For his latest notes column, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke with Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart about the possibility of trading Mark Trumbo this summer — a notion which Stewart seems to strongly oppose. “We know there’s interest in Trumbo,” said Stewart. “…With all of our players, if you overwhelm me with something, I’ve got to listen. I guess most people would say the trade deadline is where we’ll find the best value. But at this moment, Mark Trumbo is my guy. He gives us something in our lineup that none of our other guys do other than Goldschmidt – a guy who can hit the ball out of the ballpark.” However, as Rosenthal points out, Trumbo is controllable only for one season beyond the 2015 campaign and will be bringing big power numbers to his final arbitration case just one year after landing a $6.9MM salary. Trumbo, hitting .273/.314/.533 with nine homers, will undoubtedly be expensive. And, the team has Jake Lamb nearing a return from the DL, and his return to third base would push Yasmany Tomas to the outfield. A trade does seem like something that the D-Backs will have to consider, though they could always move a different piece or option Tomas back to Triple-A. He’s hitting well, however, despite a lack of home runs.
A few more highlights from Rosenthal’s latest work…
- Randal Grichuk’s importance to the Cardinals is only growing, Rosenthal writes. While he’s the type of bat that could find himself mentioned in trade rumors as the team looks to upgrade potential areas of need, Rosenthal wonders if the team can afford to part with Grichuk. The aging Matt Holliday is under control through 2017, but Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos are free agents after 2016, and Stephen Piscotty isn’t hitting as well as they’d hoped in the minors. Jason Heyward will be a free agent at season’s end and hasn’t hit at the level the Cards had hoped when they acquired him.
- Rosenthal also spoke with Royals GM Dayton Moore about the team’s decision to sign Kendrys Morales to a two-year deal this winter. As he notes, many were surprised to see Morales land a $17MM commitment after a terrible 2014 season — you can include yours truly among those who did a double-take upon seeing the contract details — but Moore and his staff saw plenty to like in Morales. “Makeup, character, his desire to play, his professionalism, the way he competes in the batter’s box,” said Moore upon being asked what drew the Royals to Morales. Special assistants Luis Medina and Jim Fregosi Jr. were both high on Morales as well. Each felt that he still had good bat speed but faced a difficult challenge in jumping back into the Majors last June after a long layoff at a time when pitchers were peaking.
- Marlins first baseman Justin Bour looks at this point to be one of the better bargains in the history of the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, writes Rosenthal. As he notes, Baseball America has written that “almost no future big leaguers” come from the minor league portion of the Rule 5, which is used to fill out teams’ minor league affiliates more than anything else. Selecting Bour cost the Marlins $12K, but GM Michael Hill said the whole organization was high on him. “He played against us in the Southern League, so our staff liked him — as did our scouts that covered the league,” said Hill. Miami liked his peripherals and Double-A production.
- Athletics second baseman Ben Zobrist “might be the player most certain to be traded before July 31,” writes Rosenthal. Zobrist was recently tied to the Cubs, and while the team lacks an obvious everyday spot on its roster, the connection to manager Joe Maddon and the front office’s love of Zobrist may very well outweigh a perceived lack of everyday at-bats. I’d imagine Zobrist could get some time in left field and play all around the infield in an effort to get him five or six starts a week. Injuries may also pop up between now and the deadline.
- In a second article, Rosenthal looks at the upcoming class of free agent pitchers and notes that it might not be as great as many had expected. Doug Fister is on the DL and was below-average when healthy. Mat Latos has been injured and ineffective this season, and there have been recent injury concerns for both Johnny Cueto and Scott Kazmir. Rosenthal wonders how much more likely all of this makes Zack Greinke to opt out of his contract with the Dodgers, though I personally don’t think there was ever a great likelihood that a healthy Greinke would’ve gone any other route than opting out. Even at age 32, he can top the remaining three years and $71MM handily, even if it comes with a lesser average annual value.
If I’ll say one thing, I’ll say this:
Epstein has been great for the Cubs but his FO’s major fault was undervaluing the prospects he inherited from the old regime. Flaherty, LeMahieu, and now Bour are just a few of them.
cant win them all
I liked Bour when I saw him in AA two years ago. Live and powerful bat. But he had no role in the Cubs’ future, with Rizzo at near-MVP level and Vogelbach coming up to back up or supplement the roster.
The other two aren’t missed at all. Good for LeMahieu, he has done relatively well. Flaherty has no stick. But the Cubs are loaded with middle IF talent.
And in balancing the TheoJed tally sheet, don’t forget the all beloved-by-fans castoffs that didn’t work out, e.g., Tony Campana, Tyler Colvin and Geo Soto.
Flaherty career OPS .662
LeMahieu career OPS .694
Bour career OPS .882 in just 68 games – very early to call him a success
None of these guys are first tier playoff contender starters either. They play for clubs struggling to reach .500. Lastly, you’re telling me you’d take these guys over Castro, Baez, Addison Russell, Rizzo, Vogelbach? Theres only so many spots on the 40 man, I haven’t seen anything leave that left me wondering what could have been
would love for the pirates to trade for trumbo to platoon with pedro at first
He can only play at 1st Base, absolutely terrible in outfield.
I am a Diamondbacks fan…I watch them play all the time…Trumbo has done a great job in the outfield…I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Trumbo has played well in RF this season. He doesn’t have greatest range on deep balls heading to the corner/gap, but he has made most of the plays he should & some that no one expects him to.
The Pirates are going to give up players, pay his salary, and then play him the 30% or so of the time they face a LH pitcher?
The money is that* much of an issue right now. And hed be the full time 1B IF they find an AL team to deal Pedro to.
*i know i know, the money is always an issue for the pirates :p
Hope the Mets trade for Zobrist.
Montero, Mejia and Milton Ramos or a pitcher the likes of Ynoa/Fulmer/Bowman.
Too much. Montero is currently injured too (?). Montero can be a servicable #3/#4 young arm, so trading him for 4-5 mon rental is a steep price to pay.
Summer trades are all about supply + demand and leverage most of all.
almost always its going to be an overpay.
I believe Montero and Dominic Smith is around fair value.
It sure makes more sense then the Cubs acquiring him. I see a place for him to play on the Mets. For the Cubs to trade prospects for a “luxury” on the bench, would show a lack of direction on the teams part. They have young players that need playing time to develop. Zobrist would be wasted as a part timer, and would take that playing time away. If they wish to move prospects in a trade, they should get something they need, not just trade for someone because they like him a lot.
Cubs absolutely need a switch-hitting super utility guy who over the last four years has a combined WARP of almost 17. For both reasons you mentioned. He’d play LF primarily and would be able to spell Russell, Bryant, and Soler every once in a while—none of those guys have ever been through 162 games—let alone 162 games and a September playoff race + perhaps playoff games–He’ll help w teaching the young guys a consistent approach, spelling the young guys when needed and immediately provide value to BOTH starting lineup and bench….cost can’t be too high(and it won’t for a 34 year old who is a free agent at years end) but if you can get him for a Corey Black and Candelarrio(which should be able to do it) it’s a no-brainer..
Also, to say ANYTHING would show a lack of direction by Front office is crazy—this front office has shown nothing BUT a supreme sense of direction in spite of what crazy fanboys have said for 3 yrs now..
It is because they have had a clear direction that Zobrist would not be a fit, no matter how much they like him. Its not that the Cubs can’t make a fair offer. It will take MORE than a fair offer, because they will not be trying to acquire Zobrist in a vacuum. They will have to outbid the competition, and because of Zobrist’s versatility, there will be a LOT of competition. They have enough in-house prospects to share the AB’s of a 162 game season. They don’t need to go outside to get that.
Realistically, do you think Alderson will make a significant trade? He seems to not want to give up any significant value. Maybe I’m forgetting a past trade.
They may not have been eye popping significant but we traded for two much needed relievers prior to the season opening in Blevins who was doing great prior to getting hurt and Alex Torres who has been pretty decent out of the pen.
With David Wright’s health in issue, Zobrist would fit in well and could possibly get a lot of playing time here
This whole sitting Trumbo every 3-4 days is terrible. If you don’t have a space for him, then trade to one of the many teams that are interested. You have 2 third basemen, Goldy and 4 outfielders, yet you want to hang onto him.
The problem the DBacks have is that their dumb front office has got too many players that should be starting.
not only that, he’s playing out of position in the OF
which forces Tomas to play out of position at 3B
which also keeps Lamb in AAA or as a part-timer when he returns.
Its a vicious cycle.
yup, stupid GMs…I was very puzzled by some of the off season movements where they seemed not to pay attention at all to roster building.
It is just mind boggling.
Trading Trumbo, Lamb to 3B, Tomas to OF seems like the most logical move now and for the future. Yet they are so damn opposed to it.
seems like posturing to me. they could sell high on trumbo, call up o’brien and never miss a beat.
I wonder if the Yankees could get Arizona involved in a 3-team trade with the Phillies…..Yankees get Hamels,Owings…D-backs get Severino,Warren,Jagielo,Murphy…Phillies get Tomas,Delgado,Blair…
So Hamels nets Tomas (a guy the Phillies could have had for a couple million more dollars if they really wanted him in the offseason), Delgado, and Blair?
They liked Tomas the most during the off-season….Why not…they need his bat most…he would do wonderful things in that launching pad citizens bank….
Why not? Because if they really loved him THAT much, they would have made the 100M offer that people thought they would.
Apparently you don’t remember general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. had to “clear salary” before making a substantial commitment to Tomas and “his hands were tied”.
and after that comment, he traded Rollins, Byrd and Bastardo, clearing a good 16M in salary.
Again…if the Phils really wanted Tomas, they could have spent a couple million more for him during the off-season.
A 3-team trade is an interesting idea in this case, but the pieces moving wouldn’t be enough to get it done, namely from the Phillies perspective, they’d need more of a headliner than Tomas
The only other piece I could think of going to the Phillies would be Judge….but nobody wants to see him trade,as if he’s a future hall of famer…..I would send him to Philly to get Hamels anytime……
Nobody said Judge is a future hall of famer, all that’s been said is he’s really promising. But why give up the only 2 top 100 prospects you have to get a piece that 1)isn’t your greatest need 2)you could fill the need they have with a lesser haul(and with a lesser player for that matter). If NY makes an acquisition near the DL, it’s going to be because they feel they can win this year, and a rental would help them do just that. Who cares how expensive pitching is going to be this offseason? That really isn’t as relevant to NY as it is to most teams, if they want a player bad enough they’ll pay up(though I think they stay away from the $200M guys). Like I said, at some point, NY has to start holding onto some of it’s young talent or they’re going to be stuck having to spend money to win.
Amaro will have to make a move on Hamels by the deadline, he needs to one good mlb ready player and 2 prospects for him.
We all know the Diamondbacks and Yankees strictly only ever do 3-team deals with the Tigers.
I dont like that for the Dbacks side… giving up a lot for young guys who havent proven anything. Plus giving up young guys in blair and owings… no thanks.
Why would the Dbacks even get involved in this?
I won’t even start on Owings being in the trade.
Severino/Blair is pretty much a wash & with Tomas proving he can hit MLB pitching, trading him for Jagielo would seem to be a down grade. The remaining pieces are just filler.
Again, why would the Dbacks get involved?
This Cardinals love is getting RIDICULOUS. Grichuk has never hit even replacement level at any level of the minor leagues and his defense while good had never been Borjous’ian previously. To assume that he carries the value that is being implied is a huge overstatment. This seems to happen a ton with Cardinal. Red Sox and Yankees prospects.
I don’t know what you’re talking about being a below replacement level hitter in the minors. But he’s never been a below league – average hitter(using WRC+) except for 2011. That’s not replacement level, that’s league average.
Besides that, no one’s saying he’s a super star. He’s always had fascinating power, just bad pitch recognition. He could be a solid OF on team that could soon be in need of a solid OF.
“He could be a solid OF on team that could soon be in need of a solid OF.” – like the 2016 St Louis Cardinals.
Exactly what Rosenthal was saying.
Cards are the top organization in baseball, loosing Wainwright, Traveras, and the rest they haven’t missed a beat.
so they won the World Series last year? Cool. I thought the Giants snuck out with it in game 7 against the Royals. Guess that was the Cards that won it….ha
Im not sure what the Cardinals were expecting when they acquired Heyward. Heyward had a terrible April but his May stats (.284/.340/.443) were right in line with his career averages.
He’s been better, still not what you would hope for out of a guy with his potential and raw power. But he’s a solid RF and perhaps this is what they should have expected.
His D is trending down this year though. I can live with lower offense if he gets the glove right.
For his career he has been a terrible hitter in April, it’s not a new phenomenon. In fact, his numbers this year are identical to last years but with a little more power.
D-backs need to pick a direction and go with it. If you lay all that cash out for Tomas, don’t you dare stuff him in the minors. He can clearly hit, and the power will come with a few tweaks and some game time under his belt. Play him at third, or stick him in the OF, who cares? Just play him, everyday. As Andy Dufreschne said: Get busy livin’, or get busy dyin’.
I just feel bad for A.J. Pollock. This guy is the teams best hitter besides Goldschmidt and still finds himself in some weird rotation. The guy is a very good CF.
I don’t know why you are feeling bad for Pollock, he is on pace for well over 500 ABs & only sits once a week. And when he does sit, he usually is the first PH of the bench or eventually gets in the game late.
Peralta is the guy getting the shaft in 4-man weave.
Because no other team in baseball is going to limit their 2nd best player to 500 AB’s? That’s about 150 less than he should have.
How long can Colon keep throwing up #3 starter numbers also? The guy is 42, will be a FA and yesterday vs the Fish, was still clicking 93mph on some of his FB and his same old tricky/devious with everything else.
Would a Mark Trumbo for Vance Worley deal work? Worley hasn’t really ever been bad except with the Twins, and the DBacks have little pitching.
Worley wouldnt be much better than what we have already. Plus i believe we already have guys that could put up similar numbers as worley in the minors
“Makeup, character, his desire to play, his professionalism, the way he competes in the batter’s box” Really? Gimme a break. Those are not reasons to pay that type of money to a player coming off the season he just had. The only way he was competing in the batter’s box was by fighting himself. What I would like to be told is who was offering any contract that required outbidding. Until then, the Royals just got lucky with Morales. It will always remain that they could have gotten lucky with him for less.
I’d like to see the Cubs get Zobrist and Clippard at the deadline, add another starter and the Cubs make the playoffs. Beane will be looking to get some prospects for them and the Cubs have them.
I don’t think Billy Beane is going to be willing enough to trade Zobrist and Clippard … unless there’s something on the table equivalent to the two compensation draft picks he’d get once his ‘competing bids’ are outpriced.
If all these top pitchers keep going on the DL there may be trades at the deadline for players of need like a swap of 2 young controllable players.
The A’s are only 8.5 games out of a playoff spot – no way do they make any trades unless its to add relievers.
8.5 games is a lot, especially since you have to leapfrog every other American league team. The season is still young but their chances are not looking good.