Indians right-hander Trevor Bauer, Blue Jays righty Marcus Stroman and Rangers lefty Mike Minor have been among the most popular names in the rumor mill in advance of the July 31 trade deadline. All three are quality starters who are under control through 2020, so a slew of contenders have predictably shown serious interest in each of them. But who’s the most desirable of the trio?
Perhaps it’s the 28-year-old Bauer, who started his major league career in 2012 with the Diamondbacks. The third pick in the 2011 draft, Bauer was something of a can’t-miss prospect coming up. It took him longer than expected to find his footing in the majors, though, and it didn’t happen in Arizona. It occurred in Cleveland, which acquired Bauer in a three-team trade prior to the 2013 season. Bauer was a useful starter with the Indians from his first full season in 2014 through 2017, but he truly put it all together last year. Across 175 1/3 innings, Bauer notched a 2.21 ERA/2.44 FIP with 11.34 K/9 and 2.93 BB/9 en route to a sixth-place finish in the AL Cy Young voting.
Bauer probably won’t wind up in Cy Young contention this season, though he has turned in another above-average performance. No major league starter has amassed more innings than Bauer, who has delivered 144 2/3 frames of 3.67 ERA/4.29 FIP pitching with 10.58 K/9 against 3.48 BB/9. But home runs have been a major problem for Bauer compared to last year, when he yielded them on just 6.2 percent of fly balls. The rate has shot to 15.2 this season, while Bauer’s groundball percentage has shrunk from 44.5 to 38.5. He is, however, averaging a personal-best 94.8 mph on his four-seam fastball.
Stroman, also 28, has never encountered trouble racking up grounders in the majors. Since debuting in 2014, Stroman has posted a tremendous 59.7 percent grounder rate, including 57.9 this year. The ability to induce worm burners has long made Stroman effective at preventing runs, even though he’s hardly a strikeout-heavy pitcher. Stroman has fanned just over seven per nine in his career and this season, and has also logged a sub-3.00 BB/9 during those spans. The package of skills has helped Stroman to a praiseworthy 3.06 ERA/3.60 FIP in 117 2/3 innings this season.
Minor, 31, fared nicely as a Braves starter from 2010-14, but injuries knocked his career off course thereafter and kept him out of action from 2015-16. When he returned the next season with the Royals, Minor was a reliever – and an excellent one at that. But after signing a three-year, $28MM contract with the Rangers going into 2018, he returned to a starting role. The results were closer to average than exceptional then, though Minor has made notable strides since. His ERA’s an outstanding 2.86, albeit with a less inspiring 4.08 FIP, in 129 innings. Minor fanned 10 Astros and walked one in seven innings of a losing effort Friday, improving his K/9 to 9.14 and his BB/9 to 3.14. Although Minor hurt his cause by allowing four home runs, he has generally kept the long ball at bay this season.
It’s clear Bauer, Stroman and Minor are all appealing starters, but one can’t simply compare their performances when talking about them as trade candidates. Their salaries also play a key part in the discussion. Bauer’s easily the most expensive of the group this year ($13MM) and could end up in the $18MM to $20MM range during his final trip to arbitration over the winter. Minor comes in next at $9.5MM, but another $9.5MM salary is already etched in stone for 2020. Stroman’s making $7.4MM this season, though he’ll certainly join Bauer in getting a raise in his last year of arbitration.
Weighing all the factors – performance, age, price and what you think each would cost in a trade – which of these hurlers would you most want to acquire in the next week and a half?
(Poll link for app users)
Of the 3 starters potentially on the trading block Bauer is the best option, in my opinion.
Best of the 3 by a mile, also cost most to acquire by a lot.
Stroman is a lot closer than you think
Not even
If you ignore all underlying advanced metrics, velocity and swing and miss potential (which plays better in the playoffs) sure.
If we are in the 1980s and just looking at ERA WHIP and IP they are closer then you think. If its 2019 and we are focused on the advanced metrics that value expected performance moving forward, then Bauer is 3-4x the pitcher Stroman is.
Lmao that’s not true at all.
Bauer will not cost the most! He is a FA and on multiple occasions said he is going to move forward on one year contract only.
Both Minor and Stroman are controllable past this season.
No, Bauer has one more year of control, says it right in the article.
Bauer isn’t a FA smart guy. He has one more year of control.
Bauer has had one good season in his career…
I’m pretty sure Bauer has had the best single season of the three and best 2-3 seasons of those three.
Bauer has the best season, you could argue Stroman has had 3 better seasons than Bauer’s second best. I really think people are downplaying Stroman based on one bad season last year.
Bauer had the best season. Stroman is in the middle of his third season that would be better than Bauer’s second best one…
Bauer will cost more because they don’t have to trade him. They’re in the thick of the playoff hunt and are breathing down the Twins neck. But if they can get a MLB bat and a top prospect they would move him and hope every pitcher moving one slot up in the rotation would minimize the departure.
None of these pitchers have to be traded, they all have another year of control after this one.
The point was about where Cleveland was in the pennant race compared to Texas and Toronto.
Agreed Bauer is the best. As far as acquiring I think it depends on fit, pitching style, ballpark, personality, etc.
And as a Yankee fan I would like Stroman. Ground ball pitcher translates well, plus he is AL East proven and from NY. I think he would excel. Bauer is a bit of a head case, and I don’t trust Minor. Too up and down in his career.
U could say the same for stroman and Bauer
Look for Cashman to acquire Leake or Minor.
It’s easily Bauer, Stromans K rate suggests his “improvement” if it is even real is minimal and a lot of luck induced. Bauer’s a crappy person tho. Minor’s having a good year but his xfip is 4.42, he’s more of a high end number 4 starter.
Bauer has one good year, Stromans 2017 was better than Bauer’s 18 and he’s younger, Career ERA almost a run lower. Take Stroman to winner and he’s a stud
Take Stroman out of the East and he’s even better. Pitching in that division is very tough.
While I agree, also not necessarily. He has DOMINATED the Red Sox. In 2019 alone he’s 2-0 with a 0.75. Watched both games and I’m still baffled as to how they play so bad against him.
He had a quality start in his only start against the Yankees. 6 IP 3ER. His 3 runs to the Rays this year are unearned, but he struggled with control that day.
His career stats for the most part back that up that he’s pitched pretty well against the AL East. That’s why the Yankees are even considering him over Bauer. However, I caution to look at the 1.400+ WHIP against the Sox and the 7 walks in only 12 IP. and the 10-7 K/BB against them. He was constantly playing with fire and had some luck play in his favor, so long story short, I agree the AL East factor doesn’t help, but it might not be hurting his metrics as much as you’d think.
There’s a lot to look at with Stroman. His numbers don’t make much sense.
They’re both 28 y.o.
Ridiculous, Bauer’s 2018 is a lot better than any of stroman’s seasons
Bauer struggled early in his career because of all the tinkering he does. His repertoire had so many pitches in it they had to try and get him to limit what he throws. It wasn’t until a couple years into the majors and they broke down the numbers and he was convinced what pitches to ditch and what to lean on more. He’s much further along now then he was when he was younger and I believe will only get better.
I think it depends on what you want for when. If you’re trading to get you through the regular season, I could see leaning Stroman. But in the playoffs when the pitching and lineups are that deep, Bauer’s swing and miss just plays better. If you’re worried about the playoffs and already have a huge lead like the Yankees, Bauer is your guy. If you’re the Twins trying to hold off the Indians or the Braves and Phillies, Stroman might be a better fit for a more consistent outcome.
“Bauer’s a crappy person” Do you happen to know Trevor Bauer personally to make such a claim?
I wouldn’t say crappy, but if you follow him, it easy to say he’s jerky
He’s certainly quirky. But I also think what makes him tick will also make him really prosper down the stretch if he is traded. He does better ticked off and uses the chip on his shoulder as motivation. He’ll throw 150/night and every 3rd day if you let him. His unorthodox preparation is what turned Arizona off but also leads to him having a rubber-like arm. I believe whoever gets him will certainly get their money’s worth.
Old guy here. Bauer reminds me a lot of Mike Marshall back in the 70’s – smart guy who definitely marched to the beat of his own drum and had the intellect to back it up. “Baseball people” at the time tended to shy away from him when things weren’t going well – hard to deal with in the clubhouse, weirdo, etc. When things were going well, management got out of his way and let him do his thing. HIs seasons in 1972, 1973 and especially 1974 were all remarkable. In the right environment, seems to me Bauer has the most potential to make a major impact for a contender. Can’t help but wonder, though, whether the metric mavens of today are just as rigid as the “baseball people” of years gone by to let an independent-minded athlete go his own way.
Great call, moethacker. Get on my lawn!
Shows how much you know lmao.
You dont judge a pitcher like Stroman’s level of improvement by his K% my guy…he purposely pitches to contact and generates the most GBs of any SP, his K rate being slightly up is nearly completely irrelevant. The guy has the stuff to strike people out at a higher rate but he only tries to when it really needs to because he wouldnt be a better pitcher by trying to strike guys out all game, hes not that type of guy. Stroman also has BETTER numbers in a tougher division the past 4 years than Bauer with the exception of the massive outlier of 2018 for Bauer. Idk where idiots get the idea that Stroman is some bad pitcher from, hes one of the best, if not the best GB pitchers/guys who pitch to contact in game.
Mike Minor made significant improvements to how he pitches. His xFIP shouldnt be of much worry(especially since hes been pitching in Arlington on top of juiced balls, yet his run prevention is great with a 2.8 RA9), it almost always underrates pitchers like him and they routinely outperform their FIP/xFIP. They dont like him because they think his LOB% is too high and should be hurting him more. His HR/9 before this last start was also <1 while he has to pitch in Arlington…which is very good. He may not mid a mid-high 2's ERA guy every year but things suggest his improvement is real and will carry over, probably will be a low-mid 3's ERA guy on average in the future.
Bauer is a trade candidate like Hyun-Jin Ryu is a trade candidate.
Bauer is being traded, its an absolute guarantee. He’s not resigning there and they have known all year
He’s also not a free agent til after 2020. And there’s a difference from resigning and re-signing. I’m shocked so many people make that mistake
Does it matter if he’s re-signing there or not? He can’t leave before the postseason is over.
Boyd is as good or better than these 3. Look at control years,WHIP, FIP,WAR (not Minor),k/9,walks/9 and has no run support. And like Minor a lefty. Also less expensive.
Boyd sure has not looked like it averaging 5 earned runs a game over his last 5 starts .
That sure does not cry out #1 or 2 starter
but but but… STRIKEOUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lol
Certainly not less expensive given what Detroit is supposed to be asking for him.
And, if he is that good and that young, why would Detroit trade him for minor league question marks that may never pan out.
If he’s such a “winner” they should build around him, not trade him.
1. Boyd’s control years do not line up with the Tigers new contention window.
2. If Boyd is extended beyond three years of control then you are paying for age 32+ seasons.
3. The most telling reason is the lack of hitters in the Tigers system compared to a strength of pitching in the system.
Boyd is at another level of cost. This article is comparing three good SPs with one yr of control left and similar cost to acquire
Boyd has looked like a #4 more like a #5 starter over his last 6 starts. Giving up over 4 runs every game does not make a person an ace. He might be raking up strikeouts but he is also giving up homeruns left and right. He is either not as good as he showed th first month and a half…or he picked a horrible time of the season for the Tigers to struggle.
Boyd doesn’t get traded! The Tigers will want too much and he hasn’t shown consistency to be worth what the Tigers want.
Boyd isn’t better than these three. He might cost more because he has 3+ years of control. I doubt Boyd gets dealt. I hope doesn’t. Avila has a way of messing up big trades.
I’d take Marcus Stroman over the other two.
He’s also not a free agent til after 2020. And there’s a difference from resigning and re-signing. I’m shocked so many people make that mistake
I want Minor. He would not cost that much in farm assets, and eats up a lot of innings. Would be a perfect 3 or 4 slot for the Astros.
Can’t imagine the premium the Astros would have to pay the rangers for trading for their ace.
You wanna see the best pitcher on the market this season? It’s in my pants.
Minnie minosa didn’t pitch
Is the best catcher also in your pants?
No. That’s in your pants. He’s a gold glover. I should know. I pitched to him last night.
I hope you washed your hand
Why would I do that? It would waste the stink.
home runs have been a problem for just about everybody now, Bauer is not alone, due to the bs juiced ball
regardless of which of the 3 it seems like this will be the cost Imo
1 major leaguer with long term control say like Reyes Padres , Frazier Yankees type.
1 top 5 prospect say Lux Dodgers type
and a proper outside a teams top 10 most likely the pitching prospect or second offensive player.
type of package I believe is being asked for
Frazier, Garcia and a lower level gut outside of the teams top ten prospects.
Dodgers example Verdugo, Lux , DJ Peters or Christian Santana or pitching prospect outside n of the top ten
Padres Reyes or Renfro plus top 5 prospect + prospect outside teams top 10 prospects.
just from reports of high asking prices to include a guy that has showed something at the major league level I believe this is close to the type of asking prices for Boyd, Bauer, Bum and Stroman.
Jmo and putting 2 and 2 together from articles written by teams beat writters.
Reyes , Renfro, Frazier and Verdugo has been mentioned multiple times on several media sites over the last 3 months and the previous off season.
It’s not good to think in terms of organizational prospect rankings. Remember that one team’s #10 prospect might be better than another team’s #5 prospect.
LOL for one, Boyd shouldnt even be included in that list, the guy is not ACTUALLY great and ive been saying this since the start. He had a hot start for 6 weeks…its practically the only great baseball hes ever pitched so far in his 4 year career. Yeah, lets believe that sample size. His K rate has stayed which is good, but hes been pretty awful for a while now.
Hes let up 3 or more ER (on 4-7IP) in every one of his past 12 starts except for 2, where he shut the team out both times. The teams he shut out? Miami and Baltimore, the two worst hitting teams in the league…so pretty much irrelevant. In those 12 starts hes let up EIGHTEEN HR’s including 3 in a game twice and 2 in a game twice in his past 5 starts. Anytime hes faced a good team(well actually by a few bad teams too KC scored 4 in 7IP and 5 in 4IP off him as well as the CWS scoring 4 in 5.1IP), hes gotten rocked since his hot streak ended. Hes had a Hard Contact rate of OVER 40% every single one of his past 7 starts and 0% Soft Contact in 3 of those 7 starts as well. Hes back to being the pitcher he has been, its almost like you shouldnt take small sample sizes and base anything off of them?
Your trade values are also laughable, for one Stro/Bum/Bauer dont all have the same exact value…so not sure why you think you can apply the same package to every pitcher? Youre also delusional if you think Frazier PLUS Garcia and more is going to happen, for any of them. But especially MadBum because hes a RENTAL and has had one of the single worst Hard Hit rates in the league and a near 40% FB rate and high HR/9..yeah that wont be good in the AL East or Yankee Stadium. Hes not even worth either of them alone, Garcia is a 20 year old who just completely dominated AA and a top 50 prospect and Frazier has 4.5 years of control for a guy who proved he can hit at an above average level and will still get even better with more MLB ABs. Stro/Bauer are worth Frazier and another 2 lower tier or a mid tier prospect, youre clueless if you think theyre worth a top 50 prospect who will only get better and an MLB ready guy like Frazier whose going to be a great hitter.
Boyd is the most valuable asset on the trade market. (Short and sweet)
@Dustin Michels
How is he the most valuable asset on the trade market? He is by far the worst of the bunch! He is controlled longer but that is it.
Look around and you will see many references to Boyd being the top option on the market as well as the most costly. Do not hate on me for just telling how it seems to be.
His advanced stats as a whole are better than all three of these guys and he has 2 extra yrs of control. If you do not buy into what those stats suggest of Boyd or future performance than that is your right.
Boyd wasn’t on that list… you were probably wishing to see him on there.
What do you think of Laurer, Myers (Padres eat half of remaining salary) and a pitching prospect not named Gore or Patino?
I think very little as half of Wil Myers contract is too much for some markets to take on for a player that has not produced. Lauer and a prospect are not enough for many teams to #1 – trade a pitcher of quality and #2 get stuck with a contract responsibility of over 30 million dollars for a player like Myers who adds little positive at the current time.
Detroit can’t take on Wil’s contract as they still owe Miquel Cabrera over 132 million. Cleveland won’t do it as they are a small market team that is always concerned with the bottom line. I doubt Texas or Toronto would see enough value in that offer to take on Wil Myers.
You gave it too much thought, these clowns have been brainstorming how to dump their garbage and/or Myers’ albatross of a contract on other teams all season.
And here we go with the ridiculous Padres trade scenarios…
All I know after Thursday’s embarrassing performance by my Braves and Jackson’s blown save on Friday we need help fast and Toronto has Howell in both areas. Time to pull the trigger on Stroman & Giles. Go get Givens to while AA is at it.
We’ll take Pache, Anderson and Muller please.
And we’ll chuck in David Phelps for your trouble!!
Yeah that won’t happen
I’m sure your right.
Jays are right to ask for a lot though. Especially for two controllable pieces that may be the best available at their positions.
I think you are probably pretty close to what Toronto would initially ask for. However, I dont think the Braves would pull the trigger on that. I think a realistic package would be something along the lines of Kyle Wright, Bryse Wilson, and then someone down the line a little bit more like Greyson Jenista.
And I don’t think Toronto would take that
I don’t think Seattle would take that package for Leake lol
Unfortunately, that probably is a lot more realistic…. but with a couple other lower tier prospects added in.
I think the Jays can realistically expect a prospect in the bottom half of the top 100 plus another decent prospect for each of Stroman and Giles. Can’t see a package deal unless they’re getting at least that much. Or picking up a top prospect like the Addison Russell deal a few years ago. In that case Pache might be a target…. but think the Jays would want a stud pitching prospect in that scenario.
Bauer is the 12th best pitcher over the last 3 years, but why would the Indians trade him now? Stroman and Minor can make a difference during this season, but can they win playoff games? I think teams like the Phillies, Rays, and all the other teams that are close in the wild card could take that chance.
No way the Indians trade Bauer. As a die hard Royals fan I hope they do but they are only 3 games out of the division and are on fire. No way.
He’s as good as gone!
If they trade him and miss by a game or two, watch the yelling for a head.
Unless they’re blown away with an offer this year, they’ll hold onto him and trade him in offseason
They’ve gone out of their way to send public signals laying the groundwork for him to traded.
He gone.
Yup, they even pulled him in and explained the process to him. They might not be shopping him but will listen to all offers and if they can get a bat that can improve their offense and a front line prospect he’s as good as gone.
id takr Minor here. Stroman’s year to year production is a question mark, and Bauer is still a solid pitcher, but will be making crazy money next year. id tend to believe Bauer’s last year is yhe exception to the rule, and that his numbers this year are closer to what he actually will be over time.
Stromans career ERA is the lowest of the three. Really he has one bad outlier year last year and people are acting like that’s the norm and this year is the outlier. He’s been more consistent year to year than Minor and better overall to this point than Bauer, in a much harder division to pitch in.
His 2018 wasnt even bad, his peripherals and GB% (62% which lead the league) were virtually the same as his 2017 season, he just had a bit higher FIP and xFIP but they were far from bad at 3.8-3.9. If you actually look into his 2018 stats and peripherals people would see that but most people just say “look at that 5.5 ERA he was terrible” when he wasnt. His defense was horrible(IIRC they were like 29th? in DRS) and he had poor BABIP luck on top of that. But yeah hes easily been the most consistent, thats one of his strengths and has done it in the AL East…hed certainly look better elsewhere and off that turf as a GB guy.
So now a high ERA should be overlooked if u look at the outlining numbers?
Watched Stroman be off his game and still throw 7 shutout innings last night. He’d have more dominating numbers pitching in the AL Central. I’d rather face Boston and NYY once each maximum than 3 time each per year. Last night was a vacation for Stroman.
Bauer ain’t better. Debate on 2nd place. Stro show is #1.
7 shutout innings against a minor league offense. The same minor league offense that hit two home runs off bauer a day earlier.
Sounds great, but next time actually look at the splits. He’s done well against Detroit and decent against Cleveland, but other than that he hasn’t exactly dominated the AL Central. And he also has the lowest WAR of the 3.
You dont sign a guy or judge him based off how hes pitched against specific teams LOL. The guy has pitched in the AL East (a much tougher division than the garbage Central) for the past 4+ years since he was a rookie(also had a great rookie year, not easy in that division) and been a consistent 3.5-3.9 FIP pitcher and leading the league in GB% many times and a <1HR/9 despite playing the Red Sox+Yankees all the time. Bauer is a good pitcher but the guy faces garbage teams so often because of how bad the central has been in recent years.
Actually laughing @ "he has the lowest WAR". Better not mention all the actual relevant peripherals and pitching stats that hes been better in on average the past 4 seasons lmao.
LOL…STFU genius, that was in direct response to the comments of how well he’d have been in the ALC.
Polish, give Stroman an extra start or two against KC and more starts outside of Fenway, Camden and Yankee Stadium his numbers would be a lot better. A lot better. Couple fly balls last night in Detroit are homeruns in Toronto. Point is, Stroman pitches in Detroit and he’s instantly in the Cy Young conversation. KC too.
AL East parks are hitter friendly with some dangerous lineups. His own park isn’t exactly pitcher friendly. Hate to break it to you, the AL Central has and always will be a more pitcher-friendly division than the AL East.
You build to the parks and teams you will face. He’s not done well against KC so those extra starts might not fare well and not sure why you’re worried so much about fly balls with a ground ball pitcher.
Hate to break it to you but his own park is pretty pitcher friendly. The latest rankings I’ve seen ranking least pitcher (aka most hitter) friendly parks is as follows:
28 Detroit
27 Boston
T24 KC & Minny
22 Toronto
18 Chisox
T17 Baltimore
T15 TB
9 Yankees
4 Cleveland
So you can keep saying it’s the divisions, the lineups, the field surface, the air conditioning, whatever, just because you say it doesn’t make it true. It’s tougher to pitcher in the ALC and Toronto as well, and relocating to a hitter friendly park like Detroit doesn’t instantly make him a Cy Young contender.
Did you source your information?
Did you show which year this information rings true?
What were the rankings the year before and the year before that?
Have there been alterations made to each park you’ve sourced?
Can you provide temperature and wind data?
On a side note, Bauer has been ripped in his career by Baltimore, Boston and Toronto. Since you want to point out Stroman against KC it’s only fair.
I stand by what I said; Stroman is a Cy Young candidate in the AL Central. Expecially in Comerica.
Wind data? Besides you blowing, not really…
And I don’t care what Bauer has done where or even Stroman in KC, those were directly in response to what you believe. Sometimes what people think may sound great in theory but means nothing when actual results prove otherwise. In Comerica he’s no better off than he is in Toronto, he might actually fare worse with the park layout and how he pitches.
The two parks I frequent the most are Rogers Centre and Comerica. I promise you without a shadow of a doubt Comerica is the far superior place to pitch. Especially for a pitcher like Stroman who does not strikeout a lot of hitters.
Nice little comment. I appreciated it. Lesser folks on here would have flagged you. I promise I won’t. You’re welcome.
Thats because Stroman is an actual pitcher who knows how to pitch, not a guy who just relies on having great stuff (although he does have good stuff, and can strike guys out when he needs to). Hes actually a really smart pitcher, knows how to attack a lineup, has fantastic usage and sequencing of his pitches, and does a lot of little things well that make a difference like messing with his timing to the plate to throw off hitters, quick pitching and bounces back/bears down in tough spots.
Guy gets so much disrespect by clueless people because hes a GB pitcher its insane, hes been a great pitcher in the AL East while having to pitch on turf as well.
I voted Stroman out of the three SPs. I was debating between Stroman and Bauer. Bauer has more upside imo but has more downside as well. You know what you get with Stroman which is a strongSP that will help your rotation.
Stroman could have experimented throwing with his left hand last night and throw 7 shutout innings lol
My Tigers offense ugh
Yankees have a losing record against the Indians, White Sox and Tigers.
Bauer, if you are going for a ring who cares about money, go for the stud.
None of them are a 1 or a 2.
I would love to see Stroman in the NL playing in bigger ball parks and getting to hit, which he loves to do. He is also one of the fastest runners on the team and was used as a Pinch runner in the playoffs in 2015 and 2016. He has elite athleticism that you rarely see in pitchers. Before his career is over, he will win more Gold Gloves than the one he already has. That being said, I could easily see him go to the Astros and be the best #3 pitcher in baseball for this season and slot in as the Astros #2 pitcher next year when Cole hits FA.
Stroman would be a stud in the NL. He has also matured this year. Not to mention he is a bulldog. It is too bad the organization did not do enough to provide SP depth because a big part of me wishes they’d give him an extension.
Stroman a stud? I just puked.
Just as much a stud as Chris Archer was going to be…
You forgot to provide more fake data to make your case.
I only want the Twins to trade for Bauer because he is on Cleveland otherwise I would pass on the whole group because they will demand more prospects than they are worth
You really think the Tribe would trade him to the Twins?
That would kind of defeat the purpose of trading Bauer…
I think I would go Minor, lefty and you can use him in the pen…could be the cheapest option of the 3 in 2020…probably costs the least in a trade as well
And granted, I know he’s the oldest and could be least talented…he’s been impressive this season
Bauer could pitch today and come out of the ‘pen in his offnights. Guy has a rubber arm.
The guy I would like to have on my team is Caleb Smith, Marlins.
Why isn’t Boyd on this list?
Because they chose to only compare these three?
Because it’s a second tier list. Obviously Boyd is ahead of these three.
Outside of being a lefty he’s not “obviously…ahead” of Bauer and Stroman.
He is if you know anything about baseball
All three compared are controlled through 2020. It is that simple.
Cashman and Yanks will look at Ray first is my guess.. they’re infatuated with hard throwing lefties. Also Arizona will be in NY at the deadline for a 2 game set… it all lines up. Not saying I want that, but it all lines up.
I’m looking at you, Billy Beane, to ruin the current chemistry the, Oakland A’s, have to acquire one of these pitchers only to lose in the Wild Card.
Inseparable from posing the question concerning which pitcher would a team like to acquire most of all is the question concerning what does it cost in terms of talent to acquire the preferred player.
A general manager could weaken his own team by over paying for the pitcher he wants most of all to acquire. He could strengthen his team by paying a reasonable price for one of the two less preferred players.
Give me Boyd
I still can’t picture the Tribe trading Bauer, at least not until the off-season.
The question isnt who’s the best pitcher, it’s who you would most want to acquire. Bauer’s price tag makes him less appealing and Stroman is a very solid starter with postseason experience who’s acquisition cost will be more reasonable…especially in the media hyped “buyers market”.
Stroman has pitched 30.66 postseason innings, Bauer 26 and would’ve had more if he put the damn drone down until the offseason.
It looks like if the Indians do trade Bauer, they would need major league ready players in return. They also have need in the outfield.
I see a good match with the Astros.
They have Derek Fisher (55 grade and #4 prospect in the system before his prospect status expired) who made a big improvement in his major league numbers this season from last, can play all 3 spots and is only 25.
Tony Kemp has proven to he a valuable major league bench player (on pace for 1.0 WAR) who can play second base as well as left or center field.
I think these 2 in a package with Bryan Abreu (50 graded SP #6 prospect) and Peter Solomon ( 50 graded SP #8 prospect) would benefit both teams.
What do you think Indians fans?