After 25 years as a General Manager and president of the Twins, Cubs, and Orioles, Andy MacPhail stepped away from baseball last season to take care of his ailing father. Now, MacPhail tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he wants to return to baseball in some capacity. The executive was often viewed as a future commissioner and it would make sense for him to get involved with the league office. He also won’t rule out working as a GM again, but he has yet do discuss that with any team and most clubs already have their front office leadership in place. Here’s more from Cafardo..
- The Twins have already inquired on Rays pitcher James Shields. Tampa Bay will field plenty of other calls on Shields in the coming weeks but whether they pull the trigger to obtain offense remains to be seen. The Dodgers say they’re not shopping Andre Ethier, but it may make sense to use him to get Shields if they have their eye on Josh Hamilton. The problem there is that the Rays may not be able to carry Ethier’s contract.
- The Angels are shopping Vernon Wells in an effort to clear some of the $42MM still owed to him. The Halos have tried to start talks with the Red Sox and would like to get John Lackey back, but the Sox are curious to see what Lackey looks like after Tommy John surgery.
- There was speculation that the Red Sox were trying to include Alfredo Aceves in a deal for Dan Haren. The Red Sox love Aceves’ arm and stuff, but could do without the high maintenance. Aceves is very much available, but they won’t give him away for nothing. The pitcher can fill different roles, but he still prefers to start.
- The Dodgers would love to reunite with free agent Hiroki Kuroda. The hurler could have more suitors than any other pitcher this winter if the Yankees don’t tie him up quickly.
- Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is taking a wait-and-see approach on his agents, the Levinson brothers. A few clients have already jumped ship but Pedroia noted that they have been good to him and his family.
- The Red Sox would like to re-sign Vicente Padilla, but he is on the radar of a few teams, including the Angels, who are desperately looking to retool their bullpen. Padilla ran out of gas late in the year but turned in a decent year in total.
what are the angels doing? they let haren go for nothing and now they want to trade for lackey? dipoto, you are making me really worried!
Think of it more as “who do you want least?” Lackey or Wells.
Nobody wants Wells with that contract, the Red Sox are committed to see lackey healthy…the negativity stuff is overblown garbage based a team in a downward spiral…the same stuff was “cute” in 04….Farrell can handle pitchers
us, angels fans already knew about mental make-up of lackey before he signed contract with sox.
Something positive to be said for a guy who pitches with intensive paifn for 2 seasons (375IP) needing TJ surgery and another guy in Wells, who just flat out doesn’t want to play and collect his 20m+ salary.
There goes the different mentality make up idea out the window.
Lackey is one of only a few players whose salary matches up somewhat with Wells that might be on the trade block. He is a jerk, but he did pitch well in Anaheim before… and by completing that trade Dipoto would fill a spot in the rotation for what is basically a black hole in Wells. It might also allow for re-signing Hunter for 1-2 years.
“The Angels would love to get John Lackey back” is simply false, and it has already been stated here that there has been no discussion of this. Why is Cafardo perpetuating this myth?
True. Although I think Lackey could be more valuable than Wells, I don’t want that horse face around my team after what happened few years ago, not to mention a bad attitude. Wells hasn’t been a clubhouse cancer, at the very least.
The only problem with Wells is his salary… the most expensive 4th outfielder in baseball.
When I saw the phrase “The Red Sox love his arm and stuff” the only thing I thought of was that Nick Cafardo was trying to ramble without any content. Instead of “The Red Sox love his arm, how well he…, what he…, etc”
I thought the same about the statement and I agree with Carfardo’s intent. I think the issues stemmed primarily from the Manager and Aceves and now that Farrell is there I think Aceves will step RIGHT back in line and be a valuable arm this coming season
Could the Rays afford Ethier’s contract? That’s your main thought? They’d be giving up a front line starter on an affordable (even for them) contract to gain ANOTHER lefthanded RFer that needs platooned? At this point I’d rather have Matt Joyce on his deal than Ethier. Their value is negligible depending on which one you prefer but nobody could possibly be dense enough to believe the “upgrade” of Ethier over Joyce is worth giving up an Shields as well. Ethier hits for a higher average and Joyce plays much better defense and hits for more power. They both should be platooned and are injury prone. One just happens to be tied to a deal worth $85MM+ and a name brand that doesn’t equal his performance. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand here come all the Dodger’s fans coming to defend Ethier with the Gold Glove and “if you saw him in the field every day!”.
and there it is. whoops
Thank you for your compliments on my argument. Usually I get attacked by a dozen or so Dodger fans whenever I point out Ethier’s true value. For the life of me I can’t really figure out how he got his casual ESPN watching fan status in the first place. I thought the Dodgers originally were going to move him to 1B next year after Loney left to deal with the defense and durability issue but the whole AGonz thing made that impossible. Now they have a SUPERSTAR CFer who’s flanked by two injury plagued corner OFers when the CF needs to probably move to a corner himself. This should get interesting…The Yankees have had success with a massive payroll by constantly signing top superstars like ARod/Teixeira/Jeter/Sabathia/Rivera to high AAV contracts even if some of them were/are bad contracts but they did it over a gradual period of time and with the DH as a protector. Now the Dodgers are suddenly going considerably past them in payroll, without a DH and all in one year? It’s like if the Phillies went for broke this year instead of selling off the correct pieces like they did. The model was broken and adding that much payroll that quickly without a DH is tough..especially with injury plagued players like Utley/Howard/Polanco/Crawford/Ethier etc. It should be an interesting experiment but I dunno how long it can last considering the need for pitching, the payroll they have and Kershaw needing a new deal on top of everything.
So you think you’ve inoculated yourself against any arguments to the contrary? It must be nice to be the only one who knows the true value of things and to have the authority to reject anyone else’s opinion before you even hear it.
this is an excellent argument
It isn’t an argument at all, just an appropriate response to someone who tells us that any response to his argument is an “attack” — before he even hears it.
“SUPERSTAR” center fielder? Do you wish to point out that Matt Kemp is not a superstar. If so, I am sure that you would lose that argument quick.
Rays have David Price and Evan Longoria entering the last years of their contracts. Those player will total half of the teams payroll. The years of Tampa bay contending are over starting 2014.
People said that in 2011…
Longoria barely played this year and they won 90 games in the AL East. The Orioles couldn’t possibly get that lucky 2 years in a row and Boston needs a few years to retool. And if they can’t resign either of those guys do you realize the monster haul of players they could get back for them? Plus, let’s say for sure you know that 2013 is the last year they contend for a little while….what does that have to do with this conversation? I’m not a Rays fan but i dunno how this matters when comparing trading Shields and why they would even want Ethier for him.
The Sox will likely be big spenders in FA’s while the Jays offence if healthy is clearly top 5 in the league. Yankees are always competitive while the O’s should have at least a .500 campaign for 2013.
Jays need a rotation to compete.
The Red Sox would have to spend MASSIVE amounts to be good soon. They need a LF/RF/SS/1B and almost an entire pitching staff IF Middlebrooks learns to take a walk, they’re ok with Salty having a sub .300 OBP and Ellsbury/Pedroia are healthy. The O’s will be decent but the Rays will still be better and the Jays need a TON of help.
The Sox The Ownership will call for blood if they do another sub .500 year. Jays offense and defensively aren’t as bad as you would think. Escobar posted a 2.3DWAR and usually has season’s where he posts a .350 OBP as a shortstop. Bautista and Encarnacion have the potential to be the most dangerous 1-2 punch in the AL due to the fact they can actually move better then a 235 pounder named Miguel and 265+ pounder named Prince. Jays also got a slew of prospects including the top catching prospect who clearly can’t fit in with J.P Arencbia currently in the lineup meaning that one of them can be traded for a top player/pitcher. Who’s Tampa got ranked in the top 100? Tim Beckham lol?
Well with all those hot prospects we’ll all be looking forward to Toronto contending in the next decade.
So they’ll call for blood…you still haven’t explained how they’re going from Pedroia a who knows what he is Ellsbury and a great DH to being even decent. Escobar is most likely being traded from the Jays for obvious reasons. After that they have a power hitter coming off a major wrist injury and a DH. And about these super prospects the jays have coming…any can’t missers like Lind/Snider/Rasmus etc? The Jays are a respectable team with little pitching and a top heavy offense. They aren’t a threat to the Rays.
Incorrect. Longoria has team-friendly options running thru 2017. Price will be a Ray for at least two more years (barring a trade).
lol Longoria is getting $11.5 million in 2016. Good effort.
Pena was only making 10M a season when he was hitting 40 bombs a season, what makes you think they can afford to keep a team around one player who’s roughly 20% of the teams payroll and remain competitive? Nice try, btw I meant the years of Longoria get paid 7M a season is over.
what are you trying to say here?
I don’t get it either…why is this posting under our conversation about the Dodgers not wanting Ethier in a trade since they have Joyce in the first place…i mean it’s wrong no matter where you post it but where is the relevance
no clue.
If Longoria remains a star player in 2016, the Rays will GLADLY pay him $12mil. Pena wasn’t the superstar Longoria is, so I don’t think that’s a fair comparison.
was he seriously trying to compare Longoria to Pena? Still not sure what he was getting at. Pena had a horrible year prior to them letting him go to the Cubs.
Pena 2007= 1.037OBS
Pena 2007-2009= 116HRS .935 OBS 1 GG 1 SS
I’m saying the Ray’s can’t afford to bring in a guy like Eithier, since they don’t have enough resources to spend on the rest of the team. Why would they trade for any high priced bat when they couldn’t afford keeping any of the guys who are actually valuable like Longoria and Price.
nobody has said they should or would trade for ethier since they CAN afford that type of player. They have him and his name is Matt Joyce and he’s affordable.
Matt Joyce isn’t valuable though and that’s why this writer is writing about it… 55 runs and 59 rbi’s sounds like just above minor league replacement value to anyone but you. You Ray fans are blinded by biased commentating, everyone else in the league knows pitching has been the only reason you guy’s have been able to compete these last 4-5 seasons and that will all end the second Shields and Price leave for money.
his run and RBI totals have a lot to do with how not-good the lineup around him was, especially when longoria was hurt.
at his price tag and platooned with a lefty-masher (which you can get for cheap on the FA market), yes matt joyce is valuable.
I don’t care how good the lineup around him is, low rbi/run numbers means two things. No Power, No Speed. If he’s getting on base and nobody’s driving him in, who’s fault is that? His for not going for the homerun or double by getting into scoring position. Baseball’s about one thing, scoring runs and if you don’t do that you don’t win.
Joyce has both power and (moderate) speed. Try again.
He also only played 3/4 of a season in 2012 to get to those numbers. A full season’s worth of PA would amount to about 75 a piece. Try again.
If you don’t score runs, you don’t win? Tell that to the Rays, the team that ranked 11/14 (AL) in R in 2012. That team won 90 games, good for 5th best in the AL. Try again.
Or don’t try again. It’s pretty obvious you’re just trolling at this point.
I already said pitching won the Ray’s games. 50 saves means 50 1-3 run games won because of quality starting pitching getting you to those deep innings, try again?
The Ray’s offense is none existent, Matt Joyce is an above average power bat who clearly isn’t worth the comparison of being almost equal to that of any other cleanup hitter. Like I said, the Ray’s won’t have a future starting 2014 when Price is set to get his first big payday and Shields already leaves to get 16M yearly elsewhere. The Ray’s need bat’s if they don’t have the starting pitching which is what got them to be a contender because I doubt they’ll have someone step into the shoes of David Price and James Shields in 2014, try again?
Good luck 70M payroll team. Look how well that turned out for teams like the Jay’s in the 90’s when they lost all their big stars to FA. Hopefully you guy’s won’t have to wait as long as TO has for another playoff birth.
I WIN.
But who’s to say the Rays aren’t trying to squeeze all the production they can out of Price/Shields, knowing that they will eventually trade them? Just because we will inevitably lose the two in the coming years doesn’t mean we need to rid ourselves of them NOW. When they do decide to deal the two, can you imagine the return they’ll get? Who knows, that return might launch a dynasty. It’s not like once the stars are traded they will automatically suck. The Rays aren’t stupid enough to simply let them both walk in free agency.
They’ll get as much as The Columbus Blue Jackets got for Rick Nash, a slap in the face deal because teams know you can’t resign them. BYE!
when it comes to trading star players, despite the perception that the Rays can’t afford them, the price will end up more than worthwhile because teams will be bidding against each other to acquire the star, not against the Rays.
No, Greinke’s trade this season officially changed how trading for star players mid season with one year left works. Angels likely won’t be able to resign Greinke to a deal in their favor because other team’s realize they don’t have to give up a draft pick as compensation and can throw as much money at him as he wants.
Rays will let their pitchers go for draft compensation and nothing more unless a team is willing to give up a couple of top prospects. Which I doubt.
Shields still has 2 years left on his deal. Price still has 3 yrs left, I think? 1. Teams will give up good value to acquire these players at any time. 2. If the Rays didn’t think teams would give them a good deal at the trade deadline on the last year of the contract, they will trade them before that point for a massive haul.
Why are you trolling on the Rays so much?
The Rays had a top 5 AL offense in 2009 and 2010.
Yes, because they weren’t paying anyone anything. Dynasties start and end when they have to pay a player money. And for a franchise that has never exceeded 80M for a payroll, I don’t see them competing when they have players leave who can’t be easily replaced like David Price, Ben Zoborist ect.
15 players were making over 1M on the 2012 Rays team, none exceeded 7M. The precedent is the Ray’s don’t spend money and they will continue to not spend money even after their stars leave.
The core that you speak of is locked in for a few more years:
Longoria; 2016
Price; at least 2014
Zobrist; 2015
The list goes on. I get your point that these players will be more expensive. However, the Rays have club options on them for WELL below what they’d get on the open market. If the team senses that a player is on the decline (like they did with Pena), they’ll let him walk. Simple as that. It’s not that the Rays won’t spend money, it’s that they won’t spend BIG money. They can afford 7mil here, 8mil there, etc. for players that they know they can count on.
Yet for some reason, according to player polls, they would rather play for the Rays. Huh.
also, lol at using R and RBI totals to gauge a player’s value.
If by “keep” you mean until they are ready to retire, I’d agree. However, they are both signed to team-friendly contracts. Any team would kill not only to have either of them, but to have them locked up like the Rays do.
who says they can’t pay Longoria or Price? And what does that have to do with Pena? And what is OBS? OPS?
Why not include 2010 since that was the last year on his contract and the reason they let him go? If you go with the length of his contract, 2008-2010, it drops over 100 pts to .832
Hitting 40 HRS and winning gold gloves and silver sluggers isn’t comparable? Pena was one of the most feared sluggers during that time and the Rays refused to pay him anything because they don’t have the resources. Don’t forget they need to pay other people on the roster too to stay on the team.
lol Pena was garbage before he did that in 2007. He made $800,000 that season. Following that amazing year, the Rays rewarded him with a 3 yr, $25 million dollar contract. They opted to not re-sign him for $10 million because he dropped from 6 fWAR in 2007 to 3.7 to 3.0 and finally all the way down to a replacementish level of 1.2 in 2010. All aspects of his game were trending in the wrong direction. It wasn’t a decision about not affording Pena. It was about not wanting him anymore.
And yes, his 2007 is comparable to a Longoria season, but it was only one season. If Pena had sustained that level of play for 3 or 4 more seasons, you’d have a leg to stand on here. Sorry, bro.
After 2010 where he hit 28 HR and 84 RBI, he got 1 year/$10mil deal with Chicago. The next year, his numbers were almost identical. Then came this year, when he obviously, well, sucked. TB saw that he was declining after 2010, so I think that’s why they didn’t want to shell out the money for him. BUT you don’t think they’d be willing to pay $12mil for a 31 year old true superstar in his prime in 2016? Assuming Evan’s play remains star-caliber, that’d be a steal.
as Sandals has already pointed out that was one year…and the year the Rays couldn’t afford him all of those teams went nuts falling over themselves to lavish him with monster….oh..he got a 1 year deal with a non-contender. They didn’t want him at near his price.
That would be a disaster for the rays if they trade for Either
Rays won’t trade for Ethier. He’s not nearly washed-up enough. Wait a few more years until no other teams want him and they have more injuries.
All true, but Ethier’s WPA totals have been nothing short of amazing throughout the course of his carrer. Truly is a clutch player. Ethier has the intangibles and his value cannot be put on paper. The chemistry he brings to the team is invaluable and he may not cover a of ground but has been a solid defender (just look at his dWAR the last few seasons, not to shabby when adjusted for UZR). But the point is, the Dodgers don’t want to trade him, and the fans sure as hell don’t want him gone. Terrible contract but 5-6 million is for his “tenure” and i can respectfully accept that.
c’mon really? so your argument is, everything you can quantify tells us he’s a bad defender, platoon bat and injury risk but if you just believe in fairy dust and rainbows you can buy his potential $100MM+ contract! He has a 123 wRC+ for his career with nobody on base AND with runners in scoring position. That’s not clutch. That’s numbers normalizing the way they should. Why do you think that the only people that think he’s worth his contract and is a good fielder etc are the people with emotional ties to him? Raul Ibanez had some amazing WPA games this year…maybe we should give him a monster $100MM+ deal too since he’s also terrible in the OF and a platoon player….but but he hit a few game tying home runs!!!!
Where are you getting these numbers? High Leverage situations last year, 167 wRC+, Men on base, 158 wRC+. Thats last season, not 123 wRC+. 158 wRC+ at home. Check this out for reference: fangraphs.com/statsplits.aspx?playerid=6265&p…
Even more amusing is the “risk injury” fantasy. His longest stay on the DL by far was the result of a broken finger. Hey, maybe he’s accident prone! I don’t get wrapped up in the value question. I figure teams have a better handle on what it takes to sign a player than I do, and a better idea than all the armchair GMs on this board put together.
Broken pinky of all things in BP! True, we know little of what went into the thinking of that contract.
Kuroda wants to stay with the Yankees and the Yankees want him back next year. It’s basically just a matter of working out the contract terms, and that shouldn’t be a problem. There isn’t much use speculating about Kuroda going somewhere else.
He’ll probably go wherever the money is. He’s old. Not many more chances to make a buck playing ball.
With Kuroda it is not just a matter of who offers the most money.
Did he turn down more money to sign with the Yankees previously? I don’t remember.
He seems incredibly stubborn about where he’ll play…previously it was only the Dodgers but then they didn’t want to spend on him (remember that…it was…LAST FREAKING OFFSEASON). The Red Sox/Yankees both tried to trade for him in 2011 but Kuroda wouldn’t go. Now they’re talking NYY/LA or bust. He wants to finish in Japan so he’s willing to go year to year to keep his options open. Sounds like he’ll do the whole Pettitte thing with the Yankees and I wouldn’t be surprised if he just picked up the $13.3MM qualifying offer. And on top of that I don’t think the Yankees or any other team getting him at that price would be anything but happy if he did.
Kuroda asked for, and received a no trade clause from the Dodgers. He refused a trade and explained it as having signed a contract with the intent to fulfill his contract. That was his right and he exercised it. If the Dodgers think they want to trade a player, how about NOT giving them a no trade clause?
I think he comes back to NY on the qualifying offer deal. He doesn’t strike me as a person who likes to make a lot of changes.
I think you completely misunderstood what I was saying. I too said I think he’s going back to NY on the qualifying offer and it’ll be a good deal for what both teams are wanting at this point. Of course sometimes it takes a no trade clause or an opt out just to get the deal done. And sometimes you don’t think you’ll want to trade a player and they you unexpectedly don’t compete for a playoff spot so you try and get any value you can out of them. Kuroda seems like an honorable and good guy and a vastly underrated pitcher which seems impossible considering the Japanese/LA/NY media that covered him.
I keep hearing how Kuroda is underrated, This underrating came entirely from people who believe that baseball west of the Hudson doesn’t count for much. He pitched himself into the hearts of fans in LA over a period of four seasons. We considered him to be an ace, or near enough, and one of the toughest competitors we’d seen around here in a long time. It was laughable to us to hear the predictions of his melting down playing in the AL. Now NYY fans are basically claiming that they discovered the guy. Good grief, Charlie Brown.
The Yankees already gave him a qualifying offer. That pretty much guarantees Kuroda will sign with them as no one is going to give up a draft pick for him.
This shouldn’t even be a question, of course Kuroda will simply take the offer.
LA is a team that is competitive, if Kuroda declines the offer, don’t be shocked to see LA go after him even if it means giving up the draft pick.
what happened to that comment about questioning the business of whether or not the Rays could afford Ethier? It was a good comment that brought up good points about Ethier’s defense and need to be platooned, comparing him to Joyce, a much cheaper player already on the Rays roster.
Honestly, though, I’d rather have Willingham++ if Shields is getting traded.
Doubt Willingham would go in that deal!!
Glad to see Terry Ryan is at least interested in trading for an ace.
See, I have a hard time putting the two words Twins and ace together. They haven’t had any pitcher even remotely pitch like an ace since Johan was traded.
If they get Shields, they’ll turn him into a guy that never strikes anyone out. Maybe he’ll still be close to ace, but I doubt it. They want pitching, they need pitching, they need to revisit what makes a good pitcher as an organization though. I imagine Matt Garza gets on his knees and gives thanks every day for getting traded away from the Twins.
Liriano 2010 pitched like an ace.
This would only be the case if he wasn’t a proven ace. The Twins brought in Josh Willingham, a proven power hitter last season, and didn’t exactly make him into a contact, opposite field guy, did they? Terry Ryan wouldn’t waste his time bringing in an ace to let Rick Anderson change how he pitches.
Span and Benson for Shields.
who is Benson? Span’s getting expensive, too, with his contract.
What are you talking about? Span has one of the most team friendly contracts in the league. Benson is a B prospect outfielder.
I was looking at the $9 million in 2015. so my fault on that. 13 and 14 are cheap.
and benson was god awful in the minors in 2012. I have to think he’s going to drop from his previous B prospect status. Going to be 25 at the start of ST.
The Twins could also give Harrison who is a 3rd basemen B prospect.
first of all, both the guys you mentioned got B- ratings by Sickels. Just saying. I like Harrison a lot more than the other guy, but with Richie Shaffer playing the same position at the same level, there might be a conflict there.
Who would you take for shields? Span and who?
Span and Willingham. Willingham more than Span. Honestly, I don’t know much about Twins prospects, but what I’m seeing is not interesting me too much.
Twins wouldn’t make this trade unless they could be sure that Shields would sign an extension with them. Also Tampa would need to give something else too like Archer.
god why would the Rays have to include Archer in this deal? Torres, sure, but Archer would be way too much unless a top prospect also went back to the Rays.
A proven innings eater and #1 starter for Span and Willingham sounds like it’s in favor of Minnesota already, and you think another MLB ready starter (#4-5) should be included? How about Tampa just assembles the entire Twins’ starting rotation?
I bet it is easier to find a SP who can give you 200 innings and a mid 3s ERA than it is to find an OF who can hit 35 Hr’s for 7million. No way Sheilds is worth both Span and Willingham.
Pitching in the AL East? Good luck.
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I agree with your statement about Benson, his stock has fallen quite a bit. But just a year ago Jim Callis listed him as one of a a couple players in the minors with potential 60+ on all five tools so he still is a very intriguing prospect.
For Shields? I’d do it for Hellickson, not Shields….
why not Shields?
As a Twins fan, I’m not sure that I’d trade for Hellickson. He’s a Scott Boras client and may be difficult to sign long-term.
yep
He has 3 more years of team control than Sheilds.
I agree with you. I just don’t think the teams match up well enough trade-wise.
I think a deal could get done but not with the pieces mentioned. A deal involving Span and a pitcher like Archer or Cobb could be fair for both sides.
No. Archer and Cobb are probably more valuable. Major league min pitchers who could jump into the middle of any rotation and near the top of the Twins.
They do have more vaule in terms of tean control but I wouldn’t consider either to be the same quality of Hellickson or Sheilds. They both are mid-twenties with mixed numbers in the minors.
Honestly, I think Cobb is better than Hellickson. Jury is still out on Archer, but he might be better, too. Even as a Rays fan, I’m extremely down on Helly. He’s not remotely the pitcher he was when he dominated the minors.
Yeah, true. If the Twins were serious about Shields, talks would probably have to start with Sano.
Are you being serious or just trolling?
Because if the Rays were to trade Shields, I’d use the Mat Latos deal as a decent comparison in what to expect it return. The Padres got back two young studs (Alonso and Grandal), so the Rays would presumably want to start with that. Span is a solid player, but he is what he is. He’s 28, and not worth an ace. Benson is a 25 year old fringe player, so that speaks for itself. Both of them are not worth a legit ace who eats 200+ innings a year, who’s on a team-friendly deal.
I think Hellickson is much more of a Latos comparison than Shields. Shields is more of a Gio or Haren deal. Or Garza.
As a Twins fan, I would rather have Hellickson.
what would you give for him?
keep in mind it would have to be substantial. He’s won awards (albeit meaningless, but Boras will spin it somehow) in his first 2 seasons, and he’s extremely cheap.
I don’t really have a good answer for that considering I do not know where the Rays need help. I am thinking something centered around Span or Parmelee. I wouldn’t give up any one of our super-prospects like Hicks, Arcia, Sano, and Rosario but I think all others could be in play.
The Rays would demand at least one or two top tier prospects. That’s how it is with them. Look at the trade for Garza. The Rays need infield prospects that are closer to coming to the majors. Mostly at the corners. Shaffer and Malm are a few years off. And it looks like Anderson and Wrigley won’t be called up soon. First base has been their bane, which is why it seemed the Rays were in the talks for Alonso and Rizzo.
Needs: CF, 1B, DH, SS… GO!
Span and Rosario for Shields!
Rosario would be nice
Yea, no thank you!
I would rather have Span and Rosario.
Span, Parmelee, Benson for Hellickson. Though now that I think of it I could see a deal involving Morneau and Sheilds.
Morneau has almost no value whatsoever. In a deal for Shields, he would probably need almost all of his contract covered, so it doesn’t make much sense for either team since that’s probably not going to happen. Injured, extremely expensive (for the Rays), and 1 yr left on his contract. Boston would make a lot more sense as a trade destination for Morneau because they’re more likely and capable of making an expensive risk since it’s just 1 year. That’s not a game the Rays like to play.
Wells back in TO for a minor league deal!!!
“Still thought Ozzie Guillen was fun to be around. Interesting to see where he will land.”
The greatest quote/item in Cafardo’s articles. MLB wants more fans. thinks to discuss? Get a new reality tv show with Quillen and Valentine as room mates and let those 2 go at it on a daily basis…
what a battle…they could call it…who can sabotage a season quicker! Will BobbyV destroy the locker room by calling out Youkilis and Beckett for no reason before Ozzie can say something incredibly dumb about Fidel Castro in the most Cuban city in America first?!?! The race is on tonight at 9 pm EST on ESPN2.
I’d pay to not have a poisonous headhunter like Padilla on my team.
Coming from a tribe fan…we’ll take shields for Chris Perez and choo
For Shields i would want Revere and Perkins
lol and who else?
Maybe twins give up a minor league sp
Keep going
Nice, Yanks might be looking at 4 1st rd picks (including theirs) for next year’s draft
Hiroki Kiroda just said that he is deciding between playing for the Yankees and Hiroshima Carp. This report from Cafardo that teams are lining up for Kiroda’s services may be true since he’s only looking for a one year commitment, however Kuroda is loyal to and wants to play for either the Yankees or back in Japan via reports.
how bout Andre Either and Chris Withrow for David Price i would do that trade or also Joc Pederson
Please, don’t give us a bad name.
-Dodger fans everywhere
Lackey back in LAA and Padilla too!? What is Dipoto trying to do…bring in the most hated players by Halo fans? Is he also going to check in on Jose and Carlos Guillen?