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Rosenthal’s Latest: Desmond, Toussaint, D-Backs, Samardzija, Cotts

By Steve Adams | June 25, 2015 at 8:40am CDT

In his latest notes column for FOX Sports, Ken Rosenthal begins with an interesting note on the Nationals. Despite a substantial payroll and a heavy offseason investment in Max Scherzer, Nats ownership is reluctant to add payroll during the season. Rosenthal notes that, in hindsight, we saw an indication of this last July when Cleveland paid all of the $3.3MM remaining on Asdrubal Cabrera’s salary after the Nats acquired him. (Of course, the Nats were also willing to take on all of Matt Thornton’s salary via waiver claim.)

Because of this, Rosenthal wonders if the Nats will consider trading Ian Desmond this summer to clear room for a different acquisition. Given Desmond’s struggles, the team could be better off with Danny Espinosa, Yunel Escobar and Anthony Rendon seeing regular time in the infield. Earlier in the week, I speculated on a possible Desmond trade after it was reported that the Nats were interesred in the D-Backs’ middle infielders, but Rosenthal notes that it could also allow them more flexibility to pursue Aroldis Chapman, Ben Zobrist or even a reunion with Tyler Clippard. Of course, Desmond’s offensive and defensive woes diminish his trade value, as well.

A few more highlights from Rosenthal’s column…

  • Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart tells Rosenthal that he usually doesn’t pay attention to media criticism, but he’s aware of the near-universal criticism of the D-Backs for their trade of Touki Toussaint (in which the team essentially sold its 2014 first-round pick to Atlanta). Rosenthal quotes Stewart: “The truth is we did not know what Touki’s value would be if we shopped him. There is a lot of speculation on that. People are assuming it would have been better, but we don’t know. There was an opportunity to make a deal that gave us more flexibility today as well as next year. We took that opportunity. It’s tough to say we could have gotten more. He was drafted at No. 16, given ($2.7) million. In my opinion, that’s his value.” Stewart continues to say that Toussaint has not thrown 96 mph with the D-Backs, despite some scouting reports and that there’s “some inflation of what people think Touki is.” Stewart adds that the D-Backs think Toussaint will be a Major League pitcher but not for another five to six years.
  • A brief interjection from me to offer my take on those comments: It’s odd to hear a GM openly devalue a player in this fashion, even after trading him away. Beyond that, however, it’s puzzling to hear Stewart equate Toussaint’s value with the clearly arbitrary number assigned to last year’s draft slot value. Having shown a willingness to spend $16MM+ on a pitching prospect (Yoan Lopez) this offseason, Stewart is undoubtedly cognizant of the fact that Toussaint would have fetched far, far more than $2.7MM in a theoretical free agent setting. Additionally, if they truly do feel that Toussaint will pitch in the Major Leagues, that makes the trade all the more puzzling to me, as my best explanation to this point had been that they simply didn’t believe in his future all that strongly.
  • Back to Rosenthal’s piece, which has several more quotes from Stewart, including the GM’s own admission of surprise to his team’s current standing in the NL West. The D-Backs were built with an eye on the longer-term picture than 2015, says Stewart, and they’ll need to assess how to respond at the deadline. To this point, the D-Backs have received inquiries on their starting pitching, but not on their middle infield. Stewart flatly says “…we’re not moving [Nick] Ahmed,” and calls a trade of Chris Owings “very unlikely.” Interestingly, that does seem to indicate that the new GM values Ahmed over Owings.
  • The Astros remain interested in Jeff Samardzija, and as Rosenthal notes, a move away from what has been a brutal White Sox defense would likely help Samardzija quite a bit. Samardzija’s .338 BABIP has helped contribute to a significant discrepancy between his 4.53 ERA and 3.67 FIP. Of course, Chicago’s porous defense doesn’t necessarily explain Samardzija’s diminished strikeout rate and struggles to strand runners in 2015. The Astros, Rosenthal says, are eyeing Samardzija and other pitchers, but the White Sox are not yet ready to sell.
  • The Brewers aren’t receiving very strong interest in Francisco Rodriguez, likely in part due to his backloaded contract, Rosenthal hears. K-Rod is still owed $1.95MM in 2015, plus $9.5MM in 2016 between his salary and the buyout on a $6MM club option for the 2017 season. Lefty Neal Cotts, however, figures to be in demand and may even be of interest to his former club, the Rangers, Rosenthal writes. Cotts’s 4.30 ERA isn’t anything to write home about, but he’s held lefties to a .546 OPS.
  • The Cardinals might not be as urgent to add a starter as many had previously expected. The club feels that Michael Wacha can top 200 innings, and Carlos Martinez can deliver about 170. A bigger need might be a left-handed-hitting complement for Mark Reynolds at first base, and Rosenthal suggests Adam LaRoche as a speculative fit to improve the team on both sides of the ball.
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Arizona Diamondbacks Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Houston Astros Milwaukee Brewers Oakland Athletics St. Louis Cardinals Texas Rangers Washington Nationals Adam LaRoche Anthony Rendon Aroldis Chapman Ben Zobrist Chris Owings Francisco Rodriguez Ian Desmond Jeff Samardzija Mark Reynolds Neal Cotts Nick Ahmed Touki Toussaint Tyler Clippard Yunel Escobar

Minor Moves: Gutierrez, Volstad, Wang
Main
Red Sox Option Joe Kelly, Designate Erik Kratz
View Comments (20)
Post a Comment

20 Comments

  1. sergelang

    10 years ago

    Six to seven years to reach the majors?!

    2.7m dollars is his value?!

    HOW IS THIS GUY A GENERAL MANAGER!!?

    Reply
    • jamesa-2

      10 years ago

      He is buddies with TLR

      Reply
  2. ilikebaseball 2

    10 years ago

    Seems even weirder to see Stewart openly devalue player when he use to be an agent! I don’t get why an extended development time for a teenager would be such a hinderance. You think he has a chance to make it to the show but its gonna take too long, so ship him out? Logic I don’t get.

    Reply
    • gamemusic3 2

      10 years ago

      Stewart did complain about how Kemp should have the center field position for the Dodgers.

      I thought it was an agent’s position but now I wonder if Stewart actually believed his claim.

      Reply
  3. Dock_Elvis

    10 years ago

    Stewart didn’t shop him around? In the scenario that you’re trying to rid Arroyo’s contract by dealing Toussaint…why wouldn’t he do that? It’s his job set.

    When Stewart speaks…I keep trying to follow his logic, or his mehod of explanation. It’s difficult. They likely had the lowest opinion of Toussaint in baseball…that itself should have created a market.

    Reply
    • firstbleed

      10 years ago

      Agree. I’m sure there was a lot of teams looking at Touki in later part of the 1st round last year that would love another chance at obtaining him.

      Reply
      • Dock_Elvis

        10 years ago

        Granted… There are a teams out there who might not want to spend 10m to basically acquire Toussaints future…but man…I don’t so much begrudge him being traded….every team has to assess their own talent… But the Snacks got nothing but salary relief back…that was ridiculous. I guess they can still spin this into another trade and come out with something…. But they certainly work hard to get nowhere in deals. They bring Trumbo in as the cog…then deal him for a mediocre catcher.

        It’s actually highly interesting in this day and age of stratified analytics.

        Reply
        • Dock_Elvis

          10 years ago

          Please create an edit function and email notification system that works or consider going back to disqus

          Reply
    • NoAZPhilsPhan 2

      10 years ago

      I still believe, as I said in previous articles about this trade, that the D-Backs saw something that they didn’t like. Teams have to share medical reports when trading but not evaluations etc. This is not the first time a supposed valuable player (in MiLB or MLB) has been traded and that player later falters with the new team. Stewart said and hinted as much (re: his value and future) in the interview. Too often others perception is not nearly as clear regarding a player as the team that has him. I know it’s been popular for many to bash the D-Backs decisions so far but I do find it hard to believe that the entire FO from Stewart to LaRussa on down is completely incompetent and blind.

      Reply
      • Dock_Elvis

        10 years ago

        I believe what you say is true in large measure, but this is a front office that will be second guessed because of how strange their m.o. is. They guy was a 1st rounder just last season…he was viewed that way across baseball. One year hasn’t changed much. Yeah…maybe he’s not their guy….but it sounds more like they were so anxious to offload Arroyo and jumped Toussaint into the deal. Listening to Stewart talk about it reminds me of a guy who just broke up with a girl and now has a totally negative view of her. So…who to believe…Atlanta that just paid 10m to acquire Toussaint… Or a suspect Dave Stewart who doesn’t have the most street cred.

        Reply
  4. Ken Roucka

    10 years ago

    “Rosenthal wonders if the Nats will consider trading Ian Desmond this summer to clear room for a different acquisition.”

    Why would I trade for a struggling SS who is a free agent at the end of the year? The Nats will have to sweeten that pot considerably. This isn’t the NBA where you trade for expiring contracts.

    Reply
    • ronnsnow

      10 years ago

      I believe the Red Sox and A’s swapped 3 players with expiring contracts last season.

      Reply
      • arc89

        10 years ago

        Those players were good players having very good years. Desmond is hitting 220. The only thing you could get back on his is a PTBNL not a good player.

        Reply
        • Ken Roucka

          10 years ago

          correct

          Reply
      • rmullig2

        10 years ago

        Cespedes had an additional year on his contract. They wouldn’t have made the deal if he was hitting free agency at the end of last season.

        Reply
  5. Bob Bunker

    10 years ago

    The comments by Stewart make me serisously question his ability to be a GM. They didn’t shop around for a better offer but just took the first one because it cleared Arroyo’s salary??? Then he goes on devalue a player, say that player is only worth a pre determined slot value, and admit they traded away a future big leauge piece for nothing.

    Reply
  6. wkkortas

    10 years ago

    Someone needs to tell Stew that Negotiations 101 tells you that you never take the first offer.

    Reply
  7. basquiat

    10 years ago

    The Nationals best IF is Rendon, 3B, Escobar, SS and Espinosa, 2B. They are solid together behind that pitching. The pieces are already in place for Desmond to move on so it makes sense for the Nationals to move him for higher priority needs.

    Reply
    • virginiascopist

      10 years ago

      Yes, at the moment Desmond is not part of the Nationals’ best infield. The question is, what value does he have in trade? Almost definitely nothing that could help them this year. The ONLY reason Rizzo would consider trading him is that if his poor performance continues, he won’t be able to extend him the qualifying offer for fear he would accept it. Therefore, it becomes a matter of, would any team give up a prospect (or more than one) that would make up for the Nats not getting the compensation pick next year? Even if an acquiring team is betting on his performance improving, they would not be permitted to give Desmond a QO anyway, so what would be their incentive for them to trade for him?

      Unless Rizzo is blown away by an offer, I think he will just keep his fingers crossed that Desmond returns to form such that he can help the Nats this year and allow them to extend the QO without worry.

      Reply
  8. Bronx Bombers

    10 years ago

    I didn’t see Desmond getting $100 million before the season started, I definitely don’t now.

    Reply

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