The sense among the industry is that the Athletics are now “open for business,” tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. The A’s, Olney notes, have pieces that figure to draw widespread interest, including free-agents-to-be Scott Kazmir and Ben Zobrist. I’d add that Tyler Clippard is another impending free agent, and right-hander Jesse Chavez is a relatively short-term asset that’s broken out over the past 18 months as well. (Chavez is controlled through 2016.) Josh Reddick has drawn inquiry from the division-rival Angels, although reports at the time indicated that Oakland had no interest in moving its right fielder.
We’re nine days from the trade deadline, so trade action should escalate rapidly in the coming week. Here’s more from around the league…
- FOX’s Ken Rosenthal wrote last night that the Rangers aren’t motivated to trade Mitch Moreland, and ESPN’s Jayson Stark hears the same thing (Twitter link). According to Stark, the only player that the Rangers are strongly marketing is right-hander Yovani Gallardo — another player who is eligible for free agency at season’s end. Gallardo is having a nice rebound season in his first year with Texas, and Moreland’s strong season has gone somewhat unheralded; the 29-year-old is batting .287/.333/.529 with 16 homers. He’s still struggling against lefties, though a bit less so than in previous years.
- Via MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (Twitter link), Reds general manager Walt Jocketty has spoken with a number of clubs about trades but has yet to receive what the Cincinnati front office considers to be a compelling offer. Said the veteran GM: “We’ve been talking with a lot of different people but we haven’t been receiving offers that have us wanting to commit.”
- Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Blue Jays and Padres have had recent discussions about pitchers — both relievers and starters. San Diego starters Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, James Shields and Ian Kennedy have all seen their names surface on the rumor mill of late, though it would seem that Shields, at least, is too expensive for Toronto from a financial standpoint. Joaquin Benoit stands out, to me, as the most obvious trade candidate for the Padres in the bullpen.
- Though the Mets are in need of outfield help, a source tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com (Twitter link) that the Red Sox’ Shane Victorino is of no interest to them. That’s not exactly shocking to hear, given Victorino’s $13MM salary and meager .247/.333/.306 batting line in 2015.
Jocketty is an embarrassment. “Commit” to what, exactly? Stop acting like you have leverage at the deadline. Literally everyone knows you need to sell. You have no leverage. You are fooling nobody.
He’s got cueto and chapman, everyone wants them
Everyone also knows he needs to trade Cueto and Leake. No way around it. So he needs to stop this “nobody is making us good offers” stuff and get to making deals. Even a below market return for Cueto (which, with the SP market expanding and him being really risky now injury wise is probably what they’ll have to settle for) is better than just a draft pick.
Cueto and Leake aren’t the only appealing rental players in all of MLB, and none of those others have been moved either. Clearly Jocketty isn’t alone in being unimpressed by current offers, and preferring to wait closer to the deadline.
A below market return for Cueto is clearly less than Jocketty expects he’ll get. He’s the one who’s been talking to other teams, and probably has the best idea of what’s going on. All Reds fans know that he’s quiet and secretive, and when he makes deals they usually come with zero advanced warning.
Cueto and Leake should get the Reds three or four good prospects, but I don’t see them competing with the Cards, Pirates, and Cubs going forward.
They have Cueto for about another 80+/- days. Not much leverage there.
A sign of a good negotiator is saying “Is that your first offer? I’ll take it!” Jocketty is indeed an embarrassment, apparently something in his years as a GM has convinced him that by negotiating one can sometimes get a better offer. He’s a fool for pursuing the best deal for his team…
He’s had weeks to make a deal. There is absolutely no reason he should still be in the “first offer” stage. That’s ridiculous. Waiting for the giant return that isn’t there has been Ruben Amaro’s downfall the last couple of years. Hopefully Walt doesn’t go down the same path. He should try to get the best offer, sure, but if that best offer is less than he expects because of the situation, then it’s still better than just getting a sandwich pick.
There are several teams that still haven’t decided if they are buying or selling. No harm in waiting for the market to develop. It just might provide a more competitive offer. There is no pressure to keep up with the “Jones’s” when the “Jones’s” haven’t acquired anyone, either.
Actually, yeah, when the market develops from more of a seller’s market to more of a buyer’s market (lots of good SPs are now on the market that weren’t last month, lowering demand for Cueto), that’s not good. And yes, waiting increases the risk of him getting hurt.
So, how do you know when you get that best offer? How do you know when to say “I’m not going to get a better offer than this, it’s time to pull the trigger”
You’re complaining without any knowledge of the offers that have been received and not knowing what Jocketty does get in return. Seems you’re complaining to complain.
Maybe you ask a GM with 20 years of experience in that job at what point you’ll get the best offer? Oh wait, that’s about how long Jocketty has been a GM… and clearly he lacks other peoples understanding of the situation.
You’re right, he’s had to make few rebuilding trades as a Reds GM, before the recent DeSclafani and Suarez deals, mostly contending with players he inherited or drafted. As a result he has next to no record to cite about how qualified he is to conduct a rebuilding, but a lack of a record is different than a record of failure. He’s been on the other side of these discussions many times. Far more than you.
How you feel like you know more about how the trade deadline actually functions than somebody who’s been doing it professional for so long is beyond me. Whether or not he knows when is the best time to trade players is irrelevant to whether or not his entire tenure is a ‘roaring success’. Sorry to get on your bad side, haters are going to hate.
I’m willing to wait and see the results of the trades, rather than condemn him for his failure beforehand, with absolutely no idea of the return.
Joketty was doing business from Florida recently, I don’t think he uses a cell phone!
That was quite scandalous news in Cincinnati. Clearly work is only possible in the office, and the organization’s scouts should be sitting in a Cincinnati conference room rather than out scouting. I immediately used FaceTime to argue with someone across the country about how Jocketty can’t be expected to communicate with someone who isn’t in the same room.
He has several teams that are buyers. Of course he has leverage.
Preller is now shopping the very same pitching depth he refused to move in the offseason.
He tried to win, it’s his first year and now he’s recouping the pieces he lost
Once you drive it off the lot, the price comes down a lot.
True, but he’s only got 9 days left on the warranty
all of a sudden there’s a ton of pitching available
More will come available.
Stark says Dodgers or Cubs most likely to,get Papelbom.
Rob Maniferd wants to move back Trading Deadline. Maybe to End of Season.
Don’t move the deadline.. the whole ‘2 month rental’ thing makes it more interesting.
In OTTP I have it at end of season.
Might as well give Daniel Norris another try. An AL team trading for a Padres pitcher is the ultimate buyer’s beware and guys like Ross and Cashner are probably going to cost a lot.
Dodgers should target Kazmir IMO
Once again Beane has three good trade chips to deal in Kazmir, Clippard, and Zobrist.
I’m always mystified why the Jays can’t spend more cash. Winning a series this fall will make them the toast of Toronto for a few weeks until the Maple Leafs season gets rolling.