MLBTR wishes all of its American readers a very happy Thanksgiving. For those readers not from the USA…uh, happy Thursday! Onto some news items:
- "Three contending clubs" have a "persisting interest" in Colby Rasmus, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Strauss noted in a follow-up tweet that these are teams with a "new interest," so presumably that eliminates past suitors like the Braves, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and White Sox. The Rasmus rumor mill seemed to have petered out, with the most recent report stating that there was a 99% chance that Rasmus would still be in St. Louis next season.
- Dennis Gilbert will not try to buy the Houston Astros, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. Gilbert led a group bidding for the Rangers earlier this year and has been rumored to be a potential future ownership candidate for the Dodgers.
- The Twins are "very much in on" Tsuyoshi Nishioka, tweets Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman. We heard last week that Minnesota had an interest in the Japanese infielder.
- When Kevin Towers was general manager of the Padres, he planned to eventually bring Trevor Hoffman back to San Diego so the future Hall-of-Fame closer could retire as a Padre, tweets Fanhouse.com's Tom Krasovic. Though Towers has moved on to Arizona, Krasovic says there's a chance Hoffman could still return to San Diego now that Sandy Alderson and Paul DePodesta are no longer with the organization.
- Bill James talks to CBSSports.com's Evan Brunell about a variety of topics, including the new Mets front office, the Justin Upton trade rumors and what the Royals should do with Zack Greinke.
- Joe Pawlikowski of the River Ave Blues blog wishes the Derek Jeter negotiations moved as smoothly as Mike Mussina's contract talks with the Yankees after the 2006 season.
man, this might turn into a crazy bidding war for Rasmus. They could get a huge haul…although i still don’t see him getting moved.
Zach Greinke for Colby Rasmus straight up would be fair in my opinion…Although I still don’t see him being moved…I agree with you.
Wouldn’t be fair to the Cards payroll. Carpenter, Holliday, and Pujols already take up a huge portion of it, and Pujols is about to get a serious raise. Add raises to Molina and Wainwright, and it gets ugly.
it might be fair, but the cardinals have a set rotation already. I’d do Mike Montgomery+Wil Myers. i don’t think the royals match up well. their best prospects, Moustakes and Hosmer, wouldn’t serve much of a function with st. louis. Cards have Zack Cox at third base coming up, David Freese now, and Matt Carpenter at AAA. Hosmer is a first baseman and i think the cards have a decent one now. The rest of their system is still very talented but none that are mlb ready right now(the elite ones anyways).
Myers isn’t getting moved. What about Butler for Rasmus and putting Butler in CF? Joke Joke Joke
Seriously though, even with his new shape, Myers isn’t going anywhere and Monty is untouchable as well. I bet if it meant getting Rasmus and the Cards eating Lohse’s salary, the Royals might eat Lohse? Just a thought. Jr opens up a spot for the Greinkmeister
makes little to no sense to deal Lohse and Rasmus in the same deal. Lohse severely decreases the return they would get, and he has a no trade clause. I’m pretty certain that its gonna take “untouchable” prospects to get Rasmus, at least 1 or 2(depending on the rest of the package). the “untouchable” rule doesn’t apply when your dealing with guys like Upton/Rasmus. Some might not agree with me, but like i said, everyone has a price tag.
True, but I think there are much different circumstances when talking about Upton and wouldn’t put them in the same category. Thus, the worst offer I saw for Upton was Ellsbury and Bard. So that would probably mean Montgomery and maybe a 3rd team. Like the Cubs sending Brett Jackson to the Cards and like Billy Butler going to the Cubs with Hak Ju Lee going to the Royals. Then I’d do it
But I still like Greinke for Rasmus. Lohse can be a long man.
remind me again where Billy Butler plays in st. louis. He can barely play first base.
“and like Billy Butler going to the Cubs”
I think you misread Span’s 2nd proposal.
I said Billy to the cubs.
I said Billy to the cubs.
Seriously? The Cubs are not going to hand over both Jackson and Lee only to get back Billy Butler.
While everyone is making trade proposals i might as well toss one out there.
3 team deal, KC, STL, and TB
KC gets Rasmus and Matt Garza
TB gets Jamie Garcia and Eric Hosmer
STL gets Zach Grienke and B.J. Upton
STL gets a Cy Young caliber guy who would be their #3 starter behind Carpenter and Wainwright along with a guy who plays a better defensive CF and can pick up some of the slack left by Rasmus leaving.
TB gets a young controllable LH starter to replace Garza and still has a surplus starter to make a deal to go out and get an OF to replace Upton. Plus a young 1B to replace Pena even if they have to bring in a stopgap for this year
KC gets a top of the rotation guy to replace Grienke along with an outstanding young CF.
Thoughts?
cards give up both their cost controlled studs? Their better be some money going the cardinal’s way or this will never happen with Pujol’s upcoming contract. Its also not a fair deal for STL…Grienke straight up for Rasmus is an OK deal so its basically their giving up Garcia for Upton..no dice bro.
Upton only made 3M this year and i dont see that going up dramatically maybe to right around 4.5 or so.
Grienke is owed 27M over the next 2 years. So say that between KC and TB they kick in right around 6M which is a little over 20% of Grienke’s remaining contract.
Yeah, Cardinals still wouldn’t give up Garcia and Rasmus for two players who cost about 10x as much (Rasmus and Garcia are both not even arb eligible yet).
Plus the Cardinals already have a filled rotation. Who get’s bumped? Lohse? And his huge salary just sits there? Not going to happen.
St. Louis would be getting robbed. Why would St. Louis want to trade Garcia anyways? Personally i don’t really want Grienke in a redbird uni anyway. Our rotation is good enough without him,(Lohse sucks but could always bounce back to a 12-7 record with a 4.15 ERA). I want 1-2 pitching prospect(s), a speedy defensive CF to fill for Raz, and a good hitting, high potential 3rd base-2nd base player.
No
KC gets-Rasmus, Kyle Lohse, P.J. Walters, and Mitchell Boggs
STL gets-Zach Grienke, B.J. Upton, and Joakim Soria
TB gets-Eric Hosmer, Aaron Crow, Derrick Robinson, and David Lough
so the rays give up BJ Upton and get Hosmer, crow, robinson, and lough? call me crazy, but i don’t think thats gonna happen.
12million dollar long man? not happening. their are better ways to spend money than a 12million dollar reliever.
Every time I get reminded of that contract it runs my day… Let’s see if 3 pounds of turkey and a bottle of wine or 3 can save the night.
the AL Cy Young winner two years removed for a guy who hit .276? Straight up, definitely not.
wanna name me one other full time centerfielder to OPS higher than Rasmus. i’l give you a hint, you won’t find one. And he makes league minimum.
Your not getting the point. Greinke has two years left and Rasmus, a rising star has 5
I’m not sure if I like Rasmus’ attitude either. Wanting to leave your team after 2 season with them? Was there a reasoning behind this?
yeah..your missing everything. Your full understanding is the equivalent of eating a cheese pizza without the cheese.
make that Zack, with a K.
I would bet money that Towers signs Hoffman. There’s his closer.
I have a feeling the Phillies are inquiring on Rasmus.
If Rasmus is available, all suitors “past and present” will be lining up with their offers. I can guarantee you the Braves wil be involved
i hope so. I dont want to move him because centerfielders who can OPS that high with 30/20 potential don’t grow on trees, but if its gonna get into a bidding war and some team overpays, i’m all for it. Im not one of the guys that doesn’t want to trade anybody for some reason or another, everyone has a price tag(some higher than others).
I agree… and I’d prefer Rasmus over Upton.
There should a poll on who would you rather have.
I’ll agree with that as well.. Rasmus may not have as high of a ceiling, but is better defensively and has less questions overall I feel like (less highs and lows)
I also think it will take LESS to get rasmus then upton.
I’d much rather have Rasmus over Upton. The Braves have the pieces to make it happen. I’ll say Prado, Beachy and Delgado would get it done.
If you were Frank Wren and made this trade, I’d hunt you down and hang you upside down from your toes. 🙂
Really?! I love Prado, Beachy and Delgado but we’d be getting a young CF with great upside and plus defense. He and Prado put up similar numbers offensively but Prado is 27 with limited upside, Prado’s a good player but give me Rasmus baby!
Not close
OoooK good to know!
How incredible would it be if Rasmus and J. Upton both get moved this off-season? Crazy.
i think there’s a better chance Osama Bin Laden sings god bless america before that happens. I think that the dbacks are just doing due diligence with Upton, hoping some fool overpays for him. Cards have no reason to move rasmus unless they are getting overpaid. they have no replacement at all for him and his salary(or lack of) is vital with Pujol’s upcoming contract
Dude, Jon Jay!!!
i really hope your joking lol.
my guess is these “new teams” are teams who were interested in Justin Upton and then found out the Diamondbacks planned on having him on their Opening Day roster…The Royals, Red Sox, Yankees, Marlins, and Rays come to mind.
Twins need to package a deal around Kubel. Possibly to Oakland for one of those young studs in their rotation (preferably any of them not named Braden). Then sign Tsuyoshi Nishioka and lock up 2B for a while.
This is not exclusively a Colby Rasmus thread!
Yes because a package around Kubel nets you Colby Rasmus.
LOL. My thoughts exactly.
i think he was referring to getting a starting pitcher from Oakland with a package around Kubel.
Vague comments confuse me. But Kubel would still not get you one of the Oakland ‘young studs’. 3.7 WAR over 5 years, 3 of which came from one career year.
@ hullo and EvilEmpireStrikesBack: The name “Colby Rasmus” wasn’t even in my post. Read it again, maybe a little slower this time, and see that I in fact was referring to getting a young starting pitcher from Oakland with a package around Kubel since the A’s are looking for offense and have an overabundance of pitching prospects.
Yeah but thats still not getting any of the A’s young starters…Anderson/Gonzalez/Cahill are untouchable anyway.
Jason Kubel has one year left on his contract, is almost 30 years old, and hasn’t done anything since his breakout ’09 season…He can’t defend thus he’s not going to the NL…Thus, he’s not netting one of the A’s young starters and isn’t netting Colby Rasmus.
Okay, #1 I never said anything about a deal including Kubel and Rasmus, mainly because we don’t need another outfielder with Revere and Hicks in the waiting. #2 A deal could get worked for one of Oakland’s SPs. It would take more than JUST Kubel to get the deal done (that’s why I said a “package”) but throw in a few prospects like a Joe Benson or Angel Morales and the deal could work for both sides.
Yeah my bad. I just think there’s a better chance of getting one of the A’s starters without Kubel than with
Scutaro & Ellsbury for Rasmus sounds good…but BoSox would have to take Lohse in that deal. Get him off the books and sign a top of the line starter.
Lohse has a NTC, and the Cardinals might rather have Brendan Ryan playing SS than Scutaro…
I would enjoy watching Colby Rasmus play left field for the Mariners.
Marlins take a look? Probally not enough though…
Brad Hand, Logan Morrison, Leo Nunez could get it done.
no it couldn’t.
Swith Hand with Stanton and i’m happy. Maybe add Ryan Webb.
lol now thats too much. Marlins don’t match up well with a trade.
Didn’t think so either. And i agree, too much. I was just tossing it out there. Best suitor(s) for Raz?
Braves make sense if they are willing to part with Prado and a bit more. BlueJays have good prospects and an aggressive GM. Red Sox sort of. Diamondbacks for sure. those aren’t suitors for rasmus, those are teams who have pieces to fix glaring needs for the cardinals. Rasmus goes where the cardinals feel like sending him.
While I agree with all that you have said, I don’t see Rasmus going anywhere and nor do I see Prado being traded.
I’m still not a huge fan of Prado though…yes he’s a second baseman who can hit, but he’s still older than Colby and closer to FA than Rasmus. Plus we’d have to make up for Rasmus’s production in CF.
both rasmus and prado are free agents after 2014. like i said, i didn’t say one for one. Braves would have to add something useful. Kimbrel or Delgado seem interesting.
Kimbrel’s going nowhere, and neither is Prado.
If the Cards would give up Rasmus for Prado and say Delgado (which I doubt would be enough to get it done), the Braves would not hesitate to do that deal. I love Prado and all, but to say he’s “going nowhere” when you could get a guy like Rasmus in return is silly.
people always get over protective because they don’t like to see there good players leave. Lots of guys are under the illusion that a handful of AAA guys will get you other team’s studs. Its nothing new, and it won’t ever go away. I learn to deal with it
I’m not over protective, I’m not even a Braves fan. Also, I’m not “under the illusion” that a handful of AAA guys get the deal done. The plain fact is that the Braves have a very good system that they want to keep intact, and they love having players from their system on the team. Wren has done a great job of doing that. Prado is the heart of that team, it would be like trading Pedroia or Utley..get real
Yes it could easily
Yes it could easily
ok maybe im missing somethere here but from what i see, i see a reliever who could be nontendered by the marlins this off season(nunez), a leftfielder/firstbaseman(why do the cardinals need either of those?), and another decent righty reliever even though the cardinals have like 10 decent righty relievers between AA/AAA/mlb. This deal makes zero sense. zero.
Logan Morrison can play RF and has a chance to be the next John Olerud and Nunez will most certainly be tendered a contract this off-season. Brad Hand might be a top 100 prospect after next season
And 28 other teams could beat that offer for one of the best young CF’s in the game. Sorry. But you’re way way off on the trade value of Rasmus.
I think that’s the worst trade idea I’ve seen on here..
Well then you haven’t seen many
LOL. Maybe for Colby Rasmus’ brother.
The idea of the Red Sox trading for Rasmus and taking on salary is interesting to me. Admittedly my money is on Rasmus staying put, but it’s something to think about… Lohse is the obvious choice, and it could mean the Red Sox saving a valuable prospect/trade piece.
Does the no-trade clause mean Lohse can’t be traded at all, or just not traded without him giving the OK? The Cards could definitely benefit from shedding some payroll and the Red Sox have some room to spare. Lohse might not be too averse to playing for a top contender like Boston. However, the Sox would likely stick him in a long relief role which he might not be too happy with (though he seems destined for that role anyway if he keeps pitching like he has lately).
I think it could be worth it for both sides, the no-trade clause is a sticky situation though.
I think it means he has to OK it to be traded.
If Rasmus get’s traded the Cardinals would almost certainly want a stud middle infield player in return. Why trade away a top CF just to unload a P and create two more holes to fill, especially when free agents would most likely cost as much if not more to fill those voids. Maybe Jon Jay can step into the CF spot and in a few years Miller can boot out Lohse.
It’s not as if “Lohse HAS to be traded” for Pujols’ contract to work financially.
It would help…
Jon Jay was less than adequate in CF, especially after colby went down
I wasn’t implying that taking on Lohse’s salary was the only part of the deal, there would be players involved as well. I just meant as a way for the Sox to save an additional piece.
I would definately deal Rasmus if we can get Heyward from the Braves.
NEVER. GOING. TO. HAPPEN.
thats not happening. keep dreaming bro. Prado+delgado seems good to me.
Angels: Peter Bourjos, Bobby abreu(Angles toss in money), Howie Kendrick, Trevor Reckling,
Cardinals:Colby Rasmus, jon jay/Allen Craig, David Freese, Lance Lynn
Thoughts?
You’re an Angels fan in disguise.
Trust me. Full Cardinal.
Thoughts? your team is getting ripped off.
Cut Bourjos, add Trout. Angels pay all of Abreu’s contract. Cut Freese. Better of worse?
Much better. The difference between Bourjos and Trout is ENORMOUS.
Ya I know there is a huge difference between the two, but I didn’t think the Angels would trade Trout AND Reckling. Although Trout, Abreu, Kendrick, and Reckling would be a pretty package it might be too rich for the Angels taste. If Raz does get traded I want it to happen in that trade. It solves all our problems.