The Rays' chances of making the playoffs are slim at 4.4%, but the Yankees and Orioles are on track to secure postseason berths, according to the playoff odds report at Baseball Prospectus. Here are some afternoon links from the AL East…
- The Blue Jays had two scouts at the Tigers-Athletics series in Detroit this week, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports. The Blue Jays could have interest in trading for A's left-hander Brett Anderson, who left yesterday’s game with a strained oblique, or signing Tigers right-hander Anibal Sanchez. Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is expected to seek starting pitching this coming offseason.
- It wasn’t long ago that Mark Reynolds’ 2013 option ($11MM with a $500K buyout) seemed unreasonable from the Orioles’ perspective. Now that Reynolds is producing at the plate, it’s at least worth debating, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes. The Orioles appear to want Reynolds back for 2013, which wasn’t the case for the first few months of the season.
- On the other side of the infield, Manny Machado is making a solid case for entering the 2013 season as Baltimore’s starting third baseman, according to Kubatko.
- Homegrown starters Phil Hughes, David Phelps, and Ivan Nova have helped the Yankees immensely at a time that the team's veteran starters are struggling, Mike Axisa writes at River Ave. Blues. The Yankees get criticized for not developing enough pitching, but Hughes, Phelps and Nova have pitched well of late.
- For more notes from the AL East, check out this post from earlier today.
I politely asked A’s fans on an mlb.com board what they think would be an appropriate trade for Anderson, and one said Bautista+EE and prospects, and the other said the Jays dont have enough. I would think it would be like the Latos deal if they traded for Anderson
Latos was healthy and very productive, and younger. I think they both have similar ceilings, but the durability questions surrounding Anderson drop his value IMO. Anibal’s ability to eat innings after his shoulder surgery in 2010 make me think he and Edwin Jackson are more likely targets.
anderson and latos are both 24
3rd straight season though that Brett hasn’t gone the whole season. His value isn’t nearly as high as Latos’
They meant Bautista + EE Jerseys right?
Probably. One would have to be game worn for the trade to be fair though.
The Bautista flash back friday jersey is pretty legit.
I’d guess less than the Latos trade. Anderson is a solid pitcher, but he also has a solid injury history. I’d love to see the Jays trade for him though.
the person who said that dose not rep all A’s fan that’s just crazy im talking about bautista and ee for anderson
omg those people are dreamers. EE alone should land Anderson. Bautista, two Andersons’ (am I going on the other end of the scale lol?)
The A’s wouldn’t trade Anderson for Bautista or EE straight up. The A’s wouldn’t want to take on either of those contracts. It would have to be a return of more than Cahill, but less than Gio. Anderson is young, left-handed, under team control for many years and cheap.
Only because the A’s cant afford to take on those contracts.
Yep.
As an Orioles fan, I approve that trade.
what would bluejays fans think is fair if a trade did happen i would say j.p arencibia and a aa or aaa player would be fair becuse derek norris can’t hit very good so they might be looking for a catcher that can hit i have heard the A’s have been scouting they bluejays minor league teams to
derek norris can’t hit very good, we should trade for JP Arencibia..
logic!
JP Arencibia for Brett Anderson and Brandon McCarthy’s wife
Nova’s horrendous pitching is actually one big reason why the Yankees are so bad. Hughes and Phelps have had good starts but also have had their stinkers. Might want to watch how highly you tout the Youngsters, Axisa. If anything, Kuroda is carrying the staff and he is a veteran. Garcia is a veteran and he has pitched above and beyond expectation too. It’s CC because of injuries, Andy because of injuries, and Nova because he was terrible for a long stretch as to why the Yankees struggled. Hughes and Phelps helped right the tide and they pitched well in recent games along with Nova but to say they carried the staff as veterans struggled is wrong.
Pineda being hurt has had more impact then Nova or AP’s injuries. Not to mention Joba, Mo, Feliciano, Robertson, and Aardsma have been injured too.
is a bit reassuring that Jesus has struggled. If he had repeated his stats last year over the whole season it would be rough.
I was always under the impression Nova was projected as a #4 starter. But because he had a really good 30 start stretch he was knighted as some upper number starter. In any event my team is better.
He is projected as a #4, His FIP was around 4.00 last year. He is not a top end starter, but he is still a valuable piece.
Yankees are first in the division. Define bad.
I’ve really like what phelps has been doing. He showed up to ST with improved velocity and has been very good for the yankees. He is at almost 100 innings and his era is at 3.25. That has been a big stabilizing force, because it means that they could take their time with garcia and nova.
Signing two pitchers is a must for the Jays, I like the idea of Anderson and Sanchez!
The AL East could be a free for all next year as there is no dominant team and no terrible team. If they make a big step like the Nats did this year and solidfy 2/5 of their rotation the Jays could win the division.
The Yankees could become dominant again. Most picked them for top team at the start and then pineda got injured. They have strugged with risp all season and are just over .500 since the as break. Jays are quite a bit out of it, and the Sox would need pitching and hitters (they lost crawford and agon).
The Yankees have a lineup that is sure to regress and a questionable pitching staff. They have already shown that this year. As for the redsox I dont think they will win the division but they should do much better than this year. Lester and Clay should rebound. Doubront should improve. And they should still hit if they resign Ortiz and Ross.
It is going to be difficult to rebound. They were expecting Beckett to be an ace and now he is gone. Also Agon is one of the top 15 middle order hitters in baseball. It is going to be hard to replace. CC is also a very good hitter.
Crawford did not produce anything the last two years. Beckett did horrible this year and was a bad influence on Lester. AGON was a good hitter but was worth only 2.5 WAR this year for the red sox.
Lester averaged 5 WAR in the four years before 2012. There is no reason to think he isn’t that pitcher any more.
Clay has a 3.29 ERA since the end of April. Should be solid next year as well.
Just think the demise of the red sox has been vastly overratted. If they go out and make dynamic and smart trades(upton) and signings they could win the division.
Lastly, an interesting trade idea would be middlebrooks and igleasis to the d-backs, upton to the rangers, and andrus and another prospect to the red sox.
Seems you ignore the fact that Beckett was worth 4.26 WAR in 2011, and Agon was worth 6.5. That was in a year that The Red Sox still only won 90 games, and missed the postseason. Beckett had a 2.90 era over 195 innings. And Agon had a .338/.410/.548 line (.958 ops). Way I see it Upton’s .280/.356/.430 still (.786 ops) fails to fill the gap left by agon, and it isnt even close. Even if Buch comes back healthy, lester rebounds, they get upton you still have a team that isn’t quite as good as the 90 win 2011 sox. That is before you factor in that they lost papelbon who only blew 3 saves 2011.
And 2011 the O’s still lost 93 games. It’s even more competitive now because the games vs the o’s are no longer easy wins. Upton is not nearly as good as many people make him out to be. He is good, but still not within the top 20 middle of the order hitters so far. And they better hope Ortiz doesnt decide to leave.
I agree the AL-East is going to be tough to win. I disagree that the red sox need huge improvements to contend. They were one game out in 2011 due to a massive collapse that many say was the fault of Beckett. I just think that the right upgrades can put them right back inthe midst of it.
Also when comparing Upton and A-gon why do you use the 2012 numbers for uption and the 2011 numbers for A-gon. Upton had a 900 ops in 2011. A-gon has an ops of 786 in 2012. Plus Upton is much younger and cheaper.
Also I doubt that Lackey will have the same year he did in 2011 when he was atrocious. If he had an average year in 2011 they would have won the division.
and mariano rivera…
Machodo, Longoria, Middlebrooks, and Lawrie. All could be starting 3B in the AL East next year. All are under 27. Then there is AROD…
HaHa good one!!
Arod is still a good hitter. .350 obp, has 18 hr while missing 1/3 of the season. He isn’t the arod of old, but can still produce.
I’d take a healthy old A-Rod over Middlebrooks.
The Jays better pony up like a MF to get Anderson.
I’d rather get a protected pick, sign an FA or two (1 of Sanchez/Jackson and 1 of Ortiz/Hafner/Swisher) and save the assets. Why would the Jays overpay for a pitcher that hasn’t validated his value. He is a porcelain pitcher. The most I hope the Jays offer is JP + filler or Yunel + filler.
I’m with you on the Jays perspective, although I think AA would offer more than JP/Yunel plus a filler. I just don’t see them meeting what the A’s would want in return. If the A’s were offered either one of those deals, they would easily turn it down. No question. If I were GM, I would take Anderson with his injury history over JP and Yunel without a doubt. And you would probably take JP and Yunel.
Also, I would take Jackson and Swisher from that list if I were a Jays fan 🙂
Reynolds is making $7.5M this year with an OPS just under .800 and 21 HRs. Solid numbers but not worth $11M or $10.5M (the difference of the buyout). The O’s IMO would be crazy to pick up his option.
That said, I think Reynolds may not longer be a NON-TENDER candidate. I think too many people are forgetting that Reynolds is NOT a free agent, including sportswriters.
Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t see Reynolds getting a $3M raise thru arby….
Kubatko mentions that the O’s could decline his option and try to re-sign him at a lower rate…but the problem is Reynolds can become a free agent. Again, not true unless they also want to non-tender him. But again, maybe it’s me but I think even thru arby $9M may be where he tops out. Even throwing in the $500K buyout and the O’s save money.
I don’t know, orioles and rays man have they played good this year it should be another very exiting year for baseball