Here’s the latest on Rays ace David Price…
- The Brewers are one of the teams who have asked about Price, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports. A source tells Rosenthal that the Crew just put their “foot in the water” of the Price sweepstakes, so it remains to be seen if Milwaukee was making a due diligence move or if they have a deeper interest. As Rosenthal notes, the Brewers would be “a long shot” to end up with Price given the relative lack of depth in their farm system (especially compared to the Cardinals and other teams connected to Price) and their ability to afford Price’s possible $20MM salary through arbitration in 2015.
- Rosenthal noted that some in the industry expect the Cubs to make an attempt to land Price. A Cubs executive tells USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link), however, that Chicago has “zero interest” in acquiring Price now since the team prefers to hang onto its highly-regarded prospects.
- In an appearance on FOX Sports Live (video link), Jon Morosi still feels that Price will be traded before Thursday’s deadline and the southpaw won’t make his scheduled start on Wednesday afternoon. This said, Morosi noted that it is still very unclear whether Tampa will decide to trade their ace.
I’m not too familiar with the Brewers system, but what could they package to get price?
I usually go here:
mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2014/#list=prospe…
Then, sort by 20 of team.
A list of prospects doesn’t help much, it gives me names of players but fails to tell me what type of players the Brewers have that could actually help the Rays for 2015 and beyond and be willing to give up
A ‘Cliff notes’ way to look at prospects is to see which ones fall into the top 100 rankings those would be your top guys, then look at the organizational top 10-20, those guys who did not make the top 100 but are org top 10-20 are usually B prospects or guys with some value.
Thanks for the tip, I was just looking for a more in depth look at them from someone more familiar with their system
Brewers don’t really have enough to land Price without hitting the major league team. Don’t really see a match there.
I am well versed on the Brewers Farm. Jimmie Nelson is the top of the line for them. Huge RHP with a sinking fastball that generates ground balls and good control. MLB ready. Tyrone Taylor a Toolsy OF, considered very athletic and in the lower levels is largely considered number 2. Either Orlando Arcia (little bro to Oswaldo with the Twins) or young RHP Devin Williams would be next. Arcia has been much more productive and I have a feeling the real scouts love him although he has not been highly touted by the scouting web sites. Who cares though as none of them had anything on Khris Davis and only two major league players have had more home runs since he hit his first when he was called up last year. Some of the newly drafted may be above the last two but they are not trade eligible. Another guy who I am sure will be getting some interest in any deal is RHP Devin Williams a RD 2 pick from 2011. He is in high A and his development is coming along well.
I take it you haven’t checked up on Devin Williams this year. He is in Helena getting shelled…and that is Rookie ball.
Sure, but the Rays would go on scouting especially if its the 3rd or 4th player in a deal. For what its worth the system has pitchers excelling at every level.
Hopes and dreams.
AA Huntsville….
The entire Milwaukee Beer Industry !
They have some pitching prospects that they could package to get it done, probably something like Thornburg and Nelson. It would be a big blow to a farm system that is just starting to recover from the Greinke deal a couple years back. I think their rotation is good enough to win the division as is so it would be a debatable move, though it would give them a much better chance in a playoff series, especially if Garza, Lohse or Gallardo struggle towards the end of the season. As a Brewer fan, I’d support it. Adding a true ace is something they probably need to do to have a chance to win it all this year.
I only question the long-term outlook of losing Thornburg and Nelson. Realistically Milwaukee doesn’t have a chance of signing Price long-term, so is selling two key future rotation pieces worth totally depleting the farm?
I guess winning it all makes that easy to swallow, but that’s not a guarantee of course.
Melvin did it with Sabathia and Greinke and there is a sizable portion of the fanbase that is ok with the taking a shot every half dozen years and then being mediocre the rest of the time. I think its crazy. They have pitching at every level and now some hitting prospects are doing well. I think Melvin likes to be the wheeler dealer and a big shot. He should be somewhere like LA or NY. Maybe its his last swing before retirement.
Good call on those other trades, but Melvin gave up a top prospect in each of those deals (LaPorta and Escobar). They don’t have “that guy” to be the keystone of a trade this time around IMO. Otherwise great points.
Well, I don’t want him to make any trades really, but if you ignore BA rankings, they have a whole lot of prospects who are as good as those guys. For instance, everyone is a lesser defender than Alcides (IMO), but Arcia is a better prospect.
Take a shot every half a dozen years? 2008, 2011, and 2014 all fall within the same 6 years. So id say your statement is waaaay off. They also contended in 2007 and 2012…and a Price trade means contending in 2015 too. So that’s 6/8 years, not bad.
Doug Melvin is one of the best GMs at trades there is. The value he gets compared to the other team has been pretty well in his favor.
Actually, it would be 7, but regardless, deadline trades are very expensive and growing more so.
Thornburg is on the DL not expected to be back before August so scratch that possibility.
Not to hate on the Brewers, but their farm is seriously lacking. They really don’t have the prospects to compete with STL, LAD, etc in a bidding war, nor do they have the depth to absorb the hit of losing the few promising prospects they have. This is simply Melvin doing his due diligence.
The Brewer system has taken huge steps forward this year. Orlando Arcia is a stud shortstop prospect at High A Brevard. Still just 19 (he turns 20 in a week), he’s hitting .290/.340/.404. Another stud at Brevard is 20 year old CF Tyrone Taylor currently hitting .290/.336/.448. The Brewers have had numerous pitchers take a step forward this year too. None project to number one starters but the system is surprisingly deep in pitching and don’t forget that Jimmy Nelson was dominating at AAA this year before his callup and 3 of his 4 major league starts have been fine.
All I was trying to say is that the system lacks the high-end, near major league ready talent that other interested teams have. The Brewers have some solid pieces, but they are mostly in High-A ball. Andrew Friedman is going to want more of a “sure thing” to give up Price.
I beg to differ with you. Nelson is pretty close to a sure thing and he’s already in the big leagues and would take Price’s spot in Rays rotation from day one. The Brewers also have young first year regulars in Kris Davis and Scooter Gennett that have plenty of appeal to Rays.
But why would the Brew Crew open holes on their roster to get an ace?
Could add Zobrist to the deal and offer them Gennett. Haha
I don’t think they do Gennett for Zobrist straight up, which means you are going to give up even more for this to potentially happen
Hey if we are already draining the farm making crazy proposals why not more?
Exactly. They wouldn’t benefit from a 3 for 1 swap of major leaguers. Doing that would hurt their depth down the stretch. Besides, Scooter and Davis have little trade value. Scooter is a platoon player, and Davis is more tools than finished product. If I’m the Rays, I want prospects not major leaguers, otherwise why are they selling?
Point was they have young players in their system at the major league level. They obviously won’t likely include Davis or Gennett in the deal, but using one isn’t completely out of the question. The system is pretty deep in 2B prospects and Weeks could provide something the rest of this year. I’m not advocating the deal just saying it’s possible. As for their best prospects being at High A. The minor league season has about 5 weeks left. Their High A guys could well get bumped up to AA at any time. They are not that far away.
I understand that, and the Brewers do have solid depth in the minors (not trying to argue against that). My point is that when we are talking about trading for one of the premier players in baseball, depth doesn’t cut it. The Rays will want multiple top 100 prospects (possibly even multiple top 50).
It would be insane to trade either, which means its a possibility with Melvin, but I doubt any team would take your view of those players. You can flip the stats and make them sound great. The only reason Gennett plays the fat side of the platoon is because Melvin can’t admit his failure with the Weeks contract.
Listing 2 names, not advocating both be included. That would never happen. They theoretically have short term replacement for Gennett in Weeks and likely they could find a decent rental to replace Davis if they had to.
The only real prospects they have are guys that were drafted this year, and would only be able to be added as PTBNL. That is not really Tampa’s MO, since they typically target players closer to the majors with longer track records. I would put the Brewers chances of pulling this off at about 0%. They would have to start the package with Wily Penalty and add Harrison and Gatewood just to get a conversation started.
Only real prospects are guys drafted this year? I stopped reading at that point.
EDIT: Read the rest to see Wily Penalty and realized it could get worse. The fact you would start with Peralta over Nelson assures me you are bad at gauging talent and their values.
You missed the part where the Brewers would have so start a package with Wily Penalty!!
I take it you think that the Brewers have some other high end talent hiding somewhere? And yes I believe Wily Peralta will be a better pitcher than Jimmy Nelson. However, I would love for you to point out to me all of the minor leaguers in the Brewers system that have a higher ceiling than Gatewood or Harrison. And the Penalty was a spell check correction.
All about value and Jimmy Nelson, Tyrone Taylor, and Orlando Arcia all have more.
Gatewood and Harrison have a higher ceiling but waiting 5 years for a massive gamble doesn’t hold a lot of trade value with no pro ball experience.
But that goes to my original point, a #3 pitcher, 4th outfielder and an A ball shortstop isn’t going to return David Price. The Brewers just don’t have the talent pool in the minors to match the surplus value that David Price has. Nor do they have the financial flexibility to pay him through arbitration next year, so basically they would need to trade a controllable pitcher (be it Nelson or Peralta) and most of the talent in their minor league system for a couple months of Price.
How about something like Lindor, a #2 pitcher and a premium CF prospect? Is that enough for 2 years of Price?
I take it you think that the Brewers have some other high end talent hiding somewhere? And yes I believe Wily Peralta will be a better pitcher than Jimmy Nelson. However, I would love for you to point out to me all of the minor leaguers in the Brewers system that have a higher ceiling than Gatewood or Harrison. And the Penalty was a spell check correction.
Check out the Rosenthal link….They may just have enough but they are deep within the farm system (High-A ball)
The Rays are going to want more high end talent than depth IMO. I doubt Freidman gives up Price for a group of promising High-A guys. He’s going to want guys that are proving themselves in the higher levels of the minors.
“The Rays, though, almost certainly could get players closer to the majors from other clubs.” from the Rosenthal piece.
The crew doesn’t really have any “can’t miss” prospects but they do have a lot of players in their system that could be decent major leaguers. It would be interesting to see what they offer for price.
I think now a trade seems far fetched, but what if the Dodgers get Lester and the Cards deal for Hammels. Suddenly two teams desperate and loaded with prospects no longer want Price. The Brewers would have a decent chance then.
Lets stop the Cubs – Price rumors right now.
Not going to happen.
If Rays want Baez or Russell in a Price trade, then you need to take on the Edwin Jackson contract along with it.
“Not going to happen. Here’s how it could happen.”
Didn’t anyone notice that the Rays are back in the race.
Price is not going anywhere.
This reminds me of the Phillies a few years ago. They won’t be in the race after the deadline.
9 game winning streaks and a weak division tend to give you hope of competing
Yeah, false hope.
How do you figure? They are the most complete team in the East and have the Ace to get them through the wild card game if it came to that, they can still make a run
Yea, because the Rays haven’t had ANY success in the AL east the past 5 years…
Oh, I enjoy the Rays and I pull for them. They don’t have “it” this year. I’d rather see three teams from the West make it.
There are countless numbers of naysayers every year stating the Rays are a weak team and will get destroyed in the al east. Yet somehow they are in the hunt every single year. They are a feisty team and wouldn’t say they don’t have it. Myers longo zobrist and Jennings get hot and they are all of a sudden a great team. People just call them out way too early
The Rays are 4.5 out of the 2nd Wild Card and are probably a better team than everyone ahead of them. It really wouldn’t be a surprise to see them make a run.
They’re not better than the Angels, Mariners or Blue Jays. They’ll make it interesting but ultimately fall short. I really don’t care to be honest, as long as Price doesn’t end up on an AL West team I’m fine with whatever happens.
I’m counting the Angels as the 1st Wild Card. I do believe they’re better than the Yankees, Blue Jays, Mariners, Royals, and Indians. Those are the teams ahead of them for the 2nd Wild Card. Will they pass them? Who knows, but there is 1/3 of the season left and it wouldn’t shock me at all if the Rays made the playoffs.
*All of that obviously assuming the Rays don’t trade Price or Zobrist.
It makes a lot more sense for the Cubs to hang onto their prospects, then see if Price gets traded to a team that may not be able to re-sign him. If, for example, Price got traded to the Indians, Brewers, or Mariners, he’d almost certainly hit free agency. (The first two can’t afford to pay him; Price said he won’t re-sign if traded to Seattle.) The Cubs could sign him for 2016 and beyond while giving up zero talent to get him. Well… a draft pick. But nothing like they’d pay to trade for him.
Let’s all look back to the Zack Greinke trade and how no one thought they could do it as they lacked high end talent. Then you can look back to when everyone afterwards said that the Brewers were all in for 2011 and after that would be horrible due to a weak farm. I think we learned a few things:
1. Never doubt Doug Melvin, the Brewers could make a deal happen.
2. You can drain your farm and compete in 3 years afterwards when everyone expected you to lose 90 games.
So the Brewers farm system was decimated after the Grienke trade but we have the best record in the NL with three guys we’ve called up since then, Davis, Scooter and Nelson, plus Thornburg is on the DL. Also, Scooter is platooning but that’s mainly because I think the hope was to keep Weeks playing and possibly trade him. Prospect rankings aren’t worth the paper their written on.
Having said that, we’d help ourselves a lot more trading for a 1B than a SP; I’d love to see Morneau as a Brewer provided he’ll be healthy soon which is a large if.
I’d be shocked if they traded Weeks. He’s there because Melvin loves him and he’s too proud to eat his contract.
Or maybe it is because Scooter Gennett can’t hit a beach ball thrown by lefties and even when he does he has ZERO power. His numbers vs. Lefties in the minors and the majors make you think he is a pitcher they are that bad.
Face it Weeks is a viable back up(proven the last week), a good pinch hitter, and a good platoon player.
I’ve seen numbers by Gennett in the minors that were good. I don’t think there’s much value in using major league numbers that include rookie PH appearances against LH specialists. Gennett has pretty much done everything that was once claimed he was incapable. I don’t get the Weeks love, but ok.
Morneau won’t be worth the price. If you could know he will keep up his current production maybe…but the guy is prepared for some serious regression in my opinion.
Keep the Prospects sign Lester. Wouldn’t surprise me if Cubs make a run at him this Off-Season.
It makes literally no sense for the Cubs to go after Price right now. The price in the trade market is way to high in season for a team that isn’t competing this year.
Cubs would love Price and would probably give up a prospect to get him … but not if they had to pay him free market value. If Price was willing to negotiate a long term extension this off-season I could see the Cubs parting with one of their elite prospects if the Price was right. If it wasn’t they would be one of the teams bidding on him as a free agent.
Along these lines, I think the Cubs are going to make a couple of aggressive offers to Lester and Scherzer this offseason. The payroll is down and even signing both at $25 million plus would put the Cubs payroll at $140 million which is not much more than it was a couple years ago.
is it just me or does every ‘Price to the Cubs’ rumor start with Ken Rosenthal? and he never cites a single source for it. It’s like he’s trying to will it to happen for some strange reason.
It makes no sense at all for the Cubs.