing a bat could DOMINATE at coors field.
gigantes2425
anyone who can swing a bat could DOMINATE at coors field.
mkorpal
Woody Paige is a retard. That article is for amusement only.
Tony
no i think he’s right this time….
which is surprising because he knows nothing except about the broncos
Guest 3419
And the consumption of alcohol.
Guest 3419
And the consumption of alcohol.
mkorpal
Your kidding, right?
Any person who thinks that Jay Payton, Paul Phillips, Cory Sullivan, Brad Eldred, Kaz Matsui, and Akinori Iwamura would fix a team has got to be insane.
Tony
no i think he’s right this time….
which is surprising because he knows nothing except about the broncos
icedrake523
I love articles like Botte’s. Does he expect Pelfrey and Santana to say no?
MadmanTX 2
If the Rangers got a top pitching arm, combined with Lewis, they would likely take at least those two games in a series with the Yanks. After that it is problematic which CJ Wilson and Scott Feldman show up to pitch–they can be great or awful on any given start.
Vmmercan
Oh right because magical Ace pitcher with no name is guaranteed to beat Sabathia and Colby Lewis is guaranteed to beat Pettitte, Hughes, Vazquez, Burnett or whoever is pitching well at the time.
Makes sense.
Yankees420
I definitely follow the logic.
MadmanTX 2
If the Rangers got a top pitching arm, combined with Lewis, they would likely take at least those two games in a series with the Yanks. After that it is problematic which CJ Wilson and Scott Feldman show up to pitch–they can be great or awful on any given start.
gigantes2425
i really don’t see manny taking 5-6 mill. he was about to retire because he wasn’t going to get 20 mill a year.
gigantes2425
i really don’t see manny taking 5-6 mill. he was about to retire because he wasn’t going to get 20 mill a year.
Bobby Sweet
I figured I’d take a shot at the D’Backs trade topic.
1. Adam LaRoche – I think they’ll keep him. He’s playing well, and they’re still saying “we want to win… no fire sale…” whatever. All in all, I don’t see him going anywhere.
2. Kelly Johnson – He’s kind of in the same predicament. I think he stays.
3. Stephen Drew – He’s going nowhere.
4. Mark Reynolds – They just signed him long-term. Why trade him?
5. Miguel Montero – [Very] good offensive catcher. A position that is hard to come by. He’ll stay, too.
6. Chad Qualls – No doubt about it. He’s a relatively attractive reliever having an off year. I expect him to be traded.
7. Aaron Heilman – Would not be surprised at all if someone offered up a low-level prospect or two. He should be traded.
8. Edwin Jackson – Absolutely not. They gave up a lot to get him: Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth. There is no reason to sell so early.
9. Dan Haren – Interesting, for sure. I could say ‘yes’, but there are a lot of reasons why I’ll say ‘no’. First of all, Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee are both available. The fact that 3 legitimate aces are on the market hurts trade value for all of them. IF Haren gets traded, I’d expect it to be in the offseason.
So, like Morosi, I put the odds at 2: Qualls and Heilman. They’re saying all the right things about there not being a fire sale. Prove it and play for the future.
gigantes2425
i couldn’t disagree with you more. i see haren moving because he’s good, but teams wouldn’t have to give up as much like they would to acquire lee or oswalt. and laroche and johnson are most likely to go because they are doing good. teams want to upgrade not help the dbacks out by taking their bad players like qualls, and give them their prospects.
Bobby Sweet
Haren has the middle career FIP (Oswalt is number 1), and the lowest career BABIP of the three pitchers. Haren also has the best K/9, BB/9, and K/BB ratios. He does give up the most home runs, but that may be due to a drastic spike this year (1.60 per 9 IP). Statistically, he is at the very least as good as the others. So, as I said, there are 3 legitimate aces available, each detracting from the value of the others.Unless they believe that Brandon Allen is absolutely ready to take over full time, I don’t see a reason to trade Adam LaRoche. I also am unsure of their positional depth prospect-wise at second base. Is AJ Pollock going to remain an outfielder, or is he a second baseman?
Yankees420
Haren would cost more in terms of prospects than either Lee or Oswalt, he’s under control for the longest, and he is the youngest of the three. He’s having a down/unlucky year and his xFIP is still solid at 3.43, no one is getting Haren without feeling some pain over the prospects they just gave away.
gigantes2425
i agree with you that they’re going to have to give up a lot. and even though his era is low teams would probably give up the same prospects for lee and oswalt. i would rather give up the same prospects for haren just because hes under control longer.
gigantes2425
i couldn’t disagree with you more. i see haren moving because he’s good, but teams wouldn’t have to give up as much like they would to acquire lee or oswalt. and laroche and johnson are most likely to go because they are doing good. teams want to upgrade not help the dbacks out by taking their bad players like qualls, and give them their prospects.
Bobby Sweet
I figured I’d take a shot at the D’Backs trade topic.
1. Adam LaRoche – I think they’ll keep him. He’s playing well, and they’re still saying “we want to win… no fire sale…” whatever. All in all, I don’t see him going anywhere.
2. Kelly Johnson – He’s kind of in the same predicament. I think he stays.
3. Stephen Drew – He’s going nowhere.
4. Mark Reynolds – They just signed him long-term. Why trade him?
5. Miguel Montero – [Very] good offensive catcher. A position that is hard to come by. He’ll stay, too.
6. Chad Qualls – No doubt about it. He’s a relatively attractive reliever having an off year. I expect him to be traded.
7. Aaron Heilman – Would not be surprised at all if someone offered up a low-level prospect or two. He should be traded.
8. Edwin Jackson – Absolutely not. They gave up a lot to get him: Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth. There is no reason to sell so early.
9. Dan Haren – Interesting, for sure. I could say ‘yes’, but there are a lot of reasons why I’ll say ‘no’. First of all, Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee are both available. The fact that 3 legitimate aces are on the market hurts trade value for all of them. IF Haren gets traded, I’d expect it to be in the offseason.
So, like Morosi, I put the odds at 2: Qualls and Heilman. They’re saying all the right things about there not being a fire sale. Prove it and play for the future.
Sleepykarl
Rangers fans are adorable right now. Being that I live in Dallas, it makes me laugh at how they all puff their chest out for a decent near half season. For a team who is quite possibly the worst franchise (in playoff success) of any of the major sports, a small bit of success seems to have gone to their head.
Bobby Sweet
I think you’re mistaking the Rangers with the Cowboys.
0bsessions
I’ve gotta say I agree. The same thing happened last year (And in ’08 with Rays “fans”, though technically less severe as they actually DID make the playoffs). A lot of Rangers fans got positively insufferable based off of a half season of success and they all disappeared as soon as the Angels took the division lead.
Bobby Sweet
I know. My post was meant to be a joke because he said he’s from Dallas and those “decent near half season” and “worst franchise (in playoff success) of any of the major sports” comments could describe the Cowboys, too lol.
Sleepykarl
It’s the same fans. Every year I hear about how the cowboys are the super bowl favorites. Then they see the rangers do well vs Florida, Mil and
Houston and they are now WS favorites.
Yankees420
I hate Cowboy fans….
Sleepykarl
Rangers fans are adorable right now. Being that I live in Dallas, it makes me laugh at how they all puff their chest out for a decent near half season. For a team who is quite possibly the worst franchise (in playoff success) of any of the major sports, a small bit of success seems to have gone to their head.
alphabet_soup5
The Rangers wouldn’t have trouble against the Twins in a best of 5 series even without an ace pitcher in my opinion, the Twins also don’t have an ace pitcher.
Z'
fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=3201&posit…
This guy says hi.
Bobby Sweet
Absolutely. It may be a far cry from his 12-3 season in 2006, but his FIP is lower than it was that year while his .339 BABIP indicates at least to me that the Twins’ defense is certainly subpar. The offense, also, is an issue.
alphabet_soup5
The Rangers wouldn’t have trouble against the Twins in a best of 5 series even without an ace pitcher in my opinion, the Twins also don’t have an ace pitcher.
Shikikazu
Rangers Fans shouldn’t get their hopes up this year they aren’t going to win the division
jdub220
Morosi doesn’t know what he’ talking about.
“But he’s still getting his power numbers – numbers that would jump if he played in a more hitter-friendly ballpark.”
Chase is one of the most hitter friendly ballparks in the majors.
And Miguel Montero won’t be traded. Period. Chris Snyder will be the one going.
Montero, Upton, and IPK are the only players who definitely won’t be leaving. Reynolds most likely won’t be traded either.
Spirit of '69
My preference is for Mets to get Lee and I’ve always loved Oswalt, but the best deal for them may just be Haren. It would likely mean trading Mejia, but Haren is young enough and under control long enough to justify it.
Kevin
I would love to get Haren I think that he his HR/9 will benefit substantially from moving to citi field. I would try to keep Mejia but if it meant getting Haren do it. The mets should also try to get chad qualls to help their bullpen.
Mark Townsend
Please never link to Woody Paige or Mark Kizsla again. There are far more knowledgeable Rockies bloggers out there than those two clowns who only write articles to shock people and cause a stir.