WEDNESDAY, 1:48pm: Nationals GM Mike Rizzo never talked to White Sox GM Kenny Williams about Dunn, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Meanwhile Ladson's colleague Scott Merkin passes along via Twitter a Rizzo comment made on ESPN's Waddle & Silvy show today: "For us to move [Dunn] will be very painful and it will probably be very painful for the team that wants to acquire him." Here's the audio from ESPN Radio.
TUESDAY, 8:00am: The White Sox are targeting slugger Adam Dunn, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley says the Nationals are willing to part with Dunn and names have been discussed, but the Angels are providing competition. Cowley does not feel the $6.3MM remaining on Dunn's contract would be a problem for the White Sox, based on a recent comment by owner Jerry Reinsdorf.
Back on June 22nd, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that he's been talking about an extension since spring training with Dunn's agent. That same day, Dunn told MLB.com's Bill Ladson he does not want to be traded and hates this side of baseball. Dunn does not have no-trade protection, however.
The 30-year-old Dunn is hitting .276/.366/.559 with 17 home runs in 314 plate appearances this season. The batting average would be the highest of his career, his 11.5% walk rate the lowest. The White Sox have gotten just a .218/.293/.371 line out of the DH spot, with Mark Kotsay getting the most starts there.
One other factor to consider is that as of June 21st, Dunn projected as a Type A free agent. An arbitration offer seems possible, so the Nationals would probably want to exceed the value of two draft picks.
The Nats are going to get quite the haul for Dunn.
Angels like the White Sux take this one. We already have too many .250 hitters that strike out too much. Unless ofcorse they want to trade for Brandon Wood straight up then be my guest
He’s hitting .276 with a .366 OBP. Be happy with that because he also comes with a .559 Slugging percentage.
Historically, KW hasn’t been bashful about giving up his best prospects to acquire the players he wants. He gave up his two best pitching prospects to acquire Swisher. I can easily see the Sox getting Dunn because they’ll be willing to pay more than any other team. I think the Sox have soured a bit on Flowers, so I’m guessing they’ll part with him but I could see the Nats asking for Hudson. Should be fun to follow, if true. Things are always interesting, one way or the other, when it comes to KW.
But Flowers did have a good game here in Charlotte the other night…not like that matters just remember him pulling through a few times the other at the game I was at.
If they really have soured on Flowers I could see him being a decent backup for a team who needs it.
Flowers just has not played well. At 24 there’s no room for struggling in AAA. I still like this kid and think he can rebound, but his value has taken a hit.
However, a Hudson based deal seems like the only option, unless they’re willing to give up Santos.
Would Jared Mitchell be a possibility? I’ll admit, I really don’t know much about the Sox farm system but a quick glance at the stats shows that he’s pretty good and if Rizzo’s comments are any indication, he’s not going to let Adam go for cheap–especially if he could get two 1st round draft picks out of it next year.
As long as Kenny is the Sox gm, nobody is really “untouchable”, however, I’d have to think that Mitchell would be the closest thing to that.
I’m not totally sure. Based on Rizzo’s comments, Harper seems to be moving to the outfield with Josh Willingham. I don’t see why the Nationals would want to grab yet another outfielder since they already have Burgess, Hood, and Maxwell to potentially bounce out Morgan, also they have Marrero at 1B.
Jared Mitchell? You’ve gotta be kidding me. The Nats probably don’t even want him because he’s injured until mid-august and he hasn’t proven anything yet. Seems like a future Curtis Granderson if he stays healthy. I don’t even want that bum. Sure, kenny makes good trades such as the one sending Brandon McCarthy and Nick Masset to Texas for John Danks, or the Freddy Garcia for Gavin Floyd Deal, or signing Alexei Ramirez as a bargain from Cuba, or acquiring Carlos Quentin for nothing, or finding PK somewhere or getting Bobby Jenks from aa when he was with the angels organization. Kenny has a hell of a lot of bad deals too, like that Oakland trade aforementioned by some other posters, or the Brandon Allen for Tony Pena, or the John Ely+Jon Link for Pierre trade. The Peavy trade, Clayton Richard alone is sporting a 2.75 era in 95 innings, and 23 year old Aaron Poreda has a 1.73 era in 36 innings in the minors. Yeah, KW can sometimes suck. But he’d better not give up Daniel Hudson, I swear you have to see this guy to see how good he is. Good control, keeps the ball in the park, strikes out plenty, and eats innings without giving up much hits. This guy has a ton of potential as long as he doesn’t get injured, and the white sox have faith in him. Hell, take our whole AAA farm system excluding Dan hudson.
As I previously stated, I don’t know much about the Sox farm system and was merely basing my suggestion off of several articles I pulled up online while browsing their minor leaguers and hoping to see what Sox fans here had to say about him. Given the rave reviews from many of them, I figured he would be a decent possibility but didn’t know that he was injured–per lefty58 below, maybe done for his career.
You should read up on Mitchell, you’ll learn that Lefty is severely misinformed
can we please stop with the peavy stuff…..he has thrown back to back shut outs…and is finally getting back to form…he is an ACE and has wona cy young…richard was never more than a #3 potential guy, poreda was awesome for the minors for us and didnt do anything in the majors…he only has 2 pitches….plus peavy is only 28 this trade was good for us..a cy young winner for 2 prospects it was a good deal for both sides, just because he had a bad start to the season(even though he was 3-0 with a sub 3 era last season for us) does not mean it was a bad deal
can we please stop with the peavy stuff…..he has thrown back to back shut outs…and is finally getting back to form…he is an ACE and has wona cy young…richard was never more than a #3 potential guy, poreda was awesome for the minors for us and didnt do anything in the majors…he only has 2 pitches….plus peavy is only 28 this trade was good for us..a cy young winner for 2 prospects it was a good deal for both sides, just because he had a bad start to the season(even though he was 3-0 with a sub 3 era last season for us) does not mean it was a bad deal
Mitchell’s ankle is trashed, he may be done as a ballplayer. For a guy whose top attribute is speed, this could finish him off.
Another swing and a miss for you when it comes to White Sox baseball Lefty. Mitchell hurt his ankle, and from all reports his return will ahead of schedule.
Mitchell’s knee is fine, no idea what you’re talking about. He tore a tendon in his ankle robbing a tater, and had surgery. The FO has him pegged for a return in the AFL.
There’s not much to know about the Sox farm system, almost everyone of value was already traded away.
I think Flowers can still be a starter but time is running out on him. He could be part of a deal but the Sox would have to give up at least one more good prospect to get Dunn. It’s a little different with the Sox since, apart from maybe Hudson, they don’t have a lot of top-shelf guys that project as impact guys- and even Hudson projects as a #3-4 starter. Parting with Hudson and Flowers seems like a lot but the Sox system is pretty barren right now. And it wouldn’t be unusual for the Sox to give up their top prospect(s). They do it all the time: Gio Gonzalez, Aaron Poreda, Ryan Sweeney, etc. As I mentioned before the Sox sent their top two prospects, pitchers Gio Gonzalez and Fausto De Los Santos along with their best position prospect, Ryan Sweeney, for Nick Swisher. I don’t expect things to be a whole lot different this time around if KWs patterns hold up.
Hudson’s the only guy that would worry me from that system as someone who could come back to bite the Sox. He consistently outpitches his raw stuff. But the Sox have a real chance to make a good run with that pitching staff and bullpen if they could get that big lefty bat to complement Rios and Konerko. Right now, they are built like a National League team. Adding Dunn would make them more competitive in the AL. I think the Sox have to get this done (Dunn?) Sorry couldn’t resist that horrific pun.
Just a minor edit…but it was one of the best pitching ‘spects (Gio Gonzalez) and one of the best hitting ‘spects (Ryan Sweeney).
Either way…awful deal.
They also gave up Fautino De Los Santos. Top pitching prospect. Everyone is right here. And Kenny was very, very wrong.
You were actually right the first time… I think we sent De Los Santos in that deal, too. He’s had some arm problems since then, but he was one of our best pitching prospects at the time, for sure.
Yeah, brutal deal.
they also didnt think swisher was going to hit .230…the thought he was going to hit aright around .280 with his 30 bombs and good defence and they didn’t think he was going to be a club house distraction like he was…the swisher deal didnt work out because swisher didnt work out in chicago
I disagree. It looked like an overpayment at the time too. The Sox basically traded 3 of their 4 best prospects for a guy who’s decent but nowhere near the elite outfielders in the game. And if they thought Swisher was going to hit .280 and didn’t know about his strong personality, then they just didn’t do their homework. I understood their need for Swisher, but I cringed when I heard what they gave up for him. I hope they show a little more discretion if they decide to trade for Dunn. But they don’t have anyone with the talent of Gonzalez or Santos this time around. Hudson has a lower ceiling than either of those two guys. It’s probably going to take Hudson and another prospect, in my opinion, to pry him loose.
I disagree. It looked like an overpayment at the time too. The Sox basically traded 3 of their 4 best prospects for a guy who’s decent but nowhere near the elite outfielders in the game. And if they thought Swisher was going to hit .280 and didn’t know about his strong personality, then they just didn’t do their homework. I understood their need for Swisher, but I cringed when I heard what they gave up for him. I hope they show a little more discretion if they decide to trade for Dunn. But they don’t have anyone with the talent of Gonzalez or Santos this time around. Hudson has a lower ceiling than either of those two guys. It’s probably going to take Hudson and another prospect, in my opinion, to pry him loose.
they also didnt think swisher was going to hit .230…the thought he was going to hit aright around .280 with his 30 bombs and good defence and they didn’t think he was going to be a club house distraction like he was…the swisher deal didnt work out because swisher didnt work out in chicago
Unless they have plans to re-sign AJ, I can’t see them parting with Flowers. It could be they soured on him a bit, but he’s pretty much the only option they have for 2011. Not many good catchers will be available in free agency this offseason.
Flowers is a DH/First Baseman at best.
Flowers is a DH/First Baseman at best.
I think AJ would love to re-sign with the Sox and even take less money to do so. He’s perfect for the south side. I think it’s a real possibility that he stays. If they do include Flowers in a deal for dunn, I think AJ’s return is a near certainty. I don’t know, we’ll see. The Sox don’t have a whole lot to offer for Dunn outside of Flowers and Hudson. Maybe Morel or Viciedo but there’s a lot of mixed opinion on Viciedo. Some people don’t like him at all. In the end, we’re talking about KW, easily the most unpredictable GM in the game today….so who knows what he’s thinking this time.
I think you’re right, it was probably just wishful thinking that the White Sox could replace his 2.9% walk rate and his probably around 10% caught stealing against rate. You may or may not know how FUN it is to watch him slam his bat after every out he makes (and since he makes many outs, it happens very often).
Hmm…not sure where you get your stats from, but AJ has the 4th best caught stealing % out of qualified catchers in the majors this season. 31% actually.
Wow, I actually didn’t bother checking the stats, I just assumed from watching that he was bad. The assumption might have been made from his caught stealing rate last year, which was probably close to 10%.
AJ’s been historically bad at throwing out base stealers because the Sox have been historically slow to the plate. Did you ever see Garcia or Contreras back in the day? Yeesh.
Wow, I actually didn’t bother checking the stats, I just assumed from watching that he was bad. The assumption might have been made from his caught stealing rate last year, which was probably close to 10%.
Hmm…not sure where you get your stats from, but AJ has the 4th best caught stealing % out of qualified catchers in the majors this season. 31% actually.
Oh yeah…I’ve seen it. I’m a Cubs fan by birth, Sox fan by marriage…so I get a chance to see both teams a lot. We split the number of games we go to each year between Wrigley and the Cell. Realistically, you’d want to upgrade that position but the Sox don’t seem to be in a hurry. And he still has his loyal fan base on the southside. I’m not one of them…I was among those who was hoping they’d trade him at the deadline – his 5 and 10 “deadline”, that is.
I wonder if Washington would bite for something like Viciedo, Carlos Torres + another lower level prospect.
Why would they want Viciedo when their franchise hitter is at 3B, Zimmerman.
Viciedo most likely cant cut it at 3rd long term. He’ll be a first baseman.
I kind of figure that but then you have Marrero there, who they seem to like a lot. Marrero will likely be taking Dunn’s spot at 1B once he is traded.
Viciedo played as a 1b in aaa all year.
not true he actually played 3rd up untill brent morell was called up to AAA
not true he actually played 3rd up untill brent morell was called up to AAA
thats not a bad deal when you think about the fact that viciedo actually has a hit or two in the bigs, his D at 3rd has not been that bad yet, and is solid at 1st…and carlos torres showed he can pitch in the bigs last season and has a good season going now in AAA
thats not a bad deal when you think about the fact that viciedo actually has a hit or two in the bigs, his D at 3rd has not been that bad yet, and is solid at 1st…and carlos torres showed he can pitch in the bigs last season and has a good season going now in AAA
I don’t think there is even much truth to this rumor. Since when are any of Kenny’s trades out there in the media?
I’m torn on this one. I am not a huge fan of Adam Dunn. They basically could have had a poor man’s version if they had just signed Thome for $1 mil in the offseason.
On the other hand, I’ve always been a fan of Mark Kotsay as a ballplayer, but I don’t know how much he has left in the tank. Last night was very showing. Bases loaded, down 2, he comes up as a pinch hitter. Exactly the spot the Sox wanted him in when they acquired him. He works the count to 2-1 and…..gets sawed off and pops up weakly to 2b.
Kennys moves are always in the media, He is always calling other GM’s about deals the ones that are not in the media are the ones where GM’s call him.
Kennys moves are always in the media, He is always calling other GM’s about deals the ones that are not in the media are the ones where GM’s call him.
Mark Kotsay is horrible. Kenny Williams does not need to go all-out and get Dunn: all the Sox need to drastically improve their lineup is a left handed batter with a decent on-base % or at least a 1.000 non-Kotsay %.
Mark Kotsay is horrible. Kenny Williams does not need to go all-out and get Dunn: all the Sox need to drastically improve their lineup is a left handed batter with a decent on-base % or at least a 1.000 non-Kotsay %.
If they plan on trading Dunn they better get a great deal in return because if not, im more then happy of resigning him to a extension. His Def at first base has gotten a whole lot better and i love watching those 450 foot bombs especially ones that leave Miller Park through a window and into the parking lot. He is also a great guy to have in ur club house and to keep rookies loose in order to have fun out there so they arent nervous and anxious.
I’d rather the sox go for someone like Adam Laroche who cost less.
Why would we go after someone who costs less we aren’t short on money?
My interpretation of cost there is cost = prospects. Adam would cost a lesser amount of prospects going the other direction.
Thats what I mean, it would take less prospects.
Thats what I mean, it would take less prospects.
I would go for dunn if you can work an extension….granted he will bea type A so you can get the picks back but dunn is young and would be a great addition to the team as primary DH and giving PK a day off or two once in a while at 1st….I could see kenny offering Vicedio+flowers+torres or hudson+mid level prospect…if we get dunn there is literally no reason to have vicedio on the roster…think about it. Dunn would be the DH and with the year Konerko is having he will more than likely get an extension(not a bad idea for a year or two) and if we could work a 3-4 year extension with dunn before the trade there is literally no place for vicedio considering that brent morell will be up here playing 3rd sooner than later considering how bad the mark teahan thing turned out.
Dunn said he doesn’t want to be a DH. Not for another 4 or 5 years.
I would go for dunn if you can work an extension….granted he will bea type A so you can get the picks back but dunn is young and would be a great addition to the team as primary DH and giving PK a day off or two once in a while at 1st….I could see kenny offering Vicedio+flowers+torres or hudson+mid level prospect…if we get dunn there is literally no reason to have vicedio on the roster…think about it. Dunn would be the DH and with the year Konerko is having he will more than likely get an extension(not a bad idea for a year or two) and if we could work a 3-4 year extension with dunn before the trade there is literally no place for vicedio considering that brent morell will be up here playing 3rd sooner than later considering how bad the mark teahan thing turned out.
Padres should go after Dunn, he’s the only guy that hits the ball far enough on a regular basis to put up numbers at Petco…
You obviously never watched Adam Dunn play the OF.
Padres should go after Dunn, he’s the only guy that hits the ball far enough on a regular basis to put up numbers at Petco…
Dunn’s numbers arent that much better than Napoli’s, plus Napoli is under team control for at least next season and will make far less than Dunn.
Dunn is an impact bat. Capable of hitting 40 homeruns and completely changing the makeup of that lineup. Napoli isn’t that type of guy. I’m always puzzled by Angel fans insistence on sticking with the status quo, when the status quo just isn’t good enough.
If he’s worse than Dunn, then why would the Nationals want him?
I’m not sure they would. He does catch, which adds to his value. Still, I don’t think it’s enough straight up. I would think it’d have to be Napoli and a prospect. The original comment mentioned Trevor Bell. I’m not a huge fan of his. He’s more of a control type pitcher with limited upside. Not a bad deal, but I would think the Nats would want a pitcher with better stuff and a little more upside than that.
Napoli plays above average defense at catcher and in a full season would more than likely give you .270 30+ HR’s. The fact that Mike Scioscia is his coach tells you something. His defense only looks sub-par in comparison to Jeff Mathis and Bobby Wilson who are both easily top 5 defensive backstops in baseball. Napoli is under club control until 2013 and is a good clubhouse player.The Angels don’t NEED Dunn. Their offense is already good. They need defense and Adam Dunn isn’t good in the field. For the Angels right now, Dunn isn’t even worth the cost of Napoli.And about the staus quo, clearly you’re wrong. It most certainly is working, as the Angels won their division 6 out of the last 7 years. Everyone’s loving the Rangers because they are up 4 games on the Angels and won 11 straight, but no one has taken into account that the Rangers won 11 straight against weak teams and still only gained two games on the Angels. The same thing happened last year and the Angels won the division by 10 games. It’s been three years since any team in the West has come within double digit victories of the Angels.I love the Angels status quo.
I know. Nobody is in love with their own players more than Angel fans. All of you guys seem happy with the status quo. Too bad it’s just good enough for another early playoff exit — that is, if they make the playoffs at all.
Getting there is half the battle. You forget there’s 28 other teams that don’t make it as far as the Angels. The Yankees were the best team in baseball last year, and the Angels pushed them to the brink in a very competetive series. After that, the Yankees steamrolled the Phillies. I have no problem with the status quo making us the 2nd best team in baseball. Regardless, the playoffs are a crapshoot anyway, any team can beat any other, at any time.
And why not be in love with our own players. We’ve produced Kendry Morales, howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, Maicer Izturis, Chone Figgins, Mike Napoli, Ervin Santana, Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders and much more since the current regime took over. You’d be hardpressed to find many systems that have produced more successful big leaguers since 2003 than the Angels.
All good points. Anything can happen in the playoffs. All it takes is a couple of hot hitters and pitchers. Still, I’d feel better if I had a big bat, especially one who consistently gets on base. I do think the White Sox need Dunn more than the Angels do. I wish you guys luck…I’d like somebody to knock off those AL East teams, if it’s not the Sox then somebody.
Dunn is an impact bat. Capable of hitting 40 homeruns and completely changing the makeup of that lineup. Napoli isn’t that type of guy. I’m always puzzled by Angel fans insistence on sticking with the status quo, when the status quo just isn’t good enough.
Dunn’s numbers arent that much better than Napoli’s, plus Napoli is under team control for at least next season and will make far less than Dunn.
Any chance the Nats include Cristian Guzman in the deal to the White Sox along with Adam Dunn? I know I would love to see him on the Southside to spell the hitless boy wonder (Beckham) and to provide infield depth (Lillibridge doesn’t cut it).
Actually, I would not be surprised to see Beckham in a Nats uniform by the end of the year if the Sox keep winning and he keeps struggling.
They have more than enough middle infielders in their system, I’m sure they’d rather take their guy and just get a good pitcher or two.
Any chance the Nats include Cristian Guzman in the deal to the White Sox along with Adam Dunn? I know I would love to see him on the Southside to spell the hitless boy wonder (Beckham) and to provide infield depth (Lillibridge doesn’t cut it).
As a Nats fan, I can say that they SHOULD be thrilled to move Guzman in any way, shape, or form. He’s gone from slightly below average to poor defensively at this point (both at SS and 2b). He’s incapable of displaying any patience at the plate as well. Guzman is as streaky as they come, and when he’s hot, some people (myself excluded, just because I tend to remember the bad times more) absolutely love him. However, when he hits those cold streaks, get ready for him to go 3 for his next 40 or so with no walks to offset the poor hacking.
Getting Guzman’s money off the books wouldn’t be much of an issue at this point, but removing him from the Nats’ roster might be addition by subtraction. If he could somehow boost the return in a Dunn deal, I’d hope Rizzo laughs his way to the bank.
We’ve lost games because he can’t throw the ball to 1st base. He’s got the chronic yips.
White Sox can have Adam Dunn, the Angels don’t need him and I seriously doubt the Angels are interested.
– The Angels offense isn’t the problem, it’s the bullpen and defense. Adam Dunn is absolute garbage in the field.
– Adam Dunn would more than likely mean more bench time for Hideki Matsui and Mike Napoli, no thank you.
– Adam Dunn would cost more money, no thanks.
– Adam Dunn would cost the Angels some pretty good prospects. You can probably count on Bobby Wilson, Rich Thompson, Trevor Reckling and Mark Trumbo. Once again, no thanks.
Just another example of East Coast media reaching and having no REAL sources.
as far as i know, reckling and Trumbo are definately not available
Trumbo more than likely is. While he is on our 40 man, he’s only there to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. He strikes out too much and doesn’t walk enough to even be considered for a promotion and he’s 24 years old. He’s a HR hitter playing in SLC, so of course his stats will be super inflated.
Trumbo is still a minimum 2 years away from even contributing to a major league team and he’s blocked at 1B by Kendry Morales, Mike Napoli, Brandon Wood and Kevin Frandsen, all of which are more than likely better ball players than Trumbo will ever be.
Trumbo seems like the very definition of “trade bait”. Let some other team fall in love with his Jim Thome frame and power. They’ll find out it doesn’t do any good when you fan 200 times a year and bat .200.
Obviously a lot of Tyler Flowers discussion here. While Flowers is certainly closer to the majors (and doesn’t figure to stick behind the plate), I don’t see how logical it would be for the Nats to accept him as a major haul in an Adam Dunn deal. No… I’m not talking about the aforementioned Bryce Harper, who obviously remains unsigned and was announced at the draft as an outfielder (most likely RF).
The best bat currently in the Nationals farm system is 21-year-old Catcher Derek Norris, who does figure to stay behind the plate and is generally considered a better prospect than Flowers. Yes… Norris, playing in A+ Potomac, is a couple of years away, but the Nats do have Pudge Rodriguez signed through next season, and are likely banking on Jesus Flores getting (and staying) healthy for more than a couple of months in the next few seasons.
Regarding Marrero, he’s far from a big league ready replacement at this point, and is currently posting a .788 OPS in AA. He’s been a bit of a disappointment since lighting up the Sally League as a 19-year-old, to be honest. It’s too early to give up on him, but replacing Dunn at 1b would seem to be a better way for the Nats to go than acquiring another catcher.
Regardless, pitching (starting pitching, specifically) would have to be the main target for the Nats. I’ve seen Santos’ name brought up as well, but he’s a two pitch converted SS… Don’t get me wrong. I like his arm quite a bit, but he’s never going to be converted to a starter. Though the likelihood is that the Nats move Capps at some point this trade season as well, the team has two outstanding club-controlled (for four and six more years, respectively) set for the back of the bullpen in Tyler Clippard and last year’s top ten pick, Drew Storen.
Honestly, my assumption is that if the Nats were to deal Dunn to the White Sox, Daniel Hudson would almost certainly have to be the headliner going back to Washington in the deal. If the Nats were unable to get Hudson, I think that Anaheim would be the more likely destination for Dunn. Were there an alternative, I think that I could see them going after a Viciedo assuming that they could get someone who might be serviceable as a fringe SP type (I honestly haven’t seen Carlos Torres pitch, and I realize that the White Sox have strong SP depth, but there has to be some reason that he’s been in the system for six years and hasn’t reached the majors) in the deal as well. Then again, the Nats are already a bit overloaded with fringe SP “prospects” like Martin, Atilano, Martis, etc.
Finally, while I’d like the Nats to deal Dunn (solid prospects with some years of development under their belt are far safer than gambling on the draft), I think that Rizzo should hold onto him unless he gets slightly more than market value for him. Admittedly, they hit the jackpot a bit when they chose not to deal Soriano (drafting Jordan Zimmermann with the pick they got from the Cubs in the second round), and I wouldn’t really expect lightning to strike twice.
However, even if they’re unable to re-sign Dunn, he’ll almost certainly be a Type A Free Agent. Assuming they offered him arbitration (which is likely, as he’ll command multiple years with a salary that would be a 20+% raise on his current deal), that would net them two picks in next year’s draft. If Rizzo can’t get a better return than a couple of likely top 50-60 picks, he should hold on.
At the very least, Rizzo should hold on for now to see if the suddenly slipping Rays realize that they have a short window (with Crawford and Pena hitting FA at the end of the year), a Blalock/Joyce platoon at DH, and six SP who would be starting for all 29 of the other teams in the majors. That’s just wishful thinking, though.
Adam Dunn for Andruw Jones, Sergio Santos, a lower level prospect, and Tyler Flowers. Good deal for both sides.
-or-
Adam LaRoache and Chris Snyder for Tyler Flowers, Sergio Santos and Scott Linebrink.
Then, you would have to trade Ramon Castro away to teams like Brewers, Nationals, Mariners, and Cardinals.