After a glance at the Mets earlier this evening, here’s a look at other items out of the NL East..
- The Marlins are eyeing controllable pitchers and they’re thought to be considering A’s lefty Tommy Milone, D’Backs’ lefty Wade Miley, and Padres right-hander Ian Kennedy, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Of course, if their three-game set against the Nationals doesn’t go well, they could wind up going the other way and selling.
- Phillies outfielder Marlon Byrd is no longer an option for the Royals and talks have stalled with the Mariners, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Byrd will only waive his no-trade clause if his 2016 option is exercised.
- The Phillies are talking with multiple clubs about Byrd and reliever Antonio Bastardo and there’s a lot of action on both, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Good job Ruben…
I know. Like everyone was clamoring to overpay for Marlon Byrd this past offseason. I can’t imagine a third year vesting option was ever necessary. I’m sick over this team.
I the Marlins want controllable pitchers, they want them for beyond this year anyway, so the results of a 3 game series shouldn’t matter.
Guess the Nats are keeping things under wraps.
Would the A’s take our unhappy young lefty plus an outfielder for their unhappy young lefty?
How about the Marlins can have Hammel, and the A’s can move Milone to the rotation where he belongs.
Lots of action – Wow! What in depth reporting!
the fact that byrd has a 3rd year option still blows my mind
Why? It’s a 3rd year vesting option (team option if he doesn’t reach the vesting totals). Why would a team not want to put an option in there to lock up a player at a controlled rate?
It just didnt seem necessary at all. and I dont think Byrd in the OF at 38 sounds all that great. I think they could have gotten him on a two year deal.
I’m not saying the 3rd year was necessary to sign him, just that I don’t believe vesting options (based on performance) should be under that much scrutiny. At 38, if he was still performing great, and they wanted him for that extra year, you had him locked up. But nobody would have given it a second thought had you cut his playing time if he wasn’t performing well to avoid the vesting option.
Because he will be 39 by the end of the contract. It would make sense
if the phillies were contending. They have way too much money tied up
in under achieving players. They need to start looking to the future and stop saying what if. what if has come and gone.
$8 M a season for Byrd. He’s put up about 2-3 WAR this year. That’s a free market value of about $12-$18 M. For just this year. Phillies have lots of problems. Byrd’s AAV – and even years – isn’t one of them. The problem with that contract was the partial NTC (which him/his agent guessed right on two of the teams that would have the most interest in him).
I’m not a fan of his 3rd year vesting option. Should’ve been a mutual or team option with a buyout at most. The $8M isn’t huge, but it’s still a roadblock that most teams don’t want to deal with.
I still think if the Phillies wanna move him just offer to pay that entire $8M option and nothing else. That’s more than 40% of what he’d he owed and the acquiring team wouldn’t have to worry about paying anything for his age 39 season.
I like vesting options (with it being a team option if it doesn’t vest). Agreed that at 39, it’s a risk some teams don’t want to deal with – but it’s really just the fact that he wants it guaranteed to waive his NTC. If the Reds would get in on him, I don’t think they’d have a big problem not letting it vest if they really didn’t want it to. It’s more the NTC (and the teams he picked lining up as teams looking to upgrade in a playoff spot) that is the problem (IMO).
For me, the Reds are the perfect fit for Byrd.
I was really high on the M’s (until I found out they were on his NTC). The Reds do seem like a logical fit. But they’ve lost like 8 of their last 9. So not sure how they still feel. But if they’d do a deal, I’d ask for Winker or Stephenson (with us taking on Ludwick to offset this year). And if (let’s be real, when) they balk at that, I’d “settle” for Phil Ervin and Ben Lively (plus Ludwick).
If they could get Ervin and Lively that would be a solid return. I’d prefer Winker and would even throw in some cash plus take on Ludwick. Maybe even send a replacement OF prospect like Kelly Dugan.
They can’t pay the vesting option because it hasn’t vested. Any team that acquires Marlon Byrd is on the hook for the full $8 million.
The best the Phillies could do is pay his salary next year.
They could mask it as something like future cash considerations if the team isn’t on Byrd’s NTC.
Your right, this year not a problem. Maybe in the future.
It just seems to show on a lot of these bad contracts a pattern that just continues. Burnett’s for example to me is outrageous.
Not just Burnett’s all of these contracts are convoluted. RAJ thinks he’s some kind of mastermind that found a logic book at the public library and thought if > then’s were all the rage so he added 20 to each contract. I don’t think they do much of anything at this trade deadline… nothing noteworthy, probably don’t even make a trade until waivers. Such a pathetic GM.
The Marlins aren’t going to be buyers and if they are they aren’t getting Miley
I don’t see the big deal in sending $8 million to the Mariners (thus covering his vesting option) – in order to get a better return. I think too much is said about option years and contracts, as long as the Phillies are willing to eat some of those heavy contracts, , its not a huge discussion anymore. If the Phillies were so willing to include those option years then they should have no problem with eating them as well in order to get better players in a trade. The answers are easily answered – Eat the Option and then you can trade these players that much more easy and for more worth.
It won’t happen, but here is a great opportunity for the A’s:
To the A’s – Utley / Rollins / Papelbon / Cash
To the Phillies – Milone / Lawrie / Callaspo / Johnson / PTBNL
Rollins is from Oakland – Utley from CA – and it would allow them both to stay together as the long standing 2B/SS combo – The cash going to the A’s would be in the amount that off-sets Papelbon/Johnson’s contracts. Milone has demanded a trade, Lawrie is a free-agent at the end of this season. Johnson is already DFA’d.
While the Phillies only get back Milone as a long term player, they could extend Lawrie or just wait til 2016 when JP Crawford should be ready. Callaspo is a good utility player and the PTBNL will be (needs to be) a very good prospect. Johnson holds down the closer spot while Giles prepares to take over.
The Angels are just 1.5 games out of 1st place – I think the A’s need one more big move to secure the division and to say they are now the favorites to go to the World Series.
It won’t happen, but here is a great opportunity for the A’s:
To the A’s – Utley / Rollins / Papelbon / Cash
To the Phillies – Milone / Lawrie / Callaspo / Johnson / PTBNL
Rollins is from Oakland – Utley from CA – and it would allow them both to stay together as the long standing 2B/SS combo – The cash going to the A’s would be in the amount that off-sets Papelbon/Johnson’s contracts. Milone has demanded a trade, Lawrie is a free-agent at the end of this season. Johnson is already DFA’d.
While the Phillies only get back Milone as a long term player, they could extend Lawrie or just wait til 2016 when JP Crawford should be ready. Callaspo is a good utility player and the PTBNL will be (needs to be) a very good prospect. Johnson holds down the closer spot while Giles prepares to take over.
The Angels are just 1.5 games out of 1st place – I think the A’s need one more big move to secure the division and to say they are now the favorites to go to the World Series.