Olney's Latest: Sherrill And Street

If I were MacPhail, I'd be willing to send Sherrill to the Dodgers for one of LaRoche, who seems to have fallen behind DeWitt on the depth chart. Of course, this only works if the Orioles have the cajones to make Melvin Mora a $9M bench player for a year and a half.

I'd also be willing to send him to Milwaukee for Brent Brewer and Bill Hall, who I think can still hit and wasn't a bad SS a few years ago.

Wow I butchered that sentence.

I don't get it. Sherrill's not that good or young. The O's should be happy to trade to anyone that will give a good prospect for him. He only has his inflated value because he's currently a closer with alot of saves and appeared in the All-Star game.

But I hope he doesn't get traded because he's my only fantasy closer in my 20 team league.

The brewers definately need bulpen help and I think Doug Melvin is leaning towards Street because he sent his best scout to watch the A's vs the yankees. Street would solidify the brewers bulpen and put them over the top. I think if the brewers offered a group of something like Luis Pena, Cole Gillespie, and Brent Brewer, i think they could get it done.

when did he stop being a pitcher? no sarcasm intended, what position is he switching to? will he be the elusive short stop they want :-p, but seriously the orioles could get more for sherrill than Lowrie and Delcarmen/Hansen.

It was announced today that instead of having surgery that would sideline him 1.5 years, Loewen will switch to 1B/OF as soon as this fall. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/roch/blog/

Calling the Orioles a divisional rival to the Red Sox is an insult to all baseball fans. There is no rivalry between Baltimore and Boston. There won't be (at this pace) for years to come.

Sherrill is a nice addition but not much else. He would be valuable in any pen but at what cost? No way am I trading a premiere prospect for him. If he was a set-up guy instead of a closer we wouldn't even be having this conversation. And since he will most likely be going to a team to assist in the bullpen (rather than close) prices should adjust accordingly.

bjsguess,
Your logic makes little sense whatsoever.

Nobody has ever claimed that if the Red Sox acquired Sherrill that he would supplant Papelbon as the closer. Thus he is seen as a LH setup man by Boston.
Regardless, the key issue here is choice. The Orioles have the choice to trade him to Boston or even any other team. Or, they could keep him. He's cheap and he is definitely helping the team.

Consider what Boston dealt last year for Gagne. He came in to be Papelbon's setup man. That would be Sherrill's role. But Gagne was a free agent at the end of the year. Sherrill isn't. Thus it should (and will) cost proportionally more than last' years package of Beltre, Murphy, and Gabbard. Say Kalish, Lowrie, and Bowden? A thought.

Meoveryouok- You've got something against Sherrill, it's clear. Sherrill did have a bit of a rough patch, but from all indications, has turned it around. He's a very good reliever, versatile enough to close or, in the Red Sox case, set up Sherrill. Since this is one of the Sox's only holes, I understand their interest. Not only was Sherrill the Orioles' lone representative in the All Star game (which you could argue was only because of the rule granting EVERY team at least one slot...except that there were a number of worthy options other than Sherrill- Markakis, BRob, and Huff all could have been named without argument), but he was absolutely terrific in his 2 and a third innings...for none other than Terry Francona.

That being said, Bowden, Kalis, AND Lowrie is WAY too much, Deleware Bird. I hate to agree with Meoveryouok, but the fact remains that Sherrill will not net a Gagne-esque return. Period. He lacks the star power and history of a Gagne and you have to think Theo learned his lesson on that one.

Now, an interesting thought would be to package Sherrill and Huff, who has been absolutely terrific this year, for a group of Sox prospects. Not only could you justify a bigger take, but Huff is a good fit in Boston due to the uncertain status of Papi and his versatility- can DH or play a passable LF, 3B, and 1B.

I could see a Huff/Sherrill pairing netting, say, Lowrie, Chris Carter, Bowden, and a couple of decent low level prospects...and even THAT is a bit of a reach. Bowden and Lowrie are both considered solid prospects, although I suspect some of it is Boston hype. Nevertheless, it would give the O's another interesting arm and, perhaps, their future SS. All of this is assuming McPhail would trade in division and Theo would be willing to part with several prized prospects (particularly Lowrie, who could be the heir to the underwhelming Lugo at short). Of course, both are considerably big 'ifs'.

From the O's standpoint, however, I wouldn't consider divisional 'rivalry' (admittedly, we aren't much of a rival at present) in making such a move. Until we can make a legitimate run at the divisional crown, it's a non-issue...in my humble opinion.

The other possibility presented is similarly intriguing and may suit McPhail more, as the Dodgers are, of course, NOT in the AL East. In a recent article posted on this site (taken from the Baltimore Sun) both Sherrill and Huff where seen to fit the Dodgers' needs. The same package, then, would likely draw a comparable return, though James McDonald, Andy LaRoche, and, say, Andrew Lambo sounds like too much to my ears. It would certainly be worth checking on, however.