Perrotto's Latest: Atkins, Holliday, Howard

THE SEATTLE MARINERS!!

Beltre and a prospect for Howard

The Phillies would be trading Howard to gain breathing room within their budget. I don't see how Beltre does that for them. You should really think about how a trade affects both teams and not just your own.

It would make sense for Howard to be in the AL and not have to field, no? The Mariners and Yankees seem to make sense to me.

How about Toronto? Always looking to make a splash in that division, should have the payroll flexibility, and could use him in a DH/1B rotation with Overbay, where they're both in the line-up every day.

salary wise the beltre for howard doesnt make since but talent wise it does becuase beltre was really good for the Dodgers and howard would make since for the Mariners

ya thats y i said beltre and a porspect most likely clement

"Why in the world would the A's pony up that many players of that caliber for anyone, let alone a DH nearing free agency?"

Easy. Jack Cust, Mike Sweeney, & Frank Thomas aren't enough players fighting for time at DH. Granted, two of them minimum would be gone by 2009.

My guess would be the Dodgers or Yankee's both will have the need and both have the prospects.

I can't see the Jays, I mean who would they trade? Travis Snider? I don't think anyone see's that happening.

Excuse me. What i meant really is that if his K-Rate keeps surging every year, and his walk-rate goes down, then his value is going to plummet.

I think SF could make sense. SF needs a new face to build upon and they love power guys.

SF gets:
Howard
Burrel or Adrian Cardenas
Drabek

Phi gets:
Lowry or Zito and his horrid contract
Sanchez
Villanova
Travis Ishikawa

here's why my A's offer is fair

phillies fill several position needs for now and the future. barton should do much better in philly

suzuki is solid, not sure if they are sold on ruiz or not

cahill is a stud, pair him with hamels for the future.

gonzlez gives them a CF

blanton gives them a solid mid rotation guy.

they fill 3 positional needs and add 2 pitchers to the rotation

why do A's do this? they desperately need offense. thomas/sweeney are short term fixes. cust is good, but they can put him in LF, Howard at 1b/DH

Barton is expendable, A's have doolittle/carter in the minors. especially doolittle what a surprise.

i hate to give up gonzalez, but ryan sweeney looks to be a keeper in CF. which would leave gonzalez in RF. do A's need another corner OF with buck/cunningham etc plus maybe they get lucky if a hererra/robnett/putnam/brown/mitchell/desme etc progress as expected

How about Ryan Howard to the Dodgers? James Loney is a hell of a defensive 1B, he can hit , but not for power. With Jeff Kent on his way to retirement, and with a powerless Andruw Jones crowding the oufield, LA needs a "big bat" in the lineup. The Dodgers could afford the salary as well.

The Tampa Bay Rays make a lot of sense to me. They have the farm system, the need, and the cap room to add a player like Howard. I think a package of McGee and Davis should get it done. The Rays would have a formidible lineup. Picture Iwamura, Crawford, B.J. Upton, Howard, Pena, Longoria, Brignac, Jennings, Navarro. They still a good rotation of Kazmir, Shields, Price, Garza, Jackson. The Rays would win the world series with that team. The Phillies would still have a good lineup and a good rotation of Hamels, Myers, Davis, McGee, Kendrick. Plus, they would have the cap room to extend Lidge and Burrell. The trade would help both teams a lot. But, I doubt the Phillies would be willing to give up Howard. It probably wouldn't happen, but it would be awesome if it did.

I don't know why a team looking to contend would sell their farm for a mediocre hitter who hits homeruns when they could plunk down a bit of coin for Bonds who would prob give similar production for a lot less. On the Rays would be just be a DH ? Pena's D is much better at 1st then Howards is. So your basically looking for a replacement for Cliff Flyod / Gomes.

And Oakland doesn't need a long term solution at DH, no team does. It's one of the easiest positions to fill. So Beane will end his rebuilding project for some guy to hit homeruns and be gone before the new stadium opens ? ya, makes sense. Though hilarity would ensue while watching Howard trying to run behind Thomas on the basepaths.

Howard is no Mark Texiera

I think SF could make sense. SF needs a new face to build upon and they love power guys.

SF gets:
Howard
Burrel or Adrian Cardenas
Drabek

Phi gets:
Lowry or Zito and his horrid contract
Sanchez
Villanova
Travis Ishikawa

Posted by: BaLLooNNoT | May 26, 2008 at 07:31 AM

We must remember that 3 years ago Ryan Howard was offered straight up for Barry Zito and the A's declined. You people need to stop with your "video game" trades. The most ridiculous one I heard was Matt Holliday to the Phils, Howard to the A's, prospects to the Rockies. These are MVP caliber players getting swapped, I don't see it happening.

It's not that people don't like his bat. It's that Howard is going to be one of the best DH's to come around since Ortiz.

The problem is how do you value a great DH in a trade ?

You really can't consider him a position player longterm -- once he gets hurt, which being older and already past him prime once hitting FA -- is a possibility, it extremely limits any small/mid market team like Oakland or Toronto.

Howard would be amazing on the Mets, Yanks, or any other big market team as a DH. But when people consider trading Oaklands/Tampa's farm for a DH that they can't keep then people start seeing a trade for Howard as ridiculous.

Howard is great, trading for Howard could be a colossal mistake, especially with that Oakland trade idea.

Halladay for Howard seems like a good fit.

No way the Giants are going to trade for Howard. They could just draft a first baseman this year.

loney hit 331. with 15 hr and 60 plus rbis in half of a season. why wouldnt we want howard. could you imagine him and kent? i dont like kent at all but still. i mean what would the dodgers have to give up loney plus two more?

yes pay with his job. and i meant can you imagine kent and howard in the club house. ha i dont count on kent all he does is hit soft tossing lefties.

Oh and I think the phils will sign him longterm any way. But my post is just hypothetical.

How about at this year's trade deadline?

Howard for Burnett/Lyle Overbay?

yea, i knew about davis and maxram. rangers have a hole burning in their pocket, i know it

if philly has to, i hate to say it, but nyy is always a good place for expensive dhs; him in front of arod would be lethal

I'm a Phillies fan and I don't see Howard being moved after the season as a realistic possibility, but...

I think LAA certainly have the pieces, and could have the interest in locking up Howard to a long term deal. They could pick up Howard without doing much to their major league club, and could really use a lefty bat to go with VG and Hunter. They seem to have the money as well. This would be the most realistic partner, and I could see them being highly interested. That being said, Kotchman appears to finally be having a very good year

I am certainly no expert about their system, but I could say maybe one of their top MLB ready starting prospects, and one or two high upside arms/corner outfielders/3Bs

First of all....for John Perrotto to call the Red Sux pitching staff an "embarassment of riches" is an embarrassment to journalism! Last I checked, Beckett has a 4.43, Wakefield a 5.19, Buckholtz a 5.53 before the DL and Colon will break down like every year. Besides Dice-K and Lester pitching well every other start, where are the lights out except for on YOUR bandwagon Perrotto?

As for Howard to the Yankees? LOL!!! The Yankees need a first baseman that strikes out 200 x's a year and can't field like they need a case of crabs. Furthermore, the knuckleheads on here including Joba for him need to put down the illegal substances. Tex is a free-agent if they want to over pay...and if not, between Jeter, Jorge and the rest of the aging stars the Yanks have, they'll find one internally I'm sure. If Howard strikes out 200 x's in the NL, he'll strike out 250 in the AL Beast!

Wow. People are stupid.

Here's a whole site of supposedly baseball savvy people with absolutely NO conception of trade value, all laying out absurd hypotheticals with one underlying commonality tainting the lot of them: each is weighted in favor of that fan's respective team.

You don't need to know uww1 to know he's a Cubs fan; just look at his 'offer' for Holliday... Matt Murton, Ronny Cedeno, Eric Patterson, Felix Pie, and Rich Hill. The most intriguing components headed to Colorado here are Rich Hill- a guy who got DEMOTED- and Felix Pie- a kid with a line of .222, .286, .286. A .286 Slugging Percentage?! Sure, he's still just 23, but- uh- buyer beware, y'know?! I think Matt Holliday commands a bit more than that, no?

Amidst the Ryan Howard talk a far worse offender emerged in Balloonnot, who proposed a deal of Ryan Howard AND Adrian Cardenas AND Kyle Drabek for Noah Lowry or BARRY FRIGGIN' ZITO, Jonathan Sanchez, Angel Villalona, and Travis Ishakawa. That Balloonnot later defended the proposal as 'a very legitimate offer,' only added to the absurdity.

Let's say we take Zito out of the picture, since that's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my entire life... That still leaves you with Lowry, Sanchez, Villalona and Ishikawa for Howard, Cardenas, and Drabek. Breaking it down a bit further, that's one solid- even good- mid-rotation southpaw, an elite FIRST BASE prospect in Villalona (where are you getting third?) a middling back of the rotation piece of crap and ANOTHER 1B prospect...this one crappy. On the return, you're getting one of the game's top bats AND two TOP prospects- a first rounder from '06 and arguably the best 2B prospect in the game (albeit a blocked one).

Eforsheezy's Villalona, Alderson, and a third prospect sounds much more reasonable. Forget Cardenas and Drabek altogether.

And on and on they go.

Apparently Philly fans are just as bad- Joba?...c'mon!

People need to wake up to some semblance of reality. Just because you're a fan doesn't mean you have to be an idiot. I love the O's. We need a SS...bad. Still, I'm objective enough to know that a Hanley Ramirez AND Cameron Maybin AND Ryan Tucker for Jeremy Guthrie, Matt Albers, Bill Rowell, and Brandon Snyder deal ain't gonna happen. Not now, not ever. And I think it's fair to say that Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Carrasco, and Joe Savery for Brian Burres, Hayden Penn, Nolan Reimold, and Brandon Tripp is outside of the realm of possibility as well. While I'm certainly a bit biased toward my team, this bias has its limits. Namely, common sense.

Now, as for the Phillies' star 1B; if Howard's going anywhere, I'd bet on the Yanks. He fits the profile of a high-profile Yankee pickup and they're one of the few organizations who might be willing to pony up what Howard will be asking in FA. It'll come down to whether they nab Tex or not. I'd guess they could get it done for Melky Cabrera, Jose Tabata, Ian Kennedy, and a secondary pitching prospect...maybe less (Rasner, Tabata, Gardner, and McAllistair?) It'll cost NY a solid package of prospects/young players, but not the farm. After all, they'll still have to sign him to a long term contract!

gomes, keep in mind that the market value for howard might not be too high; he is a butcher at first, k's alot and wants a big contract. albeit there are a few pluses too

and don't nitpick. my man gave a high and a low. jose, brett and zach are not all mid level prospects either. lay off the yankee hatred

"THE SEATTLE MARINERS!!

Beltre and a prospect for Howard"

Get ready for the ire of BaseballGuru.

"I think LAA certainly have the pieces, and could have the interest in locking up Howard to a long term deal. They could pick up Howard without doing much to their major league club, and could really use a lefty bat to go with VG and Hunter. They seem to have the money as well. This would be the most realistic partner, and I could see them being highly interested. That being said, Kotchman appears to finally be having a very good year"

Kotchman had an excellent year last year, despite the fact that he sustained a concussion and all that goes along with it. Merely looking at HR numbers doesn't do his year justice. The previous year was shot because of Mono. Oh, and he is 4 years younger than Howard and plays Gold Glove defense. That would be a terrible deal. The Angels have zero need.

"My guess would be the Dodgers or Yankee's both will have the need and both have the prospects."

How would the Dodgers have the need for Howard? Loney is like the Dodgers' version of Kotchman with a potent lefty bat and stellar defense, and he is nowhere near arbitration. All that, and the Dodgers can't hide Howard at DH

The idea that any team would not want Ryan Howard is just insane. Is he off to a slow start? Sure. But look at the numbers this guy puts up. He is a top of the line hitter. Now why wouldn't the angels want him? Because of Kotchman? Well yeah Kotchman is nice in the field but come on are we really saying that equals Howard's production. Howard would be great DHing for the angels. He would give them some real thump. They can aford to sign him long term. They have tons of pieces the phillies would want in starters and outfielders. The Phillies would love to get their hands on guys like Ervin santana or Mathews jr.

Please look at Howard's home/road splits AA. He has a higher slugging percentage each of the past two years on the road. There goes that arguments.

And where is this "less of a head case than Miguel Cabrera" coming from?

You are clearly not being fair here if you are saying Kotchman's defense and production are more valuable than Howard.

Also, all you are making Howard out to be the worst first baseman in the world, while clearly not watching him play. He's below average in range and has a scattershot arm, but has good hands and is the second best defensive 1B in his division right now (with Johnson on DL). He's also better than Prince Fielder

First of all, the only player the Phils would want from San Fran is unavailable. Why would we want anyone but Lincecum? Could you be anymore of a HOMER by offering up BARRY ZITO AND HIS CONTRACT! You would have to send Cain or Lincecum AND Zito to get rid of his contract.

As far as possible suitors go, the only real scenarios I see would be the Yankees, the Rays, and the Blue Jays. Out of those 3, only the Yanks make sense. A package to the Yankees could probably get Wang to Philly. Wang would fit in nicely in Philly being prodominently ground ball pitcher. I really think that this may well be the Plan B for the Yanks at the winter meetings. Tex is obviously Plan A, with the Mets, Braves, and Orioles in the mix on him too.

If the Yankees acquired Howard, the would be able to cut ties with not only Giambi, but with most likely, Bobby Abreu. They could move Duncan to RF full time. And to the poster saying Howard would fit nicely in front of A-Rod, you must be smoking something. Why would you want to clog up the base path? A-Rod 4 Howard 5.

Okay, I know Pedro Feliz is no David Wright, A-Rod, or Zimmerman, but why are so worried about him. The Phillies, like every other team, need STARTING PITCHING. So for all of these trades based around average to slightly above average starters, just keep the ideas to yourself. We have plenty of OFers currently between the Active Roster and other internal options. Thank you.

Are you serious about GAVIN FLOYD?! We traded Gavin Floyd as a throw in to get Garcia. He doesn't have the mental make up to be a top of the rotation kind of guy. I would rather roll the dice on top pitching prospects than on Gavin Floyd.

As far as who would outbid the Yankees, I think the Mets could. You have to remember that Tex has to want to go to the Yanks. It wouldn't surprise me to have the O's pushing hard for him either. They have almost no stars with massive contracts.

I know it has about a .00001% chance of happening, but if the Indians are out of it come the end of July, do they trade Sabathia?

My cousin actually works as a personal assistant to someone who works in the Phils front office. I haven't been told anything concrete, but she told me she has not heard one person in that office talk about the idea of trading howard, but I think the Phils would be better off dealing him soon. If I am the GM, i want 6 pieces in return, i don't mentio specific teams or players, because you can insert and team and its' players in this formula. I trade Ryan Howard I want back, 1. A top national pitching prospect that can start immediately (Tim Lincecum like rookie), 2. An established big league starter under the age of 26., 3. A national top hitting prospect (A plus or higher: perferably at 3rd Base), 4. A major lrague ready pitcher younger than 28, 5. A team's top 10 prospect, and 6. A team's top 30 prospect. If an extension is reached to make the deal work, that is a fair trade off. You can insert any team, with players that qualify and figure out which is the best return.