Links for Monday, as we celebrate the anniversary of the Mark DeRosa (2009), Casey Blake (2008), Xavier Nady (2008), and Ben Broussard (2006) trades. More importantly, Chris Perez, Carlos Santana, Jose Tabata, and Shin-Soo Choo were surrendered for those veteran acquisitions. The trade deadline is five days away; who will mortgage the future this year?
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy has good quotes from Brewers GM Doug Melvin, who said, "Teams talk, but they don't give you legitimate offers. The toughest part is that teams don't want to take anybody off their Major League club. Teams will offer prospects in A-ball." In the piece, McCalvy outlines Melvin's options regarding Prince Fielder.
- Orioles owner Peter Angelos doesn't want to deal with the Yankees, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. That means one less trade partner for the Orioles as they try to move Ty Wigginton.
- The Blue Jays reached a $600K agreement with second-round pick Kellen Sweeney, reports Baseball America's Jim Callis. Sweeney, brother of A's outfielder Ryan, will move to third base to begin his pro career. News of the agreement first surfaced Friday via Jeff Johnson of The Gazette.
- WEEI's Rob Bradford looks at Boston's bullpen options, noting that it'd be dangerous to overpay for Scott Downs. The Jays continue to ask for an elite prospect for Downs, writes Bradford's colleague Alex Speier. One exec who spoke to ESPN's Jayson Stark expects Toronto to continue "stoking fires" and wait until Friday or Saturday to trade Downs.
- Will the Dodgers, possibly reluctant to give Russell Martin another raise through arbitration, trade the catcher in the early offseason? Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports examines.
- Speaking of the offseason, D'Backs CEO Derrick Hall says the team will be pursuing a closer and another reliever despite a decreasing payroll (Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reporting).
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs explains that MLB teams may view Dan Haren as less than an ace due to his tendency to allow home runs. The Diamondbacks moved Haren at the worst possible time, says Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
So is Kellen just another Sweeney who LOOKS like a ballplayer, or is this one actually good?
Do MLB teams not know about park factors at all? Balls tend to fly out at Chase Field…
He also had the tendency in St. Louis and Oakland, and is still pretty prone to letting them up on the road. I like Danny, but he gives up the longball a lot, no matter where.
If Martain becomes available for the trade deadline I’d like to see the Red Sox take a look at him.
Brian Cashman: “Haters gonna hate.”
If the Jays are truly looking to obtain an “elite” prospect like Iglesias or Kelly for Downs then they can forget it. However, Downs’ success and impending Type A status paired with the DIRE situation of the Sox bullpen tells me that the Sox should do everything they can to get this guy – short of giving up any untouchables – even if it means slighly overpaying in prospects. As far as I’m concerned any minor leaguers not named Kelly, Iglesias, Kalish, Rizzo or Tazawa should be on the table.
Are you sure you don’t want to add a few more names to the list?
We’re talking about a 2 month rental for a relief pitcher and I’m only labeling FIVE prospects in the entire organization as untouchable…seems pretty reasonable to me?
I’d say it’s pretty unreasonable, actually. You’re talking about the best available reliever on the market (since I don’t actually think Soria is available) who just so happens to be a lefty that can also get righties out. He is also a Type A free agent at the end of the year, so you get 2 draft picks back for him or you get him for another year at a reasonable price (though I think he’ll decline arbitration given the clear interest in his services). Given that set of circumstances, why the heck would the Jays take back your crappy prospects that may not even ever make an impact in the bigs? They should either get what they want (top prospect) or simply keep him and take the draft picks themselves.
So, any Red Sox prospect not on that list of 5 people is officially “crappy” ?
Hardly. We still have PLENTY of quality prospects that the Jays should be interested in for Downs. If they won’t move him unless it’s for one of the guys on that list, forget it.
You might be off base because Boston and the Yanks are the two favourites for getting Downs….and so far….AA likes to go deep sea fishing when he plans on eating fish for supper
Yeah, I bet the Jays will ask for Montero straight up and then the conversation will be over haha
Sure…if you believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy
Didn’t you JUST say that the Jays will ask the Yankees for a TOP prospect?
Absolutely….BUT….there is no way it will happen straight up for Downs…it will be highway robbery
Yanks will be insulted by the offer…and….AA would never try to insult another GM with such an offer.
Instead….he will say….these are the guys who interest me….what will it take for me to get them?….Just look at the Junel Escobar trade.
So…if AA gets a top prospect for Downs…he will have to package good prospects in return. For example, a Travis D’Arnaud.
Fair enough, but I think Epstein would be just as “insulted” if AA were to ask for Casey Kelly or Jose Iglesias…
I wouldn’t put anything past AA….However, he won’t say “I want Kelly for Downs”…..He will say….what do you want from us for us to get Kelly?….and…he will be prepared to give up good prospects with Downs to get a Kelly type player
You have to realize….AA doesn’t believe he “must” move Downs. If you ask him about Downs….he will have his target list of players in your organization….it will simply be….what do you want in return for the target player….obviously…AA is willing to include good prospects with Downs to get the target player….
However, don’t come to AA thinking he has a clearance sale
I would give them Tazawa or Rizzo.
I personally wouldn’t want to give them Rizzo just because, as of now, he is our best 1B prospect and one of our best power hitting prospects and we’re gonna need him either to play 1st in a year or 2 or as part of a package to get A. Gonz or Fielder in the offseason/at the next deadline. I’d me more willing to part with Tazawa but don’t underestimate his importance to the team’s reputation as the TOP destination for Japanese pitching talent.
What about, whathisname… Lars Anderson? He off the list too?
Yeah, Lars is up for grabs as far as I’m concerned. He still has a decently high ceiling I would think but at this point I don’t see a role for him on the team within the next few years..
How the Yankees have managed to win anything w/o Peter Angelos as a trading partner, is a miracle. [ cue sustained laughter ]
A package centered around Casey Kelly, and Ryan Westmoreland for Fielder, should get it done.