The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:
- The Angels will consider trade offers on Shohei Ohtani (1:00)
- The Cardinals are shifting their focus to 2024 (6:45)
- Teams like the Tigers and the Red Sox are going to let the on-field results dictate their respective deadline strategies (14:25)
Plus, we answer your questions, including:
- Do you feel that the Yankees should be sellers? (17:25)
- If the Rangers were to acquire Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger from the Cubs, would that make them the favorite in American League? (21:30)
- What are the Blue Jays going to target at the deadline? (24:00)
Check out our past episodes!
- Top Deadline Trade Candidates, Ohtani Trade Potential and the Slipping Rays – listen here
- Free Agent Power Rankings and Aroldis Chapman to the Rangers – listen here
- The Angels Trade for Infielders, Indecisive NL Central Teams and Aaron Judge’s Toe – listen here
With Trout out and Rendon taking another vacation, it’s Ohtani vs the world on a nightly basis.
If the Angels were smart, they would trade Ohtani and listen to offers on Trout in the off-season. However, the Angels are the Angels and will end up pandering to the fan base, keep Trout and lose him in the off-season.
Trout isn’t a FA any time soon….
Trout isn’t a free agent any time soon and the Angels are not making the playoffs anytime soon. He’s making a ton of money and the Angels need a full rebuild.
Rendon (and his contract) has crushed any sort of chance of the Angels making the playoffs for the next 3-4 years. Its insane how much Othanni is propping that entire franchise up right now.
This is the same thing as Trout & Pujols.
Trout was the player of his generation, but the Pujols signing was so bad that the the combination of the two was merely average given the expenditure.
The Rendon signing is so far underwater that if you added him to Ohtani, you’d get nothing back.
It doesn’t matter if the Angels listen to offers on Trout. He has a full NTC so it’s not up to the Angels, it’s up to Trout.
as if Trout would want to stay….
Welp, unless you’ve had a conversation with Trout, all evidence points to Trout wanting to stay with the Angels.
ya I’m sure he loves missing the playoffs every year
no chance they keep Trout past next year if Ohtani leaves and they flop again. (assuming Trout stays healthy enough to move the contract)
Goku – I never opined on his feelings about missing the post season. Any player of his caliber wants to play in October. But, again, there is no indication Trout wants to leave the Angels unless you have an inside scoop that no one else does. If you don’t, it’s mere conjecture.
Aside from his desire to win, I don’t believe Trout wants to play anywhere else. That’s my opinion based on a lack of evidence to the contrary.
I can’t argue that logic. however he’s def going to be dangled if Ohtani leaves
It’s Ohtani who should be more content staying in the environment he’s thrived.
Trout achieved a lot but is past prime and should be ring hunting at this point. nothing would be sweeter than winning in LAA, but fact is they’re not even close and likely won’t be before his contract is up
They probably get asked all the time about Trout. If Ohtani leaves, maybe that would motivate Trout to look elsewhere for post season success. Personally, I would rather they use Ohtani’s value in trade to build a winner around Trout in Anaheim. I think they owe him that. With Moreno as the owner, it will never happen based on the last 20 years. If they somehow convince Ohtani to stay and have over 120m AAV in three players, they would have to spend Cohen money to build out the rest of the team in a meaningful way. I don’t see Moreno ever doing that.
Not signing Ohtani wouldnt be the end of the world. So many players were signed on over a quarter billion dollar contracts this past off season. A lot of these teams that signed such players are in 3rd place or worse. The contracts will only look worse with time.
Google – I agree. This season is a perfect example of how you can’t buy a championship.
The only contract-matching trade where I could see both players waiving their NTCs to get closer to their homes is Trout for Harper.
Trout is the most marketable player in America for MLB and by far the most recognizable to fans as a whole. All of these mega contracts are not just about production but putting a face to a franchise which ultimately is the fave of their brand. Trout’s marketability makes him worth every penny of his contract to the Angels.
Ohtani is also a very unique player as he brings in massive appeal in Asian countries especially Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan where baseball is huge. As well as the huge appeal he has been garnering here in America. His contract to will likely pay for itself.
As far as Trout being passed his prime, did u miss where he hit 40 HRs in 120 games last year?? He also has a respectable 18 HRs through 80 games this season.
In regards to if Ohtani leaves, it actually would likely benefit Trout’s production. With how banged up Trout has been last few seasons Angels would b wise to DH him often to give his body some rest well keeping his bat in the lineup. Yes losing Ohtani would hurt big time. But without a doubt DH spot being available for Trout would help Trout’s production and likely b of benefit to keeping him healthy.
Go back and look at what Mike Trout’s prime was, he’s past it. He’s still a good player, but his few prime years before the injuries started to hit were phenomenal. HRs are not all that matters.
He is 31 years old, countless players have had career years in their 30’s. So in no way would I definitively say Trout is passed his prime. I do think his days of being both a power and speed threat are behind him. But any player who can put up 40 HRs in 120 games I think can still have a MVP caliber season. And any player who can b in a MVP race I would also not label passed their prime, I view that as evolving their game. Mind you Trout also had a 21% share in MVP voting last season.
He is 31 years old, countless players have had career years in their 30’s.
=========================
You get an odd good year here and there, but not a whole lot. Breaking into two sections, 32-34 and 35-38, from 2000-2023, there were 9 players with 16+ fWAR, and at least three were probably PED players (on the 32-34 group).
On the 35-38 group, there were only three above 15, and one was definitely enhanced. If the Angels are lucky, maybe they get 4 WAR/year. But given his injury history, I’d bet against that.
Players get moved with NTC all the time. It’s just a way where they have some control as to where they go.
Stanton got moved one year into his deal and had a NTC that he used to avoid going to St. Louis if my memory is correct (which happened to be a team he said he would approve a trade to). Similar scenario with a lesser player/contract, Ryan Dempster vetoed a trade to Atlanta in favor of a last minute deal to Texas (Kyle Hendricks trade).
21% share in only 119 games.
Trout is on a 5.6 WAR pace and to some, is only “still good”. Trout is great but needs to be moved off center for health reasons.
If you think that Arte Moreno is the problem, you are a good part of the reason he wants out. All he’s done is spend a fortune on a team, Mike Trout, Ohtani and every piece a GM has come up with to boost them over the top. He hired the wrong GMs, but most baseball “pundits” think they’re great. Who woukd want to own the Angels and take that kind of misplaced fan grief?
oriolesfan – A common response regarding Moreno is stating how much money he has spent without considering how he spent it. As a life long Angels fan, I know the truth from watching the team. For years, as recently as a couple years ago, Moreno refused to allow his GMs to spend over about 175m AAV. That was Moreno’s personal salary cap. When the baseball world was screaming that the Angels needed pitching, Moreno instead spent his money signing big name hitters on the decline like Pujols, Hamilton, Upton, Rendon, et al. Moreno is a marketing guy by profession so he knows how to sell tickets and merchandise – big bats. And that’s what he has done every year.
Moreno doesn’t want out because some random guy like me is critical of how he spends his money. Moreno wants out because he’s 78, he paid $184m for the team 20 years ago, and stands to sell the team for about $3billion.
The Angels are where careers go to tank!
It’s crazy when you think about the players they spent money on, and the seasons they were coming off of. Hamilton, Rendon, Pujols were all MVP caliber players (aside from Rendon, with red flags). Shelling out money on Upton had disaster written all over it.
And you are right on pitching, I remember only a couple of instances the Angels paid for pitching, generally opting for retreads/bounce back candidates that never bounce back.
To think, the Angels have been gifted with two out worldly talents like Trout and Ohtani, yet cannot even sneak into the playoffs.
Right, drasco. And those horrible contracts crippled their financial ability to improve elsewhere.
That’s a commentary on how much “star” players are overrated in baseball.
IRT Rendon, Pujols, etc., that’s a commentary on how much GMs and owners ignore aging trends. Pujols figured to have one, maybe two good years before he declined. Wells was identical. Hamilton was identical. Rendon & Upton were the same, but slightly younger.
Once players hit 30, GMs should be looking for an exit strategy, not signing them, at least not to long-term contracts.
Ideally, you have a cut off of 30-31, and want a player to sign a contract with as many years before 30/31 as you have after 30/31. That way, you offset the decline years with the prime years.
Trout lives in Crystal cove, if you lived there you would want to stay regardless what the Angels do.
Not up to the Angels they signed a lifetime contract.
Trouts home is here in Crystal Cove. He lived back East when he was a kid it’s not his home anymore.
wasn’t aware Arte Moreno was the GM …
Right on Prov.
Nobody forced him to sign this last contract. He did so with free will because he wanted to stay here. Otherwise he’d be a Philly or Yankee right now. I can’t wait to see everyone’s head explode when Ohtani stays too.
Why would you trade Ohtani when you have Trout on the team? That would be waving the white flag, there’s no way you’re going to get equal value for Ohtani even in the long term. Go for it now or blow it all up.
I’d say the biggest factor in if they should trade Ohtani is how they realistically feel about changces of resigning him. If they feel it’s even 50/50 I’d say they should keep him. Don’t give any other organization the chance to let him become familiar or develop any comfort with them. That is one of biggest edges Angels have at this point. I to have a feeling he stays. But I do think they’d need to get creative and rest Trout from OF regularly. They gotta keep him healthy and bat in lineup.
Great points. Agreed.
The only way they trade Shohei is if he has informed the team he will not re-sign.
The Angels paid Syndergaard and Upton $53 million combined and got much lower production from them combined than Shohei last year.
$50 million a year is a BARGAIN for Shohei..
MC/Tigers – I agree trading Ohtani may allow another team to sway his decision if he was considering staying an Angel. But winning seems more important to him than the largest paycheck. I would rather they trade Ohtani for as much as they can get to build a team around Trout. Then go after him hard this winter to resign him. Realistically, I don’t think Moreno will ever trade Ohtani because he makes Moreno too much money. I see Moreno keeping Ohtani regardless of the standings next week. Then Ohtani signs with a contender this winter (not named the Angels) and Moreno completes the sale of the team.
@Provo u r making an assumption that winning and doing so at any cost including leaving is his primary motivation. That assumption is based off one comment said during WBC where he stated the status quo as far as what a player should say.
Ohtani comes from a culture over uber pride and that pride could lead him to believe bailing on his team would b a weak move. Again that’s an assumption I made like you had.
But what can not b discounted we know he is familiar with the Angels. He thought enough of the franchise to choose them once. The Angels although not making best decisions have spent in an attempt to b competitive. We also have no clue how tight of bounds he has formed with current teammates or how entrenched he feels in the community there.
Tigers – All true. Everything on here is speculative. I hope he somehow stays but not at the expense of maintaining a mediocre roster because we can’t afford anything else.
With Ohtani’s international marketability and draw here domestically. For the foreseeable future his contract will easily pay for itself.
The biggest issue the Angels have had is they have always been reluctant to sign starting pitchers to long term deals. I understand the logic behind that stance as pitchers often lose significant time when injured. The issue I see with that stance is you are often signing these one year deals on prove it guys, injury comebacks, or some other high risk/reward type. I just don’t see it as being sustainable. The guys coming off good season(s) are not taking one year deals they re looking for security. Other than that I ll applaud Moreo for at least making splashy signings with position players. At the time the Pujols signing looked amazing. The Rendon signing didn’t even look that bad at the time. He was coming off 3 straight great years and a career yr in the season prior(2019). Unfortunate timing for Angels as anyone remotely familiar with baseball now questions any stats coming from that notorious 2019 season.
The only chance the Angels have of signing Ohtani is to make an extended playoff run.
If they trade him they have no chance of signing him. If they keep him, they have little chance of signing him. But as long as the chance is slim and not none, the Angels won’t trade him.
Trout has a no trade Claus in his contract, unless he request a trade.
The Angels have about ten days to evaluate their position. I’m sure they are talking to clubs everyday to get a feel of his value.
And he’s not a one man wrecking crew. His ERA has been 4.5 since June 1st, he doesn’t play defense, and the Angels have to go to a six man rotation to a accommodate him.
He’s great, he’s the best, most valuable player in the game, but there are drawbacks.
I agree Halo. The other concern for me is if he goes down on the IL, you lose the bat and the arm and can only replace one on the roster.
Depends on the injury. He can hurt his arm and still bat.
True, but if he goes down 100%, that’s a big nut to swallow.
If any player of that caliber goes down it’d tough to swallow. Look at Judge, he was one semblance of hope in Yankees lineup and without him they simply have trouble producing runs often.
The one silver lining if Ohtani leaves is Trout can occupy DH spot more often. If they were to resign him, they should seriously consider using him occasionally in RF or possibly 1B. Trying Trout at 1B occassionaly could even b an option.
Tigers – I agree, but with Ohtani you lose an arm and a bat and can only replace one on the roster. You probably can’t replace Judge’s production, but it’s a one for one player replacement.
Yep, more so than other players.
If the Yankees were smart they’d be sellers.
Unfortunately, Brian Cashman would prefer to feed the flames of the dumpster fire he created. Great job using the hitting coach as the scapegoat for the incompetent, injury prone, overpriced roster you built, jabroni.
Outside of Ohtani, there’s little to fear in the current Angels lineup, I think Boone wishes he hadn’t pitched to him(despite what he’s said), because doing so has cost the Yankees two straight losses.
Nope MLB fan, pitch to Ohtani or not the last 2 games, the Yankees still get swept. Well it currently looks like they’re going to. 6-0 in the 3rd. No, no worries about the rest of the line-up huh. Hehehe!
Yes I agree with you 100%, and yet most of these deadbeat Yankee fans wanted both Boone and Cashman back? I’ll never understand the delusion of these fans? Basically be careful of what you want and wish for. These clowns should be fired IMMEDIATELY!
The Yankees will not be sellers because they have nothing to offer. The only player of value is Cole. I do not know of one team willing to take on a player with their outrageous contracts unless the Yankees pick up the tab. The problem is that Hal does not fire or trade players if he has to pay them. The ownership is a mess from the owner down to the manager and cpacjes/
The Donaldson trade will go down in infamy
I mostly blame the cpacjes/
With the angels still playing .500 baseball arte moreno is gonna have to pick his poison trade ohtani or trade for pitching at the deadline because even if the current roster sneaks into the playoffs theyre ousted immediately. Make calls to the white sox, the cubs and the cards about their pitchers. Leave it to the angels to manage to be completely incompetent.
Hogwash, with just a healthy team and all there players back. The Angels could beat any MLB team in a playoff series if in.
Ummmm any mlb team? You sir, are as delusional as they come.
To give any playoff teams a 0% chance of winning a series is just outright stupidity. Call me delusional, but at least I’m not stupid.
Lol dont write yourself off just yet, jury is still out on that one my friend…..the angels are not a playoff teams soooooo saying they have a 0% chance would be correct. Also nice try to leave a key part of your original statement out. The angels dont have the pitching to win in the playoffs. The bullpen would find a way to lose it.
Any team obviously has better than a 0% chance. Odds are Angels as currently constructed and healthy would not fare well in playoffs. They simply do not have the pitching after Ohtani, even if Sandoval were to get it together they still would not have a consistent #3.
Sure they do, Detmers and Canning both could step up and pitch great down the stretch.
The hard part will be making the playoffs with there health. But by chance they get in, you’d be a fool to give them “no chance”.
It’s almost Aug and neither Detmers or Canning have stepped up and done so consistently on a level a true contender could rely on in playoffs.
We re speaking of reality here not what ifs and “well nothing is 0%”. As of today neither their rotation or bullpen has pitched at the level of a true contending team.
I agree that any team can win a series, but the angels are bad. Their odds of it are lower than many of the other teams that’ll get into the playoffs.
Detmers and Canning both could step up
===========================
You could say that about almost any team. But with a 4.52 & 4.42, they would have less of a chance than most teams.
Plugnplay read the og statement and you can see only a fool would change their stance multiple times…..oh wait, thats what you did. You went from the angels healthy could beat anyteam in a playoff series. I claimed you as delusional, you replied out of nowhere the 0% comment which in turn is us discussing a team that is currently out of the playoffs so yes they have a 0% chance!! Lol i have never heard of a team that missed the playoffs having any chance to win a series.
Who are we trying to fool here? Pitching is king in the playoffs and its crazy to think the pitching the angels have today could succeed in the playoffs. Now this is why the original statement is important. If arte moreno decides to go get pitching at the deadline this changes the entire scope of this conversation.
I never changed at all. Obviously even “you” can figure out that you have 0% chance to win a series if you’re not in the playoffs. Wow! Look at u go! Hahahaha!
Once again, only a fool say’s u have a 0% chance once in the playoffs. Even some of these Angels hating trolls give them an outside chance. At least there hatred doesn’t completely take over there brain.
Lol reading and comprehension, not your strong suit. Got it! The angels are not in the playoffs, they’re on the outside looking in! From that point there is a 0% chance. Obviously that can change. But theyre going to need help on this roster. Like the original statement clearly said. Im sorry pal i really rooted for you. But we can still make this friendship work. Everytime you need something read and broken down for you i got you pal!
the pirates or As would have 0% chance in a playoff series
Youre missing the point. All teams that dont make the playoffs have a 0% chance. Thats what my slow friend isnt grasping the concept of. You guys are all playing the if game. “IF the angels make it” “IF the angels were healthy” “IF plug understood basic reading fundamentals.”
Too many ifs for me, so lets do this. Let the trade deadline come and go. Reassess with what that roster looks like. Because maybe the angels trade ohtani and all this back and forth is for nothing. OR…..MAYBE, they make a splash bring in a starter to pitch behind ohtani in that rotation and maybe they also bolster that awful pen.
And they got Disney’s Goofy as a hitting coach to be more kid-friendly.
If I were the Cubs, I’d demand Acuna and Porter plus additional prospects for Stroman and Bellinger with the agreement that I would cover both their salaries for the remainder of the year. I would consider dropping Porter for Lieter and Rocker.
Good way to get hung up on. A couple months of Stroman(opt out) & Belli for the rest of the career of an MVP caliber player in Acuna, who’s already signed to a long term, team friendly deal? Not really a serious proposal.
Hang up and the Rangers will be just like the Mets, over valuing their prospects at the cost of a deep playoff run and potential World Series showing.
Wrong Acuna. He is talking about his younger brother who is with Texas
There can only be one Acuna!
Oh. Thanks for the information and correction. I thought that dude was losing his mind and also, I haven’t yet had my morning coffee.
Too much. Stro & Bell figure to generate maybe 3.5-4.0 WAR for the remainder of the season. Leiter & Rocker have gotten off to a light and rocky start, but their upside is just too high. If I were TX, I might trade one or the other for that package.
Remember last year when the Mets were comfortably in first place at the trade deadline and refused to trade their prospects? The ended up with a 300 pound platoon bat, two terrible relievers and a second place finish. Then turned around and spend nearly 500 million to be fourth in their division the following year…
The Phillies made impact trades and went to the World Series. Just saying, sometimes the price is the price because not paying the price cost you more.
It could be, but teams also cannot make weak/bad trades in the hope that they might make the WS. At the end of the day, that would mean 10 of the 12 playoff teams have jeopardized their futures for nothing.
Please devote more time to Aaron Judge’s toe.
Thank you.
Just toe the line.
Or tow the line?
It’s all so confusing.
I bet the cardinals are hating themselves for not trading for Sean Murphy when they had a chance to get the best catcher in the NL. I remember here hearing Cardinal fans that he wasn’t worth a top prospect.. Now that prospect has done nothing and Murphy is a young great catcher.
The Cardinals screwed the pooch on that one. They should have told Oakland that outside of Arenado/Goldy, they can choose any player, plus another good prospect. How do you over value SO many players on a last place type team?
As a Cardinals fan, I am fine with the decision. Murphy doesn’t make this team into a winner. Gorman has made good progress with the glove. He doesn’t look like a guy who is destined to be a DH only anymore. Our problem is pitching.
The Tigers are more interesting than I gave them credit for. A decent win streak over these last couple of weeks and suddenly they’re 1 game, 2 games back of the AL Central lead. Wouldn’t be the conventional thing to do, but I could see Detroit holding on to some of its tradeable pieces and really compressing an already-thin trade market. I’m sure Motor City Beach Bum is fiendishly rubbing his hands together in his villain lair.
I’m not sure it is logical, but they have 13 left against CL & MN, and they are 8-5 against them. The best way to fire up a fan base is during the season, not the off-season. The addition of one more #3 SP and another hitter could generate a conversation that Detroit has not had in many years.
Yep. Having 3 players batting over .250 on a 26 man roster is….interesting…. very interesting…..
But……NOT FUNNY.
I would be willing as a Mets fan to trade Parada, Vientos, Allan, Megill and another minor leaguer for Ohtani and Loup BUT before the trade both have to sign contract extensions so the Mets don’t have to worry about either leaving. I’m looking towards ext year not making the trade for help this year, plus before the deadline trade Scherzer back to the Dodgers, Verlander back to the Astros, for the best pitching prospects they can get, than trade Carrasco, Robertson, Ottavino, Canha, Vogelbach if they can get something if not their all free agents at the season’s end than we won’t have to worry about them.
BUT you cannot negotiate with players that on other teams.
If the Dodgers wanted to pay Scherzer 43 million they would have, same with Verlander and the Astros.
I’m sure the Mets are going to have to pay some of the $$
That’s actually really stupid, just saying.
For the Mets to get even a B level prospect for Verlander or Scherzer, they would have to eat half the remaining contract. Could any team justify watching a guy pitch like an upper rotation starter for another team while paying them 35 million and only have a B level prospect to show for it?
Let’s just be honest, if either the Dodgers or Astros would be willing to trade and pay 20 plus million per season to either of those guys, they would have to believe they could pitch worthy of that deal, otherwise, they would hold onto their prospect. For the Mets perspective, the cost savings wouldn’t get them below the luxury tax for starters and if they pitch like an upper middle of the rotation starter, they would help them win next year because an upper middle of the rotation starter is going to cost about 20 million dollars. The going rate for a middle of the rotation starter without surplus value on the trade market is B rated prospect.
Of course. That’s a very difficult trade to pull off. Verlander has ~ $14M left this year, $43M next year, and a player option in 2025 for another $35M. How much of the remaining $92M will the Mets pay?
Add to that the 2024 roster issue with the NYMs. They aren’t particularly good, but if they trade off Scherzer & Verlander, their 2024 rotation becomes Senga, Quintana, Peterson, Megill & Lucchesi.
You could pay for some more FAs, but that only replicates the current problem, not resolves it. They are better keeping both and hoping for the best.
“I would be willing…” – yeah I’ll bet, but you’d be hung up on.
No one wants the Mets’ big $$ mistakes.
@Jvent Ohtani is not going to sign an extension to fulfill a trade contingency. He has bet on himself and opted to ride it til free agency opposed to signing an early extension. Neither Angels or any acquiring franchise have any leverage over him whatsoever. There is 0 chance at this point he does not test free agency.
Teams cannot make these deals mid-season anyway because the Mets cannot negotiate with Ohtani while he is on the Angels. Best the Mets can hope for is that “willingness” to sign an extension if traded.
The last trade that I remember that had an extension provision was Roy Halladay, Toronto to Philly, which happened in the pre-season and the Phillies had an extension window
Blue Jays should be all over a right handed outfield bat and bullpen help, and should jump all over that right now. Force the hand of the division plus Houston to make a counter.
Another SP? Despite the ump blowing the K on Soto that turned into a 2-run bomb, Manoah was not very good last night.
Think the Tigers will sell at the deadline
Win 72 games
Field 3-4 new position players next year
Do not trade Dylan Carlson. He’s the only centerfielder on the team. Edman doesn’t have an outfield arm. He doesn’t really have the best arm for short. I really like the guy but he’s a second baseman they keep playing out of position.
Laars Nootbaar has negatives across the board in centerfield. Trade Nootbarr if you must trade one of them. He has higher trade value but I believe Carlson is the better player long term. I have nothing against Nootbaar, but if you must trade one of Nootbaar or Carlson, I vote for Nootbaar. I know, I don’t get a vote. I would say trade O’Neill but what can you get for him at this point?
It’s refreshing to hear a Cards fan that is living in reality. I think Noot is a fine player, but crazy how many Cards fans think he’s the 2nd coming of Willie Mays. I just can’t comprehend where it’s coming from.
As per your point about Carlson, I agree he’s their best CF option. But for the right pitcher I think they have to consider trading just about anyone.
Gotta agree there. From this week’s readings, I’d swear that the Cards were the best team in baseball.
Carlson might be the best CF they currently have, but there’s a lot of room to upgrade on him. He doesn’t cover the ground you really want in CF. He’s fine there and improving, but if you have other internal options who give you more offense and then supplement with a good elite defensive CF as a fourth outfielder, are you really missing Carlson if you can leverage a sellers market and get something back on the pitching side?
I don’t really know what his trade value is, but as you alluded to, it has to be a lot more than Tyler O’Neill. Because of Carlson’s service class and the fact that he’s already established a pretty high floor as a decent defensive outfielder and league average bat with some upside (improving defense and improved quality of contact), he kind of reminds me of Daulton Varsho who netted Arizona one of the best prospects in baseball as well as one cheap year of a career well above average hitter who was an All Star this year. Varsho was an elite defender who like Carlson, doesn’t have the speed to profile in CF but makes it work anyway. Varsho had terrible batted ball indicators but has raw power and had okay results. Carlson has okay results but paired with better batted ball metrics than Varsho had. The Blue Jays traded for 4 years of Varsho whereas a team would be trading for 3 1/3 yeas of Carlson but that’s offset by the opportunity for playoff upgrades as well as the fact Varsho is 4 years of arb whereas Carlson is 3. I think there’s precedent to hold a mirror up to the Varsho trade to convince a team of the value of Carlson. Of course, Varsho could be a cautionary tale to teams trading for term when they are trying to win now as Varsho has been awful this year even if the upside still exists.
Varsho is the shining example of why WAR can be deceiving. Your last line is 100% true.
Yeah, the defensive component of WAR is fine for backward looking conversations but it’s not at all projectable. Varsho had an excellent season last year and we can’t take that away from him, but I don’t think he was destined to have a good season this year based on his under the hood metrics and Toronto’s usage plan for him.
He wasn’t excellent last year. 2022 offensive numbers showed the many holes in his game. Doesn’t walk a lot, Ks a ton, has pop, had 13 bunt base hits out of 14 and runs fast. But hitting .230 with a sub-.750 OPS is nowhere close to numbers that would allow one to call his season “excellent”.
Oh no. I meant in the field. The offensive performance was not great. But it was still above average by results even if it wasn’t supported by the expected stats.
Unless they trade Lange, I think the returns for ERod and Lorenzen will b rather underwhelming. Definitely not 3-4 position players who will b MLB ready next year.
The 3-4 position players are coming from the outside, not as a result of trade deadline moves
Yankees need a fire sale. That’s a bad team with a ridiculous payroll. There was no need to pay Rizzo. Yankees only in on Ohtani in order to drive price up.
Who are they selling though? The only one on the roster that has value and is movable is Torres.
The Yankees are not a bad team but they have made bad choices over the years, starting with re-signing Dj LeMahieu for too many years just to avoid paying the luxury tax.
$197M on the books for next year, and that only includes Cole, Judge, Rizzo, DJLM, Stanton & Rodon. Cole and Judge are legitimate stars, but the other 4 are question marks.
Rodon is really good when he is healthy.
He might be, but I am not fully convinced. Prior to his walk year, he had a 4.14/4.26 career ERA/FIP. He had a great year in his first walk year, and a great year in his second walk year.
But I’d have to see a really good year now that he is under contract before I’d draft him on any of my fantasy teams.
Listened to this podcast for the first time. The writer’s here are really good and know the league so well, but in the regular articles and posts it’s a one voice perspective. It was really neat to hear back and forth discussions from two of them on their thoughts about what a team might do and thinking along. Especially the discussion on the Cardinals. It’s good stuff. I’ll be listening regularly.