The Marlins showed interest in Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon right around when they fired Mike Redmond, reports Ken Rosenthal in his latest video for FOX Sports. However, it’s unclear if the club will buy after a slow start to the season. Prior to the season they promised Giancarlo Stanton that they will aim to compete, but there may come a point where it makes more sense to trade some of the higher priced mercenaries. Players like Mike Morse, Dan Haren, and Mike Dunn could find themselves on the trade block. Here’s more from Rosenthal.
- The Padres are scouting the Brewers for a shortstop. They may lack the prospects to acquire Jean Segura, but San DiegoĀ GM A.J. Preller is familiar with Luis Sardinas from his days in the Rangers system. The Brewers are also taking calls on right-hander Mike Fiers, but they’re not interested in trading him.
- The Angels have plenty of starting pitching depth to acquire offensive firepower. They could call upon Andrew Heaney if they trade a major leaguer pitcher. Alternatively, Heaney or Nick Tropeano could be offered in a swap. The Halos also have Tyler Skaggs and Sean Newcomb as long term options. Skaggs is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Newcomb is working his way through the system (currently in High-A) after being selected 15th overall last June.
- The Twins aren’t yet buyers, but they’ll receive reinforcements when Ervin Santana and Casey Fien return to action. Santana is eligible to return from his PED suspension on July 4. Fien is currently on the disabled list. The club has received poor production from center field and designated hitter. They could stick with Aaron Hicks in center with Kennys Vargas as the primary designated hitter, but the addition of a “big bopper” would improve the overall outlook. My own speculation: I wonder if a combination of Ben Revere and Ryan Howard would make sense – assuming the Phillies ate enough cash.
willi
Price just risen for the Big Piece and Bennie the Jet ! Two of Top Five Prospects .
MattHollidaysForearms
No. Stop it.
Solomon Crowe
You should be a comedian.
willi
Marlins wait too long for everything but getting rid of the owner !
johnbrooks
Yeah its too bad they can’t take a team away for the common good.
Jeff L From Miami
Hey! Mr. Loria is a world champion owner!
Brixton G.
Howard, 35M and Revere for Trevor May and Jake Reed (Twins)
Jon Papelbon for Austin Dean and Austin Brice (Marlins)
Freddy Galvis for Justin Hancock and Casey Kelley (Padres)
rouscher
No Freddy. Not worth it. Dudes performing real young, cheap, and he doesn’t have to hit much to be a 2-3 WAR player with that kind of defense. Rather keep him as a possible heir to Utley. If we were a winning team and there was no place when Crawford got here than it’d make sense. But no Freddy.
Brixton G.
Hes obviously not going to keep up his current offensive numbers, it’d be selling high. You already have Cesar Hernandez whos a better hitter, and Crawford whos your top prospect, and Roman Quinn whos a SS by trade.
Jaysfan1994 2
Twins probably need a starter included in that deal. They’d be smart to wait and see if the Jays fallout. Encarnacion and Bautista have made that ballpark look small in years past. Howard or Bautista/Encarnacion?
Draven Moss
You think the Jays may sell Bautista or EE this year? It seems wiser to do so next deadline.
Jaysfan1994 2
I’m so disappointed with the Jays results this year, I can’t see AA not wanting to take credit for the trading of Bautista and Encarnacion for a kings ransom for when he’s looking for a Executive job next season.
I’d also like to point out I and many other fans would protest the Jays if they in-fact did this with $31MM coming off the boards in Buehrle/Dickey’s contracts + Romero’s dead $7.5M obligation + Maicer’s also dead $3M.
The Jays could easily get 2 quality rotation arms and a bullpen stud with that money to finally get the offense and pitching at the same time everyone expected them have for the past few years.
Draven Moss
That is my thoughts exactly as well. Worse-case scenario they trade Bautista and EE at next year’s deadline. They will still get a king’s ransom then so there really is no rush. If this season ends up a failure (it is still early), they might as well try to make a contender next year with the money off the books, and a healthy Stroman.
Brixton G.
Bautista/Encarnacion would cost x20 the prospects and similar money.
Jaysfan1994 2
Bautista and Encarnacion are proven elite sluggers of the past 3-4 years, Howard’s had a month worth of positive production over the past 4 years. Bautista and Encarnacion are also on extremely cheap team friendly deals that a small market club like the Twins would faun over.
Brixton G.
A team like the twins would also have to dent their strong farm system for a 1.5 year rental of Bautista or EE in which they aren’t sure to be contending. Howard would be a 1.5 year rental for almost no prospect return.
MattHollidaysForearms
Howard would require no prospects, because he’s terrible. Why trade for Howard when they already have replacement level 1st basemen/DH’s in the organization.
DavidL
Ryan Howard is 31st in the Major Leagues in OPS. That is awful.
Jaysfan1994 2
And Nelson Cruz has a .728SLG right now. He also had a .678SLG on June 3rd last year and you can see how he cooled off over a season.
Howard’s been productive for a month over the past 4 years, if anything he’s been due.
DavidL
Ryan Howard has had a number of productive months the last few years. His 2012 was after an injury. In 2013 he had an .878 OPS against right handed pitching. Last year was down.
Howard has a 1.053 OPS for May. You’re right that isn’t what he’s going to do the rest of the season. I think teams should be fine if he does 250 points less than that.
Jaysfan1994 2
Adam Lind hit 354/.409/.533/.942 vs RHP last year and all it got the Jays was a long inning reliever, he hit .309/.385/.539/.924 the year before that as well vs RHP. You’re seriously trying to convince people he has value?
MattHollidaysForearms
His wRC+ (OPS weights on-base and slugging equally, when OBP is more valuable than SLG, so I don’t take it seriously) is 49th in baseball (123 wRC+, min 150 PA). That is impressive.
He’s been more productive in these 150 plate appearances than he has in the previous ~1250 plate apperances. I’m not going to dismiss the previous 3 years of awful play.
Karl Larson
Encarnacion is the prefect fit for the Twins. He is a great hitter at Target Feild, and the Twins already have a glut of OF’s. They need a DH. Plus, no one in the baseball industry wants to deal with Amaro. This is coming from a Twins fan.
MattHollidaysForearms
If you open up the prospect vault, I’m sure the Jays could accommodate a trade. Berrios + Kepler would be a nice start.
scann
Didn’t the Phillies trade May for Revere…
Brixton G.
yeah. That trade blew up for both teams.
Sky14
Hard to say it blew up for both teams since nobody can be sure what they have in May yet. Vance was a disaster, but May was the more intriguing player on the Twins side. It might be a few years before this trade can be properly evaluated.
Vandals Took The Handles
May outpitched Sale today. He’s been slowly getting acclimated to pitching in the majors. Doubt very much that the Twins will trade him. The pitcher I see them letting go at the deadline is Ricky Nolasco – assuming they find a big market team that will take on his salary.
Sky14
Agree, I highly doubt the Twins are looking to move May. As for Nolasco, I have a hard time seeing them being able to move him, unless Ryan has a Jedi mind trick up his sleeve or Nolasco starts performing to his FIP (which is the epitome of his career). I could see Pelf getting some interest but wouldn’t expect much a return on him.
JerisG24
Maybe someone’s dumb enough to think he’s now won 5 straight games and sits at a 5-1 record because of his pitching, when it’s mainly because the Twins score a million runs every time he starts.
Sky14
No thanks, Revere and Howard are one tool players that would block roster spots for younger players. May has had some promising performances this season, including today, and comes with 6 years of control while Reed has the potential to be a back end BP piece.
willi
You give Players that are nothing , for PROVEN MLB Players.
Brixton G.
Well yeah, thats how trades in this sport work. Rebuilding teams give up their veterans in exchange for prospects. All 4 of the Phillies players listed should be traded at the deadline anyways.
Karl Larson
The Twins aren’t giving up May.
Adam Rygg
SardiƱas. Come on, Brad. š
Sky14
The Twins should not make any rash moves, but stick to the rebuilding plan. Buxton, Berrios, Sano, Polanco and Kepler are not too far from the bigs and could provide a boost later in the season.
The Howard and Revere proposal would be terrible for the Twins. The Twins will have Arcia back soon as well as DH candidates in Pinto and Vargas. Howard would just clog a roster spot along with Revere.
Vandals Took The Handles
Bingo. The Twins don’t need aging players on their last legs – they have too many good young prospects that they need to give playing time to.
I still believe they may be a bidder for Hamels though – if they can dump Nolasco’s contract. They can start by building the package around Meyer.
Sky14
I’ve thought about that as well, they have the prospects to get it done without sacrificing the big three, though Meyer’s value is low right now. The problem is the Twins are on Hamels limited no trade clause so its unlikely a deal could be made anyway. I imagine the Twins would insist on Nolasco being included in the deal (if Hamels waived his NTC, which likely means picking up his option) instead of asking for the Phillies to eat salary.
DavidL
Nolasco is owed a lot of money
Vandals Took The Handles
Nolasco is owed about $12M a year for the next 2 years, as well as a prorated $12M for this year. For a large market team like the Dodgers, that’s not a lot of money for a starting pitcher – they’re paying Brett Anderson 10 and he hasn’t pitched a full season in years. I can see them taking back Nolasco to be a #4 or 5 starter. He is from the LA area, pitches better in the NL, and has done well in Dodger Stadium. The Twins might eat a bit of the contract and not ask much back. Unless there is an injury in the starting rotation, I see Nolasco being the odd man out when Ervin Santana comes in to pitch around July 4.
Sky14
You don’t say.
Vandals Took The Handles
I didn’t know about the NTC. I don’t know Hamels mindset. But the attraction is that he would be coming to a good young team that figures to compete for the duration of Hamels contract. Twins are with the Cubs and Astros in having built a strong 40 man roster of talented young players.
Karl Larson
They would be selling awfully low on Meyer.
Jennifer Bellini
Seattle Mariners is a team that match well w/ thehillies as trade partners. Fernando Rodney is not a legit closer as Papelbon can do better closing games in the ninth innings. Cole Hamels can bring veteran leadership in starting pitching since Iwakuma might leave after the season in free agency. Finally, Chase Utley at shortstop or Ryan Howard who has Cano & Nelson Cruz-like power on hitting can bring a spark not only to win the division, but go deeper as possible World Series in the playoffs. It’ll make the community proud winning it all and honor broadcaster Dave niehaus at the parade if they win the WS.
willi
Want to Win ! Howard , Hamels, and maybe Paps put Minnesota in Playoffs ! There are so Few Good Players out there ( Available ) Three of Top Five get it done and Puts Twins in American League Championship game against Detroit.
Bruinsfan94
Three of top five what? The Twins are not trading the farm for aging stars.
JerisG24
Paps? Twins have a closer that is #1 in saves and hasn’t blown one yet.
Sage
I’d prefer we trade Segura, rather than SardiƱas, mostly because Segura would bring back more in return. Honestly, what would SardiƱas’ value on the trade market be right now? He’s a switch hitter with fringey offensive value (doesn’t walk much, doesn’t have much extra base power) and a reputation for having a slick glove (which seems pretty correct from what we’ve seen so far). But what does that get us? Does that get us a SP with great results but fringey stuff? I just don’t know. I’d rather deal Segura and get more back.
Ray Darr
I agree. Maybe trade both of them
Arcia and Rivera are the likely double play combo of the future.
Hopefully, get Scooter’s bat going. The Angels were interested in him in the off season.
Dodgers could make a move for Lohse or Garza. They have been scouting both of them. They prefer Lohse, but the Brewers prefer to move Garza.
Hopefully, there will be takers for both of them. They have proven track records, and would benefit from pitching in the large pitcher friendly parks in the NL West.
Ramirez and Lind could have some value for a team needing an extra bat, Parra is a gold glover that can play all 3 OF spots.
Carlos Gomez would bring in the biggest haul of anyone. Over a year and a half left, plus his new team could recoup a draft pick by giving him a qualifying offer.
The only guy with next to no value is Broxton.
I don’t know why they would be reluctant to deal Fiers. If you get a AA pitcher with more upside than him, I would pull the trigger.
alex navarrette
The Angels were interested in Scooter because they wanted to have a platoon. If he’s struggled hitting righties this year and he’s never hit lefties, why would the Angels want to deal for him?
Shaungbd
One thing I don’t get like it said SD doesn’t have the prospects to get that SS from the brewers couldn’t SD just offer more prospects to make up the different? Say SD offers 5 vs cubs 2?
alex navarrette
5 C level prospects isn’t equal to 2 B+ prospects in terms of trade value. And they do have enough to make a deal, I’m not sure why the author wrote that line.
stymeedone
Sure, move Howard’s big contract to one of the smallest market teams in baseball. Unless the Phillies eat its entirety, not going to happen. The Twinkies cannot guarantee Howard a roster spot thru the contracts duration, and if it doesn’t work out in Twinkiedom, they will never get rid of the contract.
Karl Larson
They’re a middle market team now with Target Feild… They’ve averaged 16th in total payroll since the ballpark opened. Not counting two outlier years 13′-14′ they are the 13th highest.
Jennifer Bellini
What will it take to acquire Johan Santana and help on offense to come off the bench for a team like the Seattle Mariners since starting pitching has been a struggle at times?