The Cardinals and Padres are among the teams showing some interest in Jason Bartlett, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Nationals, Giants and Orioles also reportedly have interest in the Rays shortstop.
As Morosi notes, we should soon learn which team won the bidding for Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Once the Rays know which teams missed out on Nishioka, they’ll be better-positioned to consider offers for Bartlett.
The 31-year-old earned $4MM in 2010 and will likely earn over $5MM through arbitration in 2011, his final season before hitting free agency. After a 2009 season in which he hit .320/.389/.490, Bartlett slumped to .254/.324/.350 in 2010. His career line (.281/.345/.385) suggests he's capable of bouncing back in 2011.
Would love to see the Cardinals get him.
Get it done MO.
Bartlett + Uribe – STL 2011 middle infield.
Definitely! I don’t want to see them give up too much to get him though. The Rays are looking for young bullpen help so maybe Motte, Boggs or Salas gets it done? Is that too little?
i wouldn’t even give up that much… Bartlett is another slap happy hitter we can add to our collection..and he has a more than modest salary. His defense is no more than average as well..
I know Mo said he is looking for a SS over a 2B, but I personally would like to see Bartlett or Uribe at second and Ryan at SS. That way Bartlett’s defense will still be an upgrade over our current production and we keep Ryan’s gold glove caliber glove in the line up.
That’s definitely what they should do. If they don’t trade Ryan maybe they’ll see who hits better between Ryan and Schumaker in Spring Training. I hope Ryan has a break-out year because if he can hit anything above .250 he’s much more valuable to have at SS.
I agree with you but, Zack Cox may be the second baseman in 2012, so if Skip can at least be moderately good this year we should be okay.
I agree 100%!
I’d trade Salas. But no way to Boggs, especially Motte.
i think its going to be one or the other. i really think bartlett is going to be their backup plan behind uribe.
Bartlett is probably worse than Ryan. The idea that the Cards will give up something of value to acquire someone worse than the player they already have is enough to make this Cards’ fan sick.
WAYY TOO EXPENSIVE
I thought all along that the Padres should get in on Jason Bartlett…I’d really like to see that happen…
I say this…Brandon Gomes and Anthony Bass for Bartlett…If it’s the Cards, D’Marcus Ingram and Kyle McClellan would be fair in my opinion although the Cards would be helping the Rays out a lot there.
I think the Cards would prefer to keep McClellan over trading him for Bartlett. I would trade another bullpen arm for Bartlett and put him at second though (leaving Ryan at short).
Listening to Jed on the radio, I don’t think they will pursue Bartlett. Too costly AND you have to give up minor leaguers. I do like your trade, but Jed will go a different direction for a SS.
Don’t think you’re wrong at all, and thanks by the way. I just don’t see the trade and free agent market for SS’s that attractive and I think Bartlett plays Padres Baseball very well.
Don’t think the Pads would part with Gomes and Bass for 1 year of Bartlett. Bartlett has very little trade value even with the thin SS market. Giving up more than 1 B-prospect is too much imo.
Excellent get if the Padres can manage it. Gomes would figure to stoke the Rays interest but not too sure about the SP, Bass. Maybe an outfielder with Gomes?
I would love to see Bartlett playing by the bay, in the likely event Uribe finds more years and money elsewhere. Plus, if I was the Orioles, I’d look into Uribe. His bat could help them out just like Bartlett’s speed and defense can help the Giants
Not sure which Bay team you were referring to…But I think he’d be an exceptional fit for both…But giving away a David Hernandez type pitcher is too much for a guy like Bartlett…I’m glad the Orioles said no to that…I could put together some trade ideas for the Giants and A’s but I just don’t know how much the Rays want to acquire bullpen help for Bartlett…For example, they might be able to snag Chris Carter or Daric Barton from the A’s if they included Alex Cobb or even Matt Garza…The A’s according to Slusser were said to maybe search through trade for a relief pitcher after they get the 16-19MM or whatever it was from Iwakuma…
Yeah, I don’t see the A’s trading Barton for Garza and Bartlett. I’m sure Barton would be available for the right price though…
I didn’t mean straight up. But I think some combination of Farquahar/Magnuson/Ross/Krol plus someone like Barton or a duo of Carter and Cardenas for Bartlett and Garza is at least a starting point
I meant the Giants could make great use of Bartlett. The A’s can do whatever they want as long as the Giants are still better than them for all I care. Also, the talks with Iwakuma are far from over. Both side are trying to wait the other out and play hardball, just like draft picks. It’s no guarantee that a deal is made, but it’s no less likely than it was a couple days ago after hearing his agent’s comments today
It just seems to me like he has no idea what he’s doing in terms of negotiations.
Love to see the Cards get this guy.
Bartlett + (stuff) for Rasmus? There’s gotta be some value for (stuff) that the Rays can afford to give up that makes this worth it for the Cardinals.
Bartlett has very little trade value. In order to get a player of Rasmus’ caliber the (stuff) would need to begin with Hellickson and add from there.
why do the rays need an outfielder…. they already have like 6(upton,jennings,zobrist,joyce,johnson,etc). besides, the only guys that would probably interest the cardinals(longoria,price, jennings, Hellickson) are unavailable anyways. They don’t really match up well.
If I’m the Rays, I would consider giving Hellickson and Jennings for Rasmus…Especially if the Rays dont trade any of their starters, Hellickson wouldn’t even have a spot in the rotation.
Hellickson and Jennings? Bro, im a cardinal fan and i think thats a bit of an overpayment. Jennings+Matt Moore seems plenty fair
Explain to me how Matt Moore is much worse than Jeremy Hellickson
because the cardinals are in win now mode and Moore is atleast a full season(or at the very earliest, a september call up) away.
But that doesn’t mean the Rays would be more inclined to move him
yeah…it kind of does. Players of similar ceilings but one is closer to the majors than the other surely influences their trade value. That is common sense
Not really. I don’t think they have similiar ceilings at all. Moore throws harder and projects to he more of a Clayton Kershaw type where as Jeremy Hellickson has a chance to be a Greg Maddux type.
ok lets hold off on the Hall of Fame comparisons. Moore is also a much riskier choice while Hellickson is arguably the safest top prospect in baseball. He has butter smooth mechanics and pin point control. Which is why i think the Rays would value Hellickson more than Moore. Jennings+Moore for Rasmus and a good BP guy like Motte seems like a fair trade.
Fine, I just think the two are completely different pitchers and my point is that neither are touchable but if I had to package one, i’d package Hellickson. After you said he had butter smooth mechanics, you’ve got me thinking a combo between pancakes/Mashed potatoes/Butter.
Moore has a much higher ceiling than Hellickson. Hellickson gets his acclaim based on his “sure thing” status.
you just argued w/ me yesterday that moore isn’t a top 10 pitching prospect.
Yeah, I told you he would be in my 10-15. He was making it seem like he was 20-25. It at least sounded like that to me but Ferrariman is one of my favorite people on here he knows what he’s talking about
your mis interpreting what i meant. For example, Bryce Harper will probably be a top 10 prospect this season but he won’t be helping anyone in the majors for like 2 years so a team in win-now mode might not see him as much of a valuable asset.
Wow, I would keep Hellickson. Sure Rasmus is very good and all but Hellickson can be special. Also, if Matt Moore is so comparable, though farther away from the bigs, I would have to assume the Rays would trade him plus any of their other guys down in the minors before they send Hellickson packing.
you realize what Rasmus’ potential ceiling is? He is just as likely to be something special(maybe more so because he has already performed in the majors) as Hellickson.
Bartlett, Hellickson, and an OF prospect?
You are overvaluing Bartlett and WAAYY undervaluing Rasmus. Bartlett has very little value versus Rasmus who is a young, inexpensive outfielder that hasn’t nearly reaches his potential. A reliever plus a filler would get this deal done.
Nah, I’m not delusional – I know whatever’s thrown in with Bartlett would have to be worth more than Bartlett. My point is that if the Cards have interest in Bartlett, why not ask what else it would take along with JB to get Rasmus over here? Number of outfielders on the team isn’t an issue – Rasmus is a pretty big upgrade over whoever’s not Jennings and Upton in the outfield. I’m possibly the biggest Matt Joyce fan in the world, but I’d take Rasmus over him without blinking.
id take rasmus over both jennings and upton as well. But that still doesn’t change the fact that the rays don’t have a need in the outfield. Limited funds and resources, it could be directed better than another outfielder.
I actually don’t think Upton’s going to be with the Rays much longer, so that outfield jam won’t be as large as it looks right now. The other thing I wonder is will they end up doing some RF-DH-1B revolving door where guys like Joyce, Zobrist, Johnson all split time at the various positions depending on matchups.
Durango and LeBlac for Bartlett.
The Rays are stacked with starting pitching, I’m not sure LeBlanc fits their needs.
I don’t want to see this OOOOO-REEBAY era in San Francisco end so quickly. But if Juan signs elsewhere I’d do something like Sergio Romo for Jason Bartlett.
Bartlett isn’t that great and definitely not worth a top notch reliever.
Romo is good but not top notch. He has a plus slider and good control.
Cardinals should: sign uribe (3B primarily). I dont understand how Freese is the lock goin into the season (again). I know he was playin well lat year before he got hurt, but he seems like hes got a glass body (Weak lower body too) Uribe could also play 2B and let Freese take over at 3B for a bit.
They also NEED to trade for Bartlett. Im not a cards fan, but their infield was god awful offensively and these are both upgrades. Whomever said Rasmus needs to do a little research before they comment on such ridiculous ideas.
Uribe is far and away the best fit for the Cards. I think Mo knows it and will put in competetive offers for him. If Schumaker’s defense doesn’t improve and his offense continues to decline, stick him at 2B. If Ryan starts batting under .200 again, stick him at short. If Freese busts his ankles again walking down the street, stick him at 3B. COME ON CARDS!!! URIBE IS YOUR GUY!!!
The Cardinals dont need Bartlett, the Cardinals need to go for J.J. Hardy at short, or wait until the arbitration deadline for players with 6 years MLB service and se what comes from that.
please no.
Aren’t we talking about a guy who plays no more than above-average defense at SS, has a career line of .281/.345/.385, and is set to make $5MM next year? Why is everyone wanting to throw prospects out there for him? This is kind of a salary dump for the Rays, isn’t it?
agree with that – especially if you offer a decent middle to late inning reliever and you could probably get Scutaro from the Red Sox.
You mean the guy that plays no more than average defense at SS, has a career .267/.336/.385 line, and who’s set to make $5MM next year?
I heard from a little bird that the Cards plan to offer Salas and cash for Bartlett which In my opinion should get the deal done. As for Uribe.. why the hell not? He has pop and we need an offensive upgrade.
I don’t know why people are obsessing over Jason Bartlett, He had a Career year in 09′ and didn’t do good last year.
You gotta understand though, Bartlett played and faced pitchers in the toughest division in baseball, bring him to the NL central and he might bring back that 09 year again.
toughest division, yes, but we all know how marginal yankee pitching is, and believe it or not, the sox and jays have a worse team ERA than the yankees, he is on the rays, which leaves the orioles who have the worst pitching of them all. And they are in the hitting dominant American League. I don’t see too much logic to this comment.
There are also 5 hitters parks in the al east, especially the Trop.
I dunno. I don’t think the difference in parks would be that dramatic. Wrigley and Great American are def hitter-friendly. It wouldn’t be as dramatic as a move to the Pads, where your home games are in pitcher’s paradise Petco and you also have a lotta games at LAD and SFG in pitcher-friendly parks.The bigger difference will be quality of pitching and pitching style. He’ll likely see more fastballs in the NL. Or so the saying goes. 😉
True. Freddy Sanchez could hit 20+ homers at Great American. That place is a joke.
That’s precisely the deal I imagined when I read the headline. Not sure how I feel about letting Salas go, but at least we have depth there. Would also hope this does not usurp Boog and his stelar defense. Would like to see one of the two move to 2B. I do think Bartlett would be a good fit for us. Moreso than someone like Uribe. (BTW – Not a knock on Uribe, we just need someone with good OBP and Uuuuuuribe doesn’t fit the mold.) It will be interesting to see what happens. I don’t imagine much of anything will take place deal-wise until we take care of The Machine.
i could also see the pads making a push for one of the rays starters in the same trade, they do have six starters with Moore almost ready.
I could also see that. I believed they could try to deal for a starting pitcher and try to flip them to the Brewers for Brett Lawrie.
am i the only one who still thinks that orlando hudson is a better option than bartlett and uribe well maybe not uribe but you never know what your gonna get from juan uribe it coulda just been a fluke year or he could be the next ryan ludwick that no one saw coming like i keep saying i just wanna see something happen this offseason that makes me excited and believe we have a chance to win the division
am i the only one who still thinks that orlando hudson is a better option than bartlett and uribe well maybe not uribe but you never know what your gonna get from juan uribe it coulda just been a fluke year or he could be the next ryan ludwick that no one saw coming like i keep saying i just wanna see something happen this offseason that makes me excited and believe we have a chance to win the division
i think if the cardinals are going to trade for a shortstop…why should they settle for Bartlett…i realize they still have to worry about alberts contract..but imo i think they should go after Jose Reyes if possible…How nice would our lineup look with a solid leadoff hitter like reyes in it…GO GET REYES MO!!!
i just wonder if the cards can support reyes’ near 10 mil as well as the big carpenter, holliday, and soon to be, pujols contracts. wainwright makes a nice living himself. not to mention, when reyes’ contract runs out after ’12, there’s no way they’d retain him with their investments in the other players. it would take a large amount to get a young shortstop of reyes’ caliber, so if we couldn’t keep him longterm, would it be worth it to give up that much? although, maybe, stl could sign him if carpenter retires or takes a cut when his salary runs out after after ’12.
it was just a thought..it would be nice to get reyes, although i have to admit i am dreaming…the cardinals have not had a true leadoff man in many years and great speed at that…if there was some way to get reyes for the long term i think the cardinals should defenitley look into it…the cardinals need atleast one speedy guy in there lineup..not only that but reyes is a gold glove shortstop and has a lil pop…although i know that Tony wouldnt have reyes stealin near as much as he should, it would be nice..but you know tony is to worried about men being on base in front of Albert..sometimes i think he worries to much about that…Albert is the best player ever in my eyes..but he still gets out 7 out of 10 times..lets have some aggresiveness
i totally agree, i would love to have a real speed threat in stl. it would be perfect, if possible. who knows? has reyes been made available by the mets though? i wouldn’t be surprised for his name to come up in more rumors around the all star break.
His name has definitely come up before. The Mets only have $3MM-$4MM to spend this offseason and they have a lot of holes to fill. The problem with Reyes is that 1) He was injured a lot last season which hurt his numbers and 2) They’d rather dump Beltran who’s making more money.
I’m in the same boat you guys are in though. I don’t see why we should settle for Bartlett or Scutaro if we can offer more to get a player that fits our needs so well. Even though Reyes defense isn’t as good as Ryan’s, it’s still pretty darn good and when you add the fact that he’s a switch hitter and loves hitting leadoff, seems to me that he has Cardinals written all over him. His name hasn’t come up in trade rumors in awhile though so if the Mets aren’t actively shopping him, it’s tough to tell how available he actually is.
$ is the problem with Reyes. He’s due $11M next year. Have we discussed this already?
well bartlett made 4million last season and since arb figures are done using a 2 year average, might make as much as 6million next season. If its a 5mil difference, it is well worth the risks because Reyes can also bring 2 draft picks next season.
exactly, reyes would be much more worth it for 5 more mil a year
Agreed that Bartlett is still a considerable chunk of change. And your point about draft-pick compensation is taken. The Cards’ M.O. is more focused on the farm/youth now.
I think we’ll have to wait and see where the Pujols extension leaves us $-wise. It would surprise me if MO doles out $11M on Reyes. But, so long as it doesn’t cut into Pujols’ deal, I wouldn’t be completely against it. It’s not like I don’t like Reyes or anything. He’s an exciting player. Ideally – if it does happen – I’d like to see it happen mid-season with STL in the hunt for 1st and NYM picking up some of the $11M tab.
Cardinals, go get Bartlett, please. I don’t want my Padres near him.
I’d want him on the Padres if they get him for real cheap. Like Luis Perdomo and a 12 pack of Lagunitas.
The only thing I can figure the Rays would be after would be Bullpen and a 1B. The Padres would have a hard time trading and injured Kyle Blanks and Adrian would be require prospects. I dont see the Rays giving up top prospects for 1 year of Adrian, unless they really believe 2011 is their year(could be). Padres likely wouldnt trade anymore bullpen pieces now that they have sent away mujica and webb. So, unless the Padres trade Adrian to the Rays…. who else would the Rays want that the Padres would unload? Just for fun how about:
Rays get:
Adrian Gonzalez
Brandon Gomes
Brewers get:
Hellickson
Padres get:
Niemann
Lawrie
Bartett
wait, so basically all the brewers are giving up is lawrie and their getting hellickson? that doesn’t sound right at all.
Brewers could also toss the Rays another bullpen piece
Rays are slashing payroll this year … one of many reasons this proposal doesn’t fly. Rays are huge into cost controlled years … they’d value niemann/hellickson FAR more than adrian gonzalez. they’ve got to be smart and consider both talent and contract situations … which makes a guy like hellickson who project to be a front of the rotation SP and will come at the league minimum for 3 years and cost controlled for 6 like gold to them.
I understand… what I basically said is this would only work if the Rays were 100% convinced that Adrian gets them a world series in 2011.
I think the Rays would do Thatcher for Bartlett. Not sure the Padres would given the depleted (yet still solid) state of their pen.
The Rays might do Blanks for Bartlett, but not sure.
Any Padres fans have takes on this?
“The Rays might do Blanks for Bartlett, but not sure. ”
The Rays might but the Padres wouldn’t.
That is not fair to the Rays at all. They give up Hellickson, Niemann, and Bartlett for Agon and Gomes? Friedman ain’t an idiot.
How is that unfair? Hellickson would be the biggest chip, Niemann is a guy who got lucky last year and I will guarantee a pretty regression from him, and Bartlett is a decent SS coming off a down year. Give up 3 players (Only one Blue Chipper btw) and get Agonz + Gomes? Thats a good deal for the Rays in a vacuum where salary doesn’t matter. I feel the Padres are getting shafted in this deal a lot more then the Rays.
Niemann and Hellickson might look like Cy Young and Walter Johnson in PetCo.
Not so much Neimann. He is a groundball pitcher.
he still gave up 25 home runs (1.3HR/9innings).
Yeah you’re right. I think I was remembering earlier in the season when he was pitching great (and lucky) and was getting a ton of groundballs. But after he came back from the DL and he got lit up his stats really normalized.
The Padres are not getting totally shafted, they get the 2b of their future, a serviceable short stop until cabrera or cumberland are ready fulltime, and a 5th starter that can eat up 180 innings. I thought it was a fair deal, if the Rays want to win it all this year. I just dont think the Rays have enough bat to win a world series. I think they will be highly competetive for years to come though.
I think I’m just not as high on Lawrie. I don’t see him sticking at 2B.
Are the redsox truely interested in Adrian or is it just constant media speculation?
If the padres are trading Adrian they’ll want Brignac or Sean Rodriguez involved in the deal not Bartlett. If the Padres trade Adrian they are looking to compete in 2012 and beyond, Bartlett doesn’t help there.
Salary is one of the biggest things that matter to the Rays. This isn’t fantasy baseball.
Bartlett would make a fine shortstop for the Cardinals….in theory. His salary is very high, and the cost to acquire him might be a little much.
Seems like the Redbirds are always looking for the David Eckstein magic.
Neimann is a back of the rotation starter…. bartlett is a cost cutting move. This basically comes down to Adrian for Hellickson. I can understand why the Rays wouldnt do this move.
Lawrie is going to be very good if he can stay at 2B.
Problem is that it is doubtful he can stick there from what I’ve read. He will probably get stuck in a corner OF spot (and some scouts aren’t sure how well he will do there too) where his bat doesn’t translate as well as it would at 2B. Until he finds a position he is a huge question mark.
The padres should go after Orlando Hudson. better player, he shouldn´t cost much more and he won´t cost players.
I like Orlando Hudson for the Padres. Won’t the twins offer him arb? If so, he will be wanting a multiple year deal if he declines arb…. this would make him a difficult signing for the Padres. Perhaps the Padres could work out a trade with the twins and then offer him arb.
If the twinsoffer arb and he declines, his value would actually go down as he would cost a draft pick.
edit: at least i think so, don{t know if he{s type a or b.
Isn’t he a type B?
Considering he plays for the AL east it’s the hardest division out there. He faced top pitchers defense and was the top of the leader board in most SS categories. I’m pretty sure he’ll rake in the NL. Done deal. People need to look past 09 and realize he’s legit.
Who hangs up first?
Bartlett (Rays) for Thatcher (Pads)
Who hangs up first?
Bartlett (Rays) for Motte (Cards)
I would say the Pads and Cards. Not that they would actually hang up the phone right off the bat….but I see Thatcher and Motte as having more value.
Didn’t Bartlett get us all free tacos from taco bell when he stole a base in the World Series? Now that’s the kind of man I want on my team.