Here’s the latest from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:
- The Dodgers and Brewers have remained in contact over a potential deal involving Ryan Braun, Cafardo reports. Last summer, the two sides reportedly engaged in serious talks about a deal involving Braun and Yasiel Puig. Trades involving big-name players don’t typically take place early in the season, although it’s worth noting that, at last check, the Dodgers were not one of the teams restricted by Braun’s no-trade clause, and that he will receive ironclad no-trade protection when he becomes a 10-and-5 player May 24.
- The Mariners could start selling talent early if they don’t improve after starting the season 3-8, Cafardo writes. Should the Mariners become sellers, I’d speculate that potential trade candidates could include Danny Valencia, Carlos Ruiz, Jarrod Dyson, Yovani Gallardo and Steve Cishek, all of whom are eligible (or potentially eligible) for free agency after this season. Players like Marc Rzepczynski, Leonys Martin and even Nelson Cruz and Jean Segura could also be subjects of speculation.
- New Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen isn’t certain about when, or whether, the team will put veterans like Zack Greinke on the market. “We haven’t tackled the long-term outlook yet,” he says. “You see what you have when you get to the June 1 marker. We’ll ask, ‘What are we looking to do to improve the club? What can we do to improve the club? Where are we at overall with our organization?’ That’s what we’re going to talk about. We’re not looking too far down the road at present.” Hazen, of course, inherited a Diamondbacks team that won 69 games last season, although it should be noted that they’re currently 7-4 and in first place in the NL West at this very early point in the year.
- The Red Sox have missed 85 player days due to illness since 2011, most in the Majors. Those 85 days cost the team approximately $3.9MM in salaries. At the start of the season, the team was dealing with a flu outbreak, leading other teams to take precautions when sharing a clubhouse or stadium with the Red Sox — the Twins asked the Tigers to fumigate their visitors’ clubhouse after following the Red Sox as guests at Comerica Park, and the Rays brought air purifiers for their series at Fenway this weekend.
- Doug Fister remains a free agent mostly because teams feel his stuff is “marginal,” and that he therefore isn’t worth the big-league deal he seeks. Colby Lewis, too, is available, and has lately only received lukewarm interest. Those pitchers could find homes if hurlers from other teams get hurt, although, at this point, Fister would almost certainly need to start the season in the minors anyway to build up to being able to make big-league starts.
We are in big trouble!! Chris Sale the only pitcher and no offence!!!
The Red Sox will be just fine their offense will come around and their pitching should be good. It’s 10 games into the season cmon people let’s talk after a third of the season is over before people start panicking about the Offense and their starters. On a good note Pom looked real good his first outing of the season hopefully he can carry that through.
It’s hard to replace Ortiz and his steroids
Yankee fans should know. You’ve had your share of juicers
It’s been 11 games!!!
Your point?
No offence intended, no offence taken…
If the Mariners continue to struggle they need to sell off as much as they can. I can’t believe I’m saying that but they need to, but I’m still expecting them to turn it around anyways. I feel like Cruz could be a good fit for Boston who needs another hitter that can either DH or play corner outfield. I could be wrong though, but just from the little research I’ve done on the RedSox he seems like a good fit. Put Hanley at first and have Cruz DH, and on some days have Cruz play the outfield.
if the mariners are still in sell mode, you have to assume their trade pieces are probably not performing well, right?
Not really, it’s mainly the pitching that has gotten them where they are, not much of bullpen, and the starters do good for about 5 innings and then give up 5 runs, only ones not doing that are Felix and Paxton.
And paxton isn’t a piece you sell, felix is one you can’t sell and their guys that are tradeable like cruz, dyson, and valencia are the ones that are performing poorly.
If those players and the others that are trade assets start to perform better to where a team would be interested, you assume the mariners will perform better as well.
Last year the offense was great and we just hovered around .500 all year until a late run when all of our pitchers suddenly became untouchable. So unless the pitchers can do that all season I don’t see them as more than a .500 team. And in my eyes next year is our last year of being able to contend with Cruz leaving and everyone continuing to age. And to avoid another 15 years of no playoffs they need to do a complete rebuild unlike they have in the past. They should have traded Ichiro, and they should have traded Felix. If they had done that we wouldn’t be talking about a playoff drought. So they need to trade everyone they can, not just a couple of guys, if they sell one they need to sell them all. But of course I’d like to see them just end the drought now, but I don’t see that happening with this team. They should be able to get top prospects for at least Seager, Paxton, Cruz and Segura. I’m not sure with the contracts of Felix and Cano.
you aren’t getting top prospects for cruz and segura and no one is taking cano’s or felix’s contract.
Unless fangraphs is wrong here (including this year) Felix has 3/79 with a full no trade clause and Cano has 7/168 and full no trade.
I understand Cano and Felix, but I disagree about Cruz and Segura. I’m not saying packages like Sale and Chapman. But I could see each getting 1 or 2 top 8 organizational prospects. Or maybe just one top 50 MLB prospect.
Cruz is a very limited defender and runner with what will be 1.5 years at ~21 mil, so unless his bat can stay around that 130+ wRC+ number there isn’t a ton of value there. He seems like he’s probably an AL only fit at this point, so that eliminates half his market.
Segura has a year and a half left too, I believe and it’s gonna depend whether he’s closer to the 120 wRC+ guy from arizona or the 60 wRC+ guy from the brewers. If he continues to be that guy from Arizona, then I could see him bringing back something like that. There is also the issue with him that he’s not really a ss and not many contending teams need a 2b.
We’ll have to see how they perform. If they are decent then I could see them getting back end top 100 types.
Cano and Felix have full no trade clauses. They did trade Ichiro for Mitchell and Farquhar. The Mariner’s have never done a full rebuild, usually a little above or below .500 and when they’ve had a high draft choice they drafted badly.(clement, Ackley).
In order o get those prospects you’re talking about someone would need Segura or Cruz badly and I don’t see someone needing either yet.
Basically right. Felix technically doesn’t have a contractual no-trade clause, but he has 10/5 rights, so same effect. He also has a built-in “health insurance” provision (Seattle’s historically eschewed traditional pitcher insurance) — if he hurts his right elbow (and misses 130+ days in a 183-day stretch), then Seattle gets him at a paltry $1M option for 2020. That helps any trade value he might’ve had, but I agree he’s highly doubtful to move. To other teams, he’s 31 w/2+ expensive years left, some velocity concerns, and a declining K/9 (though a resurgent BB/9 would help mitigate that). To Seattle, he’s the face of the franchise and an iconic Seattle sports figure who draws fans (inc. “King’s Court” each start).
That a point about Ichiro, they traded him for Mitchel and Faraqaur. And how are they helping the M’s right now? They should of traded him while he was in his prime for some actual prospects. And sense everyone is saying not to worry because it’s only 10 games in or so, well then there’s plenty of time for them to build up value and for other teams to find a need.
*thats my point
Agree. Cruz has averaged 4.2 WAR/yr over the L3, so there’s some room to decline while remaining a valuable asset. If he returns to 2014-16 form, then a fringe top-50 prospect may be within the realm of possibility (although a top 75-100 prospect plus a lottery ticket guy or promising delayed-ETA prospect seems more likely). If his wRC+ declines to ~115-120 (that’s still VMart/J. Abreu territory), then he’ll probably still be movable but for a diminished return.
Also I could see Seager fitting well with the Yankees, but I doubt that happens due to the control the M’s have and the Yankees probably want to continue building their farm.
Pitching is key
I don’t know the state of the mariners farm but it has to be pretty barren
It’s only like 10 games into the season! You’d swear the sky is falling with people talking about how they’re teams are struggling. RELAX. It’s a long season. Damn
when your team is pretty much a .500ish win true talent team and they get off to a crappy start, it makes it hard to come back from. Things can change, obviously, but when question marks prior to the season are performing poorly you can’t just ignore that. “it’s a long season” is a nice idea, but a loss in april is still a loss.
Exactly chester..did anyone hear about teams with these starts and the historical odds that are against them. The old saying you can’t lose a division in April but every win/loss counts in the end!
Man i want braun so bad. Braun/seager/turner/ agone would be a lethal middle of the order
As a Brewers fan, it’s time for him to go, Our farm system is very deep with OF prospects. The Dodgers will have to pony up a legit Prospect for him, the Brewers won’t just give him away
Give us Bellinger your highly touted 1B prospect and we’ll give you Braun along with Garza.
There’s a reason the Braun trade didn’t get completed last year and that’s the reason. Bellinger isn’t going anywhere. Plus no one wants Garza. This rumor always seemed to be smoke and mirrors. The deal that seemed to include Rios and Oaks may very well still be on the table, now that Oaks is healthy again. In no way are they going to part with Bellinger especially with the extended three years on that contract with a player that still has concerns about his back. As a Dodgers fan it’s comforting knowing the available OF options that might fit better than Braun will be on the market at the deadline. The Dodgers will take a player at their price or pivot. So in a sense the Brewers are handcuffed. They aren’t in the drivers seat especially if the Giants are wary and aren’t willing to hop in the hunt. That being said as a Dodgers fan I’d be more apt to wait to see how the Royals and Tigers view their situations.
Thing is Brewers don’t have to trade Braun. Dodgers offer crap and expect Brewers to pick up large part of deal Brewers just say no thanks and hang up the phone. To many Dodgers fans think Brewers need to get rid of Braun and will pay most of his salary and take garbage back in return. It’s not going to happen.
That’s the whole point there’s a reason why this trade isn’t going to happen. The first being the Dodgers having to eat the final three years on that contract or two considering who is a part of the deal. The second being wondering if he can still play RF. If there’s no reasonable market heated up by the Giants it’s hard to see the Dodgers budging especially before 10-5 kick in. Honestly the other 4 on that list make little to zero sense in terms of prospects available i.e. Angels, Dbacks, Marlins and the Padres in their respective process.
In all of honestly it’s also contingent on Puig. For all the slack Dodger fans including myself have given him, and rightfully so, there appears to be a monumental change in approach and just overall performance. And yes even I provide skepticism, but there’s now fluidity and a different book on how to try to get him out. He will most likely always have those singular wth moments now and then, but this offense seems to be extremely different compared to last year against LH. Who knows it just might be Puig being Puig. The numbers have yet to normalize to what the FO considers the potential against LHP but considering Forsythe has done what he was brought here to do, Seager and Turner are rewriting the narrative there’s an interesting upside. This offense will hinge on the continued improvement of Puig and Guti but I’m not sure if it’s as dire as last year. That being said it would behoove the FO to wait until the deadline considering their greater need might potentially be a SP. So all in all the prize prospect will be Bellinger, but I fail to see a situation where he’s moved. And yes the Brewers don’t have to trade him, but the Dodgers if the need arises also aren’t beholden to him since there will intriguing OFs that would save them from probably eating the last two years on that contract.
Give us urias and you can have Braun , throw in puig and we will give the Dodgers access to our slide when they are in Milwaukee.. One slide per player ..
Lol not a chance
Brewers
I feel like this offseason had too many moves done by dipoto for them to throw in the towel after 11 games. Let them do their thing. Rebuild through the draft. Stop winning every offseason on paper and then finishing 4th in the AL west
Why waste the careers of Seager and Paxton in 4th place like we did with Felix and Ichiro? The Mariners need to start over, but I agree that we need to wait a few months after what we gave up this offseason.
There’s something sort of poetic about Cafardo writing that after the Red Sox leave the clubhouse has to be fumigated….
I think Kumas been pretty dang good really, especially considering how people were freaking out acting like he’s totally done cause his “Velocity of down”. Kuma has never been a Velo guy..ever.
He has a fip of 7 and xfip of 5.
The thing that people dont get about trade deadline deals is that unless you have a star like Cueto leaving in free agency at the end of the year, you have very little leverage. Obviously there are exceptions (Hamels) but you rarely see controllable stars traded at the deadline. The reason bad teams sell players is to a.) get ANYTHING for their players who would otherwise leave for nothing and b.) clearing time for young guys
With the Mariners, I would imagine Valencia, Dyson, Cishek and Gallardo can get the M’s an organization top 30 guy (figure 25-30), Segura could probably net an org 15-20 guy while each while giving guys like Overton a shot to play every day.
If the M’s want to get huge prospects, Seager is the piece to move.
The M’s have a good young core (Gamel, Heredia, Haniger, Paxton, Diaz). They just need to add on to it.
Everyone is undervaluing Segura imo, if he can stay healthy I can see him getting a way better return than a 15-20 prospect in an organization. We gave up Walker and Marte for him so if we can’t get more than a top 50 MLB prospect they will hang on to him.
Jean is the team
Why would Segura or Cruz bring back some good pieces if they play like they’re capable? Segura just led the NL in hits last year and has started well and looks great, and the Mariners really fleeced the DBacks in that deal honestly. People were saying DBacks were intelligent for selling high on Segura and M’s were questioned for buying high on him..when in reality they also sold as high as possible with Taijuan Walker as his value is only going to continue to go down cause he is never going to develop in to the type of pitcher people think he can be and that his talent has occasionally flashed that he’s possibly capable of. So M’s got their starting SS and RF who are also their #1 and #2 hitters. They kept the right guy in Paxton. And I think IF they were going to “Sell” that Cruz and Segura could fetch some nice prospects.. but if theyre playing well I’m pretty sure the Mariners will also be playing well. They’re so much better and more talented then their 3-8 start shows. Early April..Small Sample Size theatre and not..but I’m pretty sure like 65% of the runs the M’s had given up as of the other day had happened in the 6th inning or later. And that’s been 1Unlucky meltdown, and 3 Specific relievers who wouldn’t even have made the roster if not for injuries happening to 3 really important Mariner relievers in Zych/Cishek/Simmons. So when they get healthy..& also they’ll be adding a talent like Drew Smyly at some point Down the line which will almost seem like a “Trade Deadline Addition” in his self when he returns..which means Zych taking Fiens spot, which he just did yesterday..and Cishek plus Simmons will be taking over for probably Vincent and Scribner..they’ll have a very talented pitching staff 1 through 13. In my opinion when they get healthy with Felix-1(1A.) Paxton-2(1B.) Kuma-3 Smyly-4 and Gallardo/Miranda-5 with Diaz-C and being setup by Altavilla+Zych+Simmons(The “Power” Setup men who face LH&RH. All 3 of them sit 96-98MPH and can touch 99/100Often) and then the “Specalist” Setup guys in Pazos who’s young and has looked impressive and has serious potential and can be nasty vs LHH as a LH RP to face mostly LHH..& the TRUE Vet specialists in Cishek who’s death vs RHH and has tons of exp and Rzepczynski who’s death vs LHH..yes this if all goes as planned…which never seems to happen..but they’re only 3 more guys getting healthy away from it being reality..and IN MY OPINION when that’s the M’s staff 1 through 13 I think they have the best pitching in the division. It will be interesting to see man.
dude. paragraphs.
And Segura is currently riding a 375 babip.
He ran a .353 last year over 694 PA. That goes up to start 2017, and it’s still unsustainable? It looks more to me like he made real improvements last year.
I’ve always bought the idea that a pitcher’s BABIP is something they have little control over, but a hitter’s? I don’t buy that. Ichiro is running a .340 career BABIP. Jeter ran a .350. Mike Trout’s at .360. Should we start talking about them like their entire output has been due to some fluky number out of their control, or should we recognize that some hitters can run high BABIPS as a skill?
Yep. Dipoto has done a lot of good in a short amount of time..& I believe he will make most of his hay with drafting and developing his own guys..he had a great 1st pick in Lewis. And he’s sorted through all the left over prospects from Jack Z’a reign and decided who fits the development plan and what they look for moving forward and he dealt the guys who he didn’t think fit his system. And really he made some pretty decent deals with a lot of those crap Jack Z prospects.(Dealing Alex Jackson to Atlanta and getting a guy like Max Povse in return who’s done nothing but impress since he’s been in the system..including being probably the best Mariners pitcher for all of Spring Training..yes I know it’s ST..but it’s a young guy and it was nice to see) And he’s even taken the Jack Z drafted guys he saw something in and liked and already helped along their development, Tyler O’Neill jumps to mine first as he just took a GIANT step from the time that Dipoto was hired and they had the hitting summit and introductory stuff with all the kids in the system..& Tyler obviously bought in 100% and went full bore after it and we saw the results he produced last year and he looks like potential stud in the future. So Jerry has done a TON of little things over his 16+Months so far..including building a roster he likes at the ML level..steadily building the farm back up..and so on. I just like what I see.
Writing a bible Jesus lol
He brings a ton of value to a AL team offensively. There’s no denying that. The guy is a great power hitter, and a better all around hitter then people realize.
Yep he’s undervalued big time. Seems like he was even by the Dbacks as they supposedly “sold high” on him. I get he had what? A 5 or 6WAR year? Will be hard to match, but just look at the guy, he’s a damn good hitter and he’s a SOLID SS..even though some “experts” out there claim he’s “Not a SS, period!” Well my eyes seems to tell me otherwise. The Mariners honestly fleeced the Dbacks in that deal…people need to realize that it is possible..and actually it happens quite often..that at times pro athletes develop at different paces and that sometimes the adjustments they make along with the development can really make things come together and “CLICK” for a player at a certain time and that might be what they are as a “Finished product” in their prime..I mean it happens ALL THE TIME. Segura is what 28? I mean damn..the kid is super talented and he did go through some Seriously devastating personal tragedies in the midst of his down seasons a few years back. He got together with Cano and the adjustments they made obviously made things come together perfectly for Jean as he entereted his prime..it’s a good combo. And the M’s and Dipoto obviously felt that’s what it was..& they also saw something similar in Haniger..a kid with a lot of talent and tools who was a 1st Round pick just 5 years ago..he developed at his own pace..and it seems to be coming together for him also.
Yes, because your eyes are much better after watching him play ss for what, 10 games (or less) than talent evaluators and CERTAINLY aren’t biased or anything.
You’re right here in your thoughts at the start. And Dipoto has done it that way..he’s made a lot of moves, but none of them were the big/expensive and flashy ones..they to add depth and athleticism around a flashy and big crop that was in place..he’s done it the right way and they won’t be throwing the towel in in Mid April..especially with what they’ve seen from their SP’s and the injuries they knew they had to weather to start with. The team has talent and potential.
The problem is that the M’s don’t really have much of a future right now, all they have really is Oneil and Lewis. I think the roster is good enough this year but I just see it going down hill very fast from there which Is why I think they should rebuild now if their players perform to their abilities and there around .500. But don’t get me wrong, I want nothing more for them to make the playoffs, but id rather miss this year and build a better team than give up our limited farm to make the playoffs once and then have another drought.
It’s not super bright, but it’s gotten better in each of Dipotos years compared to the disaster it was when he inherited it. They have a couple really intriguing OFers who look like they both might actually really be legit and could be roaming Safeco OF together within 2years.(Tyler O’Neill and Kyle Lewis, who were both just recently ranked in the top35 of the Baseball prospectus Top100 prospects for this year. Also 1 other pretty intriguing OFer in Boog Powell but he’s not up there with them, he’s probablly more of a 4th OFer potential..Really can Glove it though and will work good ABs take walks.) And then they have 2 really intriguing Starting pitching prospects who’ve really impressed throughout this past offseason, in spring and so far to start this year in Andrew Moore and Max Povse..both seem to have clear backend #4/#5 starter potential but honestly I think they both truly have the ability to be #3’s, Povse has been especially impressive the huge RHP who’s very reminiscent of Doug Fister in body type and height. So they have some intriguing guys for sure..the 2OFs are the biggest gems but they don’t have any concensus top10 prospects in baseball right now..but Dipoto is doing things the right way and is developing guys.
Thank you for the draft novel, Mr. Tolstoi. Our people will get back to your people.
This one has to be my favorite reaction on how this guy fashions his posts. The worst part is, apparently he hasn’t seen or doesn’t care about any of them. Brick wall of text every time.
@blue painted dreams (not showing as posting under your comment for some reason). Better fit than Braun? Like who? You’re not getting his production unless you pay for it in terms of dollars or prospects. The Brewers aren’t the team searching for a ring needing a righty who kills LHP. Handcuffs are on your team dude. And there is no way the deal last year was Puig/McCarthy/Oaks/Rios because that would have been completed in a heart beat for LA and all rumors were they couldn’t agree on a 2nd prospect so clearly the Brewers didn’t stop it. And there’s certainly no way Stearns is taking Oaks/Rios by themselves if there’s no 3yrs of Puig too. At that point I’m looking at Buehler, Stewart + 1 + salary dump (i.e. McCarthy type from original rumor)
With the FOs love of versatility the first name that absolutely comes to mind is LoCain. The second name would be J.D. Second when did I ever say Oaks and Rios were the only pieces rumored to be discussed? I just stated that Rios and Oaks are probably still on the table as JDL is no longer a Dodger. Which btw the second piece disagreement wasn’t the narrative as to why the trade fell through. It was with the Twins, but not with the Brewers. Lastly I stated Bellinger was a no go and it appears as if Buehler, White and Alvarez will probably also be. So that being said you could be looking at BMac, Buehler, Stewart, whatever you like, but you’ll probably also be be looking at a pivot. I personally just don’t see this trade occurring especially considering they reupped Turner. I guess where we disagree is the fact that you believe Braun is the only LH killer that might be available at the deadline and that LA management is willing to take on another 3 years.