MLB executives are fascinated by many of the same questions that preoccupy fans, so ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick checked in with a variety of baseball officials to get their thoughts on some offseason issues. The execs prefer Michael Bourn to B.J. Upton and they expect Zack Greinke to re-sign with the Angels. Here are today's links…
- R.A. Dickey could draw interest from ten or more teams if the Mets make him available in trades this offseason, rival executives tell Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
- White Sox GM Rick Hahn expects to hear from many teams interested in acquiring some of Chicago’s starting pitching depth, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com reports. “We will absolutely listen on any ideas and trades will be one of the avenues we pursue to potentially fill some of our holes,” Hahn said. Gavin Floyd could be among the pitchers drawing trade interest this year, Hayes writes.
- The Giants aren’t going to non-tender Hunter Pence, even though he’ll cost $13-14MM as an arbitration eligible player, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). MLBTR projects a $13.8MM salary for Pence in 2013.
- Tim Britton of the Providence Journal analyzes the first base market to determine some possible fits for the Red Sox.
- Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com suggests it wouldn't make sense for the Rangers to offer Josh Hamilton more than three guaranteed years with a vesting option for a fourth year. It doesn't sound as though that'll be enough to sign Hamilton, despite the questions surrounding his ability to stay healthy.
Sox need to dangle Gavin Floyd out there for anyone with a 3B to spare. If I am Hahn, I am calling the Padres up.
I hear you man,but there’s no way the Padres let Headley go that easy
Truth
“that easy”, I didn’t even say what the price was. lol. Plus, I was referring to either Headley OR uber-prospect Jedd Gyorko. Padres would be wise to trade 1 of those two this offseason, and considering they would probably want to get cheaper and younger, I would assume that means Headley is going to be discussed in trades.
Padres new ownership is committed to keeping Headley, I believe. Gyorko will be the 2B of the future if they can lock up Headley. No reason to deal either as long as they can get Headley signed to an extension.
Gavin floyd and 4.5 million going to any club is a solid get for the new club and an ok loss for the whitesox if it gains them a MLB ready 3rd basemen or a close to MLB ready 3rd base prospect (not talking about a teams #1 prospect) just a solid MLB contributor. As of right now the white sox have sale-peavy-danks-floyd-quintana as a rotation with santiago and axelrod both having made huge strides last season(santiago made crazy improvement moving from the pen to the rotation) and with castro and molina waiting in the wings the whitesox would be smart to move 1 maybe even 2 starters (along with some money to get a better player back)
Starting pitching depth usually finds a way to sort itself out and can become a need rather than a luxury really quick, just ask the Braves.
That’s why even with the Cardinals having Wainwright, Carpenter, Garcia, Lynn, Westbrook, Rosenthal, Miller, and Kelly all ready for the rotation, it would not hurt my feelings at all for them not to deal any of it away.
yup. AND Quintana regressed to the mean late in the season. Santiago might be good, but we don’t know yet. Axelrod is just a guy. Molina and Castro didn’t impress much as prospects. And Danks is coming off injury, so he’s a little uncertain. Better keep at least six of these guys around; Coop can work miracles, but this could easily go bad, fast.
quintana regressed because that was the biggest work load he had ever faced. That being said I doubt he has an amazing 1st half again but he shouldnt be nearly as bad as he was the second half. honestly 170+ innings of 4 to sub 4 ERA would be awesome out of quintana…Axelrod made a huge step this past season, is he a legit #1? no but can he be a solid #5? of course. Castro and Molina were both top prospects who had a down year, there is no need to write them off at all yet. Plus its not like me, or anyone else expects them to jump into the bigs and be cy young candidates. I doubt they make the show this year but if they do end of rotation guys is just fine, they are the injury insurance. Danks is slated as the #3 maybe even #4…He should be fine as there have been no set backs at all. Santiago could step in as a starter but I see him, for next season at least, be the long man.
Castro and Molina don’t inspire much confidence, but they really don’t need to right now, and if they do play in 2013, it will be out of the 5th spot in the rotation anyway. I don’t see Quintana repeating 2012 either, but he can surely be a solid #4 pitcher for any team. A name I am looking forward to seeing in 2013 minor leagues is Andre Rienzo. He just may emerge as a 2014 rotation candidate, leapfrogging Castro and Molina.
That’s exactly what I said about Castro and Molina. Good prospects with down years, not expected to make the bigs this upcoming season and if they do its at the back end of the rotation or a 6th man type.
Also hard to trust a guy who was suspended for peds
They could do a similar deal to the one they made involving Jon Garland. He was traded for Cabrera who was blocking someone else. Then they can replace Floyd by signing McCarthy as the number 4. A rotation of Sale Peavy Danks McCarthy Quintana/Santiago would be legit
That’s exactly what I’ve been on for the past few weeks. Sign McCarthy, and trade Floyd + prospects for a real 3B.
It doesn’t even really need to involve prospects. They don’t need real one but someone who can just hit like .270 15-20 HR and not K all the time (I’m looking at you Brent Morel)
It will take a real one if we want to compete with the Tigers next season. Tigers are adding Vmart, we need to add some firepower as well. No more stop-gap Youkilis type guys. We either need an established 3B, or a top 3B prospect who is ready (Jedd Gyorko)
if anythiing this past world series proved that pitching wins, yes the giants had posey and sandoval but thats it in terms of big name hitters, it was their pitching, defense, and timely hitting, random timely hitting from guys to win
,….yeah….and? We have the pitching. Hell, we HAD the pitching and defense in 2012. But it was our inept offense that cost us towards the end. In the playoffs, yeah, pitching and defense are highlighted more because it’s a set of short series (you could get by with 3 SP, which means you can also mask your weak RP arms with SP arms, like Lincecum). But offense is just as important during the season when you are throwing your #4 and #5 pitchers, or your bullpen is overworked.
If the Mets can get a trade in the works for RA Dickey, especially with
10 teams interested that means one team will overpay through the nose
for the services of a 5M ace knuckleballer. It’s like fishing. When you have many fish circling the bait there is ultimately always one fish who gets greedy and grabs onto the hook before all of the others. Dangling RA Dickey to opposing teams would be like casting a line into the water. Alderson is your fisherman, Mets fans. He can cast his line into the water or he can pack up, hold onto his bait, and head home. I think he should test the ocean and see which fish bites. Dickey may also need to be extended but investing may not allow for financial flexibility in other areas of importance. By trading Dickey, the Mets will sell high on him and could bring a ton back.It’s what needs to be done to build this team into a winner in the future.
That article by Tim Britton does a good job naming the core group of veteran First Base targets the Red Sox can pursue. In regards to lesser known pieces however, I’ve heard Matt Adams and Dan Vogelbach’s name being thrown out there as well. The Sox will have many routes to take. It will be interesting to see how they address the position.
As much as Pence was valuable during the playoff stretch, it is a bit scary that he would be paid over 13 million for the lack of numbers he produced in SF. I think he will rebound next year and that it was a bit of an adjustment going from hitting in hitter friendly parks of Minute Maid Park and Citizens Bank Park, to one not-so-friendly in AT&T Park.
He wasnt exactly good in the playoffs either. Other than the World Series, he was basically a .200 hitter in the postseason. The only value were his pep talks haha. I guess those are worth the $$
He was awful even in CBP this season.
would Michael Young and $10M do?
for gavin floyd?
yes
I doubt it, the rangers would have to send Young+10 million while taking Floyd and his entire 9.5 million to even get the whitesox to think about it. Young was a -1 WAR player last season and has not posted a positive UZR at 3rd since 2002, last season at 3rd he was a -30 UZR/150 And i know UZR/150 and WAR are not perfect stats but Hahn is more stats based…and I highly doubt the rangers would pay 10 million while taking back an extra 9 million just to move Young..But at the same time they really want both profar and olt in the line up and moving young might get it done…
“the rangers would have to send Young+10 million while taking Floyd and his entire 9.5 million to even get the whitesox to think about it.” LOL. Isn’t that EXACTLY what he just offered?
Wow really? That’s all you pick out? Troll much?
Ha, that’s not trolling bro, that’s calling you out for clearly not even reading what he posted. I don’t really need to address the rest, I wasn’t a part of the original conversation.
Kinda hard not to read one sentence. Yes it was redundant saying it but the rest of what I said had to do with it because there is no way the ranger send young+10 million while taking back 9.5. Just for Gavin Floyd
Every Red Sox fan knew the time was coming this off season to look over the slim (awful) pickings available for 1b and 1st of all? Strike off LaRoche and Swisher who are both going to get over paid and not people the Red Sox should be targeting.
Start off with an inexpensive, or more reasonable salaried player on a 1Y deal and contrary to what MOST of the NE media has been yacking about? That is Youkilis. should he not feel inclined towards a reunion, they can offer Pena a VERY low dollar deal.. Say 3-4m tops and give boras a short window to think the offer over. Other than that? Talk with Detroit about Martinez and Anaheim about Morales, with Sands as the backup and have Lavarnway.. Even tho he would for sure have extremely limited range.. Taking grounders at 1b during ST, even play several games there at 1b later on before the season breaks if none of the above listed FA can be signed (Pena, Youk) and the cost to acquire either of morales, or VMart is excessive.
Boston has the pieces available to make a deal with either Detroit, or Anaheim. both systems need prospects, even if they just flipped them later on themselves. Cecchini for instance could be a centerpiece, even Henry Owens and Boston has many others, especially at AA and below they could add to make a presentable package if they went that route.
I don’t think Detroit is gonna deal Vmart, they’re gearing up to take another run.
Morales may be available, but he may also be the primary DH.
I agree Youk or Peña make sense…
Even if they wanted to move him, which I agree they won’t because they want young gone as soon as possible, his value is at an all time low and would not get them anything back in return.
I can tell you unless the Tigers get an impact player for Vmart we arent going to trade him for prospects. Illitch wants a championship, so prospects will not get this deal done. Now if pedroia were in the deal then heck yes, however there is no way boston would do that for vmart.
1st of all.. Was being serious and Pedroia for Vmart? 🙁
Martinez is blocked behind Cabrera and Fielder and relegated to being a DH. He can’t catch more than a handful of games a week and doesn’t help a team any when he does, so a below average-average at best fielding 1b is what he provides and the combo of bat + glove he provides at 1b isn’t something a team will be willing to spend 25m on and give much of anything up for.. A decent (not anywhere near elite) is well more than enough. Much less one of the top 3 2b in the game (fielding included) who provides comparable offense from a position that is far harder to find offensive players at and is signed over the next *3* years at only 6m more than Martinez at 2.
Please try and be serious.
What he’s saying is if Boston wanted vmart they’d have to overpay at a position of need for Detroit.
They want to win. Vmart is a major upgrade at DH over last year. The only holes Detroit has is corner outfield and relief… 2b to a lesser extent as infante is serviceable.
Detroit isn’t going to trade vmart unless it fills some of those holes for this year… Prospects aren’t what they’re looking for
I think you need to reread my post, esp the last line when I said “there is no way boston would do that”.
Your prospects could be worth more than Vmart(doubt it) but even if they are Illitch wants to win now, so unless you give us something we really need at the moment, like a 2b, that isnt going to happen.
My post was intended to just say there is no way the tigers would trade Vmart for prospects, unless those were major league ready with high ceilings which they probably wouldnt get for vmart.
Just because the red sox have a need, doesnt mean every team should change its goals and take propsects, esp the best team in the AL.
Also Vmart is not blocked by any means, he is a terrible first baseman, heck Fielder is better. He is a DH, and a significant upgrade for us at that. He is no longer blocked because we let Delmon “throw a bat at an umpire” Young be a FA.
Thoughts here are that Detroit is going to need to do something regarding the IF defense and serious lack of range every one of them have, exception being Infante. VMart isn’t that much better (IMO at least) that Fielder from his time at 1b in games he played there with Boston. he maybe has a tad more range, but his hands don’t think are as good and made a few boo boos on bunt plays, tho that could probably be over came if he was there FT.
Anyway.. If Detroit could move either Cabrera/Fielder to DH, it would allow them to possibly find a better fielder at either position and fully understand that Illtch is in ‘win now” mode with his advanced age.. Wright from the Mets would be a nice target to play 3b in that scenario, if for example they could acquire at least one decent prospect for a VMart. Turner is gone of course, as is brantley, but a Cecchini (3b) is a couple of years away and a top 100 overall prospect.. Tag another or 2 and maybe something works.. I dunno.. Maybe at the same time have something working with the Mets and Wright…
Should have posted the entire thoughts 1st time.. Usual for me…
I still don’t see it. Maybe it’s just me, but I think the Tigers go into this offseason with the infield set as is.
Cabrera was better than most people thought at 3rd… and Peralta was servicable, just lacked some range.
Not to mention, I’d think the BoSox would be looking for someone who’d be around for a bit, unlike VMart. I still think Trumbo or Morales are great fits in Boston. Then again, I could see them going with with a 1 year stop gap… someone in the Pena mold, seeing where the team is overall this season and then trying to put it all together next year.
Sure.. Youkilis and Pena are the 2 “most probable” IMO also. The VMart was if detroit decides to improve the overall defense (Wright acquisition) and also allow a rotation sort of on occasion with Cabby going to 1b sometimes. Of course, there would be the neccesity of inking Wright to an extension also even if the deal(s) were plausible.
Do wonder how long Detroit will go with the IF as-is. SS (peralta) has to be replaced 1st of course if no other moves are made. They do have the offense to carry a ‘glove only” if they had to at short and that is a luxury not a lot of other teams could afford if need be.
Next year they’ll have to replace Peralta and Infante. Hopefully at least one is a defense first…
Vmart is a leader in the clubhouse, and frankly none of our prospects are good enough to get Wright, and I doubt any of yours that you would be willing to trade. Also Wright will resign with the mets, and will demand a huge extension which the tigers are not poised to give him.
Our defense is not good, but Vmart will see very few games on defense. Fielder can still play 1b and to make the move to dh now which has statistically reduced a players offensive production is just silly.
Unless you give us major league ready talent to greatly improve on our areas of need, this is not happening. There really is no middle ground here look at this:
Tigers would want Pedroia or even WMB. Neither of those guys are getting moved for VMart so that is out the window.
Vmart will not be traded for prospects, iglesias, ellsbury(already have a cf), or really anyone else on your roster. Bard maybe, but heck his stock is so low now you would need to throw in a ton.
You will have much better luck going after morales/trumbo.
I wouldn’t touch Dickey. Unfortunately for him, his best years are his last 3 years…..right when he turns 38.
Angels Fans what would you want for Kendry Morales? I think Morales would be a perfect fit for the hole at Red Sox 1B