We’re introducing a new series in the run-up to the trade deadline, drawing from our power ranking approach to pending free agents. As the summer trade market develops on a fairly tight timeline, you can expect more regular updates when modifications to the list are warranted.
The methodology — if you can call it that — is pretty straightforward. I’ve done some simple ratings of players for their trade value and trade likelihood, giving me a rough guide to work from, then made finer distinctions from there, aided by the input of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes and Steve Adams.
In terms of trade value, we’re starting with overall on-field value — with a premium on an ability to make an impact in the current season — and then adjusting for contract and market factors. With contenders’ needs in relatively sharp focus, limitations such as future contract status, age, and niche role (platoon bats, relief-only pitchers) tend to have less of a drag on value — though obviously they still matter quite a bit. With regard to the second factor, the focus is on potential selling teams’ motivation to deal, with contract status, near and long-term roster fit, and overall competitiveness all weighing heavily. Some teams simply aren’t in a position at present where it makes sense to include their top potential trade chips, but that will evolve over the coming weeks.
It’s subjective; it’s debatable; and that’s what makes it fun. Here’s the first list, with some additional names and teams to keep an eye on appended at the end:
1. Jonathan Lucroy, C, Brewers — Lucroy was a fairly easy choice for me here. He’s playing well, the contract has value beyond this year but not within Milwaukee’s expected contention timeline, he’s established but not old, and he plays a position of need around the league. It’s unusual to see major deals involving catchers at the deadline, but that should change this year.
2. Rich Hill, SP, Athletics — It may be too soon to say whether and when the A’s will deal, but things are trending strongly in that direction and Hill is a classic deadline piece as a pure rental whose value is peaking at the right time. He could draw widespread interest, sooner rather than later. Fortunately for Oakland, a recent groin tweak seems unlikely to shelve him.
3. Ryan Braun, OF, Brewers — Braun is mashing at career-best levels in his age-32 season, and now may be the best time for Milwaukee to move on from the four years and $76MM left on his contract after this season. Health is a big question, and Braun’s PED past doesn’t help, but that’s a fairly reasonable rate of pay for a player who could well be the best bat available.
4. Jay Bruce, OF, Reds — Perhaps the single most likely player to be traded in all of baseball, Bruce is posting above-average offensive numbers and would deliver some pop to another lineup. On the other hand, his defensive fall-off has been precipitous. His option for 2017 delivers some upside, in theory, but it comes with a $1MM buyout and he’s no bargain at a $12.5MM annual salary this year.
5. James Shields, SP, Padres — Shields isn’t the pitcher he once was at 34 years of age, but he’s as steady and durable as they come and is getting better results than might be expected. His contract is a bit of a wild card, since it allows him to opt out at the end of the year. Shields is earning $21MM this year on a deal that guarantees him another two years and $44MM thereafter if he chooses to take it. Chatter is already picking up on the veteran.
6. Arodys Vizcaino, RP, Braves — Vizcaino, 25, has been about as dominant as any reliever in baseball. Even if the Braves would like to keep their pen ace around for his three remaining seasons of arbitration eligibility, the Ken Giles deal serves as a reminder of both the value of controllable late-inning arms and their volatility.
7. Chris Carter, 1B, Brewers — He’s a streaky, high-K, low-OBP hitter, and everyone knows it. On the other hand, even after a recent lull, Carter has banged 13 long balls and owns a .500+ slugging percentage through just over 200Â plate appearances. Oh, and he’s earning only $2.5MM at 29 years of age, with two more arb-eligible campaigns to come. A return to the American League may be in order.
8. Trevor Plouffe, 3B, Twins — He’s not the most exciting player, but Plouffe is sturdy and useful. It’s not immediately clear whether Minnesota will let him go after foregoing a trade over the winter, and a middling start doesn’t help his value, but it’s probably time for the Twins to get value with one more arb year remaining. Plouffe is playing at a reasonable, but hardly bargain rate of $7.25MM.
9. Julio Teheran, SP, Braves — Just 25 years of age, Teheran is showing signs of returning to being the budding frontline starter that he once was. He’s controllable for a meager commitment, Atlanta has proven willing to trade anyone at any time (well, almost anyone), and the empty cupboard of starters on next year’s free-agent market could increase demand. But GM John Coppolella has significantly raised the bar for a deal of the staff ace, even if he didn’t rule it out entirely.
10. Fernando Abad, RP, Twins — This spot probably could have gone to any number of relievers, several of whom are listed below, but I felt that Abad edged the field with his eye-opening work thus far. He’s allowed just a single earned run on 13 hits and five walks in 19 1/3 innings — while racking up 18 strikeouts and posting a career-best 57.1% groundball rate. Plus, he’s a lefty and he’s been effective against hitters from both sides of the plate this year. Additionally, he’s controllable through the 2017 season.
—
Just Missed: Danny Valencia (Athletics); Gordon Beckham and Ender Inciarte (Braves); Jeremy Jeffress (Brewers); Andrew Cashner, Derek Norris, and Fernando Rodney (Padres); Zack Cozart (Reds); Kevin Jepsen and Ervin Santana (Twins)
Injured: Tyson Ross (Padres), Josh Reddick & Sonny Gray (Athletics), Will Smith (Brewers)
Not Yet Eligible: At this stage, there are some teams that are beginning to look like plausible sellers that I’m not quite comfortable considering for these purposes. In some cases, that’s because of unexpectedly solid performances; in others, it’s because expectations were high and the organization is unlikely to act hastily.
The Rays are in an interesting spot; they hope to contend despite an uneven start, but could still move major league rotation pieces (Matt Moore; Jake Odorizzi) given the team’s surplus at the position. The Phillies (Jeremy Hellickson; David Hernandez; Jeanmar Gomez) are still too much in the hunt to go in the sell category, though they could end up there soon enough. Likewise, the Astros have shown signs of life and seem a less likely seller than the division-rival A’s, though they have several short-term pieces (Carlos Gomez; Colby Rasmus; Luis Valbuena; Luke Gregerson) that would be interesting if Houston can’t gain traction. We might eventually see the Angels (Huston Street; Joe Smith; Yunel Escobar) as partial sellers, but they’re not likely to throw in the towel — if at all — until the last moment. On the National League side of the west, the Diamondbacks (Brad Ziegler; Daniel Hudson; Tyler Clippard) and Rockies (Carlos Gonzalez; Jake McGee) are still a good ways away from the tipping point.
Nice piece Jeff, of course. So practically any Brave or Brewer that produces it seems, haha.
Thanks. It’s heavily skewed toward obvious sellers right now, of course. I expect a few other teams will ultimately join the mix.
Thing is, the Reds (b/c of contract size/no-trade protection) and Twins (b/c they have few short-term veterans) don’t have too many major deadline pieces, in my view. So the other basement-dwelling teams are currently placing more.
If/when guys like Ross and Reddick are back, and if another team with significant pieces falls out of the race, then the composition of the list will change quite a bit.
Good call on all points. And proud to see you dropped the “of course,” as was one persons complaint in your most recent chat. There are so many options you could put in here and speculative scenarios. I like the thought someone mentioned about returns for such players. Yes that would be rough to speculate.
On the speculative scenarios, makes me wonder what (and I know trade scenarios can be crazy) returns “Coppy’s right arms” would bring back. Who is the Trout of LAA, Freeman is ATL (yes ATL fan here, obviously) that each team has and what are the realistic returns if they were put out there? Those are always interesting. Great stuff man.
Thanks, always appreciate ideas on posts, esp since we are aiming to do more analysis this year. OTOH, I am wary of doing the kinds of trade scenarios we sometimes see floated in other outlets – breeds confusion.
Probably a good call to steer clear. Would be curious to see fan reaction to who is the one “off limits” Trade guy per team. But you all know what you are doing, keep it up man.
Along with virtually any “productive” or useful Padres or Reds player. (lol)
This is my personal take:
If the Blue Jays tank the season, I’d put Encarnacion/Bautista/Saunders/Cecil as special mentions.
Well all of those also depend on the Blue Jays plans for next year, especially in regards to Encarnacion and Bautista. Also as you say, they’d have to tank the season, they’re still in striking distance from a wild card spot.
They could ultimately place some guys on the list — certainly, EE/Jose would rate if they seemed likely to move — but the Jays still look more like a buy/hold team at this stage.
Agreed: interest article idea. I’d love to see this revisited every two weeks. Also, I wonder if it’s possible to speculate what the trading club would aim to receive in the deal or at least what package or type of prospect(s) the candidate would bring in return. It would be nice to see if the club gets back what they had hoped for or if the package is more or less than predicted.
You rock, Jeff.
Thanks! I’m expecting to update it even more than that, unless there just isn’t a notable change one week.
I’ll probably be looking for more things to discuss in the blurbs as time goes on, and that could include possible returns, though it is unbelievably difficult to guess at that kind of thing. All the more so given that we’ve seen a lot of creative trade scenarios in recent years, so it’s generally not as simple as just picking a prospect level.
Curious as to why you rated Plouffe over Valencia?
That was a tough call. I am discounting the A’s likelihood of a full-on sell-off somewhat – Hill made it b/c he’s an obvious chip as a guy on an expiring contract who may be a bit of a stretch as a QO candidate, and whose value would be robust in a rental scenario. Valencia is pretty reasonably priced and OAK could want to hold onto him even when it starts bringing up some of the young guys. Plouffe also has a steadier track record as a regular and rates better with the glove. Valencia has a little positional flexibility, which is a feather in his cap, but also means he makes sense on the A’s.
It’s fluid, so that could well change!
So did jeff just list a few teams because that what it looks like. Why wouldn’t the angels who have the same record as the A’s and need prospects more than any team be listed too? What about the Rays they are struggling too and have some talent to trade.
He mentioned both in the post, but the Angels really don’t have anyone with immense value outside of Trout and maybe Street (if he can stay healthy and productive).
But, if arc89 took the time to actually READ the post, how on earth would he have time to comment on it?
I read the article and the angels like the rays have some potential trade-able parts. I don’t see how you can say the A’s have no chance but the angels or the rays do. I don’t put the astors in there because they still have a young team for next year. Of all the teams the angels should be the ones trading since they have the weakest farm teams.
Yeah, I discussed them in the section below the ranking. Their guys don’t quite meet the value/availability of others, and I’m not really ready to put either team into the likely seller bucket yet.
LAA has been adding players to the MLB roster and isn’t just going to blow things up unless it’s hopeless. I’m also not enamored of their most obvious trade chips.
TBR could deal an arm while still competing, but we don’t have a ton of clarity right now as to who that might be and how likely a scenario it is. And they might want to see how Cobb progresses, let the current staff sort itself out a bit, and watch for injuries before pursuing something like that.
The Rockies Carlos Gonzalez figures to jump to the top tier of this list shortly. Colorado is currently 4 games under .500, 7.5 games behind the Giants in the N.L. West and 6 behind in the wild card race, trailing six other clubs including strong contenders like the Mets, Pirates, Dodgers and Cardinals. “Cargo” also has a contract that should be affordable to most clubs vying for a playoff spot come the August 1st trade deadline.
I remain unconvinced that the Rockies will trade him, but I expect COL to fall further back and he’ll certainly be one to watch.
One thing I did factor a bit in making the list was how a available a guy is in the near term. Or, at least, how willing their team would be to discussing scenarios at this point. My own guess is that CarGo isn’t really being shopped by the Rockies, though I’ve also promised myself not to make predictions about what that organization will do.
The Monfort brothers have been known to hang on to fan favorites (or their own, lol) in the past regardless of the team’s performance in the standings but that thought process changed last summer with the trade of Troy Tulowitski. Imo, that trend will continue with ‘Cargo” this summer.
Could be the case, though trading CarGo last summer or over the winter also seemingly made sense. I just end up getting confused when I think about it.
How about Carlos Gonzalez in Colorado? He’s heating up a bit with three homers in as many games and could be a well sought-after power bat from the left side. No health concerns and set to make $20MM at age 31 in the final year of his deal next season.
Yes, CarGo should be a top trade candidate based on everything stated above. However, as Jeff and others have mentioned, the Rockies are not a typical franchise that fades in the standings then trades off valuable pieces. Jeff is 100% correct; there is no way to know if CarGo will get dealt, even though he most definitely should.
Don’t really understand the rankings as Julio with his contract should be atop the list. Can you provide clarity.?I read the explanation prior to the rankings and I’m still scratching my head. You eluded to the criteria but didn’t spill the beans.
The trade likelihood factor bumps him down a long ways. I actually had him a fair bit higher before Coppolella’s recent comments and my own discussions with Tim and Steve. He is looking more like a guy they’ll hold onto to me.
I’m not just ranking the trade value of guys on teams who’ll be selling. I’m also accounting for what level of interest the current team will have in keeping the player, based upon performance/contract/fit.
Hey Jeff, now that the Red Sox have E-Rod back and Wright emerging as a strong #2, do you think the Sox will be more likely to use swihart and/or owens to acquire a guy like braun instead of that #2 pitcher they have been seeking?
They will take their time to assess, IMO. Wright has certainly put up outstanding results, but I doubt they are ready to assume he’ll keep producing like a top-of-the-rotation starter. One of the most interesting teams on the buy side, for sure – still a lot of moving parts there.
aaron hill might be doing enough to get himself moved to a contender. he’d be a nice bench piece with some pop if Milwaukee ate a little contract.
Hey Jeff, do you think the Yankees will be selling at all? And if so, who would be moved? Maybe Beltran or Gardner?
I love these blog posts
Thanks! Too soon to know, especially for a club that isn’t going to pull the plug early. I picture them more as a team that could pursue lateral deals to rework the roster than a seller in the truest sense.
Braun is JUICING at career-best levels in his age-32 season
fixed/
I am as disgusted by his past actions as anyone, but I’m not sure what you base that on.
His integrity.
Hey Jeff what do you think the Yankees will do? Do you think they will sell? They have a ton of veteran players.
Love these posts man
Thank you. Just responded on a similar question, but I’ll do so somewhat differently here. They do have veteran assets, but the ones they’d probably be most willing to trade don’t strike me as being all that valuable. Of course, a guy like Beltran begins to look much more appealing if NYY is paying down a big piece of his salary. But unless the team is just totally out of it, how do you part with a player with immediate function unless you’re getting another in return?
Yanks have a pretty huge chip with chapman. They would still have 2 of the best without him.
Just saying.
That would be a plausible chip for a lateral move, though Andrew Miller may be a bit more likely in that kind of scenario.
As dismal as the Twins pen would be without Abad there’s no reason to hang on to him if they can get something nice for him. I get the sense Plouffe isn’t going anywhere even though this team has like forty corner OF/DH types and some holes elsewhere to fill.
Hey Jeff, nice article given the time of year being a hard one to access the sellers. Two teams I think you might be writing about by the time July rolls around are the White Sox (not sure if they’ll hang around) and Cardinals (with their surplus of 1B/OFers) if they don’t right that ship.
Thank you. I still see both teams in the buy/hold camp, generally, but I agree that CWS has some downside and that STL could look into some lateral moves to tweak the roster.
Great article man!
Much appreciated.
The other piece of a seller analysis is buyer need. The Mets have clear needs to have a shot in October – C and 3B – but (if Wheeler progresses and Harvey regresses to his personal norm) won’t be in the market for SP, while the Cubs may just need good karma (not sure how you trade for that, but if anyone can it’s Theo).
Any thought of complicating this a bit more by noting likely destinations for your likely trade targets?
Good thought, but I think that’s something we’ll mostly be looking to work in as the deadline approaches. I’m not going to just copy and paste every player’s little blurb here every week, of course, so once we start getting some clarity and hearing some reports on interest, I expect the list will begin to have more of that sort of thing mixed in.
The Cubs appear to be getting instant karma in daily doses from their guru manager. Hopefully, Joe Maddon can keep it going throughout October this season.
I can’t believe the Braves would even consider trading Teheran. I thought he pitched good ball last year, I was hoping the Cardinals would trade for him while his perceived value was low.. The Braves owe him 26 mil over the next three years if they don’t pick up his option and 37 mil over the next four years if they do. Even if he is not an ace he is still very valuable at his salary/age, If you are rebuilding with an eye on 2017 isn’t he the type of player you want to keep?
I can see it happening, though probably more than likely in the off-season when there are more teams bidding and some even willing to give up major-league talent. The Braves have holes to fill and Teheran might be the only real trade chip they have to get it done.
Vizcaino is the one I can’t see the Braves trading. The bullpen is a bit of a mess this season and there is no clear closer to replace him. Sure they would be dumb to turn down a deal similar to what the Phillies got for Giles, but I think a deal of that magnitude is unlikely, especially with his injury history.
That’s the point though, they won’t take anything that’s not near the Giles deal. Like the blurb stated, he’s arguably the best closer in 2016 with 3 arb years remaining and a year of dominance under his belt. Hilarious that Braves fan are still crying not having Kimbrel when we have someone pitching better than him for $10 million cheaper. That’s a lot of paper to wipe away those rainy-day tears.
Agreed RunDMC, I think most fans solely saw the time Kimbrel retired as if it would be a Rivera type, all for one team. Wren extended everyone at once and slightly screwed the team. Viz is a great closer and much cheaper rate for now.
There is no argument, he has not been the best. Hector rondon beats him in every category. 77 big league innings and has had tommy John surgery. He won’t be getting a Giles haul.
Losing teams don’t need closers gogerty. Just giving up value the longer they hold him.
I understand that Theo, that was the best reason to trade Kimbrel while unloading BJ (Melvin). But if team feels they will truly be competitive late 2017 and ’18, the should keep him and extend him. But thank you for clearing the baseball business side up for me.
He’s without a doubt the best that could be available.
Appel looked like a toss in failed prospect, Velasquez looked like he was gonna end up in the bullpen, and the prospects in the Giles deal were blocked youngsters. It’s not like the Astros have missed a beat aside from Velasquez any way, it was a big haul but not a Cliff Lee haul.
Viz could definitely pull in a similar return and the Braves would be wise to do that given his injury history imo.
No. Arodys doesn’t = giles. Period. I’d still love to hear jeff’s explanation on this.
The reason Viz would make it close to Giles is they are comparable in what is available right now and contracts.
chapman and miller are better
Yes but Chapman is only signed through this year and Miller cost $9M per year through ’18. And The stats on Miller and Viz are close, so for $8M in savings, Viz is the better option.
what stats are close?
Forget it Chester.
Ah yes, facts seem to be your downfall.
This year miller is pitching 51.4% GB rate, 1.12 fip 16.44 k/9
Viz has 58.5% GB rate, 1.87fip 12.88 k/9
Here’s the kicker .210 avg at home for viz vs .214 for miller.
Is 8 mill really worth .7 fip, 4% k/9, and 7% less GB%? Doubt it.
Thank you Bigh52334
Agreed, he is their best chip, but also best piece to hang onto (Teheran). Teheran is just in that 3rd year that guys start getting figured out a bit and needs to hone in on his mechanics a bit to regain full 2nd tier ace status. 2.77 ERA is nothing to complain about, but needs to narrow down the games he gets blasted.
Drew Pomeranz? Any reasons he isn’t on this list with the year he is having?
There are! I considered him, and he could well make it onto the “watch” list at least. My feeling at this point is that other teams aren’t going to step up to the degree that SDP would need to pass on his cheap control. Now, if he’s still pitching like this come mid-July …
Got it. Thanks for your reply. If I were the Padres, I might want to trade him early just for that reason.
Jeff, thank you for continuing to interact with your readers. As a fan of the site I appreciate you guys.
Now all I hear on here is how the Braves will never get the haul for Julio that they got for Shelby Miller which I would agree. But my question is could they get the haul the Phillies got for Giles if they move Vizcaino ???? I don’t see why they couldn’t
Market nuance is always going to influence things apart from stand-alone value, but yeah, I think he could be seen as a similarly valuable pitcher. His value could get a boost if few other high-octane arms hit the market, though I still am not sure he’ll generate quite the return that Giles did.
I think you have to look at the backend of both of the scenarios you mention. D’Backs for one completely overpaid and everyone knew it. But like I have said, it may not have been too much of an overpay if Pollack didn’t go down in first week and Miller provided what he did last year. And with Giles, his ERA now is not what they traded to get. Hindsight has teams looking like “well that didn’t work out.”
Trades are more about what receiving team desires. If Baltimore or Pittsburgh strongly wanted an established 1B and another strong rotation arm, they could. Pittsburgh could give up McGuire, Bell, Taillon and Kang for Freeman, Teheran, and Austin Riley and it could work for both teams.
Sorry, but ATL fans would burn down SunTrust if that went down. Freeman’s value is low right now, and even if Teheran has peak-value, I don’t think things balance out. And even if both were hot, and you got a nice haul for them, I think Coppy is aware of the blowback not to pull the trigger at this point.
I understand your take RunDMC, but I am not sure FF is worth the $20M his contract will start carrying unless he returns to form. Maybe a second top pitching prospect added in, but Kang and three top prospects in areas of need (C and 1B) at a cheaper rate could be necessary.
I’m sure the casual fan might not be thrilled with that trade for this season, but in all seriousness that isn’t a terrible trade at all even if it is still a bit light on worth going to Atlanta. Lol if the Pirates threw in Meadows to me it would be a no brainer from the braves point of view.
Of course this is all hypothetical and I’d imagine has absolutely no chance of happening. No way I see Pittsburgh picking up all that salary even if it is reasonable for the players involved.
Thought Meadows as well if not Glasnow, but for sale of arguments (all those opposed and think it is stupid) I left the last piece out.
No one “throws in” meadows or galsnow, or tailon.
Ok
You are absolutely right. None of those prospects should be considered “throw ins” as in the most often used meaning of the phrase. I apologize for my poor choice of words.
The point is that it would take a sizable package similar to those prospects mentioned to net Teheran, Freeman and Riley from the braves. However, once again, no one here expects that to happen. There is little to no chance of the Pirates adding that much payroll.
Glad you agree with me. How’s your awesome return for Grilli tasting Gogerty?
Is there a reason you feel the need to call me out? Or is it just your maturity?
It’s the fact that you are consistently wrong. You know, the normal reason that people get called out.
Ok, thank you.
How would what happened to pollock have changed whether the miller trade was an over pay? In an of itself, it was a horrible, horrible, indefensible trade.
Yes it was a bad trade, but if the team overall was doing better, the overpay would not be so bad. But in your eyes I clearly don’t know what I am talking about. You are not the only one.
No, whether the team does better decides whether it was more worthwhile. It doesn’t change the actual trade.
Ok
Freeman isn’t much of an upgrade from jaso. Why would the pirates trade kang? Austin Riley is the farthest away in the deal when the pirates are a playoff team right now. You are also asking a small market team to take on Freeland contract which while market value isn’t where they should be allocating money. Just not a well thought out trade in a real world scenario. I mean kang is a better player than Freeman and doesn’t even cost 3 mil per yeae,
Your rebuttals make me laugh. Not for the sake of you disagreeing, just your gentlemanly way of going about them.
Jaso has been better than freeman and is owed a ton less money. What is funny? Other than your blind homerism?
Way to double up on it Chester. Thank you.
You’re still wrong. Again. Go you!
You are my hero Chester.
Thank you.
I don’t know what you want, you throw out a proposal where nothing made sense. I stated why. There isn’t an argument, just logic.
Theo, I have agreed to your points. Your point on small market team was 100% accurate. I just do not understand why the conversation has to turn less than civil.
Wait…wait…wait….Rich Hill, a rental with a long history of health issues on a team with a president (Beane) who rarely, if ever, loses a trade, is ranked #2. But, Julio Teheran, a former All-Star at 25 years of age and 5 years of control, is ranked just ahead of Fernando Abad…? Sure, Coppy has a high price-tag on him, but since when has what he said in the media really carried any weight in trade talks?
Rentals move easier.
There’s a lot of talk about keeping Cashner and extending him a QO. Probably doesn’t deserve it but those in favor point to Ian Kennedy getting one last year in a much stronger free agent SP market and working out just fine. What say you Jeff?
Kennedy and Samardzija show that teams will pay for arms they like even if recent results don’t suggest the deals they sign. Same goes to some extent for Brandon McCarthy. Still a borderline guy for me, but I can see it.
Yasiel Puig might be a prime candidate for this list regardless of the Dodgers status as contenders. I wouldn’t expect Los Angeles to just dump Puig but one has to believe that they would strongly consider moving him at this point. New manager Dave Roberts isn’t having any more success with Puig than Don Mattingly had. Imo, it’s time for a change of scenery for this immensely talented but troubled individual.
The White Sox reportedly tried to acquire Puig this past off-season but the Dodgers weren’t quite ready to move him then. Now may be the time and the White Sox could be a logical destination.
Jose Abreu, who is having his own issues offensively, might serve as a “big brother” figure for Puig in Chicago. New bench coach Rick Renteria may also provide some help, as he did with Starlin Castro with the Cubs as their manager in 2014.
Most pundits feel Abreu’s struggles since his record breaking rookie campaign are attributable to a lack of adjustment on his part and some poor batting order protection in the White Sox lineup. The club supposedly answered the second part of that concern by acquiring Todd Frazier in the off-season but Abreu has yet to benefit.
Perhaps there is another issue here, one that could be affecting Abreu’s psyche. When Abreu signed as an international free agent back in 2013, he was heavily recruited by fellow Cuban’s Alexei Ramirez and Dayan Viciedo. Abreu had a great 2014 season with both as teammates. Prior to the 2015 season, Viciedo was released by the White Sox. This past off-season, the White Sox elected not to pick up Ramirez contract option and he subsequently signed with the Padres. Perhaps it’s not a mere coincidence that Abreu’s production has dropped off significantly since his two best friends on the team have also left. Maybe bringing Puig on board can help achieve two goals for the White Sox, improve their batting order and also serve to boost Abreu’s state of mind. Just saying…
Halos trade kubitza Mahle to the braves for Tehran
Angel fan huh?
Yep
Angel fan without much grasp on the values of baseball players huh?
Nowhere near enough for Teheran.
Great article, Jeff. Especially for us Brewer fans hoping for a continued fire sale! I’ll be checking back very regularly. I’d like to see Villar/Aaron Hill show up on this list at some point. Obviously they’d have to keep trending up to do that.
I really wouldn’t be surprised if they possibly see Villar as a piece to keep.
Villar seems to be a guy they really want to keep. He’s cheap, isn’t arb eligible until 2018, and won’t hit free agency til 2021. Arcia is obviously their plan for the SS of the future, but if Villar can grow into some power like they hope I would think they plan to keep him around at 3B or even 2B if they move on from Scooter..
Yeah, it’s only 50 games but Villar has been a borderline all-star. I think he stays. The Brewers would have a lot to gain by letting Arcia ripen in AAA all year and letting Villar complete a full season.
Then they have two very attractive options — move him to 2B in the offseason and pair him with Arcia in ’17 or flip him when his value is sky-high.
It seems James Shields would like to opt-out of being on this list (but certainly not his contract!).
2.2IP, 8H, 10 ER 4BB, 1K, 2HR today in Seattle
What would it take for the Cubs to get Aroldis or Miller? The Cubs need a lockdown lefty in bullpen. Rondon likely is solid in Closer’s Role, but I am sure he would be okay with Setup for Chapman. Miller has 1.5 years on deal (I think). Cubs likely aren’t trading Contreras anytime soon. Maybe guys like gleyber Torres or McKinney. Maybe a pitcher like cease. Cubs have a 2 year window to win while they have Arrieta (barring a miracle extension).
Chapman doesn’t make as much sense for the cubs because you want a solid lhrp to use situationally, while chapman will want to close (based on comments. If this isn’t the case, he’d be great).. So moving rondon out of the closer spot for chapman doesn’t really solve the problem. I think Miller makes way more sense for them if they go lhrp.
I’d also never trade a prospect like Gleyber for a reliever. Ever. And Probably not McKinney, either.
The cubs window is not 2 years. They have a ton of young talent to execute a trade for a young pitcher if they so desire and also a large amount of money that will be freed up to spend after their current debt structure agreement ends.
The big thing is their new tv deal. If it is ludicrous, (which I think it will be) that’ll cover the young guys contracts. I would for Rizzo, Kris, and addy to be Cubs for life. There are some stud pitchers available in winter 2017. Would be excited to snag 1. First thing first would be long-term contracts for our guys. I wasn’t simply stating their window would be shut (should have used other words), but I would be completely okay with trading a top prospect not named Contreras for some controllable bullpen assistance. Look at the Castro trade, we traded for a stud in warren for Castro who has been typical streaky Castro.
Rizzo is already signed. Learn baseball. come back. I respect your desire. You don’t trade top prospects for relievers. Period.
Tell that to the Astros. You want quality bullpen arms, you have to trade quality prospects. It’s not like the Yankees will just give miller away.
Wait ,what? They traded for Giles and he fell apart? You’re just reinforcing my point that you don’t give up solid talent for volatile bullpen arms.
The O’s traded for Andrew Miller with one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. It happens.
Actually Rodriguez wasn’t. But 2 weeks before the trade he went from throwing low 90’s to upper 90’s. The uptick is what was interesting, but you don’t know if it was sustainable.
Jake Arrieta’s a great pitcher but to state that the Cubs have a two year window to win because of his contract situation is ludicrous. Theo Epstein didn’t build this team in a manner that it has to rely heavily on any one individual player.
No, but considering the pitching is likely going to only get worse. We won’t be lucky to have another arrieta trade. I’m just saying as a Cubs fan these 2 years are the best we will likely be from a team perspective. Guys like Kris, addy, schwarber, Rizzo, might get better, but surely Lester, lackey, Hendricks likely are as good as they’ll be (Hendricks doesn’t have much of a ceiling) most Cubs top pitchers project as 3 or worse in the rotation. Pitching wins games. We got beat by the mets who had a better roto last year (this year is different). Cubs have no syndergaard, no cole, no uber good young starter controllable for long-term. Unless they sign some stud (which I doubt they do) we will have to win with awesome offense and solid BP. Not that sustainable for 5-6 years. Mets and pirates are loaded with young pitching. That’ll age well.
Pitchers get hurt. People overreact to the Mets series and say it’s about pitching. But really the worst team in mlb can sweep a good team in 4 games it’s baseball.
your failure to recognize hendricks shows me that you’re a poor elevator of talent.
Hendricks is no better than a 4. I’m sorry to break that to you. Rizzo is signed through 2021, but I would love for them to add more years and high Per year average ala sal Perez. Haha I bet I know more about the Cubs than you.
Agreed, but if you don’t think for a second that helped fuel the Cubs to sign zobrist and Heyward, then idk what will convince you. Again, I’m not saying they’re not the best team in league, but last year we were fortunate on injuries. Any injuries to our pitchers and we automatically will be trading those valued prospects in a heart beat. I know KLaw ranked the Cubs like 4th in preseason, and BA had Cubs at like 16-20, I’m more in the middle. They have quantity. I love Willson. I think he shows early shades of Victor Martinez (as a catcher) I’d be ecstatic though if they got an andrew Miller or Chapman. The bullpen would have a decent trio of Rondon, Strop, and one of those two. Not too many Loogy’s on the market. I doubt the Brewers will just give us will smith.
There are some you cannot make a point to cubsfan
Kyle Hendricks is 16 on fWAR right now and finished last season with 3ish. If he’s a #4, so is Teheran.
So no, Gogerty, you cannot make stupid, invalid points, backed up with no statistical information, to some people. They’re called informed fans. Try being one.
I will do my best Chester.
Based on your sample size, I don’t have much faith.
Will be top of my to do list for tomorrow.
Ok
Try talking to actual scouts, not just stats. I like Kyle Hendricks, the professor, just as much as anyone and he’s very underrated for his stuff, but he doesn’t have legit out pitch. Not will he ever be good enough to make fans feel confident in the playoffs. There is a reason lackey, arrieta, ( 40% of roto ( 60% if hammel doesn’t re-sign) of our rotation gone in 2 years. You’re crazy if you don’t see these next two years critical in winning a title. I’m not saying go hendry mode and sell the farm, but in order to receive quality controllable arms, we will have to give up something, lol let me guess, we could “just trade vogelbach and some Lotto tickets for a legit closer/bullpen arm”. Fans like you give a bad name to Cubs fans.
If he didn’t have a legit out pitch, how is he….wait for it….consistently getting hitters out? You know sometimes scouts (who i’m sure you don’t actually talk to) are wrong. In this case, because he doesn’t throw hard. Hendricks has a very good change up and good control.
As his stats show (I know, you’re allergic to facts) he is a very solid 3ish win pitcher.
Gleyber is a top 25 prospect in baseball right now. You don’t trade that for 1/2 a season of Chapman or Miller + his contract. Ever. And Theo won’t either because he’s shown that he’s not a stupid fan who totally overreacts to “going for it”.
I’d rather give a bad name by being informed than be a clueless “sell farm for 2 year window” moron.
Hendricks change is a legit out pitch. Its like a 65 on the scale. Why do you think he had over 8k/9last year. If you paid attention to the cubs system you would know underwood, stinnett, pierce johnson all project as mid rotation guys. Dylan cease has ace upside but is way too far away. Anyway they have a legit bullpen arm in triple a, carl Edwards jr has a lights out fastball curve combo and projects as an elite closer with a small improvement in command.
Kyle Hendricks is 68th out of 102 qualified starters in k’s/9. not impressive at all. Kyle Hendricks BABIP is .255… so likely he has been far overperforming his normal range (as the defense has as well) Kyle Hendricks limits his walks and HRs and eats innings. ala a 4th or 5th starter. If the cubs thought he was well and above a 4 or 5 they could have allocated their 32 mil on someone other than lackey. They knew after Lester and Arrieta, there were no good options to start a playoff game. Lackey is a winner, proven vet, and well deserving of his spot in the rotation. Personally, i find there are more stats out there that aren’t helpful than stats that are. I bet you think you’re “informed” because you pickup the copy of cubs top prospects and assume everyone will turn out to be studs. Gleyber is young, and talented. The typical type of prospect that goes as a headliner in a package. Obviously, i wouldn’t give him up for 1 year of Chapman, but for 2.5 years of Andrew Miller, heck yes. I love Kyle Hendricks, but i certainly don’t overvalue anyone on the team. He definitely doesn’t have an out pitch. He doesn’t throw hard, but he commands the strike zone typical like any other innings eater. Calling someone else a poor evaluator of talent just because you don’t agree with them is childish. Again, anyone can pull up fangraphs and cherry pick stats to fuel their argument.
The Os were linked to Bruce and heavily prior to opening day and I think a deal gets done if they move on from Fowler instead of making Bruce their “2nd choice”. It also gets done if Fowler shows a little professionalism and returns to the CHC without needing the feeling of being courted. Think his FA this season won’t be impacted by what happened this season?
What? Fowler wanted an opt out, Bal said no. Fowler signed with the cubs for 1 year. What courting?
If you mean he will get paid more money because he has been great this year then yes this season impacts next off-season.
Cozart fits the Hardy role at SS. Manny back to 2N, sure hands with a little pop.
Jeff, can you please explain why you think Arodys Vizcaino has similar trade value to Ken Giles?
He has fewer years of control left, Has the ped thing, was bad for a while, and doesn’t have the track record (albeit it, also short) that Giles has.
Last year Viz had 2.48 fip and 3.50 xfip in 33 innings. Before that he was bad.
Ken giles had 1.34 fip and 2.03 xfip in 45.2in in 2014 and a 2.13fip and 3.o5 xfip in 70in in 2015.
“Market nuance is always going to influence things apart from stand-alone value, but yeah, I think he could be seen as a similarly valuable pitcher. “
Chester has spoken.
that’s literally a quote from jeff…so fail
Gogerty you’ve commented on everything else and not this. No crow eating?
I love you Chester.
That won’t improve your baseball knowledge.
I’m a vegetarian.
Ok
Jesus Christ douche alert. You’re on an Internet message board grow up.
Sorry, our exchanges dos get out of hand TDKnies.
Nah I don’t fault you at all, sorry if it may have looked like that based on where my reply got posted. Just because you like to be involved doesn’t give that guy free reign to beat on you every time you say something that may or may not be incorrect
Well I do appreciate you clarifying. But at same point I am old enough to know better in egging it on. Learning opportunity, while I may not be 100% on top of the stats, doesn’t mean I am an idiot. Poor defensive mechanism on my part. Have a good evening TDKnies.
You too G!
Similar implies sharing a tier … in this case, control difference is offset somewhat by the fact that we are talking about a deadline sale.
Especially for a reliever, I think teams are looking at what they are bringing now and how it tracks back to what kind of talent base they have laid down. If Viz is improving upon a good starting point, no reason not to trust the numbers.
Giles outperformed his xFIP/SIERA by a hefty margin last year, too, fwiw.
All that said, I agree Giles was a more valuable piece. When I said “similar,” I was speaking in broad terms — remember, I’m just responding to one of many comments.
Aff10 yeah
I would say Ryan Howard but he’s so bad that if he got waived no one would claim him
If the Yankees continue playing the way they have been, they could add a few big names to that list.
Anyone on the Angels.
Shields just had a horrendous outing, so knock him down a few pegs. Put Clay Buchholz at the bottom of the list somewhere. Boston doesn’t want him and someone will show interest.
One bad outing is not enough to seriously affect his value. His ERA is a serviceable 4.28, and that’s AFTER he got shelled for 10 runs. If he goes out next time and lays another egg there may be cause for concern but it’s unreasonable to expect Shields to perform at a subpar level in the future based off of one outing, no matter how bad it was.
Also, I find it hard to believe that anyone will be showing interest in Buchholz. He’s expensive, his strikeouts are down by a LOT, his walks are up by a LOT, and his ERA is 6.24. Boston can shop him but they’re not even close to being out of contention, and even if they were, they’d have to eat almost all of his remaining salary to get back even a remotely interesting prospect.
I think the Rays FO knows this is another below .500 season. You can safely call them sellers at this point.
Tigers should trade Lowe for 2 dollars and half a bagel.
Love to see Braves haters here too (why do other Braves fans have to be so homeristic?)
Well, my Braves trade proposals:
1) Vizcaino to the Houston Astros for Joe Musgrove (RHP) OR Derek Fisher(OF)
Why it makes sense: Houston could use some bullpen help, like most teams minus the Yankees. We get either a pitcher with pinpoint control (70 grade) or an outfielder I REALLY like- his power/speed combination is really impressive. I prefer trading for Musgrove, because we need a pitcher with control.
2) Teheran to the Astros for Bregman (3B/SS) straight up
Why it makes sense: The Astros need pitching, period. We would love to have Bregman. Teheran would be a perfect for for them, especially bc he is cheap. He has pitched better than anybody they have currently. Thinking of an infield with Bregman, Swanson, Albies, and a TBD first baseman makes me drool.
3) Teheran to the Rangers for Lewis Brinson (OF) straight up
Why it makes sense: The Rangers, after getting Darvish back, have two aces. But having two aces at the top and then Teheran would definitely lead them to the top of the AL West for the 2nd time in 2 years. They have a stacked OF, so Brinson wouldn’t be too bad of a loss (they have Choo when he comes back from the DL, Mazara, Desond for the year, and Rua I believe). On the other side, the Braves would love to add Brinson- he’s a top 15 prospect and he’s be a good get for Teheran, even if it’s for him alone.
4) Teheran, Vizcaino, and Mallex Smith+$5 million to the Houston Astros for Bregman (3B), Derek Fisher, (OF), and Kyle Tucker (OF.
Why it makes sense: The Houston Astros fill their holes- SP, bullpen, and OF. Teheran can easily be a #2/3 pitcher for the Astros right now and Smith could start in center/any OF position for the Astros alongside Vizcaino who can be setupman/closer. The Braves get Bregman, which I explained above, Fisher, which I explained above, and Kyle Tucker. Tucker has an outstanding pure bat which is raking in A-ball right now. He’s a good fit for the future.
5) Freeman and Teheran to the Astros for AJ Reed, Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker and Joe Musgrove
Why it makes sense: Astros fill their biggest hole, which is 1B and the outfield. We get 3 stud prospects in Reed (the 1B of the future to replace Freeman), Bregman (to complete the infield), and Tucker (future imo stud OF’er). Alongside, we can a middle of the rotation arm of Musgrove, who I talked about above. We might have to add in soem money, but Freeman’s a bit expensive contract is evened by Teheran’s cheap contract by a bit…
All are some pretty decent trades, nothing overblown or weak either. Your bringing back of Reed for Freeman is along the same lines of my Pittsburgh scenario. But as Theo said and I agree, Pitt is more small market than Houston is.
Oh and your balance of Freeman’s contract and Julio’s is what I should have stated better, good call.
Question for Braves fans. At what point do you want to stop selling and start buying? Don’t you want to keep Freeman and Teheran and use those guys as building blocks for when you start being competitive next year?
I, personally, don’t think we’re going to be competitive for another 2-3 years until 2018 or 2019. There is no need to keep Teheran/Freeman for two years (in their primes) when then, they will only have 3ish years of control when we can turn them into multiple players who could be better/have lots of upside who would have 5+ years of control in 2018. If we could get an elite OF prospect+, Freeman to a 1B prospect, OF prospect, and a solid pitcher, and Vizcaino into a solid prospect (doesn’t matter position).. draft well and sign the intl prospects (lots of them), I think we’ll be in a much better position than with Freeman, Teheran, and the prospects we currently have. And also, from the begining (winter after 2014), I was a firm believer that if we were going to go full rebuild, we should just trade everybody, and I have so far been correct..
I agree David, plus why keep Freeman at $20M if we are not competing? I think you are absolutely correct in the 2018/19 estimation. I think all Braves fans would love to have been somewhat competitive and not the “Oh we have Atlanta coming up on our schedule!” Type team. Yes Freeman for a new 1B of our future, OF or C (only reason I thought Pittsburgh as they have both) and a P would be good.
Never know, think next couple months will be telling. But Hart and Coppy have more experience than me, so will have to trust in them. They seem to have made better decisions so far than Wren.
As a Brewers fan I understand what you’re saying I would just be careful with trading any and all good players you have for prospects. Because all these prospects you’re getting will not pan out, in fact most of them probably won’t. So you could be setting yourself back even more by selling any and all good players you have. Especially someone like Vizcaino who is good and paid pennies for the next few years. You also need a good amount of veterans in your lineup and staff to teach these guys how to do things.
Just, no.
I see zero circumstances in which Houston would give up Reed or Musgrove in a deal to get Teheran or Freeman. I could see Bregman being expendable, but I don’t see them having a blockbuster for another reliever. Their starters can’t carry a lead into the sixth. No Vizcaino to Houston trade makes sense, for the same reason no Joe Musgrove trade away from Houston makes sense. They need SP.
Teheran is a proven MLB commodity, and it would be nice to have, but not as the expense of Musgrove. A Musgrove/McCullers led rotation is a very real possibility.
Teheran’s name is once again brought up in trade rumors. Arodys Vizcaino also seems likely to be traded as both of these guys have way more value on the trade market then on a team that won’t compete until at least 2018.
I’ve suggested a few teams that Teheran could possibly go too but there are probably two teams that I see actually being able to afford him and having a need for him. I think that Boston and Houston both have a need for another quality arm however I’m not sure if Houston is actually going to be competitive this year. The Pirates have a farm system that would have some attractive pieces for him however they have two close to major league ready arms ready to go as is. Toronto, Baltimore, Chicago WS and St. Louis could all use an upgrade at SP but I don’t see them putting together a package that would fit the Braves needs.
So overall if the Braves were to trade Teheran I think that Boston looks like the most likely candidate. I know most people think Boston wouldn’t move Benitendini, but I think that if they could get a good number 2 SP and dump some salary (Buchholz) this may enable them to win now.
Braves: Teheran, Kelly Johnson, and Jason Hursh
Red Sox: Benitendini, Anderson Espinosa, Clay Buchholz, and Josh Ockimey
Overall I think that this trade is unlikely because of the time Boston has spent building it’s farm, however a controllable true number 2 pitcher and a salary dump of 13 mil for next year and the rest of this years contract may make this worth it to them.
I see two teams who should have an interest in Vizcaino. The Cubs who don’t have the best bullpen but have seen Vizcaino before and could use another good arm to bolster them throughout the season. The other is Texas who has had one of the worst bullpens in baseball this year.
Vizcaino might net something a little less than Brinson from Texas and maybe something like McKinney from the Cubs.
If the Braves can trade Teheran and get Benitendini they should do it immediately. And if they can get someone to believe he is a #2 they should trade him right away as well. Most analysts will tell you Teheran is playing out of his mind now and is due for a large regression. Most analysts will tell you he’s a back of the rotation starter, mid rotation at best.
Raykraft88, that is a nice trade you put together. Agreed with Baumer that if Braves could get Benintendi and Espinosa, that would be a huge gain.
Granted I am a Braves fan and partial, but I think Julio is just in that usual 3rd year of full time work where batters start to figure you out and you need to strengthen the mechanics. Strasburg, Shields, Price, and Lester all had years between 3-5 that were off their course. It happens to a lot of 200 inning pitchers.
I also think Benitendini and Espinosa is a package you put together for someone like Sonny Gray not Teheran.
Sonny Gray isn’t available though, Teheran is. It’s all about supply and demand and the supply isn’t really there this year. You can argue about Teheran not being worth player X and Y, but at the end of the day a GM who believes they are 1 player away from the post season can do crazy things.
He isn’t available yet. The trade deadline is not tomorrow and the Red Sox are in 1st place. They can be patient and see whats available. Never know what happens in the next month and a half. It’s not like they are the white sox where they kind of need to do something soon. This will also give more time for them to evaluate Teheran and see if he really is “back.” And the Braves GM said they aren’t trading Teheran, I know that means nothing but what does it mean when Beane says they’re not trading Gray? Same thing
Braves GM said no such thing. He said they aren’t trading Teheran for prospects, which can be translated to mean is that Teheran is available and the price is high. Also I don’t know if you’ve checked recently, but Sonny Gray’s 2016 numbers are not pretty. The As would be selling low on him and I doubt Beane would do that.
You are right about the deadline though. It’s not tomorrow and for Teheran’s price to remain high he needs to continue to pitch well for at least another 6 weeks.
It’s only been about a month and a half of baseball for Gray. Very small sample size for his history. If he comes back and pitches the way everyone knows Gray can pitch no one will doubt giving the A’s a haul. Again it’s early and most teams haven’t decided if they are sellers or not which is why there is pretty much 3 teams dominating this list with players right now. That will all change in a month or so. No reason for the Red Sox to rush to a decision now.
Yeah I think Hahn mentioning he would look early kind of had everybody thinking things might start happening sooner.
If the Braves get Brinson for Vizcaino I would be really sad. Everything is set up for Lewis to be our future in CF. I also think that Gallo and Brinson are as close to untouchable as prospects get. Now if you want to talk about Profar I am all ears. He needs a chance to play full time and he is not going to get it with us.
The Rangers aren’t trading Brinson for Vizcaino. I shouldn’t say aren’t but highly highly unlikely. Why wouldn’t they use Brinson in a package to get a star like Lucroy? If they would even do that. Makes much more sense.
I don’t think they would.. but Teheran for Brinson + Yrizzi (if overpay is worth it for the Rangers) could be done..
That’s a massive overpay….
David I know these are just your trade opinions but I highly disagree. Bregman, Musgrove, and Reed are for sure untouchable while Fisher could be traded but it’s unlikely.
That is an overpay I think. Plus where the heck would we put him? Our rotation is not the problem. Currently we are looking at Hamels, Darvish, Perez, Holland and Lewis. The top two are as good as anyone in the league and Perez, Holland and Lewis are good enough that Teheran is not an upgrade worthy of trading Lewis Brinson.
As for Lucroy I like the guy a lot and I would really be happy to have him. So you won’t here bad words from me if JD makes that move. However, the current catching duo is hitting somewhere in the area of .260 with some power and great defense. We get Chirinos (the actual starter) back soon and I think we can make a deep playoff run with what we have at catcher. I am uneasy about trading Brinson to fix a problem that doesn’t exist.
This deadline I would rather see us move Profar for significant, controllable bullpen help.
If anyone checks back a few months I was writing that I thought we needed a catching upgrade after Chirinos got hurt. I would probably have sold Profar + 1 for Norris and something else. Glad Jon Daniels doesn’t call and ask for my opinion haha. Who would have thought Bobby Wilson would hit .300 with 2 grandslams?
I’m thinking we’ll see the 2 Davids moved this July as well, Phelps and Hernandez. They’re both at the top of their game right now and teams like the Jays are starved for an extra late-inning guy.
I don’t believe the Braves are to far off. I think they could be competitive next year and then be a top team the year after. Wisler, Teheran and Folty have been producing. And you can run all those nonsense stats out there all you want but I watch the games and at the end of the day when we do make the move to be competitive defensive statues like Garcia, Beckham, K. Johnson and A.J’s horrible play behind the plate will only improve their numbers.
Next year bring up Dansby at short and bring back Beckham to platoon with Jace until Albies is ready sometime after the super 2. Then trade for Plouffe and sign Wieters. Also sign a veteran SP to slot in at the 4 spot in the rotation between Folty and Blair. Maybe somebody like Gio Gonzalez if available.
Keep Vizcaino as the closer, move ManBan to the bullpen. You got Shae and Paco coming back and Hunter has proven himself thus far. Withrow & Perez round out the bullpen.
1. Inciarte CF
2. Beckham/Jace 2B
3. Freeman 1B
4. Wieters C
5. Markakis RF
6. Plouffe 3B
7. Swanson SS
8. Pitcher
9. Mallex LF
Bench
Jace/Beckham
K. Johnson
Flowers
Frenchy
Garcia
ROTATION
1. Teheran
2. Gio
3. Wisler
4. Folty
5. Blair
BULLPEN
1. Vizcaino RH
2. Paco LH
3. Simmons RH
4. Hunter LH
5. Withrow RH
6. ManBan LH
7. Perez RH
I can see this being a competitive team while still giving Albies and Ruiz time to develop as well as the young pitchers like Newcomb, Sims, and Ellis time at AAA. Jenkins could be moved to get Plouffe and if Gio’s option is picked up then maybe we go in another direction and sign a Kazmir or make a run at
Sheilds which would amount to 2 yrs by then hopefully one of the young guys will have figured it out hopefully Newcomb.
The only question I have in that is the C spot. I know we are only a quarter into the season, but Flowers is doing nearly as well as Wieters in 2/3 the ABs. Wouldn’t it be better to allocate money elsewhere? I just haven’t been 100% sold on him.
I believe Flowers is one of those guys that if they play to much they get exposed. I really feel his best attributes make him the perfect back up catcher. A David Ross type. I really like him as Julio’s personal catcher. And I don’t know his exact numbers but what I read not to long ago was that Wieters started out slow and has been coming around and he has been throwing runners out as well. Switch hitter and a local boy.
I gotcha, maybe last 30 days is better than the first. But everybody gets exposed at some point, difference who overcomes it I think.