Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has been vocal about his desire to strengthen both his starting rotation and his bullpen prior to the trade deadline, and in a television appearance on Sportsnet’s Tim & Sid show, he expressed an openness to dealing from his big league roster to do so. Via Sportsnet’s Jeff Simmons, Anthopoulos said that while he’s reluctant to do so, it’s already been discussed with other teams:
“We’re looking to add and it’s hard to take away from the big-league club. I was on the phone with one team (prior to coming on the show) and I mentioned that we may need to be creative. As much as we don’t want to take away from the current 25, we bounced around some ideas and concepts. That’s not the path we want to go down but if we can’t seem to get what we want from a prospect standpoint we’ll need to open it up and be creative, similar to what Oakland and the Red Sox did last year with Jon Lester and (Yoenis) Cespedes. We’re open to doing something like that as well.”
On July 31 last season, the A’s acquired free-agents-to-be Lester and Jonny Gomes from the Red Sox in exchange for Cespedes and a Competitive Balance draft pick. That trade stunned many at the time, given the fact that Cespedes was a significant cog in the contending Athletics’ lineup, but it was certainly not the only trade in which a contending club traded away a notable big leaguer. The Tigers parted with both Austin Jackson and Drew Smyly in a three-team trade with the Mariners and Rays in order to acquire the services of David Price.
Such trades could be more commonplace in 2015, given the parity that exists throughout the game and particularly in the American League. However, when looking at the Blue Jays’ roster, they don’t necessarily have a player with one-and-a-half years of service time remaining (the amount of service that both Cespedes and Jackson had) that fits the exact mold of those two 2014 trades. While both Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion have only a 2016 club option remaining on their deals, each also has 10-and-5 rights, meaning that both Bautista and Encarnacion must personally approve a trade to another team.
Dioner Navarro stands out to me as a name that could be moved to a team in need of a catching upgrade. Toronto could either replace him at DH internally or find a DH replacement via trade, as that would be easier to come by than a significant pitching upgrade. Productive part-timers like Danny Valencia, Chris Colabello and Justin Smoak could hold appeal to other clubs as well, though none of the aforementioned names would bring a significant return on his own.
One name that could draw some interest might be Kevin Pillar. The Jays do have an in-house candidate to replace him in center field in the form of Dalton Pompey, who was demoted earlier this year but has slashed .357/.416/.571 in his past 26 Double-A  contests. Pillar, though, is controllable through 2020, and he may be changing the perception that he’s a fourth outfielder. His five-plus years of control and elite glove might make him an unlikely candidate to go, but it’s easy to envision teams inquiring.
All of that, of course, is all highly speculative as opposed to anything that Anthopoulos has indicated through his comments. The Blue Jays also have a nice stable of near-MLB-ready talent to deal from in Pompey, Daniel Norris and Miguel Castro, to say nothing of high-upside prospects that are further down the line such as Jeff Hoffman and Max Pentecost.
For the time being, Anthpoulos said that he’s not close on any deals, but he’s “starting to talk a little bit more” with other clubs, calling the All-Star break “the earliest to get something done.” The Toronto GM also expressed a willingness to act quickly, stating: “In season though, timing is huge. Within two or three days or a week, someone’s value can skyrocket so if you have a chance to close (on a deal), you better do it fast.”
What could Toronto trade from the MLB roster? Most of the players with value are necessary for a stretch run, AA needs to deal prospects if he wants an ace or bullpen piece
It doesn’t make much sense to me either.
There are some definite pieces that make sense to me, particularly Pillar if they want to sell high there. I could also envision Hutchison being included in a trade for a substantial rotation upgrade (i.e. Hamels).
Most guys on an MLB roster don’t stand out as trade candidates and are surprising moves. I don’t think anyone considered Cespedes, Jackson or Smyly readily available trade chips a year ago, for instance.
Anthopoulos also wouldn’t have to trade *only* MLB talent for an upgrade. An MLB talent could be paired with a prospect(s) to create a package. It’s all speculation, but I think a stated willingness to move big league pieces from a contending roster is noteworthy, even if there is admittedly a lack of obvious candidates.
Completely agree, and as a Phillies fan I have said from the beginning of the trade rumors regarding Hamels that I would not even start a discussion unless the primary piece is an MLB proven, relatively young controllable player. I am not talking a superstar, just a decent player with more than a cup of coffee in MLB. My philosophy is this…. With as many prospects that fail to make any kind of impact you can take the chance on them. If you have a prospect who you consider to be the heir apparent to your fairly productive left fielder, then give me your current leftfielder and you take the risk.
As a baseball fan, when Hamels became available I hoped that the Phillies wouldn’t look at the Cliff Lee trade to Seattle and hold out for so many prospects that one of them has to hit..
yep…and I looked at the Price/Smyly trade as a rough blueprint. I still think if a trade does go down it will involve 3 teams at least.
Price is worth more than Hamels though
No he is not. Hamels’ control gives him much more value than Price.
2010-2014 Are you sure?
ERA WHIP BAA WAR IP
Cole 3.00, 1.119, .234, 27.8, 1064
Price 3.08, 1.120, .234, 21.9, 1079
Head to head, debatable. But Hamels contract provides more value.
And as a Phillies fan, I feel the exact opposite TBH. That line of thinking that you needed current mlb players even if they are only decent is what got Omar Daal and Travis Lee as key pieces for Curt Schilling. Swing for the fences because ultimately a replacement levelish mlb player with cost control does nothing for me.
I never said replacement level….I did say proven. I did say “I am not talking super-star” (because those trades rarely happen) I did mention Price/Smyly as a rough blueprint so I am not sure where you came up with Daal and Lee. Neither one was ever decent or proven talent. All prospects are suspect. Give me proven talent to start then add prospects when dealing a TOR.
If you think that Hamels is worth young, proven controllable MLB talent as well as good prospects without the Phils adding money, then you are drastically overestimating his value.
And I’ll ask you the same question as estaban….how much $$ exchanged hands in the 1.5 years of Price trade?
Well then, MLB proven talent means the Phillies are throwing how much money to the receiving team? Let’s be honest here. If you want proven MLB talent, that money transfer will be substantial. This isn’t fantasy baseball and many fans overvalue their home team players.
Also, each trade deadline year is not like another. Maybe 2015 will be an extreme sellers market, maybe not.
Let’s be honest here, how much money did the Tigers throw getting Price for a year and a half?
Stop it! Price was arbitration eligible. With his 2019 option, Hamels will be owed $100 million. You are comparing apples to Cadillacs.
Prior to EE’s 10 and 5 rights kicking in, I was sure he would be moved out for the prospects needed to land a legitimate ace. Even in a down year, he would have netted a strong enough return and the offense would have kept on ticking. Obviously they would have lost a big piece in the offense, but they are scoring runs so often that they could have afforded to lose him to shore up the pitching. Alas, this will definitely not happen now as it seems EE wants to be a Blue Jay for life and likely wouldn’t approve a trade anymore anyways.
I think it’s fair to consider whether Edwin is truly needed, given that: i) Keeping both Edwin and Bautista beyond their options years is probably prohibitive in terms of roster flexibility and cost; ii) I think the Jays are less likely to extend him beyond his option year than they are Bautista (who is likely the safer bet from a health/aging standpoint, despite being older, and is an important piece of the team’s marketability, which is silly but remains a genuine concern of the corporate owner); iii) The Jays’ roster configuration is currently heavy on players with limitations re: platoon splits or defensive capability, and it would be helpful to reconcile it a bit.
Edwin has been under-the-radar very good when healthy this year, but he’s the only tradeable piece that might fetch the Jays something of significance. There isn’t much excess demand for defensively-limited 1Bs in the market, but I suppose it’s possible to get back an arm for him, perhaps by adding a third team to a trade.
Platoons of Valencia/Saunders and Colabello/Smoak at LF and 1B respectively are probably good enough to get by in an lineup as good as the Jays’, assuming we ever see poor Michael Saunders again and Colabello’s imminent BABIP regression is less painful than I imagine it to be, and DH is an easier hole to plug internally or via a minor move than starting pitcher.
Ultimately though, given how hard it will be to find a match in a challenge trade, I think the Jays’ best bet is to deal for second-tier rentals from their prospect depth, make a modest run at the playoffs this year and go full-bore next year when prospects are closer to being ready and payroll becomes available again with Buehrle, Dickey, Romero, Izturis, etc. off the books.
100% agree. Although, if Buehrle puts off retirement, I would love to see him back as a back end starter to mentor the young guys. If he does retire, I hope the Blue Jays snap him us a coach, because the young pitchers have gained a lot from him – namely Stroman.
Buherle isn’t coming back to TOR, he’s been pretty vocal about being closer to his family, he’ll be in either St. Louis or Chicago next year and probably take a huge discount to go back
Valencia makes sense for the Mets, maybe for Parnell plus a piece? Smoak could appeal to the to the Cardinals if they deem Lind to be too expensive for a division rival
Dioner Navarro plus a few prospects for Jon Niese makes too much sense for both teams.
Only if you think TdA won’t be back.
d’Arnaud is injury prone, just look at his history. It’d be wise acquiring any solid catching depth while opening up payroll space to acquire someone else. Niese is luxury not a necessity at this point, the Mets already have serviceable starters waiting to be called up or slotted in as that #5.
Why are the Mets trading for a Catcher? I know they are aching to move Niese and if they can get full value out of a deal, would probably take just about anything that is NOT a pitcher, but they already have TDA and Plawecki. I’m not saying a deal doesn’t go down if it’s offered, I just don’t see it being a perfect fit for the Mets.
Perfect for the Mets would be Niese and Plawecki for a stud SS who is blocked, but ready right now.
I’m not saying the wouldn’t necessarily DO the deal, I just wouldn’t call it ‘perfect.’
“Aching” seems like the right adjective to use in a paragraph about Niese … But sadly, not gonna happen except in exchange for a non-impact prospect or utility dude.
Even a “stud SS who is blocked” isn’t gonna do it. Prospects don’t usually hit that much right away. They need a major league professional hitter who happens to be an infielder (unless they’re bold enough do dump Cuddyer or Granderson, which I very much doubt). I think Tulo’s finally available now. Rockies now have two good SS in AAA and one of them is clearly gonna move up. The major league team is dead in the water. I think the time is now and the Rockies will pay some of the freight. Do it now!
Seems pretty straight-forward for them to resolve their bullpen issue…. just need to ask the Phils for ~ $6 million to come with Papelbon. Doesn’t seem like they should have trouble putting together a package to make it happen.
I hope the Jays do something to push them over the edge and make the playoffs. I still think the best path for them is the send a package to Cincinnati to get both Cueto and Chapman. They are also one of the few teams that could probably pry Gray away from the A’s too.
Either way, they will be interesting to watch at the deadline.
I agree, I want the cueto chapman package. Might as well be agressive like the A’s last year and give up the farm to compete now. No way A’s trade Gray though
As a Braves fan, I would hope ATL would be interested in Pillar. He’s an intriguing player with some pop, hits better on grass, very good w/ RISP, and plays a great CF. I would have thought he’d be a better hitter a hitter-friendly Rogers Centre, but he’s not, which actually makes him more interesting. If ATL is shopping some of their short-term difference makers (i.e. Grilli, Maybin, pitching, etc.), Pillar would be a really exciting option who is MLB-ready (obviously), controllable through 2020 and could provide the system with more long term OF depth (which is what we’ve lacked for years…).
I don’t think they move Pillar for Grilli though, unless they are willing to flip Miller into a bigger package.
I don’t see ATL/TOR lining up b/c I know Grilli/Pillar is out of the question, but the involvement of Miller is baffling. Why in the world would ATL trade him?
The guy is hitting about .280 on the season. That is pretty good considering the projections on him. If the Blue Jays gave up on him, it would have to be as a bigger package. I just don’t see them moving him, especially not this year. I say this because when Joey Bats was injured and not able play the outfield, and Pompey already sent down to the minors, the group of backups playing the outfield looked lost. I just do not think that they have the outfield depth this season to play a strong enough defense if one of the regulars gets traded.
Not really a chance they move Pillar or Pompey at this point unless the return is a top 2 pitcher. Even then, it would be a tough pill to swallow. Center fielders like these 2 are hard to come by. Great defence, good offense, speed etc.
You defiantly trade Pompey, but I don’t think a team will view him as a centerpiece to any deal for a significant piece, you probably package him with a Norris or Hoffman and add in others. AA’s gotta do it though.
Pillar for Grilli makes no sense for Toronto. Jays are lacking outfield depth, and they wouldn’t want to trade probably our best defensive outfielder for a reliever. Unless we also get an MLB outfielder back in a larger trade.
Sounds like Anthopoulous learned a lesson last year and, as a result, is intent on being aggressive prior to the trade deadline. Good choice. Not sure which player on the Jays roster best fits the Cespedes comparison, but the idea hints at Edwin. Could be similar to the Sox trading Nomar in 2004, in terms of the bold nature of such a move, if they do, in fact, have designs on trading Encarnacion.
Before anyone asks AA top trade for Hamels, a history lesson is needed to show how he pitches against the AL and it is from 2012 – 2015. Hamels is an NL pitcher and isn’t worth the prospects it would cost to have him in the AL.
2012 – 18 -5-12 – Boston – 7 inns, 6 hits, 3 runs – 2 hrs.
2012 – 13- 6 -12 – Min. – 6 inns, 8 hits, 7 runs – 2 hrs.
2012 – 24 -6 -12 – TB – 7 inns, 3 hits, 0 runs – 0 hrs
2013 – 7-4-13 – K.C – 5.2 inns, 9 hits – 8 runs – 1 hr
2013 – 15-5-13 -Cle – 5 inns, 6 hits – 5 runs – 2 hrs
2013 – 11-6-13 – Min – 6 inns, 7 hits – 2 runs – 0 hrs
2013 – 14 – 7-13 – CWS – 8 inns, 8 hits – 2 runs – 1 hr
2013 – 26-7-13- Bos – 7 inns, 6 hits, 2 runs – 0 hrs
2014 – 6-5-14 – Tor – 6 inns, 10 hits, 6 runs – 2 hrs
2015 – 6-4-14 – Bos – 5 inns, 5 hits, 5 runs – 4 hrs
2015 – 24-6-15 – NYY – 5 inns, 8 hits, 8 runs – 0 hrs
As you can see, Hamels has started eleven games against the American league in the past four years. He pitched 65.2 innings, gave up 78 hits, 48 runs, and 14 home runs in that time.
Would fans trade anything of importance for a pitcher with a line of:
65.2 – 78 – 48 – 14 hrs with an ERA near 79.999 against the AL. The facts say no and Hamels succeeds in the NL, which makes LA a logical destination.
I could see the Brewers looking at their recent surge and re-thinking settling for prospects in dealing a K-Rod for instance. This will make some Brewer followers cringe, but Melvin might be working to position them to make a run in 2016. They do still control most of what’s turning back into a formidable lineup. Danny Valencia would be a decent replacement for the departing Aramis Ramirez, at least in the short term. Valencia and a decent pitching prospect might be a return that would interest Brewers.
I don’t think you can classify Dioner Navarro as a DH. He’s a catcher who gets some at bats at DH to keep his bat fresh. The Jays are far more comfortable with Edwin getting the bulk of the DH duties, with Smoak and Colabello playing first.