The Blue Jays, Dodgers and Yankees are among the teams that have reached out to the Indians and had “preliminary” trade talks about Cleveland’s starting pitching, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (links to Twitter). The still-very-early frameworks being discussed would each send a controllable starter away from Cleveland in exchange for an everyday outfielder, he continues. In an appearance on MLB Network (video link), Morosi noted that Brett Gardner’s name has come up in talks with Cleveland. Of course, Gardner alone wouldn’t fetch Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar, given the outfielder’s poor second half (though that was said to be injury-driven) and the more general fact that it makes little sense for Cleveland to part ways with five affordable years of either pitcher in exchange for three to four years of a well-compensated veteran. Other young and very well-regarded pieces would be a necessity. Trevor Bauer could be a more intriguing candidate in that scenario, as the soon-to-be 25-year-old was impressive in bursts in 2015 but continued his longstanding battle with control issues for most of the season. Other very speculative fits from the listed clubs could include Yasiel Puig, Joc Pederson, Kevin Pillar, Dalton Pompey and Aaron Judge. Of course, each of those suggestions comes with varying degrees of uncertainty.
Some more notes from the AL Central…
- The Tigers are among the teams with interest in free-agent right-hander Doug Fister, according to Buster Olney of ESPN (Twitter link). Fister is coming off a poor season in D.C. that saw his velocity dip to about 86 mph, causing him to lose his rotation spot. However, he enjoyed his best seasons in Detroit, and I can envision him being interested in a return on a make-good contract as he looks to rebuild his value, perhaps on a one-year deal in search of a larger contract among next year’s weak crop of free-agent starters.
- MLB.com’s Jason Beck breaks down the Tigers’ options in their search for a left fielder. As Beck writes, fans should put to bed the notion of Jason Heyward, Justin Upton or a Yoenis Cespedes reunion, as all figure to be out of Detroit’s price range. Avila spoke highly of Tyler Collins recently, Beck notes, lending some credence to the possibility of simply acquiring a platoon partner for the left-handed-hitting 25-year-old. Beck lists Chris Young, former Tigers Ryan Raburn and Rajai Davis as possibilities. However, if the club feels an everyday left fielder would be an upgrade over a platoon of Collins and one of those righty bats, names like Nori Aoki and Gerardo Parra could come into play. Of course, it should be noted that Parra himself could benefit from a platoon partner, though he has a stronger defensive reputation than Collins (his surprising 2015 downturn in the view of defensive metrics not withstanding).
- White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin that the team hasn’t made a definitive decision as to which direction it will go this offseason (Twitter link). While that will probably induce a large amount of Chris Sale and Jose Quintana trade speculation from fans of pitching-hungry teams, it does seem difficult to envision the White Sox changing course after spending so heavily last winter. Chicago’s core of Sale, Quintana, Carlos Rodon, Jose Abreu, Adam Eaton and David Robertson is an excellent start to a contending club. Previous reports have indicated that the Sox believe 2015 was just the first of a multi-year window to contend. Nonetheless, that Williams didn’t take the opportunity to firmly denounce the possibility of some retooling is notable.
- The Twins have reached out to Joakim Soria’s agent and received his medical records for review, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, though it’s not known whether the team is comfortable with a number anywhere near his reported $27MM asking price. (My guess: no.) In other Soria/AL Central news, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweeted today that while the Tigers were interested in Soria as recently as this past weekend, the two sides weren’t on the same page in contract talks. Detroit’s acquisition of Francisco Rodriguez seems likely to have diminished their interest in Soria anyhow.
I think the Indians would have to throw in someone else (a reliever perhaps) if it was Gardner for Bauer.
Maybe if Gardner hadn’t had such a poor 2nd half, injury or not. Bauer has so much potential and puts it on display often enough, plus is so young he’s got value on his side and Gardner has legs for his main calling card, dinged for age MG, then he’s getting paid what? 10m. Not a ton, but enough for a low-mid market team.
BTW.. Some people here are flat out negative happy. Wish Tim would take that away. Some of these opinions are great, yours are always good to read for example MB.
People have been talking about Bauer’s upside for 4 years….. yet he still has a career 4.50 ERA across 362 MLB innings pitched. He’ll be 25 this upcoming season so for him to show this potential it is now or never IMO. Currently though I think Bauer for Gardner is a fair trade. Declining OFer for mediocre pitcher. Gardner last 3 year averages: .262/.338/.412/.750, 13 HRs (in yankee stadium), and 22 SBs. For a #4 SP. A 32 year old OFer with OK numbers the last 3 years who is signed for the next 3 years at $12.5M/season on average. Bauer is under team control for, what, 4 years? Yeah. I’d say it’s fair.
Also, Bauer’s major problem has been his lack of control. That was still a major problem in 2015 as judged by his 4BB/9IP rate. I don’t honestly know why anyone would want to trade for that unless they were VERY confident they could fix him. It’s no secret he is hard headed with a poor attitude… which is why Arizona gave up on him so quickly.
You speak the absolute truth chicubbies1. I have watched Bauer for several years in Cleveland and ironically lived in AZ when he played there as well. Bauer is a head case. Someone close to me spoke with him regularly and shared with me his sentiments on team and self image and it was literally jaw dropping material. This is a guy that IS extremely intelligent but one of those cases where is likely his own worst enemy. His body language is one of the worst I’ve seen in baseball where he literally will look like he’s collapsing with depression over a rough inning or getting pulled. (It has lead to some priceless images I’ve paused TV and screen grabbed). All that said, I will make mention that in 2015 he seemed to improve his attitude especially through 1st 1/2 to 2/3 of the season. He was actually interacting with players and occasionally seen smiling, poking fun at teammates (IE: Him imitating several hitters batting stances when in actual inter league batting scenario) so overall my take on this guy after close observation is that his potential is starting to drop slightly but it is still there. What he does to control himself between the ears is question. If i were CLE I would look to trade him first over Salazar/Carrasco. If that’s a no-go Salazar is next in line to go in my book mainly based to his lifestyle off the field. His non-stop need for girls (account was on sexual hookup site) and randomly adding girls on Twitter to hook up finally caught up to him when he was investigated for sexual assault. I was also close to someone in this situation and without disclosing any details Salazar’s behavior in this situation was far from innocent in local CLE strip club. That said he did have great stretches on the field but I’m willing to move on for right piece if I was CLE.
Bauer might have pitched like a 3/4 to this point, but he has 1 stuff. 25 year olds with #1 stuff don’t get traded for borderline utility outfielders. Ever. If that’s the frame for the deal, the Yankees are adding in two top prospects.
lol borderline utility outfielder? OK.
Why LOL? He’s a below average fielder, doesn’t hit for power, and doesn’t get on base at an above average clip. He’s essentially a below average hitter with speed that’s declining. He isn’t nearly as valuable as you think he is.
Actually he Does get on base for an above average clip. He had a .343 OBP. League average was .317 (.325 for an OFer)
For the past 3 seasons, he has a 108 OPS+ , a .750 Slug % and .150 ISO. So he does have some power.
He is 21st out of 93 ranked OFers in fWAR. 1 spot behind Nelson Cruz and just 3 spots behind the future 9 figure contract player in Justin Upton and ahead of names like Matt Holiday, Carlos Gonzalez, and Shin-Soo Choo
I guess value to you is only top 10-15 then.
Correction – .750 OPS
You have to be on an All Star team to have any value in his eyes
A 3.2 WAR in 1 season >>> A 3.0 WAR in Two seasons
Keep arguing if you want with me. Gardner’s value >>>>>> Bauer’s value. Nobody has yet to show any stat that says otherwise
Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t.
MB – It’s really easy to use a statistic like WAR to overvalue a guy who’s base is his regressing speed.
WAR is a great statistic, but using it in this case doesn’t make sense because you are projecting a player whose value is declining because his best skill – and the one driving his WAR – is declining.
No haha i’m agreeing with you MB. I thought you said it perfectly regarding dissent’s comment. He’s overvaluing Bauer’s “potential” and throwing shade at Gardner. Brett isn’t a bad player like he’s saying.
Ahhh, my fault man.
Bwhahaha. 2 top prospects for a pitcher who has been in the league for 4 seasons with a BB/9 above 4 and an ERA of 4.50 and you expect the YANKEES to add TWO top prospects?
Check the player page you’re on. You might be on Carassco’s.
Your Indians practically gave up nothing to get him (along with Brantley). Why should the Yankees give up an All Star and top prospects for only 3 years of control for a player who has “potential”
You obviously overvalue Bauer and undervalue Gardner.
his value is based on what the indians gave up to get him? i guess jake arrieta for a bag of balls is a fair deal for all teams then
Explain to me what Bauer has done that a team should trade two top prospects and an AS for him?
Cashman would and should be fired immediately
As I said to him, keep overvaluing a player who COULD be good and undervaluing a player who IS good.
Bauer is essentially a high end prospect. He’s young and has as good of stuff as there is in the game. Yeah, he hasn’t pitched to it. But there’s good reason to think he can. It’s not like a hitter with a flaw in his approach. Bauer has overpowering stuff that, on its own, makes him a usable piece. Add to that a ceiling of a Cy Young candidate, and you won’t find too many guys with higher value.
I’d take Bauer as buy-low player. Change of scenery will help.
Thank you for the compliment
I think the keyword you put though, as chicubbies said, is potential. As Steve pointed out, he’s had lots of control issues. The Yankees would have him for 4 years I believe whereas the Indians would have Gardner for 3 years
Despite a second half struggle, Gardner still finished the season with a 3.3 WAR. Bauer has a 3.0 WAR the past 2 seasons Combined
The only issue here is $, but $13 million for a 3-4 WAR player is pretty fair IMO
Not sure Cleveland has budget for Gardner
Carlos Carrasco or Jose Quintana will look very nice in Dodgers blue.
And your fine with giving up puig or pederson to get it done?
Puig will be traded this off season. Of that there is no doubt. It’s just a matter of WHO the trade him to and what they want in return.
The one thing working AGAINST LAD in getting rid of Puig is the fact that all other teams know that the Dodgers have issues with him and that they are fairly desperate to get rid of him.
I’d definitely consider trading Puig for Carrasco or Salazar. I think it would help both teams.
I would be, given their contact issues I’m not sure either is a solid MLB regular.
Yasiel Puig would “look very nice” in White Sox black and white pin stripes and even better preceding Jose Abreu in their lineup.
Jose Quintana is more valuable at this point. They’d have to add a prospect or two to get Q.
agreed brian. I’m a huge fan of Quintana and Puig but Quintana holds much more value at this point in time. I could see something like Quintana for Puig and Austin Barnes but that will obviously have its critics with other fans
I don’t know if there’s another player who posters around here value more inaccurately than Yasiel Puig. Even coming off a down year, he sits right between Upton and Cespedes for production over the last three years. Over the next three years, he will make COMBINED just slightly less than those guys are going to get per year. And he’s yet to play in what are considered peak production years for hitters.
People who are paid to evaluate talent by major league clubs tend to like guys with plus to plus-plus grades on multiple tools. A lot. If the Dodgers decide to trade Puig this winter (and as a fan of another NL West club, I REALLY hope they do, but suspect they won’t since Zaidi and Friedman are pretty smart fellas), they will get the largest total return of any trade that’s made.
you forget the fact that he now has a serious clubhouse issue thing hanging over his head. a team like the dodgers who are a win now team can’t even put up with it says a lot. he also has shown to be injury prone. great player, but comes with a lot of baggage. baggage does weigh down his value.
Meh – there’s a lot of TALK about clubhouse stuff outside the clubhouse. There’s pretty limited (the father of a 5th outfielder who mistakenly thinks he’s more notwithstanding) proof that the organization is actually concerned about it.
I never specified a straight a straight one for one deal, just suggested that Yasiel Puig might be the centerpiece in any deal sending Jose Quintana to the Dodgers.
That comment definitely wasn’t directed at you.
Would be awesome if some how the Red Sox can trade for Salazar, he would look great in a Red Sox uniform.
I feel like he is so inconsistent that if he has the slightest “soft” personality the media would eat him alive after a couple blow up games. They would then completely ignore the games that he comes in and dominates. Then if he folds under the pressure then we killed a promising young pitcher.. again.
Can the twins really put $25 million towards a reliever? Maybe if it was a guy like Giles
I wouldn’t think they’d dish out a contract like that for Soria due to Nolasco and Santana being on the books and I really can’t see them meeting the Phillies asking price for Giles. Burdi has looked much better in the AFL, so I could see them giving him a shot if he can carry his performance into the spring before committing so many resources to one guy in the pen.
The major value of Giles right now is that he doesn’t have that pricetag attached and you don’t have to spend top-of-the-market dollars to control him until he’s 30. I’d bet on Soria outproducing him on the field over the next few years.
From the Cubs perspective I think Baez and an outfielder like McKinney would get carrasco or Salazar. That being said I think the Cubs should only make a trade for a young rotation arm if they dont have to give up castro or baez or soler.
From a Cubs perspective Baez for anything of value would be a steal because the only thing he’s proven so far is that he can’t hit major league pitching.
He can mash home runs though and that bat speed! bat speed that still results in a 30% k rate.. personally think he is a lot of hype
22 years old, batted .289 last year (.333 in playoffs), excellent fielder and low salary.
Playoffs. What, like 20 at bats?
His September call up numbers are just that. He hasn’t made an adjustment in his approach. Until he does, every year he’s in the league is a blessing.
All of that is true but if the Cubs are really trying to compete heavily for the next 5 years there would be no reason to trade any of the 3 players I mentioned. Baez looks good enough in the field and has the bat speed and clear clutch instinct to be a very good hitter at the major league level. Bat speed/swing mechanics looks like a 40 home run guy, contact issues knock that down to 25-30 a year though. But a plus defender who hits 30 home runs a year at 2nd base? Thats hard to find, the only thing I would say is the ideal scenario for him is him being on a team that he is one of the only guys with a strike out problem. With bryant and soler around him thats just too many strike outs in the same lineup
In order for Baez to hit 30 home runs, he’d need to get 700 at bats. If he gets 700 at bats, I doubt he hits over .200
The Cubs do have a lot of young talent that should be mostly untouchable. Baez is neither of those things. He’s a project player with little chance of success that they shouldn’t have the patience for given their window is now open.
I disagree with the little chance of success part of what you said. He’s already shown he is capable of having success this year, we have Castro and Baez and they serve as each others’ insurance policy for right now and it’s a damn cheap insurance policy at that. But I trust our front office more than any in the MLB and they know a lot more about baseball than any of us so I think they will make the right decision whatever that is
Castro had an 83 or lower OPS+ two of the last three years and plays horrible defense. If he didn’t have a contract, he’d be out of baseball. He’s not a security blanket, the Cubs need to address the depth at that position because neither guy is likely at all to be the answer.
Tyson Ross is a far better pitcher than Carrasco, Salazar or Bauer, who also is available
Carrasco is a lot better than Ross. Salazar is comparable.
I’d consider both superior to Ross. But, even if your preference is for Ross, he’ll earn about $10MM in 2016 though and is only controllable for two more years, probably at a total of around $24MM.
Carrasco is owed a guaranteed $19.7MM through 2018 and has a pair of club options valued at $9MM and $9.5MM. He’s controllable for five years at a max of $37.5MM (barring Cy Young-based incentives to escalate his option values to $13MM each).
Five years of Carrasco, at that rate, has considerably more value than two of Ross in the $24-25MM range.
Speaking of Ross, do you think the Padres buy out his arb and extend him for 5 years for 60 million?
That doesn’t seem like enough to me. I think a starting point would be 5/80MM at least.
Exactly. $12M/yr is the average of what he’s looking at through arb this year and next. It certainly doesn’t buy any FA years. Draven, you’ll have to forgive us shellshocked Padres fans. We’re still figuring out what open market pricing in this day and age looks like!
Trading Chris Sale would likely signify a rebuild or retooling with the White Sox. However, a deal involving Jose Quintana may not, especially if it involves trading for a comparably young and controllable MLB talent like Yasiel Puig.
I stated this above already but Q at this point is way more valuable than Puig. Dodgers would have to add a good prospect or two for Q along with Puig.
Puig’s value is so low he’d have to be a throw in with much more valuable guys to get someone like Quintana.
Only way I would give up one of the Indians rotation arms is for someone like Puig, Pederson or Bautista. Someone who is going to push them over that offensive hump they couldn’t get over last year. I can’t see an outfielder like Brett Gardner or Kevin Pillar doing that. They’re both great players, but not what the Indians need to be adding. Especially if it’s Gardner. (Unless they want Tomlin or TJ House. Then sure.)
So i take it the Indians are searching for an impact left handed hitting outfielder? Anything else?
How do the white sox not know what there plans are? What has Rick Hahn been doing since the last day of the season? Clearly not working, because if he was the white sox would have a plan. I blame Kenny Williams and his garbage mind for a lot of the white sox issues. This organization is pathetic. One of the worst ran teams in the game. The white sox make it more difficult each year to be a fan, attendance numbers reflect the dissatisfaction with the big league club.
Regards,
An upset fan
I think there’s a power struggle in the front office. I think Hahn wants to rebuild while Kenny wants to go for it. It’s evident that Kenny still has a ton of influence on what happens (pushing Rick not to deal Samardzija early July, sources confirmed).
Kenny Williams mind-set of evaluation is utterly awful. Young, toolsy position players is his MO and it costs the White Sox a lot in his years as GM. One of the worst draft records for a GM in terms of outcome and I’m sure Sox fans are still upset over his awful draft pick history with only 1 notable draft pick in Chris Sale. Skipping over Grichuk and Trout in 09 is one of his worst mistakes ever
still love addison reed for matt davidson
I don’t think either of those guys have shown any proclivity to execute either of those plans, short of Kenny Williams in a single season a decade ago.
Best move White Sox could make doesn’t involve any players. They just need to get rid of their entire management. From Williams and Hahn to Ventura. Until that happens, there really isn’t any reason to believe they’ll be better in five years, let alone this year.
Living in chicago Rick Hahn has been a massive improvement from Kenny and its beyond noticeable with what their minors system looks like now. That power struggle may be keeping Hahn from going after it completely to make the team his. I’m with you on axing Williams, Ventura, and Buddy Bell. I’ll give Hahn one more year to show dividends in his objectives.
Real issue may be Reinsdorf being too loyal to those he is close with. He has more than enough money yet won’t pay up, he won’t fire someone because they are his friend, and he won’t turn up the org because of the cost it would have on him. The whole organization is in a flux. I truly feel bad for White Sox fans
Living in Chicago Rick Hahn is the exact same thing as Kenny Williams. His offseason moves were scattered between trying to contend and giving up on the season. He spent money on aging mediocre players and left glaring holes that no team trying to compete would ever be able to overcome. On top of that, he traded assets for one year of a pitcher who he then allowed his coaching staff to absolutely ruin by forcing him to throw a cutter in leiu of what he was successful with and sticking with that approach for months even though it wasn’t working.
No, Rick Hahn isn’t the answer in Chicago. He’s probably worse than Kenny Williams. At least Williams tried to fill roster holes.
I thought the Sox did a great job last offseason with their additions. As well as just about everyone else. It didn’t work out. I think they can compete. If they are not in the race by trade deadline, it will be time to blow the team up. This will be the time they will get the most from their assets.
i hated all their deals last off season. multi year deal to a guy who should be a loogy, melky has the worst skillset you can ask for from an aging veteran (contact orientated approach) as long as already being a terrible defender when they already have 2 other below average defenders in the OF. signing laroche when they have abreu. you can get a 1b/dh pretty easy and that money should have been used for that 3B hole.
I just want to see what my Reds do. Whatever they do, I hope it speeds things up. Bruce is a great talent, but is too streaky and impatient at the plate. Gets fooled often. DatDudeBP, Chapman, and especially Frazier–I’ll admit, I’m not crazy about it. I wish they could get rid of Bailey and his stupid contract. After all these years and all the hype, he’s been great twice–his two no hitters, the second of which I was fortunate to be at with a friend in 2013. Other than that,it’s been all mediocrity .
It makes you wonder if the Dodgers didn’t give up Darnell Sweeney in the Utley deal if he could’ve been enough (plus maybe a PTBN) for perhaps a Carrasco.
no, definitely not enough. Sweeney is not exactly a sure-thing prospect and may not even be an everyday player. Why would the Indians take him in exchange for 5 years of a stud pitcher? He would be a nice second piece in addition to a team’s top prospect.
lol what? sweeney is the PTBN hes basically a throw in that will play 5-10 years as a utility guy. dodgers fans always seriously over rated the guy.
Tigers fans/writers seem to love the idea of having their old players come back. Why?
1. Fister: Not sure this makes sense at $10MM. Much better to get another 2 relievers at the same pricetag.
2. Raburn: No way. Comerica is big. Raburn cannot handle it. DH is taken.
3. Davis: Probably makes some sense because he can play both CF and LF. If they think that Collins will take over here, then they should sign Davis as 4th OF insurance.
4. Soria: No. His asking price is way too much. Much better to just wait at this point and get some leftovers from the Free Agent crop.
I am not sure why the Tigers could not afford Heyward. They have spent $7.5MM out of their $40MM free agent budget. Heyward would cost a lot in total contract value, but the AAV could be reasonable. He is still only 26. Give him an opt out clause after 4 years and he likely will take it.
I’ll bite here…
1. I have heard a few fans talking about Fister. Most of which are not ok with 10m per season, but rather an incentive laden deal. Which I would be ok with. I don’t think it’ll happen as I think someone will pay him more than the Tigers would be willing to, but I’d be ok with something in the $5MM range with incentives on a one year for him to rebuild value.
2. Haven’t heard much about Raburn. I’d be ok with him(again on the cheap) as a fourth OF. His defense has been about average… and he couldn’t play any CF, but he may be an option as a 4th OF type.
3. See Raburn. Same deal except he could spell in CF too. Less power, more speed. Depends on how AlAv wants to build his team I suppose.
4. Agreed, too expensive. I’d rather not wait too long. I’m still holding out hope of snagging Bastardo or Kelley.
Lastly, on the subject of Heyward. Rumors have pegged him at an AAV near or over 20M. If the Tigers sign him(and I agree that they do have the room to do so), who do you get for starting pitching? Detroit needs at least one solid SP. Right now the only spots filled are JV(poor start of the season, possibly recovering still from surgery/injury. I’m optimistic), Sanchez(some injury concern and a poor season last year… I’m hopeful), Norris(rookie essentially. I expect some growing pains, but I’m hopeful he can slot in as a number 4/5 pitcher). So, even if you give the 5th spot to one of Lobstein, Ryan, Fulmer, Boyd… you’ve gotta get a #2/3 type pitcher to fill in. If we spend 20 million on Heyward and we have 9.5 million on K-rod(see blessyouboys article explaining how the buy out on his option and his deferred money count against this years salary cap unless option is picked up), that only leaves you with 10.5 mil to get another relief arm and at least one starter. Frankly, if I’m spending 20 million on someone, I’d prefer Zimmerman.
We want soria because he was good with us. And we needed bullpen and to me shockingly delt him for Jones. I don’t want Raburn back because he doesn’t have his versatility any more. I also dislike Collins. I would love to have Hayward. On fister, he had his best years here in Detroit, with our new pitching coach we can maybe teach him new things unlike the Nationals who’s whole coaching staff got fired.
1.It would be better to get Fister for $5-8MM with incentive options as Sokane said, but if he produces, great. If not, he could be a valuable pen piece. For $10MM, AJ Happ could be a better option if we don’t fill the #2-3 spot with a lefty (I like Chen here if we can’t get Zimmerman).
2.You are absolutely, 10,000% correct about Rayburn.
3.I prefer Aoki over both Davis and Collins. For $12MM they could sign both Davis and Aoki. Aoki is a OBP machine who can leadoff, be the perfect table setter, and play solid defense. He is an excellent contact hitter who can score runners from third and move the order as a 7-9 bat.Perfect PH with men in scoring position to put the bat on the ball. Davis splits time with Gose and Aoki and all three will supply speed from the bench. Collins can be the 5th outfielder or trade bait. It seems odd that Avila is basing so much of his decision on Collins being the answer to work around.
4. Not sure how much influence our new PC has but Happ and Ryan Madson worked for him in Philly. Madson could be a sleeper for the bullpen and both players pass the “old players come back” test as it pertains to Rich Dubee.
I’m fascinated by the pricing on the middle and back end relievers as it relates to starters. It seems everyone wants to be KC (how often can you say that?) but the “market inefficiency” that KC may have discovered is moving more towards “efficient”. I get the idea of the lights-out guy in the high leverage situation, but I would prefer a solid (not star) starter who could give 6-7 IP per game and not always tear into the bullpen early. And, with the quantity of power arms coming up through the drafts, you can see how it’s possible to put together a cheaper bullpen of high 90’s throwers. Any thoughts?
Agree, I think Toronto should keep going with that direction and even strengthen that idea. Look at , if you got young light out guys keep em, you got a whole bullpen for 5 million,
As a cubs fan I would love to see them trade for carrasco than drop 25-30 million a year on price. Would Baez,Soler and Mckinney get it done? Too much?
That would get you Carrasco yes, may be a slight overpay, but you never know what other teams are bidding.
Cubs should stay away from Price mainly due to the restrictions he would cause them in terms of spending. Arrieta will surely clear 180+ with the way he has been performing and having Carrasco on top of that you’re looking at a rotation worth close to 150mm a year between lester, price, carrasco, and arrieta alone
Doug Fister has suffered through a little bit of a velocity dip in 2015. However, I think he will be the best value on the Free Agent Market for any team that signs him. My Braves are rebuilding, but even I hope they sign Doug Fister. If it doesn’t work out then we lose a few million. If it does then at the trade deadline you would have a guy who has a pretty good track record over the past few seasons and an anamoly season in 2015 that is uncharacteristic from the rest of his body of work. Velocity also isn’t really the name of Fister’s game, and having him around some of our young guys and teaching them how to pitch and not just throw would be great. He’ll probably sign a $8-$10 Million dollar contract or $22-24 over 2 years and It will be one of those great bargain basement signings. He never could really get into a rhythm last season. He has also always been a guy who turns in strong second half numbers. Like The Mark Teixeria / Adam Laroche of pitchers. The thing for Fister is that he wasn’t in the rotation in the 2nd half.
All of that being said, The Kansas City Royals will probably scoop in and sign Doug Fister and turn him around like they have done with Chris Young.
Poor Rick Hahn – as long as Kenny Williams is calling the shots, the White Sox are in bad shape. I bet KW wanted to hold on to the Shark at the trade deadline, when that was the perfect time to start the re-build.
Ken Williams destroyed that franchise after their title. Letting the big hurt go just to trade for Thome was beyond idiotic for any GM to do
Blockbuster suggestion of hot stove league. Sale and Quintana and eaton to Cubs for Addison Russell kris Bryant soler Javier Baez cj Edwards and wil contreras. Cubs would then sign Zobrist.
I like Salazar and carrasco, young strikeout pitchers are what we need, i seriously doubt Cleveland would trade either of them, it would take Baez and solget plus from the Cubs for one so I doubt we can afford it, id package around almost anybody in our farm system atm lol
I wouldn’t bother with Bauer he can’t help us at all
If the Tigers plan on signing Rayburn or Bringing back davis and Bringing back Fister then they dont plan on spending any money at all.This is a joke and the fans here wont be happy about being lied too.