Headlines

  • Rangers Trade Dane Dunning To Braves
  • Kyle Gibson Announces Retirement
  • Yankees Interested In Mitch Keller
  • Pirates Trade Adam Frazier To Royals
  • Mets, Yankees Among Teams To Show Recent Interest In David Robertson
  • Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Trade Market For Lefty Relievers

By Tim Dierkes | May 20, 2013 at 10:58am CDT

Having lost veterans Jonny Venters and Eric O'Flaherty to elbow injuries, the Braves are expected to be in the hunt for a lefty reliever, confirmed Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal notes that Miami's Mike Dunn would be ideal; Atlanta traded him to the Marlins in the Dan Uggla deal several years ago.  Dunn, who turns 28 on Thursday, has pushed his walk rate down a bit and is getting more groundballs, which partially explains his 1.74 ERA.  He's under team control through 2016, and the Marlins should be able to command a strong return on the trade market.  Which other lefty relievers might become available this summer?

  • Darren Oliver and Brett Cecil, Blue Jays.  Oliver, 42, hasn't been effective against left-handed hitters this year, allowing 14 hits out of 36 batters faced.  Cecil has dominated same-side batters, but he is under team control through 2016 and would be much harder to acquire.
  • J.P. Howell, Dodgers.  Howell and his 87 mile-an-hour heater have been extremely effective against lefty hitters.  He has a $2.85MM base salary plus incentives.
  • Wesley Wright and Travis Blackley, Astros.  Erik Bedard is another name to watch here, though he's currently in the Astros' rotation and might be needed there.  Wright has been ineffective against lefties, while Blackley has been OK.
  • Brian Duensing, Twins.  Glen Perkins could be very popular on the trade market, but he's signed potentially through 2016 and I'm not sure the Twins would be willing to trade their closer.  Duensing has been very good against left-handed hitters and is under team control through 2015.
  • James Russell, Cubs.  Russell may be the prize among left-handed relievers.  His numbers have moved in the right direction this year.  He's dominated lefty hitters and is usable against right-handed ones.  He's under team control through 2015, so the Cubs will be in no rush to move him.
  • Tom Gorzelanny and Mike Gonzalez, Brewers.  Gorzelanny has a 2.30 ERA on the season, a deceptive number given his low strikeout rate, high walk rate, and proclivity toward the longball.  Signed through 2014, the Brewers would do well to clear his contract.  Gonzalez, also signed as a free agent during the offseason, needs to be kept far away from right-handed hitters.  His 4.5 K/BB ratio against left-handed batters is promising, but he has been hittable.
  • Charlie Furbush and Oliver Perez, Mariners.  Walks have been a problem for Furbush, who is under team control through 2017.  Perez has at least limited free passes against lefty batters, whom the impending free agent has dominated.
  • Antonio Bastardo, Phillies.  Bastardo has allowed a pair of home runs among his 25 left-handed hitters faced, which continues to be a problem for him given his inability to get groundballs.  He's under team control through 2015.
  • Scott Downs, Angels.  The L.A. teams certainly aren't ready to punt on the season, but one or both may be in two months.  Downs, 37, is earning $5MM in the last year of his contract.  He's got one of the best groundball rates you'll find, and remains tough on left-handed hitters.
  • Matt Thornton, White Sox.  Unlike most left-handed relievers, Thornton sits around 94 miles per hour with his fastball.  The 36-year-old earns $5.5MM this year and has a $6MM club option for 2014.  He battled elbow inflammation in February and strikeouts have eluded him so far, depressing his trade value.
  • Joe Thatcher, Padres.  Thatcher has been hittable against lefties, but otherwise effective.  He's under team control through 2014.
  • Marc Rzepczynski, Cardinals.  Rzepczynski had his fire questioned by GM John Mozeliak, and despite a $1.1MM salary he and his 7.88 ERA were demoted to Triple-A in late April.  Lefties have hit him well at that level too, so the Cardinals would be selling low to move him this summer.
Share 0 Retweet 14 Send via email0

Uncategorized

Latest On Nationals, Mike Rizzo
Main
Quick Hits: Gose, Dodgers, Relief Market
View Comments (0)
Post a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Rangers Trade Dane Dunning To Braves

    Kyle Gibson Announces Retirement

    Yankees Interested In Mitch Keller

    Pirates Trade Adam Frazier To Royals

    Mets, Yankees Among Teams To Show Recent Interest In David Robertson

    Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September

    Nationals Select Eli Willits With First Pick Of 2025 Amateur Draft

    2025 MLB Draft, First Round Results

    Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day IL Due To ACL Tear

    Astros Promote Brice Matthews

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

    Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help

    Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays

    Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu

    Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Recent

    Mets Interested In Danny Coulombe

    Rangers Select Cody Freeman

    Diamondbacks Sign Sergio Alcántara, Place Ketel Marte On Restricted List Due To Personal Matter

    Fantasy Baseball: Anticipating Bullpen Holes

    Rockies Place Thairo Estrada On IL With Thumb Sprain

    Ryan Burr To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

    Max Kranick To Undergo Elbow Surgery

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Minnesota Twins

    Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

    Orioles Re-Sign Corbin Martin To Major League Deal

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version