Trade Market: Left Fielders

D. Lowe for C. Lee.

I think the Red Sox will kick the Crawford/Lee tires. If the sox pickup a power hitting corner infielder then they would probably give a long look at Crawford for center and move Jacoby to left field, thats one speedy outfield. If they want to solve the hitting problem in one trade they could bring in Lee, but i think its a balk at that price

There's no way the Twins give up Span and there's no reason you should want Delmon. He was CONSIDERED the best prospect in baseball, but it was by scouts who value INTANGIBLES and GRIT and not actual things.

"I think the Red Sox will kick the Crawford/Lee tires"

I would love to have Crawford, but really doubt the Rays would move anybody to Boston, regardless, even thought they will continue to slip behind both Boston and the NYY in the what was a 3 team race 2 years ago in the AL East until they either wake up and realize it takes an outlay of some cash to compete, or move from Tampa where there is a fan base to support them.

Carlos Lee is intriguing and never thought about him really before 04forever, sure he may not last long as a LF, but for maybe a year or 2 he could pass as a well below average one before moving to DH if anybody can finally convince McClane that the Astor's are as bad as they really are and need a farm system from the bottom up, which the Sox could provide them with for Lee.

Some underrated names on this list: Willingham, DeJesus, Murton.

?what would the braves be willing to give up for luke scott?"

Posted by: lftyg33 | November 02, 2009 at 10:49 AM

I have seen fan speculation on both Braves and O's boards that some sort of Lowe package for Scott would be good for both teams. With Reimold in LF and a deep DH market Scott could be expendable and Lowe would instantly give the worst rotation in the majors some veteran credibility and presence along with 34 starts and quality innings. Its not like the O's don't have any money, its that they may have a hard time luring a big time FA pitcher there with money alone.

I would be willing to throw in a legit (but not elite) SS prospect in Hicks along with Lowe in order to get Scott. If Angelos doesn't want to go the Lowe way I'm sure some sort of minor league pitching package could be worked out.

Using baseball-reference's program that normalizes splits over a full 650PA season I averaged out 70% of Scott vs RHP career splits and 30% of Diaz vs LHP career splits and found a pretty nice player. A Scott/Diaz platoon would over a full season net you somewhere along this line:

.295/.364/.516/.880 25HR

That would be much better than what we have been running out in LF lately and would play solid but not spectacular LF defense. That 25HR power and good contact and power mix would fit well between Chip and Mac in the cleanup spot.

D-Young to the Yankees for...?

Yankees should get rid of J-Damon's girly arm out there...worst case make him the DH for a year if they feel like they need him (I don't)

Lee is grossly overpaid moving forward. He's never had a season where he's been worth $18.5 mill per. Nevermind his defense or low BB rates, he's 33 and has the body type that does not typically age well. He should be a $11 - 12 million dollar per year DH. Like Soriano and Zito, that was a bad signing the day it was announced.

Trading for Pierre or Crawford does not fix Boston's current problem... a righthanded power bat.

what would the braves be willing to give up for luke scott?

Posted by: lftyg33 | November 02, 2009 at 10:49 AM
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The Braves would have little interest in Scott. They are already overloaded with lefty bats and are seeking a RH hitter. I guess the only reason would be to form a platoon with Diaz - since he would be a tremendous improvement over Church.

Also, if the Braves trade Lowe they won't be eating any of his salary.

I agree.

The Braves have a Vernon Wells situation going on, but I think they have enough cap for a 2 year deal for a big free agent.

Lowe is a Wells situation? That's not a fair comparison at all.

Lowe has averaged 33.6 starts and over 200IP over the last eight years and he has only 'faded' to an FIP of 4.06 which isn't much worse than Lackey's 3.73 FIP who is less durable and is asking for twce as much over almost twice as much time....

...see what I'm gettig at concerning the pitching market? Teams value starts and quality innings like they value power.

Posted by: bbxxj | November 02, 2009 at 12:23 PM

Well, comparing Lackey to Lowe isn't really fair either. Just because idiots like Heyman speculate Lackey shooting for $100+ million doesn't mean he'll get it. Earlier, he was linked to wanting Burnett money, which is fairly reasonable if you compare the two.

While Lowe's 2009 4.06 FIP is 'okay', his overall numbers were reminiscent of his last years in Boston - not good. And looking at future performance, it's hard to see a contender willing to take on a older, expensive starter for only a 2 or 3 WAR return.

There has been more posts on these forums regarding the Braves trying to pawn off Derick Lowe and his horrendous contract to somebody since the season ended than there have been on Milton Bradley. Now that is bad.

@Johns

If we had five starters and not six you would see a drastic decrease in how many people wanting to trade him. If we didn't have our two 200+IP starters in Jurrjens or Vazquez I would not want to trade Lowe even considering his contract.

Delmon Young for a 2B, SS, or 3B. Chase Headley would be awesome, but we'd probably have to add guys to the trade. I seriously can't believe how bad he is. If somebody would have said he's be a non-tender candidate 3 years ago they would have been checked into a mental hospital.

I'd still take Dlowe up against the rest of the league's #4/#5 next year, which essentially is what ATL would have him doing in '10. That alone would be worth MOST of what they paid him.

We love JPierre in LA but it's time to move him out of respect for him; he will be productive for somebody on an everyday basis, and return would be minimal provided assuming team takes on most of contract. After Manny's gone, it's Xavier Paul in 'll (making one heck of a good defensive outfield, let alone offensive).

i thought this was about leftfielders
(is there a blocker that can stop any mention of derek lowe!)

would the dodgers take gmj for pierre? angels pay the difference.
angels use juan's speed to replace figgins'

I don't understand why Luke Scott can't ever shake the label of being a platoon guy. He has a higher career OPS vs. LHP than Abreu, Markakis, Hawpe, Damon, Crawford, Ibanez, Ethier... not to mention Ryan Howard. But he's still only a platoon player. Can someone explain this to me?

The Braves will have to eat money to move Lowe.

Think about it this way. Last year Lowe was coming off a great season. He was available to EVERYBODY. NOBODY wanted him at the price the Braves paid.

A year has gone by. He was largely ineffective in 2009. He is a year older. And he is still earning that $15m/year.

If people didn't want him last year, coming off a great year, and being a year younger, why would they want him this year? His value has DECREASED.

I don't think Lowe is terrible by any stretch. I do think that $15m should buy you something more than a back-end starter (which is how Lowe performed in 09). The Braves are faced with either having a #4 starter earn $15m/year for the next 3 years or move the guy, eat $10m or so, and use the difference to fix other problems with the team.

"D-Young to the Yankees for...?" Posted by: mike

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Presuming the Yankees are not going to give up Jim Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, or Robinson Cano, one is left to wonder if such a deal could happen. Austin Jackson seems like one player the Twins might be interested in but if the Yankees would surrender him in exchange for Delmon Young, I would think the Yankees believe that Young will ultimately be the better player, so I would pass on Jackson.

The Twins are not rebuilding or looking for long range prospects. They could use a solid 3B,SS,or 2B but the Yankees don't have one of those behind Rodrigeuz/Jeter/Cano who is ready to play. They could use another young, productive starter so Hughes would fit nicely but I doubt the Yanks would deal for him.

Wang could return to form and I would be willing to take a chance but the Yankees would have sweeten the deal. Eduardo Nunez, a AA shortstop could be a useful player and Zach McAllister is a nice looking prospect.

So, Delmon Young for Wang, Nunez, and McAllister. The Yanks are overpaying but they are the Yankees and if they want Delmon Young, they will have to overpay. Plus, Twins take on a big contract with Wang.

First the Astros would have to want to trade Carlos Lee, and their owner has yet to give any indication that he's ready to blow that team up. Second, Lee already has in Houston the closest proximity he's going to get to his native Panama, plus a large Latino fan base that worships the guy (have you seen his fan club at MinuteMaid? they are hard to miss) and gives him more endorsement opportunities than he'd have in other markets. So it's not clear to me why he'd be looking to leave. Sure the opportunity to win a ring might have some appeal. But now you're really getting down to just a few potential suitors, and teams that don't seem like good matches anyway. Why would the Yankees or Red Sox want to trade for Lee instead of signing Bay or Holliday? The only way it might make sense is if they could trade basically nothing and get him in a salary dump, and the Astros aren't going to do that kind of deal whether Lee would accept it or not. And the Twins?? Why would Carlos Lee want to go to Minnesota?

Another thought: if there are teams who'd consider trading for Murton or Thames then I suggest putting Fred Lewis on this list also. Lewis had some issues defensively this year that lost him his starting job (even though according to UZR he's actually not a bad fielder). On the plus side though he has terrific speed and plate discipline (.355 career OBP) which unfortunately for him doesn't mean anything to his current employer.

Lewis + Murton or Thames wouldn't be a bad platoon actually.

Once and for all, Delmon Young is not a non-tender candidate. He has plenty of upside, is inexpensive, just turned 24 and is under team control for 3 more years. The Twins still believe he will develop into a power hitter, and he has a nice stroke a lifetime average of 290. Obviously he has had his problems, but now is not the time to give up on him.

With all respect to Carlos Lee, that is.

"As someone who watched him all year all across the field, let me say this - the team that signs Jose Bautista to be their platoon bench player, ideally gobbling up all his ABs vs. LHP, is going to very satisfied with him. I was thoroughly impressed by his OF D in 2009, and his versatility at an affordable price goes a long way in a 162g season."

Yeah, Bautista could be a nice low-key addition for someone.

He's had solid pop for a while, but the 14.3% walk rate came out of nowhere this year.

Somehow, he managed to improve on his contact rate against pitches outside of the strike zone by 5% while decreasing his swing rate against those pitches by 5%, reflecting a startling improvement in his pitch selection and bat control.

Guys like Bautista, Matt Joyce, Matt Murton, Clete Thomas and Brett Gardner could make for some very nice buy-lows on guys that could emerge as very solid everyday players.

" Obviously he has had his problems, but now is not the time to give up on him."

With regards to Delmon Young highlighted above in the quotes.. They are all (or mostly) from the neck up, just like Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge and range from laziness on the field to spousal abuse.

Braves want that type of player?

Kouzmanoff to the Twins for Gomez. This deal would help both teams. Kouz would give the Twins a 3rd baseman who can hit, something they haven't had since Gaetti and Gomez would add a ton of speed and athleticism to a slow Padre squad.

Posted by: DB | November 02, 2009 at 06:57 PM
No thanks Gomez has way to much upside and his defense alone makes him at least replacement level. Gomez is also only turning 24 is big and has a ton of upside. Kouz is 28 and has a 302 OPB. We could get that from Gomez. Delmon for Kouz sure, but if you want Gomez you are going to have to improve that offer. Not to mention the Twins front office seems to overvalue Gomez to try and retain some dignity over the Santana trade. Overall i just do not see him gettin moved especially for a player with Kouzes lack of upside. Beltre would be a much better (albiet expensive) option for the Twins who for the first time actually should have a bit of money. No reason to give up on Gomez at this point

someone metion the reds trade for brynes and snyder i dont know how far off i am but harang , dickerson who can play left is under team control for like 5 years? has speed just has to learn baserunning and maybe someone like adam rosales or maloney?

bruce might not be ready for 600abs so resign jomes and delmon young for danny richcar and ownings and maybe suttton?

does those sounds okay?

Pierre really probably should also be on the CF list. His arm sucks, but he is a plus defender in CF under both PM and UZR because of his range. That is actually one of the few selling points he has, unless he maintains the plate discipline he suddenly rediscovered for a month last year.

The Braves were desperate for some rotation help last year and ended up paying more than Lowe was worth. Who's to say that another team won't do the same? I think D-Lowe for El Caballo would work great. The Braves need a power RH guy who can man left field or first base. Because it's not guaranteed that Laroche will re-sign. God that would be awesome tho. How's about this lineup?
McLouth CF
Prado 2b
Chipper 3b
Lee LF
Bmac C
Escobar SS
Laroche 1B
Diaz RF
Pitcher

Besides the pitcher, there isn't a weak spot to be seen. And Jordan Schafer could be thrown in there at some point and slightly possibly Jason Heyward at some point