Several general managers predict diminished trade activity this summer, when teams navigate baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement for the first time, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Additional playoff berths mean more teams than ever are in contention and modified rules mean team can no longer obtain draft pick compensation for players acquired midseason.
The Brewers and Diamondbacks have struggled through the season’s first two months and might have become sellers in other years, but neither team is inclined to make its players available yet. Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers knows his team faces a light schedule in the coming weeks and with Matt Kemp on the disabled list in Los Angeles, the Diamondbacks could strike. Similarly Brewers president of baseball operations Doug Melvin remains optimistic about his team’s chances of re-entering the race.
One GM says Zack Greinke, Josh Hamilton and Cole Hamels are the only prospective free agents assured of receiving one-year qualifying offers from their respective clubs after the season. More than three free agents will obtain these offers, but most players aren’t worth $12-3MM on a one-year deal, so teams will be pressured to make trades if they aim to convert players on the brink of free agency into long-term assets. As Rosenthal notes, GMs predict a quiet trade deadline annually, but lots of trades happen every year.
