Atkins May Be Shopped For Pitching

What is even more worrisome than the Home/Road difference is the righty/lefty disparity.

RHP:

.260 .299 .395

LHP:

.383 .438 .648

Not sure what he means by frontline starting pitching, but they aren't getting any for Garret Atkins and his career .261/.329/.425 line away from the friendly confines of Coors. I would think though that if the price is reasonable, the Jays should be in on the talks, and certainly have the arms to part with. He's not worth Marcum or McGowan, but a Litsch for Atkins trade might work for both teams.

92-93: I'm not sure how you justify that Atkins is not worth McGowan who offers very little in consistency? At least Atkins completes seasons at a productive level.

I highly doubt the Rockies will be able to get a frontline pitcher for Atkins, but a mid-rotation starter who has years left could do the trick. Of all the possibilities mentioned in the article, here are some potential fits.

Giants: Jonathan Sanchez

Yankees: Phil Hughes(unlikely)

White Sox: John Danks, I doubt Gavin Floyd would be enough

Twins: Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey

Indians: Don't see the right fit

A's: Houston Street (considering the loss of Fuentes), Justin Duchscherer

Dodgers: Front 3 aren't moving (Billingsley, Kershaw, Kuroda), but maybe a James MacDonald and Scott Elbert would be enough

Atkins seems to be worth the most to the Rox. They should keep him if all they're offered is table scraps. He's having a horrible year, but he's a pretty good player and may turn it up a bit next year.

I wouldn't be suprised to see the Rockies hold on to Atkins and deal Ian Stewart instead....they could probably trade Stewart and another prospect to the Marlins and get Dan Uggla....they could use a 2B and he'd fit perfectly at Coors Field.

There were some rumors about a possible Laffey and Barfield trade for Atkins with the Indians and Rockies...but that was before Barfield got hurt and Laffey started struggling. Even with his struggles though he posted a 4.23 ERA in 16 starts....not too shabby for a young starter in the AL...

"92-93: I'm not sure how you justify that Atkins is not worth McGowan who offers very little in consistency? At least Atkins completes seasons at a productive level."

Probably because McGowan has the potential to be a top of the rotation starter. And has shown flashes of it in the big leagues already. They are penning this guy in as their #2 starter if Burnett leaves, and if he stays healthy he probably deserves to be there.

"White Sox: John Danks, I doubt Gavin Floyd would be enough"

I don't think you realize just how good these two guys have been. Floyd is 6th in the league in wins (I know it doesnt really matter but still), has a 3.73 ERA despite pitching in a hitters park in the AL, and his ERA has never been above 3.84 this year. That's some nice consistency right now.

Meanwhile, John Danks has a 3.32 ERA (5th in AL), and a 147/52 K/BB ratio in 176 innings. And he doesnt turn 24 until April of 2009. Yeah John Danks is looking pretty good.

Garrett Atkins isn't worth a single one of the pitchers that you brought up with the exception of MacDonald and Elbert, and that would be an interdivisional trade which makes it unlikely.

I'd much rather see the Indians deal Barfield for Huston Street. Or maybe Jeremy Sowers plus a prospect for Street. They might look to keep Barfield to play everyday and move Cabrera to short and give Peralta a shot at 3B. Who knows?

Atkins contract seems like a bargain compared to what the Rox pay out to keep Helton on the DL. It appears there are two teams likely to have an interest in Atkins and have the young MLB arms the Rockies covet. San Francisco has a void at 3B, two more years of Atkins buys them time for Angel Villalona.
The Brewers might be inclined to deal a Manny Parra or Dave Bush, but they have Matt Gammel waiting in the wings at 3B.