As many as seven teams could be looking for help at shortstop, but the options aren't very interesting beyond Juan Uribe and Hiroyuki Nakajima. Let's see if the trade market offers anyone useful.
Non-Tender Candidates
As we mentioned earlier, Jason Bartlett, J.J. Hardy, and Ryan Theriot are getting expensive through arbitration and could be shopped around. Theriot will probably be non-tendered and Hardy may get another shot with the Twins because their alternatives aren't much better. The Rays, though, could trim several million dollars by trading Bartlett. Reid Brignac and Sean Rodriguez could be in-house alternatives.
Probably Off-Limits
We've heard the odd Stephen Drew rumor here and there over the years, but new Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers probably won't trade him this winter. Drew had a strong year, and the D'Backs need him at short.
Potential Surpluses
A few teams might feel they've captured a rare surplus of shortstops. The Rays are one, with Bartlett, Brignac, and Rodriguez. The Red Sox could be another, given the strong play of Jed Lowrie this year. Generally we'd expect the older, more expensive player to be shopped. In this case that's Marco Scutaro, who's set to earn $5MM next season.
Chris Nelson will never supplant Troy Tulowitzki as the Rockies' shortstop, but they'll probably prefer to keep Nelson around in the second base mix. The Cubs have strong organizational shortstop depth with Starlin Castro and Hak-Ju Lee, perhaps making Darwin Barney expendable.
The Padres' Everth Cabrera, Dodgers' Chin-lung Hu, and the Angels' Brandon Wood may have fallen out of favor. Cabrera's offense took a dive this year, though the Padres don't have better options. Hu has spent time at Triple A in each of the last four seasons and is behind Dee Gordon and Ivan DeJesus Jr. on the team's depth chart. Wood had his longest big league trial this year, but he still hasn't figured it out.
Veterans Under Contract
Jack Wilson ($5MM) and Jamey Carroll ($1.8MM) are a couple of veterans who may be available. Wilson is a much pricier Adam Everett, so he'd be tough to move. Carroll logged a surprising 573 innings at shortstop this year with a career-best .379 OBP.
The Tigers apparently inquired about Drew, but the D’Backs asked for Rick Porcello. That was the beginning and end of that conversation.
that may nout be the end isnt there old gm gone??
I hope DD is at least checking on Scoots and Bartlett. Moving Jhonny to 3rd and adding one of those two makes that lineup a heck of a lot stronger
That depends on which Jhonny shows up in 2011. If it’s the player that he was in 2008 and previous, he’ll be a fine addition to the team, despite his deficiencies in the field. If it’s the player that the Indians dumped on the Tigers, and paid his full salary just to make him go away, that guy isn’t an asset to any team. Peralta is no better than Inge at the plate, and he’s far inferior in the field. He’s even worse defensively at 3B than he was at SS. If he’s going to make it back with the Tigers, it will be as a shortstop, and he’ll have to get his old stroke back to be any value.
Nakajima and Miggy T to SD
Before I read the post I saw Tulo’s name and was wondering why the hell would the Rockies be shopping the game’s best hitting shortstop… I feel the sense of sanity coming back now.
Tulo would take a LARGE haul of talent to pry from the Rockies. My guess would be 2 young major league SP, 1 major league infielder to replace his spot, and 2 blue chip prospects.
Probably not. He can void the remainder of his contract if he is traded.
Did not know he had that clause. Well if the Rockies allow the new club to have a window to discuss his future with them and possible extension it goes back to being a large haul. Without the guarantee he won’t void the contract then it makes absolutely no sense to trade.
Why the Rox would trade Tulo is beyond me. He is the future of the franchise along with CarGo and Jimenez.
I can’t see the Sox trading Scutaro away. Lowrie still hasn’t shown he can stay healthy over the course of a full season and Bill Hall isn’t exactly adept at playing SS full-time either and will be more expensive if brought back for 2011. Might as well keep both Lowrie and Scutaro and if Lowrie can make it to July w/o seeing any DL time then you can still flip Scutaro to a contender if that’s the way they want to go. SS should be thought of like pitching…you can never have too many good ones around.
It’s not like he kept breaking bones when diving for fly balls like some center fielders. He had mono. But I do agree I don’t see them keeping Lowrie around. But mostly because internally they and most of the scouts in the game see Lowrie’s best position is second and Lowrie won’t be dislodging Pedroia.
By the way, nice to see you again YFS78.
Hey SWP. Good seeing you to.
As for Lowrie, I’m familiar w/ the injuries but either way you look at it he’s only been able to play in 87 games over the last 2 seasons. That’s not dependable. I figure the last thing the Sox want to do going into 2011 is to be thin at SS or CF.
Don’t forget that Scutaro is sort of damaged goods right now also with the injured rotator cuff and nagging shoulder injury he played half the season with.
The wrist injury is pretty much the same one from 2 seasons ago that hopefully is over with, but anybody that is thinking of acquiring Lowrie will have to worry about the effects of that mono for years and hopefully they just keep him. Would rather use him and his limited range for a season and a half at the most there, then move to a utility role and see if can move Scutarao, after all, they endured the brutal defense of Lugo and Rent-a-Wreck and at least lowrie can catch balls hit right at him..THAT is a huge improvement.
Anyone that signs Adam Everett and pays him more than $8/hour deserves to lose 100 games… He took too many hitting lessons from Brad Ausmus while in Houston. And both proved to be worthless worthless worthless. Their bats could suck the soul out of the ’29 Yankees’ lineup…
I’d like for the Orioles to inquire about Hu. I’m not sure there’s much out their for a rebuilding club to spend money or prospects on after Hu. I could see a team take a flyer on Brandon Wood, but he really seems to have stalled. Maybe a team like the Astros who need more offense from their middle infield would take a look at him. I’d wouldn’t mind if the Astros took a chance on Hardy, to see if he can regain some of his power.
I like Bartlett on a contender, maybe even the Twins if they dump Hardy or the Reds if O. Cabrera doesn’t come back. After Bartlett, I’m not sure there is anyone else that interesting in trade.
I would put money on Cabrera not rejoining the Reds in 2011.
Is this another thread where a Red Sox fan inevitably throws out some absurd trade scenario for Tulowitzki?
I consider Tulowitzki to be untouchable.
Tulo for Lars Anderson and Che-Hsuan Lin.
Where’s Michael Bowden’s name is this deal. He would be a must have I would think. 🙂
Sigh… we’ll throw him in. But now we want Jimenez as well.
include Lowell and the you can have CarGo.
Damn… he just retired. How about Bubba Bell? You’ll love him… C’mon, his name is Bubba!
After reading over the options at shortstop this year, one reaches this conclusion;
Basically, if you don’t have a shortstop now, you’re screwed.
With the way talented youngsters are being moved off of premium positions to more marketable positions (LF, 1b) to prolong their careers, expect this trend to only get worse
I think its kind of funny that of the 4 shortstops the Angels have, only the “bust”, Brandon Wood is mentioned.
I could see Maicer being traded, and clubs would be interested in him.
I’m shocked that Rafael Furcal’s name isn’t on the list. I guess it depends on which way the DOdgers are going in 2011 but he would seem me to be a good canidate to go to help free up payroll. He had a good year despite being injured @ .300/.266 22/26 SB. He’s owed $12 mil in 2011 and has an option at the same for 2012 that will vest if he hits 600 PA in 2011. He’s definetly expensive but I can see him being moved to the right competitor looking for speed and OBP at the top of their lineup. As mentioned by the writer the Dodgers have at least 3 viable replacements in their upper minor league system in Gordon, DeJesus and Hu.
Reds need a SS and a leadoff. Only question is would they be able to afford him. I don’t think so.
The Reds have alot of money coming of the books.I wuld like to see them pursue Werth for the left field power bat. But wouldit be to crazyto get Furcal and Kemp in a trade dodgers eata little of furcals contract. We give up say Homer bailey he is starting to look like that future ACE an is 22, Juan Fransico one of our top prospects and is major league ready so he can take Blakes job.Todd Fraizer infielder/outfielder wth power and good average,Sam Lecure mid roation starter. What do ya think? to much or not enough remember Furcal has been kinda hurt and Kemp is having a down season and all these players are ML ready
Bailey, Juan Fransico, Yonder Alonso, and C Devin Mesoraco would be what I would ask for Kemp & Furcal /w Dodgers kicking in 5MM. It would depend on if you see the 2009 Kemp or the 2010 Kemp I guess. Fransico ends up in LF IMO glove his too sub par for 3rd.
Uh, guys J.J. Hardy is someone I’d rather have than most of these guys on the list. He played great defense in Minnesota, and he’s still young, and has pop in his bat. Minnesota should non-tender him, but bring him back on a 2 Year deal for less.
What are the chances of the Cards moving Brendan Ryan? His offense leaves something to be desired but he’s in line for a Gold Glove so he has some value. Who knows? Maybe the right hitting coach could turn his bat around and the Cards could get more of a veteran presence at shortstop.
Just a thought
I hope the Pirates get someone as insurance for Ronny Cedeno, not like Bobby Crosby who was just awful last year. But I like Cedeno as a starter, he’s not as bad as some people make him out to be.
Cedano isn’t starter material to me. He’s got a little pop in his bat but his .OBP is too far below average for him to be playing everyday. When he was with the Cubs the major question about his was his baseball IQ, he appeared to have the ability to play well but made too many mental errors. Not sure if that’s improved or not but unless he can get his .OBP into a respectable range he shouldn’t be taking up ab-bats.
isn’t derek jeter available ?!?! non-tender ?!?!
I don’t really consider the Cubs to have a surplus yet, maybe after 2011 and only if Lee and Barney continue playing well.
Bartlett is a bit of an enigma, no one saw 2009 coming and shouldn’t have reasonably expected him to do it again but he’s basically gone back to his standard level of play. So where did 2009 come from if it wasn’t a step forward?
Hardy is going backwards and he should be in his prime right now, not a good trend. He really needs to have a breakout year (again?) if he expects to get a long term, high dollar contract in the near future.
Maybe the padres would be interested in scutaro. That’s if Boston paid half his salary.
What about Jose Reyes? He could be traded.
Mets fans would probably love Scutaro at 2B instead of Castillo. I don’t know what they might give up to allow the Red Sox to consider trading him.
As for what the Metfans want to do with Luis Castillo who is still signed for a year, well, let’s just say they’ve been watching episodes of “Dexter” looking for ideas.
BTW, what is the scouting report on the Yanks Eduardo Nunez? He looked good in his small-sample showing in the majors, and he was chosen to the International League All-Star team. But beyond that, I know nothing about the guy.
it seems my post was taken off this topic…has this ever happen to anyone…let me know