Here’s the latest hot stove buzz from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe…
- The Royals and Indians are among the teams looking at Athletics third baseman Danny Valencia. Kansas City has a void at third base with Mike Moustakas out for the season, and Valencia is a known quantity, having played for the team in 2014. The Tribe have also received below-replacement level production at the hot corner all season, though Jose Ramirez has played well splitting time between third and left field. Valencia could perhaps be a better fit for Cleveland in left given his rough defensive metrics (-13 Defensive Runs Saved, -26.9 UZR.150) at third base this season, though his bat certainly plays for either the Indians or Royals. Valencia is hitting .333/.381/.552 with 11 homers over 218 PA for the A’s, though that comes with the caveat of a .373 BABIP. The Mets are another team known to have interest in Valencia, though their subsequent signing of Jose Reyes may have addressed their infield needs.
- While Valencia is a right-handed bat, Cafardo notes in another item that “the Royals seem to be in on every left-handed hitter.” K.C. has posted middle-of-the-pack offensive statistics against righty pitching this year and is lacking in lineup balance, though the return of Alex Gordon from the DL should help on both counts. Cafardo implies that Padres outfielder Jon Jay (a left-handed hitter) could be a Royals trade target.
- The Marlins “possibly” have interest in Pirates southpaw Francisco Liriano. The lefty is having a down year, though the Fish could see Liriano as an answer to their pitching search due to the presence of Miami VP of pitching development Jim Benedict (who was credited with getting Liriano on track when the two were in Pittsburgh).
- Speaking of Pirates arms, closer Mark Melancon is also drawing attention from teams in need of bullpen help. Cafardo cites the Astros, Giants, Mets and Red Sox as teams who could be potential fits. Melancon is a free agent at the end of the season and thus could be a logical trade candidate if the Bucs decide to become deadline sellers. Melancon has a 1.53 ERA through 29 1/3 IP this season, though advanced metrics indicate that this is the weakest of his four seasons as a Pirates. Melancon has a 2.93 FIP, 4.18 xFIP and 3.88 SIERA, while experiencing drops in his strikeout and grounder rates (and an increase in BB/9).
- Ervin Santana “is seen as perhaps the most viable trade deadline pickup on the market,” with one AL assistant GM describing the Twins veteran as “the one guy out there who could be a sure thing in the middle of the rotation.” Santana has a 4.64 ERA, 6.37 K/9 and 2.39 K/BB rate over 77 2/3 innings this season, with ERA indicators backing up his unimpressive ERA. I would guess Minnesota would have to eat a fair amount of money in a Santana trade, as the righty is owed roughly $33.8MM through the 2018 season (plus a $14MM club/vesting option for 2019).
- Even a mid-tier arm like Santana could draw trade interest, however, as Cafardo predicts that little pitching will be available at the deadline. Teams may focus more on offense, and Cafardo lists 15 position players who could be targeted as we approach August 1. Many of the names have already cropped up in trade rumors, though Cafardo speculates that some unlikely names as Joe Mauer or Khris Davis could also get some attention.
Mauer has a no trade clause
What’s your point?
He’s 10/5 even if he didn’t have a no trade clause.
Point is, he’d use it. Moot anyway since Twins wouldn’t shop him.
Amazed how guys like Santana and Bud Norris have these years and become trade candidates, great thing about baseball.
Is there any chance that Pittsburg would trade Marte
There’s a better chance that Pittsburgh will drop the “H” from its official name.
Ha nice!
youtube.com/watch?v=gqdNe8u-Jsg
Valencia is the A’s best hitter and is not a up coming free agent. To get him a team would need to trade a top prospect most likely a outfielder which the A’s lack next year. KC doesn’t have the prospects to get a deal done and the indians would need to trade one of their top outfield prospects. That being said my bet is the indians stay with Ramirez at 3b and KC looks for a low cost substitution..
He in fact is on a one year deal so the chances anyone trades more than a mid-level prospect is incredibly low.
He doesn’t become a free agent until 2018.
Kyle he has a nother year of arbitration left and is hitting over .300 in the middle of a lineup. He would get a good prospect for him or he is going no where. There is no reason to trade a .300 hitter for a low prospect.
What are the A’s famous for? That’s right trading players for low prospects
?? Most trades were for good prospects. Last year at the trade deadline they traded Kazmir, Clippard, and Zorbist for Manaea, Mengden, Nottingham who they flipped for Davis and Alcantara in another flip. those were all for pending free agents. Valencia who has another year left is having a very good year would bring much better.
Alcantara came over for Coghlan
Unless, they Royals are trying to get a replacement for Cuthbert to package him in a trade for pitching, I can’t see how this makes the Royals any better. Cuthbert has done a pretty decent job both offensively and defensively in place of Moustakas.
It seems like there are better mid-rotation starters out there than Santana. Hellickson is having a decent year and is really cheap. Latos is out there to take a flier on. Seems like a really thin market for sure.
Royals are not a great offensive team, but AAA guys have been adequate. They need starting pitching. If Roys cannot get game to the 6th inning, then the strong bullpen does not matter.
Here is Melancon again outpitching his “predictors”. Maybe we should just look at his ERA and leave it at that?
Ervin is the most reliable mid rotation guy potentially on the market, yet, even in a year with very little pitching available the Twins would have to eat money to trade him?
He’s reliably mediocre now; he’s getting paid like the #2 he was 3 years ago.
His mediocrity has value at this moment (to aspiring division winners/wild card hopefuls with injuries), and probably in the next two years this is going to be the height of it unless he rebounds significantly.
If the Twins can crawl out from that albatross at half price and get a warm body they do it.
The quote in the post isn’t about the Twins trying to escape a supposed albatross contract. It’s about people across the league considering Ervin a top potential trade target to bolster the middle of a rotation.
$13m is about the going rate for an established mediocre pitcher, I’d hardly call that an albatross contract. Hell, this winter a FA pitcher with a sub 5 era is going to get dramatically overpaid.
If Erwin is an “albatross”, then what is Mauer? Joe is the deal that doomed them for a decade from the moment it was signed.
I know Mauer’s $23m is all local sports writers can talk about but there’s no way in the world budget room is to blame for the last five years.
Unlikely they would eat any money period unless they were getting a sure fire major league talent maybe. I really doubt Santana is going anywhere given the lack of (quality) pitching in the organization as a whole. He is signed for 2 years after this and they need arms. Other than Abad likely being moved and maybe a few other minor moves, it will probably be a quiet deadline in the TC.
There really isn’t any incentive for the Twins to move Santana unless some team out there makes a killer offer.
Really? Red Sox an option for Melancon? Anyone do the research on his career for this little snippet? Dude was awful in Boston and not because he was an awful pitcher but because his game doesn’t translate to Fenway. Try no to be a dingleberry when suggesting a guy makes sense for a team just because they need bullpen help.
Royals 3B out, they’ll deal for star 3B Valencia. Mets 3B out, they sign burnt SS Reyes. Difference between an ignorant organization and a World Series champion.
Another difference being one of the deals has happened in, you know, reality. And the other hasn’t. Just a technicality.
Another difference is mets got reyes for free and are paying him league minimum. While the royals have to give up prospects and will be paying him more via arb. Also, you said “star” 3B? Yeah, those cost premium prospects.
Reyes flops cut ties for nothing. Valencia flops cant get those prospects back.
Why is there no interest by teams needing a 3 bagger in Trevor Plouffe? Then the Twins could move Sano back to third and keep Kepler in the lineup.
Maybe the Twins could move Sano to center, Suzuki to 3B and have Kepler catch. That would the the fourth-weirdest misuse of position players in the last five years.
I like this comment so much it makes me want to kiss you on the mouth.
Hey, it’s the 21st century. Anything goes!