This afternoon, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports released a news-filled column with rumblings from around the league. The whole article is worth a read, but here’s a look at some of the highlights:
- The Braves are shopping first baseman Freddie Freeman, according to officials from three different clubs that have spoken with Rosenthal. One of Rosenthal’s sources added that the possibility of Freeman getting traded was “the talk of the [Arizona] Fall League” among scouts earlier this month. Freeman’s salary is set to rise from $12MM in 2016 to $20.5MM in ’17 and the Braves might not want to pay out those salaries as they look to rebuild. After trading shortstop Andrelton Simmons, it’s clear that the Braves are not too fearful of the fan backlash that comes from trading star players.
- Another official asserts that the Braves are “shopping everyone owed money.” That could mean that the likes of right-hander Julio Teheran, right fielder Nick Markakis, and center fielder Cameron Maybin are for sale. Earlier today, we learned that some folks within the Orioles organization would be open to a reunion with Markakis. After a down year, Teheran’s value isn’t as high as that of Simmons, but Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com recently wrote that there’s a “good chance” that he would be made available.
- Sources tell Rosenthal that the Braves “are talking to a number of…non-compensation free agents, including some veteran relievers.” Ultimately, Rosenthal writes, it’s hard to tell what the Braves’ goal is in 2016. In the end, the gameplan might be to sell off Freeman and Teheran, land even more prospects, and land a top choice in the 2017 draft.
- The Padres are shopping right-hander Tyson Ross and outfielder Matt Kemp, major league sources tell Rosenthal. Kemp is owed $86MM over the next four years and Rosenthal wonders aloud if the two players could be packaged together in order to facilitate a deal. Ross, 29 in April, is under club control for two more seasons. In 2015, he pitched to a 3.26 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 across 33 starts. Kemp, meanwhile, posted a .265/.312/.443 slash line that was below his career average with 23 homers in 2015 while playing poor defensively.
- Sources say that the Cubs will “at least explore” the trade interest they are getting in right fielder Jorge Soler and infielder Javier Baez, Rosenthal writes. Meanwhile, the Cubs do not intend to move third baseman Kris Bryant, shortstop Addison Russell or left fielder Kyle Schwarber. If the Cubs were to move Soler or Baez, they would likely seek their pitching equivalent, meaning a player with similar service time and talent that’s roughly the same age.
- The Rays are getting bites on relievers Jake McGee and Brad Boxberger, particularly after the Craig Kimbrel deal, according to sources. Furthermore, teams are also zeroing in on Rays starters.
they are stupid if they trade kemp he has been such a big asset to the padres last season they should not trade him just because his defense isnt good his offense was productive alot
Agreed. He’s owed a lot of oney, but his offensive upside is beneficial. Plus packaging him brings ross value down. Trade ross, get a good package, and with a good defense CF LF kemps defense wont be an issue as much in RF as you can shift to support him. They have great defenders in jankowski and upton jr.
Why would we want to trade Tyson?
because they cant compete with their team
not sure the Pads cant compete in 2016 with or without him. Would for sure be interested in knowing what is being offered for him. Could also see the Padres give him a new contract to buyout the Arb years and maybe even become more attractive to the both the Padres and teams looking to acquire him.
He’s 29 with 2 years of arb left coming off back to back quality seasons. Padres waited too long to trade Headley and should trade Ross while his value and demand is high, so probably after the big free agent pitchers dominoes fall.
For instance. Ozuna is unhappy in miami. Trading them ross and others yields an ML ready CF for years.
Padres wouldn’t want Ozuna at the moment but ya the past front office and ownership waited to long on Headley but Ross is a totally different case. Pads may trade him if the return is right but it’s not necessary. At the moment the Padres have enough outfielders including CF’s
What makes you so sure his value isn’t going to stay high? I mean he has been that good for a while. Headley was only good for about 2 months.
until i know exactly that the Padres are getting i’ve got no clue as to why
Don’t worry. No one want him anyway.
Exactly.
Actually when you factor in how bad he was defensively he was basically replacement level in 2015. And then consider the fact that the Padres owe him $70m over the next 4 years. They definitely need to trade him to an AL club.
70m for 4 years isnt bad especially for his offense because his offense is great especially the 2nd half and ross is our best starter
Padres can’t afford to pay $70m to a guy with a big bat and no position. They already had that problem (on a smaller scale) with Carlos Quentin.
70m for 4 years of Kemp as a DH isn’t too bad but we would still have to eat some of his contract and take back like a AAAA reliever to trade him. And he has no business being in the NL anymore. As I mentioned his defense was so bad in 2015 that his WAR was basically 0. That means we would have won as many games with a replacement level right fielder as we won with Kemp.
17 mill a year batting 3rd or 4th in the lineup, playing one of the corner OF postions while hitting .270/.350/.450. 25 hr’s,100 Rbi’s, 15 SB is a good price. Another year removed from major injury could improve his range Defensively, he’s already got a strong arm. Again like a lot of Padres, very interested in knowing what the returns would be at this point
I think the Theo would have to be insane to trade schwarber. I truly think he his their best hitter
Against righties, maybe (although I’d still take Rizzo). Against lefties, no way. Last year he was below replacement.
small sample size?! 61 PA”s the first time he is facing major league pitching of the same handedness. i think we can overlook that. look at rizzo’s splits vs lefties his first few years compared to last year then come back here.
he really doesn’t have a position, he’d be worth more to an AL team than he is to the cubs
I’m willing to wait and give him a full spring to work in LF. He could be sevicable and that’s all they need. His job is to rake.
I don’t get why people say that. If the Kid can bump that average to .270 and mash 40 HRs I couldn’t give two s**** about his fielding in LF. Manny Ramirez anyone? Schwarber is 10 times better defensively than Ramirez…. but so am I.
The Orioles need to jump and get Freeman and Markakis from the Braves. I’d say a package of Dylan Bundy or Hunter Harvey with Christian Walker would get that done. God knows the Braves love their young pitching prospects. Trade fits both teams agendas/needs.
Bundy he gets hurt too much. He’s even eligible for rule 5 draft.
Agreed. But still an elite prospect who they could start now. Harvey would probably be the center of the trade with Walker being a pretty good bet to start at 1b for the Braves. Plus, the main thing here is a salary dump for the Braves, lowers the price significantly.
Harvey’s hurt too, or was end of last year. Bundy has no value at all because he’s out of options. I don’t think O’s have the pieces to make any major trade unless they consider Gausman tradeable.
Harveys injury is minor, no UCL problems, just shoulder soreness due to the mismanagement of his innings. But he’s still a top 60 prospect, which is plenty for freeman.
No it’s not. Freeman is going to cost two to three top 100 prospects. And ones that have a good health record too. Harvey and Bundy just have too many health questions right now.
Salary of 22mil after this year, negative WAR defensively. He’s not worth what Simmons was.
Defensive WAR? LMAO please don’t use that in a discussion..that stat is one of the worst in baseball right alongside a pitchers win
What’s a better statical representation of defensive efficiency?
Advice: If you don’t know what a stat is, don’t use it.
dWAR has a positional adjustment in it. So every 1B you look at, will have a negative dWAR. That doesn’t mean they are a bad fielder. It means they are playing the easiest(least valuable) position to play.
mainly, unless they are worth 12 uzr/150 then they will still be positive. but its hard for a 1b to be worth that much. 11 is the adjustment number
Exactly. Even the adjustments are not perfect. Defensive stats are pretty hard to understand. You really need to take a broad look at all information available(not saying you, just in general)
Gotcha. Didn’t know that was the case for 1b.
Defensive Runs Saved would probably be your best defensive stat. But it still has a lot if noise in it.
all firstbaseman have negative defensive war, its adjusted for the positon 1b= -11 i believe is the adjustment. he was worth 6.6 uzr/150 and 3 defensive runs saved last year. the defensive ratings punish first for being the easiest position to play, along with dh.
To much goes into WAR and especially defensive WAR and a lot of it is silly, such as defensive range, which players home stadiums have a lot to do with that particular part. To me the easiest is still the most simple, they eye test. I am a Braves fan and I watch Freeman play most games. He will make the plays he gets to and he wont cost you runs with his fielding. His range isnt the best and that is where his war number takes a hit in part. I just think it is a flawed metric.Just my opinion especially when one throws it out there when comparing players..like farther below Duda vs Freeman..if they have the same defensive WAR it does not make them equal talents from just that one thing..
the fact that hes positive on both drs and uzr throughtout his career and scouts call him plus there allow me to trust the stats on this one…
Just because you haven’t taken the time to learn how to properly use a stat, does not make it silly.
The health issues should give ATL pause, though I disagree 3 top 100…2 at most and a lottery ticket, at most.
If that’s true, than yea, that’s about what Freeman’s worth.
was with you until you said plenty for freeman, which is lol not true. he can be a centerpiece but chance sisco would have to be in the deal especially with the braves looking for a catcher.
That’s what I meant. Not Freeman straight up for Harvey. Harvey as the centerpiece with mid level guys added. I’d be hesitant to part with Sisco but I’d probably do that deal.
Not that he is eligible for rule 5, he is out of options.
No he’s not. He’s on the 40.
That’s not nearly enough for just Freddie, honestly. Anyone who wants him will have to clean out the top of their prospect list to get it done.
18 hrs and 66 RBI’s last year and an inflating salary number. Though he had no protection in the lineup. I don’t see that being worth several top prospects. One elite level “A” guy and a mid level. Not like he’s cost controllable at a low salary.
In 118 games with no protection in the lineup. First season he’s playing in less than 147 games. He’s an elite 1B on both sides on the diamond who’s only 25. You’d have to clean out your farm.
ehh not sure I’d go far that, he’s an above average 1b, seems more accurate.
all star caliber. but elite is more in line with mvp candidates.
He was 5th in MVP in 2013..before they blew the team up of course..with a team around him those are the numbers I expect from him, even improving on them. Meaning, I do consider him an MVP candidate on a good team.I am sure people will disagree but I think he has it in him in his peak years.
He missed a chunk of the season so just throwing out stats like that is misleading and doesnt really mean a lot.
Think logically and not from an Atlanta Brave’s fan perspective: Adrian Gonzalez LT deal is paying him just a tad less annualy.. He puts up same numbers, a tad more production and Gonzo has one of the best 1b mitts in the game, something Freeman doesn’t have. Gonzo, CC and beckett brought back decent kids, Webster and DeLaRosa as main chips. Can say Crawford was a dump, but Gonzo had value. Anyway.. No way Freeman, using that logic empties any top prospect garnering 22m over the next 5y.
Exactly.
Freeman is 26..Gonzo was 30…Freeman is solid with the glove, defensive WAR is a crap stat, so to say he doesn’t have a glove is wrong.. Also had injuries this year and playing in what can only be described as a horrible offense..Will he break the bank on a trade, probably not but he is certainly worth more than some hurt dudes in Bundy and Harvey, they already have 3 guys they have acquired that were out for the year. Also, Braves wont be hurting for money so to say that his value goes down because they want to dump salary is just plain silly..to Colin who said that masterpiece..:)
Not an elite defender or bat and has a 20 mil salary after this year. Braves are rebuilding and want money for the 2017 free agent market. Why else would they be shopping him? If he’s what you described, why not keep him until you are ready to compete. The salary attached makes him less valuable, average glove, and a nice bat = one top 100 prospect and a couple mid level guys. My initial trade idea was Freeman and Markakis (which Markakis WOULD be a salary dump) for either Bundy or Harvey and Christian Walker. That’s extremely fair on both sides. Find me a comparable trade that nets more in return please.
because 2017 and 2016 are seperate budgets. they can pay him this year and trade him next. they need someone to draw fans.
I thought that Freeman got over payed right from the start.
look at the ages. gonzalez was 30 at the time of that deal. freeman is 25. so you get freemans prime as opposed to 1 prime year of agon. thats a huge difference. freeman is certainly worth more than gonzalez. also crawfords contract at the time brought negative value to the deal.
I’d be pretty angry if I were a Braves fan considering back in 2013 they won 96 games and seemed to be at the top of NL East for some time.
However, since I am a Padres fan, if Preller is truly shopping Ross and Kemp then that is a pretty obvious sign of a tear down because if Ross is being shopped, we know Cashner is too.
I think at least the Braves have a clearer plan than the Padres.
Yeah, with Kimbrel gone and now Kemp being shopped, it seems like Preller is just trying to hit the Rewind button from the moves he made last year.
FWIW…he is ahead on what he gave up and what he got for Kimbrel.
He got a nice slew of prospects, but even with factoring in Melvin Upton’s contract?
and down on every other deal. especially the kemp deal.
Yeah down on every other deal.
-Seth smith for brandon maurer down deal.
-Jesse hahn for derrick norris down deal.
-Max fried jace peterson for justin upton anda 1st rounder from the QO down deal.
-38 year old benoit and his salary for 2 prospects they didnt have before down deal.
Yup I can see how Preller is on the wrong side in each of those deals.
you left out the key piece in literally every deal you mentioned. mallex smith looks pretty freakin good, max fried was hurt if not he was a top 50 prospect so still talent there. jesse hahn got hurt, would hardly call that a win yet. seth smith was an average every day player for a reliever who threw 51 innings, id take the m’s side of that deal. how can benoit be a win when it should have been automatic to pick up that option and trade him, only an idiot wouldnt have been able to get “prospects” for him. they arent good prospects none the less. to summarize none of those deals are win’s for the pads. the only one you can argue is jesse hahn for derrick norris. they should have never traded for upton, they should have been rebuilding last year instead of the fight for mediocrity.
Especially the Kemp deal? Dodgers could have used Kemps right handed bat in the lineup during this years playoffs. Grandal past steriod use or whatever he was using makes these yearly injuries he’s having very predictable. Fed could also be used as the left handed swinging catching backup if Norris or Hedges is traded.
All of Prellers trades look much better at the end of 2015 after a lot of the traded prospects or players had down 2nd half of seasons in comparison.
I’d hope so with all those trades the past year
As a Braves fan, that team was the ceiling, not the floor. That’s the point. Maybe I didn’t expect this kind of retooling, but everything Wren touched should be thrown out. If Wren is the baby, throw out the bath water, then burn the bucket and sell the house and move out of the country. That’s the point.
I don’t see what the big deal is. They are gearing up for 2017 when they move into their new stadium. All the players they traded except Kimbrel and Simmons would have been gone by the time they moved into SunTrust anyway.
Baez to the mets for Wheeler. Cubs need pitching. Mets need a SS
Pirates? Freddie freeman?
I’d think he’d be too expensive.
Cards also have a need at 1b and prospects. So pirates woud be wise to part with talent to keep him out of a cards uniform. Plus 1st has been an issue for years. Fix it for years to come.
Not the Cards style or good strategy to shell out $20m a year for a 1B. They need to spend their $$ on Heyward (or a replacement) and a SP.
Agreed, but aren’t a lot of people connecting them with Chris Davis – for some unknown reason? Wouldn’t he be a $20M/year 1B…or would they move him?
Freeman is a perfect fit. Cheap this year(2016) and a lot of money coming off the book over the next couple years. There would still be plenty of room for Heyward.
Except the cards just signed their $billion and a half tv contract. They have a lot of holes, especially in the rotation and as conservative as they usually are, I think they make a big splash to try and keep Chicago and Pittsburg in the distance. They could even bring heyward back.
The teams are a good match. Braves just need to trade for position prospects.
I hope so but I think he is a little too pricey. About their only chance I think would be to include extra value so Atlanta kicks in cash. He would fill the biggest hole for pittsburgh in the field. They could ditch Pedro to the braves so dump a little salary too.
Perhaps the Giants could be a landing spot for Ross and kemp, they need a starter and a left fielder with pop/mlb experience. They have the cash to take on their contracts while possibly adding another starter from free agency, I’m sure the Padres just want to get kemps contract off the books
The teams the Braves should target for trade are the Red Sox, Pirates, Rockies and Cubs…
best hitting prospects in the game.
Cuba 1b is pretty well filled with Rizzo…
Well obviouslly not freeman to cubs.. Miller would look good with the Cubs
Cubs need to go after Miller and Teheran
which is also schwarbers problem :p
Rockies aren’t going to spend that big on a 1B, but you have the right targets. If the Braves want to trade pitchers, I’m sure Denver is listening.
I don’t know. I might like them trading for Freeman. He has absolutely been a monster when playing against the Rox in his career. It might be nice to see what he can do for them. Plus, it’s not like Colorado has never had a highly paid 1B, heck they have basically had one for their entire history except for the past season. Although I would love for Teheran to be included as well. I think a package of Ben Paulsen, Eddie Butler, a low level lottery ticket, and adding in Braves Rule 5 pick Daniel Winkler so the Braves don’t have to keep him on the big league roster all next year MIGHT work.
Teheran and Freeman for Meadows and Bell.
I really don’t know if Boston could swing a deal for Freeman unless Hanley is moved in a contingent deal. Otherwise thats $40 mil for 1 position
Hmm being a mets fan freeman interests me. If offer Duda and wheeler for him because I feel he is a more complete player then Duda but wheeler entices their future rotations
gonna take more then that.. i’d swap wheeler out for matz tho
Not enough.
More than enough. Freeman isn’t THAT good. He averages about 3 WAR a full season, maybe a touch more, and he is about to make $20m. Not a lot of excess value there. Wheeler alone is probably too much.
Braves don’t want Duda. He’s not enough.
Except if you consider years of control, Duda is actually worth more than Freeman, by quite a bit. People give him grief but Duda’s OPS+ was in the 130’s the last couple years, with WAR in the 3’s. That’s very similar to Freeman, but he’s much cheaper. Of course, Duda is a FA in 2018, so there’s that.
Stop with the WAR crap lol..worst stat ever invented
its not if used properly. but looking at a season in which a player is hurt you need to prorate over the course of the whole year. especially when they already have a meaningful sample before said year.
It is when you use it to try and justify that one player is better than another when they clearly are not….just by throwing that WAR number out there so many damn times. Duda is not equal to or better than Freeman just because of a silly WAR number..sorry lol I just hate how its thrown out there like its the be all and end all.
he was worth over 3 in only 75% of a season. prorates to 4-5 war player.
You lost me at “Duda is worth more than Freeman”. Freeman is one of the best hitters w/RISP in the game and his power numbers will keep growing, along with a great contact rate.
wheeler doesn’t have that much value right now because he’s coming off an injury.
Man would I love to see Ross in the old English D. Sadly, the state of the Tigers farm(even post cespedes/price trade) is fairly poor. Not sure there’s a match in there without taking away from their projected big league roster
I totally agree. Plus, attaching Kemp’s contract could help drive Ross’ price down a bit. Granted, taking on yet another $20MM contract would be rough, but a trade for Ross and Kemp could kill two birds with one stone for the Tigers.
That’s a large chunk of the available salary considering they would still likely need another starter and to supplement their bullpen a bit
Agreed. If what Avila’s said is true, the acquisition of Kemp’s contract would give them roughly $20-25MM left over to sign a pair of bullpen arms and another starter.
Work a package with Iggy for Ross?
Perhaps a package around Iggy (+ a high, and mid–level prospect?) could also net some cash from the Padres to lessen the burden on the Tigers’ payroll.
Dixon Machado has also shown his glove to be MLB-ready, but it all depends on how badly the Padres want that payroll flexibility Preller lost last season.
That creates a hole at SS. If Machado is ready to step in, I could get behind it. But creating a hole in the middle infield to snag a pitcher seems counter intuitive.
I dislike this trade as a Tigers fan. This shortens their window of contention. I would focus on free agency or starters with significant control left, not one with only 2 years left
I believe that the Dodgers still owe $3.5MM per year on Kemp’s contract, making it $18.25MM net cost on only a 4 year deal. No FA with his power numbers will sign for less,but his defense is a major concern. Tiger would be better off using that money to lock in J.D. for 6 years.
When looking at the $$$ for Kemp(or Upton) and Ross, you are talking about the same money to get Zimmerman and Rajai Davis and not losing Iggy or Machado.
Boy would Freddie Freeman look good in a Red Sox uniform…
Devers + Bentendi?
No thanks
Yeah I wouldn’t get you’re hopes up…
thats hanleys position now. gl with that
Freeman and Teheran for Matt Adams, Pham, Alex Reyes, Tim Clooney and Marco Gonzalez
Can you imagine what the Braves depth cart would look like after a trade like that? They’d literally have enough arms in AAA and MLB to fill four rotations, all about the same development level and all (except Reyes and Newcomb) about the same talent level. They’d be able to trade starting pitchers by the volume.
Not enough for Freeman and Teheran.
Teheran really is nothing special, as a cards fan I’d rather just trade for Freeman and look elsewhere for pitching.
Could see a three way trade in that department. Include a team with deep pitching depth, throw some prospects and a major league ready player in and see who gets interested in that.
Even equally amazing, the Cards could make that deal and still have 5 starting level outfielders and a rotation of Wacha, Waino, Teheran, CMart and Jaime Garcia
Not a rotation I’d want. Talented, but not a guy in it except Teheran who’s not a walking time bomb injury-wise. And no depth.
Every pitcher is a walking time bomb injury wise.
ew….
heres our spare parts and one good prospect in alex reyes. not happening.
M’s need to be in on freeman to pair with cano in the middle of there order
Who are they gonna give up? You’d start with Walker and Paxton, I don’t think Dipoto is gonna go that route.
shot in the dark where do u think he ends up
Cards or pirates
I think he ends up in Atlanta. Braves are trading a franchise-kind of player that is locked up for another 6 years on a below market value deal.
They’re going to require a return similar to Cole Hamels and then some, something that just about every team in baseball is gonna have a hard time paying.
If I really wanted to take a shot in the dark, I’d maybe guess the Astros.
Gattis isn’t anything special, they’re probably going to nontender Carter and Singleton’s value is plummeting.
Start with Appel, Singleton, Daz Cameron and then some.
Houston has AJ Reed though.
Not below market at all. Freeman averages a little over 3 WAR a season, including his one great year when he did 5.7 and may have been his peak. He’s about to make over $20 a season. That’s about market.
His WAR the last three seasons: 5.7, 2.9, 3.4 or 5, 4.2, 3.4 if you use Fangraphs. The last season was only in 118 games.
Sure, averaging his career fits your argument better but I find it unlikely he is going to revert into his age 21-22 seasons, which weigh down that average, heading into his prime years. He is a 4 WAR player at this point and one would expect that production or better going forward.
u proposed that crap deal from the cardinal but appel singleton and cameron is light?
Dark horse: HOU — They’d have a legit 1B that could allow them to move either of Carter, Valbuena or Gattis, who they should something for. And they should have the prospects and/or MLB-ready guys to do it. I could see ATL being interested in someone like Preston Tucker, maybe not as a centerpiece.
Eh, I don’t think 1B is that big of a need for them with Trumbo and Montero, and D.J. in the minors. I wonder if Markakis might be a bit better of a fit for them?
They’re making it very hard to be a Braves fan, if it’s true they’re shopping Freeman.
Yes, but there’s hope. Hang in there – at least we have a front office that will do whatever it takes to win.
Who will represent the Padres at the Home Run Derby and ASG if they both get traded?!
Predictions?
Wil Myers
Only if he is healthy. 🙂
Alexi amarista!
The only thing Amarista represents is the embarrassing state of the franchise.
I would only trade freeman if there was legit major league talent in the return. Someone like Arenado, or Sonny Gray. It’s not like they need more pitching prospects.
The way it’s going, Braves get back 3 low-level A pitchers lol :/
This. Lol I’m not even gonna be mad any more
I think Gray get’s traded sometime soon but I only see the cubs and the red sox who would make the deal for him.
Unless they are playing coy, they’ve said Gray is not being traded
Like they said Donaldson wasen’t , when his arb goes up they will trade him, he’s a perfect fit for the cubs right now
Gray is a Ace so the cost is to high for most teams. If the cubs trade of Shark and Hammels got them 2 top prospects the cost of trading for Gray would be at least 3. Baez, Sloer and Schwarber would be around the cost. Red sox bailed out because the cost was to high to obtain Gray. Donaldson cost the Jays 4 players 3 were top prospects and the 4th a major league 3b.
1 was a top prospect in barreto(80’s at the time) that was extremely far away. nolin and gravemen were floor guys that were big league ready. although neither can be anything more than back end starters. lawrie returning to his rookie season form was billy’s hope in that deal. if he was a 4 win player it doesnt look so bad. barretto is going to be a beast btw.
Nolin was ranked next to Norris and Strohman on the Jays top 10 list. Graveman just missed the top ten. Donaldson trade value at the time was not even as high as Gray’s value right now. You will rarely see a Ace traded that is not close to free agency since they have the most value. Boston trade for Kimble shows that teams are not trading young starters.
lol he was not ranked next to stroman after stroman already had 130 innings in the bigs under his belt and no longer had prospect status. and if there is a huge discrepancy between 5-10 whats the point of using the arbitrary number of 10? gravemen is a floor guy, those guys have value. hence a decent prospect ranking, doesnt me he can be anything more than back end. and teams are trading for starters, the cubs are looking to move soler for someone with similar age and control, this is just a pitching heavy free agent market, so only low payroll teams are really looking at the trade route.
There is different levels of “prospects”. The Cubs got Russell who joined the team the next year and McKinney who is projected to make the Cubs by 2017. Baez, Soler and Schwarber are a little more polished if they were to be traded -vs- who the Cubs got back in 2014.. All 3 of them will be on the 2016 opening day roster and all 3 have a good chance to be starters opening day. Gray is incredible but the Cubs won’t trade 3 starters for him.
That’s until Sonny calls Beane “Billy Boy”.
Gray isn’t getting traded. Get over it.
So … a 1B who averages a little over 3 WAR a season and makes $20m, for a gold glove 3B who is younger and at league minimum and hit 42 HR’s last year? Yeah, right.
Freeman is a 1B, first of all, which severely limits his value. And he’s just not that great, although very good. And he makes a lot of money. He’s not worth a good major league player. Couple prospects, including a Top 100, should do it.
Did you seriously just suggest Nolan Arenado for Freddie Freeman? Wow and I thought Boston fans were delusional, but you make them look like geniuses.
Calm down, I tried to set them straight. We won’t mention Mr. Arenado with anything but reverence and holiness. He’s not going anywhere. We get it. Have mercy on the weak.
From a fan perspective I agree, but ATL is building for 2017 and beyond….so prospects make more sense.
Representing the Voice of Reason, we won’t be getting someone like Sonny Gray back from OAK — especially if we expect OAK to take on Freeman’s salary, which won’t happen (a salary dump being the sole reason he’s being marketed) or Nolan Arenado, who is possibly the most valuable MLB player right now when you consider what he is currently making, his defensive value, and offensive breakout season. That’s like asking ARZ for Goldschmidt (with his insane deal) or Salvador Perez.
Kemp and Shields for Rusney, Sandoval and B prospect please
For Christ’s sake, stop trying to make Shields for Sandoval happen. It’s not going to happen!
It worked for him on mlb the show. It might just work
as a Padres fan, if the Sox kicked in 10 mill saving the pads 2.5 mill a year for the last 4 of Sandovals deal. Sandoval got into the best shape of his career afer spending a few offseasons in san diego. Can Panda play first? Can’t see another big deal happening with Red Sox. Shields & Kemp played much better in 2015 than given credit for, in 2016 could see an improvement out of the both of them.
if its REALLY true that Preller is shopping Kemp/Ross, to me that doesnt necessarily mean that he’s tearing everything down. My hunch is that he feels that he can put a seriously contending ballclub on the field, for bargain basement prices. Just the thought of that, rubs fans the wrong way, already….but look that the Royals. There is not one “superstar” on that team, not named Johnny Cueto…and the only guy in that lineup to hit 20 plus homers, and 100 plus RBI, was a reclamation project (Morales). But the Royals won with tight defense, singles and doubles, low strikout numbers, and a shut down bullpen.
Houston struck out more than KC, but again, you have a lot of CHEAP young guys on that team, that played like expensive veterans….and they were 5 min, from going to a pennant, when NO ONE on Earth, looked for them to contend for a WS, last season.
So, I know I’ll be one of the few that still believe Preller is doing the right thing…but my gut never lies to me. My head tells me all kinds of crap. Look at what AJP got for a closer in Kimbrel…two of Boston’s top 5 or 6 prospects with a 3rd prospect of the 4, being a leftie pitcher, who is the “sleeper” in the trade. So, if you wanna maximize value, in another trade, for a major league piece or two, and some more blue chip prospects, packaging Kemp and Ross in the same trade, a year after Kemp hit 100 rbi, and Ross looked better than the free agent pickup, Shields, now would be the time to trade them.
truth be told, I think Preller can get a better pitcher than Ross…Ross has a value that Cashner and Shields dont have right now, but there are guys “out there”, who are still better than Tyson Ross…but you’ll never know, if you dont attempt to tag those guys and stay on top of their progress or regression. If AJP can get a leftie starter, to go with Shields and Cash’, then you havent lost a whole lot.
as far as Desmond goes, I dont think AJP wants him as a SS….and Ive read that Desmond is willing to go to 3rd base or 1st, for the “right team”. He shouldve taken that 100 million that the Nats offered him two yrs ago, because now he’s not going to get anything close to that. He may get 70-80 million. But with his high strikeout rate, increasing 3 yrs running now and is errors increasing as well, teams are not going to be jumping over chairs to give him 25-30 per, for 5 or 6 more yrs and an option. Look at what happened to Adam Dunn some yrs ago…everybody thought he was in line for 100 million…and he ended up with something between 65-70 million, I think, with the ChiSox. And that guy was ALWAYS good for 40 homers, and 90-100 rbi.
this kid, Guerra…the Padres got from the Red Sox, is the long term solution to the Padres SS issues. And I read, the Padres are going to give him a shot at winning the SS gig, next Spring….so, Desmond is not being courted, by the Padres to be a SS, in my opinion.
I dont have a problem with Preller trading Ross/Kemp, if he can get something significant for them…this is the business of baseball. Sentimental value, should mean nothing, when you are a Padres fan who supports a new GM, who is trying to move this franchise in the right direction. Every move he’s made so far, I actually understood why he made them…a lot of folks dont like what he’s done, but I get it.
Guerra playing short and hitting from the left side for the Padres in 2016 would better than Amarista last year. Even at such a young age. Great post.
Just curious who you think is a better pitcher than Ross that the Padres can sign or trade for? Overall Ross was top 20 in just about every statistical category for a starting pitcher. Neither Shields nor Cash can say the same. Once Hedges started catching him full time he moved into the top 10 in almost every statistical category. What top 20 pitcher is available in FA or in trade? How much are they making?
As far as putting a contending team on the field, I think we are miles away from that. Right now I am pretty comfortable saying we have the worst bullpen in the league. We have massive holes at shortstop, 2B, LF, and CF. Kemp is our best offensive player, but he is a defensive liability. No two ways about that. We can hope that Myers and Alonso stay healthy, but neither has the past two seasons and they have had similar injuries. Norris is a good offensive catcher, but his skills as a game caller leave a lot to be desired and only one catcher in baseball gave up more stolen bases. Yes his CS% was good, but he still was run on to the tune of 84 stolen bases. Every pitcher on the team declined in performance with him behind the plate year over year. All in all the team is a mess with only Kemp and Solarte above league average for qualified hitters. Only Ross was better than league average for qualified starting pitchers and none of the remaining relievers were.
Desmond is going to get his big payday. This site says more than $100 million. Since the competition at SS is so shallow, he is going to rake in a big, long deal.
Guerra is the real deal, but he is 3+ years away. He played in full season ball for the 1st time in 2015 and struck out 112 times in 434 abs in the low A Sally league. He is not ready for prime time yet. He will be, but that day is not opening day 2016 or even 2017.
The bottom line is if Ross and Kemp go, so do Shields and Norris if not now, by the deadline in Norris case and the end of the year when Shields can opt out of his deal. The rebuild will be in full swing and Pads fans can look for the next contender in 2019 or 2020.
We don’t have a hole at 2B. We have Spangy and Gyorko there. And if 2015 is any indication Melvin Upton can handle CF (yes he’s overpaid, but what can you do?).
Norris giving up so many stolen bases was mostly due to the fact that NO ONE in the Majors was afraid of him. He came to the NL advertised as being bad at throwing out runners (altho some people speculated that that was more Jon Lester’s fault and now those people are looking pretty smart) and so runners tried to steal on him all the time and obviously the more chances you get to throw out baserunners, the more successes and failures you will have. In the end, as far as CS% goes, Norris was in the upper third of all Majors League catchers, which indicates to me that at the very least he is O.K. at throwing out runners. I don’t think runners will try to steal on him as frequently in 2016.
There is no way Shields opts out of his deal after 2016. Why would he want to leave $44m guaranteed over his age 35 and 36 seasons on the table?
I can’t believe the braves want to trade freeman , not sure who would want to trade for him , only team I see is boston maybe. O’s could but they would have to atleast give up gausman or harvey
Freeman for yoan mocado
Awful deal for the Sox. That would be highway robbery by the Braves. Haha
No thanks
Freeman + Miller for Moncada+ Bentendi +something
moncada might as well be untouchable
I’ve heard Braves are interested in Jorge Soler and Cubs are listening. Package Soler and a couple prospects they should land Teheran. Also I could see Baez and prospects going to San Diego for Ross. If you are a Cubs fan and see Teheran and Ross maybe Zimmermann I think they’d have a better chance. If the Cubs are looking at trading Soler and Baez I think they are looking at a big time FA outfielder as well.
soler and prospects mean they are going after miller, maybe both. soler for teheran straight up seems legit. more control for soler for somewhat more proven teheran.
Wasn’t it a couple of weeks ago that many were writing that a Teheran-for-Soler deal doesn’t seem plausible considering Teheran is coming off a relative down year? I believe in him, especially with his team-friendly deal.
Miller in Wrigley field is asking for trouble
dont think u realize how much more often the wind blows in
If the Cubs make a trade with the Padres, the Padres get more value than at last years deadline.
I’d say the most likely team to put up the kind of package the Braves would want for Freddie would be Boston. Still, I’d expect Atlanta to ask for Owens and Castillo, Bradley, or Betts and some lesser prospects, probably with Maybin for payroll reasons.
Even without Freeman, Boston and Atlanta match up really well. I’m expectant to see a pretty big deal between them.
Simba and Freddie have been my favorite Braves for a long while, it would be really hard to watch a team without either, I expected them to be lifelong Braves.
Boston needs an ace, they could convert Hanley to first, Or make shaw the first base men , Freeman would be awesome in boston imo but I think they need an ace more
Freeman + Miller could bring in a haul… maybe including even Moncada
its already been made official hanley will be playing first
No on Owens. Go for Benetendi (sp?) He would be a starting OF by 2017.
Personally I’m all out of backlash. They’ve beaten it out of us. I doubt many have anything left which says a lot.
I was listening to XM Sirius radio with Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette. They were talking about the Braves moving Freeman and they mentioned the Yankees as a perfect fit. It makes zero sense to me as to why the Yankees would do this when they a) have Tex for at least this year and b) have Bird for the foreseeable future. Unless you have 0 faith that Bird can hack it, I don’t see the fit. Am I missing something?
The amount that Bird strikes out is alarming. Striking out 30% of the time is bad.
tell that to kris bryant
Hey Kris… striking out 30% of the time is bad. Mmmmkay?
he will make sure to not be worth over 6 war next year then
Still doesn’t make much sense for the Yankees to use their prospects on a first baseman. So many other things they could use it on.
You could also see move of A-Rod to first as well.
He did that and sucked……
I was thinking the same thing…I think if it not for Tex, Cashman would have done it. Freeman won’t be a FA till 2021 and is relatively young at 26. But the problem is you still have Tex who can’t be traded, and Bird whose upside is too high to trade away. So…
Trust me when I tell you that this is not false bravado on my part, but I will bet y’all my life that Coppolella
…that’s a safe bet
Freeman us a perfect fit for the Cardinals. If he is indeed being shopped, this needs to happen.
what are you willing to trade?
Not really sure. I think the Cardinals could easily get it done with pitching prospects. But I’m wondering if the Braves would desire a near MLB ready bat, which the Cardinals lack unless there’s something there with Piscotty or Grichuk.
They would almost certainly need something major league ready to be thrown in. Sure they would admit rebuilding, but you’d need a professional team at the moment to throw out there.
Huh? I’m saying the Cardinals have plenty of pitching prospects that could make a fair deal. But with the Braves already loaded up on pitching, I think they’d want a position prospect to headline a deal, which the Cardinals lack.
Who do the cards give up for him though? As a Braves fan I wish we could swing a deal with the Pirates to get josh bell
Non-statistical take: On paper, trading Kemp seems like it makes sense, but I don’t like the message it would send about the Padres franchise under the Preller regime. Suddenly having three or four years left on a contract doesn’t offer any sort of security and for a player to have that in the back of his mind can only make chemistry-building more difficult. Kemp (and arguably James Shields, another rumored trade candidate) was the leading face for all the changes we made a year ago, and to ship him after a C+/B- year makes the initial trade seem almost illegitimate or “just for fun.” Attendance at Petco last season was the highest it has been (per game) since 2007; I don’t think I am alone when I say that all the buying Preller did at the beginning of the season brought a new wave of excitement to a fanbase — a fanbase that has been spiraling downward ever since 2007’s heartbreaking finish.
whatever is done in san diego has to be done with fan attendance in mind, increased attendance was the best thing that happened for the Padres in 2015. Got to ride that wave of fan interest when you can, especially with All Star game coming up in July. The Preller & Green combination could be the winning ticket in San Diego
To call Freddie Freeman a perfect fit for the Pirates would be a massive understatement. What a lineup Polanco, Harrison, McCutchen, Freeman, Kang, Marte, Cervelli, and Mercer would be. Mercer the only weak link there. Sadly, there is zero chance of the Pirates even being interested in trading for him due to the price tag and how cheap they are.
If I were the Cubs, I’d dangle Kyle Schwarber out there to AL teams. The dude has DH written all over him. I think he’s a better hitter than Soler, but when you combine how much Schwarber would net as a return from an AL team with the fact Soler is still pretty darn good and much better in the field I’d be shopping him first.
Freeman + Miller + $25 million
for
Alex Bregman, AJ Reed, Kyle Tucker, Valezquez, and a few lower prospects
Trading Miller makes no sense
For that package it does.
Wasn’t really talking that package because that ain’t happening lol…just in general it does not, I have seen his name mentioned a few times here.
Why? Miller is an established big leaguer at a relatively young age and at a very reasonable salary. He could fetch a pretty good haul for the Braves. They aren’t competing in 2016 and I’d say 2017 is probably not as likely either. Makes no sense to keep him around and risk his trade value while the team isn’t competing. The Braves have to entertain the possibility of seeing what they could get back and be willing to pull the trigger.
It might not be too crazy to think that moving Heyward to get Miller was a move set up to audition Miller for the rest of MLB and see who might bite. With all the media coverage surrounding his crazy year in terms of W-L due to the lack of run support, Miller’s value has never been higher. The media definitely did him right in pointing out just how good he was this season and that his record was not his fault.
If the cards could get freeman without giving up Reyes, I’d be all for it. Play Piscotty in Right, Heyward in Center for a year and Freeman at 1st, then move piscotty to left in 2017 when Holliday leaves. I’d love it, but only if a deal could be done without giving up Reyes.
They have that much money? Heyward is going to get 150-200 million alone..more than likely
The cards payroll has been artificially low the last few years because of their farm system. The last few years Ownership has gone from netting 5 to 10 million a year to being the most profitable franchise in MLB netting over 75 million a year, and this is before the TV money kicks in. Cardinals could comfortably afford Heyward, Freeman, and a good pitcher and still be earning a comfortable profit for Dewitt.
Yep, with Ballpark Village, the new TV deal (national and local), the Cardinals have come into a whole new cash flow and haven’t even begun to tap into it. The next couple off-seasons could be very interesting.
Can’t believe that I am the one saying this, but really fellow Braves fan’s, the truth is that we can either accept what Coppolella & his cronies have in mind to ultimately make our team competitive again or jump ship, as fan’s. So for the 100th time, while I am still not over the Simmon’s trade (nor do I think I ever will be) & would be even more pissed if Freeman were to be ‘sacrificed’ as well, I will bet y’all my life that Braves management do not have the cojones to trade him (Freeman) before Opening Day 2016. That is, unless they all literally don’t mind slitting there own throats.
I will probably get killed by ” real Braves fans” but I for one loved the Simmons deal. I am sorry but paying for defensive when you have no offense isn’t that great a move. Love watching the kid field but cringed when he was at bat in a tight spot. Also liked the Gattis deal, the Upton deal and the Heyward deal. Gattis was without a position, Upton wasn’t resigning and like Simmons, Heyward will be overpaid because he is good at defense. Only one I didn’t like was Kimbrel but I still understood it, a closer is a luxury you don’t need when rebuilding. I can’t see them trading their only face of the franchise left but I trust they have a plan. Jumping from one of the worst minor leagues to up to the top half in one year earned some trust from me and I am willing to wait out this next horrible year and see what they do in 17.
I agree completely I said from the beginning if your going to rebuild you have to gut the team I hate seeing all those guys go but I love seeing the Braves win we have been spoiled by our team from the early 90’s until a few yrs ago. I’m glad we have stockpiled pitching but if we trade Freddie or Julio I hope to see more position players as the headliners.
It’d be interesting to see what the Rays could net for Boxberger or McGee. But I’d only want to see one or the other go. The only other guy they have at the moment that could anchor that bullpen is Cedeno. I’d rather see Boxberger go, net some type of prospects or do see if they could get a catcher or first basemen.
Josh Bell, Elias Diaz, and Nick Kingham for Freeman and cash, would love to see that happen.
I would love to see that too but I don’t think that would be enough. If he is truly available they would most likely have to part with Meadows to be in the bidding. A ton of teams would probably love to get him so the prospect haul would most likely be on the overpay side. With Kingham coming off of a major injury his value would take a hit. Additionally with Bell still learning first base I just don’t think this is enough of a package.
I dont like the idea of shopping Ross. But if AJ is going to trade him, he should include one of the albatross contracts like Upton, Shields or even Kemp. Gotta make some more room in the budget to fill all the holes they have
I can see the Tigers making that deal for Ross and Kemp.They need a left fielder and A starter If they could get the Padres to pick up some of Kemps contract
One day before this Rosenthal said the Padres had reached out to Ian Desmond and were retooling to contend in 2016. So Ken which is it? Are they shipping off their best two players in Kemp and Ross and in “full rebuild mode” or are they looking to sign the best shortstop on the FA market and retooling to contend now?
Kemp posted a -0.2 WAR this past season so where do you get the idea that he is one of our 2 best players?
Kemp was better overall than JUP last year, or atleast you could say it was a tie between the two.
No Justin had a 3.7 WAR while Kemp had a -0.2 WAR
you are correct WAR shows JUP better, not sure everything can be decided off of that new age statistic but i do hope Padres could find a way to resign him at 20 mill a year – JUP played much D than expected.
Kemp finishes out the year healthy perhaps he gets past 110 rbi’s anyways still say JUP wasn’t any better than Kemp as a Padre in 2015. Kemp for sure a top 2 maybe 3rd best Padre in 2015
He is right that LAST year Justin Upton was more valuable than Kemp in terms of his contribution towards wins. Upton is no longer a Padre unless by some miracle the owners pony up the $25+ million per year he will be making the next 7-8 years. Right now Kemp is the best offensive player we have and Ross is the best pitcher we have.
Derek Norris and Yangervis Solarte posted better oWAR’s than Kemp and I bet Myers would if he could stay off the DL. But yes, Kemp is a definite offensive powerhouse. Too bad his defense is so bad it completely negates any contributions he makes with the bat.
And stop accusing everyone who disagrees with you of being my second or third account. It just makes you look like an idiot.
And once again, I know how to downvote other people’s comments too.
Solarte for sure top 3 player for the Pads in 2015. Kemp another year removed from major injury could be faster
“Kemp for sure a top 2 maybe 3rd best Padre in 2015”
That’s not true. Kemp was replacement level in 2015 and we had way more than two players who were above replacement level.
Upton is not a Padre right now. Whatever he did is a moot point.
Best offensive player still on the team.
Worst defensive player in the MLB (well, except maybe for Hanley).
Preller has a strong way of getting people off the Padres trail. Hiring of Green was a perfect example, Preller let them, the media and perhaps other front offices run with Gardy and the other candidate as the next manager until Green was hired. Diamondbacks lose Green and replace him with Matt Williams while the in division Padres get a big bump in the stanginds by adding Green
“If the Cubs were to move Soler or Baez, they would likely seek their pitching equivalent, meaning a player with similar service time and talent that’s roughly the same age.”
If that were the case then a trade involving the White Sox and Cubs for either would mean Carlos Rodon being the centerpiece of a deal rather than Jose Quintana.
Clearly there’s a trade match with both Chicago teams. The White Sox need offense and a third baseman, along with an upgrade at corner outfield and a short term solution at shortstop. Javier Baez and Jorge Soler would specifically fit those needs.
The Cubs need starting pitching and are purportedly seeking two this off-season. One of whom figures to be acquired in free agency, the other in a trade. The likelihood has the Cubs securing another ace through FA, to join Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester atop their rotation. That leaves an upgrade at #4 or #5 coming via a trade. Carlos Rodon would definitely qualify as that back-end SP but does anybody believe that the White Sox would actually trade him for either Baez or Soler?
For a team still in the midst of a re-tooling that also might consider itself a potential playoff contender in 2016 it would seem to make more sense for the White Sox to deal Jose Quintana in a trade, rather than an ace like Chris Sale or another possible future one in Rodon. It might also make more sense for a team like the Cubs with serious World Series ambitions in 2016 to pursue a more established pitcher like Quintana for their rotation.