Joey Votto is the player of the month for ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark, who hears from a scout that the Reds’ first baseman is more feared than anybody in the National League, including Albert Pujols. Here are the rest of Stark’s rumors:
- One NL executive thinks the Mariners are so far from winning that they should be listening to offers for Felix Hernandez, who is under team control through 2014. Yesterday, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports heard from a number of executives who expect King Felix to stay put for now.
- An AL official says the Rangers are the most likely candidate to trade for a high-profile reliever this summer. Their bullpen has taken a number of hits, with Neftali Feliz and Darren O’Day on the DL and Alexi Ogando moving to the rotation.
- Stark hears that the only players available now are those with “awful contracts.”
- Despite the buzz about Mark DeRosa and the Marlins, Stark hears that the Giants and Marlins have not had serious discussions about the currently-injured utility player.
- The Phillies will find it hard to add payroll this summer, but they’re eyeing potentially available bats.
- Though Jonathan Papelbon will likely test the free agent market after the season, Stark gets the impression that the reliever could re-sign in Boston after all.
Frank Francisco for Mike Napoli?
Sad thing is if they were to make this trade again right now, it would make absolute perfect sense…
Definetely, my guess is that both teams wish they didn’t pull the trigger on that one
I’d say the Rangers are more than happy with Napoli. No way they’d deal him back for Francisco. Doubtful he’d be any better than Oliver, Rhodes or Strop in the late innings. Napoli has been absolutely destroying left-handers and gives the team tremendous versatility with the lineup. He’s been an important piece in the lineup as the Rangers have had to overcome the loss of Josh Hamilton — a far bigger hole than Neftali Feliz in the ninth — not to mention the recent slumps of Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz.
while I agree with most of what you said..
The rangers moved Feliz back to the bullpen because they didn’t have anyone with ‘closing experience’ as foolish as it sounds..
So Feliz starting + Francisco in the pen > Napoli
They definitely won that trade no doubt, but they can really use some late innings bullpen help and could use Feliz in the rotation..
True, of course if Feliz was in the rotation, Ogando would likely be in the bullpen right now. So it’s a wash. I’m not sold on whether they would have kept Feliz in the rotation even with Francisco still in the fold. I just never felt like Washington wanted him in the rotation. I would have personally put both Feliz and Ogando in the rotation and figured out the bullpen as you went along, but I think the line between success and failure in the bullpen is about 30 percent luck — maybe more.
I mean the Yankees pretty much penciled in zeros in the 8th and 9th innings before this season and have had to use the eraser quite a few times already. You never know with relievers.
Why would the Rangers do that after they fleeced the Jays for Napoli?
its called a joke… I’ve read your posts, you’re well versed in jokes no?
When the joke is funny yes, when it’s just lame, No!
Felix has said he is happy to stay with the Mariners. Jack Z has said he wants Felix to stay with the Mariners. So when will these journalists stop pushing the issue? You’d almost think they were on the payroll of Big Money and trying to create unrest.
Exactly. Next we will see a story that says “29 anonymous GMs think the Mariners should give King Felix to another team.” Well no kidding. I hope he retires a Mariner just to spite all these people.
I agree that it’s good for both Seattle and King Felix that he’s staying there for now. But if you think about it, trading him would be good in the long run for Seattle, because you’re sure to get two or three almost ready or ready pitching prospects and a couple of position players of need at the same caliber. You could fill up 4 or 5 big holes on that team with one trade and one of those prospects (or that Pineda kid) will more likely than not fill Hernandez’s spot quite nicely.
“But if you think about it, trading him would be good in the long run for Seattle, because you’re sure to get two or three almost ready or ready pitching prospects and a couple of position players of need at the same caliber.”
Absolutely. They could land Philip Humber, Deolis Guerra, Carlos Gomez and Kevin Mulvey.
Mariners should trade Felix Hernandez.
-JP Ricciardi
Bad teams aren’t allowed to have good players. Those are the rules according to the media and ESPN.
It is amazing how many GMs who don’t have Felix Hernandez would be willing to trade him. It’s easy to spend someone else’s money.
Then again, if I were a GM and thought I could afford Herrnandez’ asking price, I’d be planting seeds everywhere about how I’d deal him, too…
Nothing against Votto, but give me Kemp or Braun for Player of the Month.
Agreed. Tulowitzki deserves a mention as well.
I think they should just trade Felix. Face the facts M fans you can’t win anything with just one or two stars on your team and everyone els is ok. For what you could get for Felix I think you would be better off without him then keeping him and doing what you have been doing the last 3-4 years. You could get so manny great players in return you would be better without him.
Felix Hernandez is one of the best pitchers in baseball, and Mariners’ ownership has plenty of money. What they would be better off doing is paying him and building around him. There’s no reason to trade him and punt the next 4-5 seasons when the return prospects may not pan out, and you may never have another King Felix to build around for a long time. Add in the fact that the franchise would suffer losses in fan support and attendance (and therefore revenue) without their star and it would be a disaster.
Why? Smoak, Pineda, Ackley, Guiterrez, and Brandon League…sounds like the core of a solid nucleus to me.
Brandon League? :S
Yes, Brandon League…last three outs are the toughest to get. League’s a hard-thrower, current Mariners closer who I believe has 5 or 6 saves. So, umm…..yes.
but its Brandon League?
Look, my point isn’t about League. He’s a compliment to the others I’ve mentioned. Bottom line is that Smoak, Pineda, Guiterrez and eventually Ackley form a solid nucleus that keeps Felix in a Mariners uni–regardless of what the East Coast Bias Network wants to believe.
no one commented on your inclusion of smoak, pineda etc inclusion in the core, just leagues.
And yet since he’s put on a Mariners uniform, he’s been a solid reliever????
he’s been okay, solid is a stretch.
still a 28 year old reliever is hardly part of a ‘core’
And yet you can’t pay enough for good relief help. Just look at the WHITE SOX or the TIGERS and Benoit giving up that grand slam last night. If he can effective as closer, he’ll definitely help the Mariners.
The Mariners would get a lot now for Felix yes… but barring any serious injury, they would still get a huge haul of prospects if they trade him in 2013.
So really there is zero point to trade him now.
I wonder if the package they could get for him a year from now would actually be the same as what they could get for him now. He is obviously worth more with an extra year of control, but there is only so much a team will realistically give up for one player no matter how good, or how long they are under control.
Exactly
Read my mind, there is a limit to how much a team can give up. They are going to get a good haul now they will still get a good haul in 2 years.. but atleast they give it a shot with him on the team for a while.
I think of it with the jays with doc, except that doc was older. They tried to win with him, didn’t work but atleast they tried.
The last point is essentially the answer. The Mariners are currently at a point of diminishing returns. Hernandez is worth so much right now that no team would be willing to give up more than about 75% of what he’s worth right now considering his quality and team control remaining. They’re likely to get a roughly equivalent haul two years down the line anyway, but the value will be closer to 125% considering the lower amount of remaining control they’ll have.
Yeah another Felix Hernandez rumor I thought I would see one today. These rumors should really stop Felix has said he wants to stay in Seattle and play. Plus in a few years the Mariners will be good with all their talent down in the minors.
Go over to FOX sports and tell Morosi to stop talking about it, MLBTR just collects the baseball news that these people put out there.
But then I wouldnt be able to hear more rumors about how other teams want Felix.
I’ve used this example before, but this same headline gets posted multiple times, so the same example can be used to refute it
Detroit Tigers 2003 – 43W 119L
Enter Magglio Ordonez, Ivan Rodriguez, Placido Polanco
Detroit Tigers 2006 – 95W 67L
The Point I’m trying to make, is that Felix is signed a few more years. A LOT can happen in 3 years, a few key aquisitions can completely turn a club around. The Mariners argueably have a better core than the Tigers did and although the Mariners were bad last year, I don’t know if you guys can fathom exactly how bad a 43 win team is. They improved their win total by 50 games in 3 years. Enough with the Felix trades!
You sir are correct and it’s a great point. I’ve been a big proponent of the Yanks trading for Felix. But that aside, this is more about the Mariners. They have an upper hand in any negotiation. The “I’m happy here” talk is just posturing and shouldn’t be taken too seriously because you’re just setting yourselves up for disappointment if that changes. They are professionals and that is what they should say.
So to your point of a lot can change in 3 years. Correct, Felix has 4 more years. So with this comparison, the Mariners are competitive in that last year, however this is following 3 + 1 (last year) years of 12-14 type winning baseball with an era of 2.7 and a whip just north of 1.00. Does that last, does Felix lose his way at any point in this process because of the team factors? Who knows, but it’s a legitimate concern especially considering his value.
With regards to the financial aspect; the Mariners can easily afford Felix, so the argument of paying $20mm (beginning next season) to just one player, on a team with an estimated $60mm payroll, isn’t really a factor. However it does play into the overall return for the franchise long term factoring in saving plus controlled years of high impact prospects they receive in return if traded.
I find interesting how many people in the business of baseball think it’s a smart move to trade Felix, while many fans do not. Understandable, but this is a business. Truth is and some people realize it and speak out about it, the Mariners are very far off from fielding a “team” yeah, they have some prospects just budding, but all are looking at this season and next before the truly break into the big league. I’ve been following Brock and Salk on their podcasts (they’re up in Seattle) and they are one of the few voices that manage to have some balance in their discussions regarding this issue. They’ve made some great points, and they made a comment that is true, this is supposed to be year 2 or 3 of the rebuilding process for them, but it feels more like year 1. They currently have 22 players on the roster who won’t be on the team in the next year or two. You have Ichiro who can likely play for a few more years (3-4)? Smoak who should work out at 1st and Felix. 22!!!!! Pineda looks to be as close to the real thing as you’re going to get, so count him in.
Obviously I am slightly bias on this topic since I am a Yankee fan and I would of course love to have him on the team, but it comes at a cost, a steep cost. Something the Yankees probably are willing to pay since they are deep both in the pocket and on the farm. They have what the Mariners need and a lot of it. You can’t find a single person who will disagree with that statement.
I think dollar for dollar and if you look at this only from a business perspective, it makes the most sense to trade Felix now. Not in a year, the “they can trade him next year and get the same return” talk. No, doesn’t work, then you’re pushing back the development and rebuild stage, when the inevitable is, the Mariners will suck next year, so why wait?
With a team so incomplete, there is more risk in keeping him then trading him away in my opinion. God for bid, he injures himself (let’s face it, it’s baseball and who knows), and is out for a year? I think something like that would cripple the organization for more than 3-4 years. It could knock them out for the next decade. The only reason I say that is because they have absolutely zero to hold up that team outside of him right now. Just food for thought.
Off topic a little sorry, but Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers is still under team control right? Any chance he becomes available in the winter due to Dodgers financial issue?
with the MLB stepping in to stabalize everything, I seriously doubt any sort of fire sale. Especially with their elite players.
Yeah they really wanna get rid of his 500,000 dollar salary. BTW it would take your 5 best prospects if not more.
LOL. Scroll up and read about how no team would give up their five best prospects for anyone. Kershaw is good, but not that good.
I could see a scenario where Papelbon returns to Boston, but Boston would have to be the highest bidder because Pap isn’t going to take a discount to stay, so it would have to be because he didn’t get any serious interest from other teams which seems unlikely.
The only scenario I can see leading to Paps staying past this year would be one in which he has a HUGE year AND both Bard and Jenks have bad enough years that the team wouldn’t be comfortable with either one as closer next year. IF that (pretty unlikely) scenario somehow unfolds, then I could easily see the Sox being the high bidder for Paps on a 2 or 3 year deal. But, if Bard puts up another dominant season as “the stopper” I expect him to be the closer next year and for Paps to take the highest FA offer on the table. Furthermore, if both Bard AND Jenks really get it going over the next few months AND Paps remains dominant – then I could even see him getting dealt at the deadline..
I think berkman should be player of the month. 8 homers , 20 RBI’s, and a .402 average sounds pretty decent.
just rename the site ‘felixtraderumors’ already. sheesh
I wonder if the mlbtraderumors writers have a drinking game for every time felix is mentioned.
At this point, the felix rumors are annoying and just getting my hopes up. They aren’t trading him no matter what. But when he’s finally a free agent, welcome to the bronx lol.