We've already checked out some Giants and Rockies rumors today, so let's look around the rest of the NL West…
- The Dodgers won't trade top pitching prospect Zach Lee for a rental player like Ryan Dempster, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). We heard earlier today that Los Angeles had made the Cubs an offer for Dempster.
- Though the Diamondbacks and Pirates have had trouble connecting on a trade match for Justin Upton, the outfielder remains "at or near the top" of Pittsburgh's search for a hitter, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- The Diamondbacks have signed 16-year-old Dominican outfielder Ismael Pena, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. Badler describes Pena as "a 6-foot-3, 175-pound lefty with a sound swing, a good approach and a hit-first, power-second profile. He's an average runner with a 45 to 50 arm on the 20-80 scale."
- Huston Street was "aggressively" pursued by the Mets last winter, a source tells Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (Twitter link), but through the Mets are searching for bullpen help now, they don't think the Padres will move the closer. We heard earlier today that the Padres were looking to propose long-term extensions to Street and Carlos Quentin before the trade deadline.
- Street and Chris Denorfia have drawn more trade interest than Quentin, reports Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- Also from Center, the Pirates and Orioles are "among the teams pushing hardest" for Chase Headley. Center added the Mariners to the long list of Headley's suitors. The third baseman himself says he has heard "between six and 10 teams" have shown interest.
Upton trade talk here in Arizona has started to focus on a deal with the Padres for Chase Headley. I still think that is the best and most likely trade scenario for both teams. The DBacks might as well blow it up if they trade Upton for prospects, they are still in the wildcard hunt and would have a hard time selling an Upton-for-prospects trade to the fan base. Trading for a proven MLB 3B in his prime who they can control for several years would be easier to sell. Headley is easily a .300/20HR/80-90RBI/80R man in the middle of their order.
I too like Headley but as a padre fan I don’t want Upton due to the fact that he’s not hitting this year and I wonder what his number would look like if he played have his time in Petco.
These are his career numbers at petco .286 14 hr 27rbi in 37 games
You never know..It might be good for both players. Change of scenery for Upton and going to a hitters park for Headley. Upton has been a proven hitter and a down year for HIM. decent year for somebody else.I like that trade and it could benefit both teams. Promote a 3rd base prospect Gyorko who is tearing it up in AAA for the Padres and the D-backs can put Parra and his gold-glove defense in the OF.I would like an OF of Maybin,Quentin and Upton in the OF with Deno as 4thOF
Those are good numbers over 37 games. He clearly is not intimidated by PetCo. The guy is country strong, there isn’t a ballpark in the league he can’t hit the ball out of. If they can get Upton for Headley, and I think they can, they need to do it. It would be a huge step in the right direction for a struggling franchise.
To pass on Upton because he’s having a down season is silly. He’s 24 years old. I’d counter that by saying he’s a year removed from a 30 HR season. I personally think he isn’t responding well to Gibson’s management style and needs to move on. He’s a young, talented, marketable star who is under team control for the next two or three seasons. Acquiring him would be a good way for the Padres new ownership (assuming the deal gets done) to prove to fans they are serious about winning; there is no better way for the O’Malley’s to start their tenure as owners than to add a talent like this. It would help take the sting off of losing Adrian Gonzalez.
It’s hard to imagine trading Upton within the division even for a guy like Headley and also the relationship with Josh Byrnes has been said to be less than good. I think Detroit lands him if they decide to let go of Castellanos
It’s hard to imagine the Dback doing business with the Padres. First of all, they are in the division, and secondly, there is a lot of bad blood between the teams’ front offices. That being said, Moorad is no longer in position in SD, so things could be changing. I still don’t see the Dbacks trading Upton to a Division rival though.
It’s also hard to imagine that Headly could be the centerpiece in a deal for Upton. He’s alright at 3B, but he is no superstar waiting to break out.
Travis Snider of the Jays was pulled from AAA Vegas tonght after hitting a HR. He now has an OPS over 1000. Any idea if he is being called up or maybe traded??
an OPS over 1.000 in the pcl playing out of vegas.. watch out!
I know he’s had a down year but Upton and McClutch in the same outfiled for the next few years would be filthy. I would giggle if Pittsburg passes on a deal because they wouldn’t give one of Cole or Taillon.
Seriously though, these guys are no sure thing. Tallion has an ERA around 4.00 in A ball. That’s a long way from a sure thing even if he is a top prospect.
Yeah but any stats below triple a aren’t that important many scouts r happy with how taillon has thrown. Down in single a he’s not just out there p pitching to win they have him working on things
I would also giggle if the Pirates rotation in a 2 or 3 years is Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, Luis Heredia, James McDonald, Kyle McPherson/Rudy Owens/Jeff Locke/Justin Wilson/Nick Kingman.
Thats 3 aces under team control for 6-9 years at a cheap rate. I’d roll the dice on that before I’d roll the dice on 2 good years of Upton (even though I agree that him teaming with Cutch would be awesome).
Upton in SD would like having two Cameron Maybins. both have skyhigh ceiling potential. A week ago, I would have said make the trade. Today, I’m not so sure.
You can’t compare Upton to Maybin, not in any sense. Upton finished second in the NL MVP voting last year and most think he was just scratching the surface of what he can be. He’s 24 years old, supremely talented, and has shown what kind of player he can be over the last few years. As long as he’s healthy, he should be able to fall out of bed and hit .280 with 25-30 HR, 90+ RBI, 80+ R and 20 SB. Upton is crazy strong, he’s one of the few guys who probably could succeed in PetCo because he has mammoth power to all field.
upton has a long swing like Maybin. He plays outfield. He’s fast. He has not reached full potential. 2011 was the best year for both players. Both can be shaky in the outfield at times. Both are streaky hitters. I’d say that’s a fair comparison
Besides one guy being way more powerful and close to winning a MVP and has way more upside then sure great comparison,
If i where the Padres I would make that deal..Upton and a few prospects for Headley. Maybe adding Hundley to the deal too now that Yasmani Grandal is up with Padres. Imagin what a Padres team can look like for next year..
LF-Quintin
CF-Maybin
RF-Upton
1st Base-Alonso
2nd Base-Logan For
3 rd Base-Gyrko
SS-Either Cabrera or Amarista
C-Grandal
I like it as a pads fan but they will still struggle to score run even with that lineup I still think we need a ss and put Amarista at 2nd and make Logan a backup.
Me too
Upton AND prospects for Headley? LOL does Josh Byrnes have the “force trade” option on?
headly to pittsburgh. for prospects. alvarez to dbacks for upton. only reason i can come up with why the pirates would be aggressively going for headly. hes an awful outfielder, and pnc left field is huge. idk how id feel about this deal and im not saying this should happen, but its logical to think. Dbacks want a left infielder.
Alvarez isn’t going to be enough for Upton gotta toss in someone like Taillon or KT hangs up
Yeah right. if.you get taillon dbacks would b sending Chris young to. Alavarez us exactly what the dbacks want. His power is off the charts maybe a decent pitching prospect like holmes or kingham.
They already had Mark Reynolds don’t think they want Alvarez that badly
I was actually wondering if the Pirates were pushing so hard for Headly because they want to flip him and something to the Dbacks for Upton.
Yeah i didnt even think of that I wouldn’t be surprised by that either
I would be shocked if the Padres tried to land Upton. For many reasons.
It’s not that the Padres don’t have the prospects to acquire Upton per
se, (although other teams in contention have higher tier prospects than
the Padres) or giving up unknown commodities would be too much. There
are several other variables that should be obvious here if you’re paying
attention. Ownership, stability, Injuries, inter-division trading with a
former GM of the Padres. Bottom line, you can’t just say, go get so and
so. There has to be a match, and the Padres are not the BEST match.
And it’s not even close.
That said, I would like Upton in Padres uniform. Noway I see that happening.
I didn’t like this rumor at first but the guy can mash the ball and hit dingers at Petco, If it happens awesome…..if not awesome
this is starting to look like a 3 team deal with pirates sd and dbacks . headley and prospects to arizona. upton to bucs and prospects to sd . makes alot of sense
This would be the time to make that trade. Headley’s value is at its highest and Upton’s is fairly low considering his production this year. Throw in someone like Matt Clark (another KT guy) and you would have something close.
Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, and Seattle Mariners would make sense in a three team trades to help each ballclubs out for this season and/or beyond. Jason Vargas and Chase Headley to the Orioles, Nolan Reimold, Edison Volquez, and a minor league player (from the Orioles) to the Mariners, and Erasmo Ramirez and player to be named (from the Orioles) to the Padres.