The Reds already made one big move today, could another be around the corner? The Mets are heavily scouting outfielder Jay Bruce, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (on Twitter). Recently, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com heard that the Reds are giving the impression that they are looking to “save money” wherever possible, and that could be an indication that Bruce is very much available.
Here’s more from the National League..
- The Blue Jays’ talks with the Reds concerning Johnny Cueto never gained traction, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (on Twitter). Davidi hears that the Reds were asking for a package headlined by Marcus Stroman. Cueto, of course, went from the Reds to the Royals on Sunday afternoon.
- “Industry perception” is that there is some pressure on the Padres to move out future payroll as the deadline approaches, Buster Olney of ESPN.com tweets. On Sunday morning, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that Tyson Ross was drawing the most interest of any of the Padres’ starting pitchers. Of course, when it comes to finances, the Padres would surely prefer to move the contract of James Shields.
- The Marlins should get a better indication what they can get for Mat Latos after learning the details of the Johnny Cueto deal, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com tweets.
I wonder if the Padres would consider packaging Shields and Ross to find a taker for the salary. Trading that package to a team like the Dodgers or Red Sox could net a fairly decent prospect return as well.
if I’m the jays i would easily give a package of Stroman, Pentecost plus a couple A ballers and maybe make them take dickey
Maybe Stroman, Norris, Hoffman, Pompey, Pentecost and Urena gets that done without the Padres taking back Dickey.
LOL. Talk about overrating your own players. Realistically, they might get ONE of Norris, Pompey, or Pentecost.
It wont happen. No team is going to give up what it would take to get two of the top 20 or 25 pitchers in the game today. Probably the top 6-7 prospects in either of those teams organization at a minimum. Seager, Urias, Holmes, Guerrero, Sweeney and Lee from Dodgers or Betts, Swihart, Owens, Devers, Cecchini, and Margot from the Red Sox would likely get that trade done. Do you think either of those teams will do that?
I think you are vastly overvaluing ross and Shields. Shields may net a couple B prospects if the Pads chip in money, but if you pair him with Ross, no cash would need to be eaten, and the return would start at some combination involving 2, maybe 3 top 100 prospects, not 5+.
Top 9-15 over past 3 years for Ross and top 23-25 for Shields depending on if you are looking at ERA, FIP or xFIP. I am right on the money with their value and what Padres have reportedly been asking for Shields.
2 top 5 prospects + is the asking price for a Chris Sale, Bryce Harper, Paul Goldschmidt type of player. I would laugh at the thought of giving that up for a couple of number 2 starters, 1 of which will be declining and severely overpaid
Did you see what the Royals just gave up for a rental of Cueto? A MLB pitcher who was the 7th overall pick and two B level prospects. Did you see what the Padres gave up for Myers? Enough said.
They gave up 3 relievers for Cueto. That’s a lot less than what you’re asking.
And notice they are still padres. Ross has never thrown 200 innings and has massive splits in career home/road. I.e 1.5 runs better at home than on the road. Shields you are paying 22 mil a year for his decline years. No surplus value with him other than maybe the first yeaf depending on how much you think 1 war costs.
Shields being overpaid is semantics.. He was only paid $10m this year when his value should have been closer to $20m when he signed that contract.. The Padres need to kick in cash in any trade to offset the backloading in his contract..
Padres can ask that for Shields all they want. They’re not gonna get it unless they eat close to half of his contract.
That’s hilarious. Come on, bud. Back away from the computer and get some fresh air. Ross and Cashner together wouldn’t get Betts, let alone Shields and his contract+age.
I’d rather just keep them both
Why would the Cueto deal have anything to do with a Latos deal? Latos is not comparable to Cueto.
Every trade affects every other potential trade.
Nope, there all independent
Oh right, I forgot.
No, they aren’t. If a team acquires the pitcher they were looking for, they are no longer in the market for another pitcher. That means the demand also decreases as the supply decreases.
Cueto is off the market leaving Latos as one of the best remaining rentals on the market.
Cueto is dealt meaning price for Latos, Leake, and others went up.
Latos Leake Kennedy are rentals, Wont cost as much as Price, and have more value with Cueto dealt.
What’s the difference between “scouting” and “heavily scouting”? The number of scouts? The collective weight of the scouts? The way in which the scouts scout?
Who you send probably- do you send a lower scout or a higher up guy in the department.
Heavily scouting means they’re paying super intense attention.
Like much of today’s statistics its weighted, with a ball park neutral buffet of burgers and dogs. Powell’s BBQ is a +, SF sushi -; in the case of Bruce one has to consider the munchy inducing air of Colorado this weekend.
Who you send and how often. Padres have sent scouting director, a VP of scouting, two regional cross checkers and an area supervisor as well as several area scouts to watch Blue Jays prospects play at 6 different games. That probably qualifies as heavily scouting.
It’s definitely a weight thing. Top scouts push 300lbs – it shows they’ve consumed sufficient ballpark food while sitting behind home plate. Some jobs require clocking up miles, others require years. Scouts? All about that cholesterol baby.
lol at walt asking for Stroman+. Gotta aim high!
I was afraid that AA would be under so much pressure he would agree to a terrible deal like that. Glad he used his logic.
It makes sense if you place a higher value on finnegan over Norris or Hoffman
I thought Toronto would outbid Kansas City for Cueto. I could have seen Norris or Hoffman in a multiplayer deal. Stroman would have surprised me, but no harm in asking for him.
Who’s next to be Traded today or Tomorrow?
Emilo bonifacio
Hes been traded like 5 times in the last 3 years or so. Wouldn’t shock me.
No way, Emilio is a build-around talent for my Sox.
The Mets decide that they are actually sellers and trade Uribe..
Astros should take a risk and go after Bruce. Or perhaps Votto in a deal centered around Singleton.
Can’t imagine another team picking up Votto’s contract. More than $200MM left on that one.
Singleton isn’t worth much. You’d have to completely take votto salary and still toss in 2-3 good prospects along with Singleton.
He’s putting up excellent minors numbers but he hasn’t shown anything in his time in the majors other than power, no contact, and strikeouts.
Vottos contract is an albatross, you don’t have to give up quality prospects if you take on 75% of it. You put him on waivers and say thank you if anyone claims him.
I think it’s a little early to call Votto’s contract an albatross. He’s on pace for like 7 WAR.
He did have that 9 times on base against the Cubs. But I think I could go 9-9 against the Cubs.
I would love to see you against Arrieta. If you made contact a single time – a single foul – I’d be amazed.
Votto is one of the few elite hitters in baseball. His contract isn’t THAT bad. Do you realize that Votto is #3 in all active players in OPS? Do you realize he’s #20 ALL-TIME in OPS? He’s sandwiched around a couple of possible/probably HOFers in Todd Helton and Jeff Bagwell. Ahead of HOFers like Mel Ott and Willie Mays.
You realize hes about to enter decline years and begin to see that number drop? Willie mays wasnt good after 35 or so but stuck around.
That’s not true at all. He was still a solid player well after that, including a ~6 WAR year at age 40.
Walt Jocketty and Jeff Luhnow reportedly aren’t particularly fond of one another. I don’t know if they’d deal with one another.
It’s a business. You deal with people you hate all the time in business. That rarely stops you from doing what needs done.
This might be a silly question, but where would Bruce play? He seems to be strictly a RF, and Granderson in CF would not be pretty. Neither of them play LF, though I suppose one of them could learn. Granderson only has 45 games in LF, Bruce has 11. Although it looks like Granderson played it a little in the minors.
Bruce can play CF and has a bit. He’s not ideal there.
B-ref says Bruce has only played 35 games at CF, back in 2008. Played it quite a bit in the minors, though.
Granderson in left, Bruce in right.
Granderson hasn’t played much left, but there’s been talk of putting him there due to his poor throwing arm. In fact, he probably would be in left if they hadn’t signed Cuddyer.
Thanks, that was sort of what I was thinking. Excellent game today, btw.
What about Conforto, then? I’d rather leave Conforto in there against Major League pitching and see what he can do, since he has taken quality at bats so far. That’s even before considering the opportunity costs required in trading for Bruce.
Should be in left even if Cuddyer is in the lineup. Cuddyer has a much better arm
And what happens to Conforto, then? It’s unclear Bruce will be better than Conforto moving forward. The probabilities say so, but Conforto has looked exceptionally comfortable against Major League pitching so far. Forget the results; he has just taken quality at bats.
Exactly. Conforto’s earned himself a starting role and Granderson’s not going anywhere. Bruce doesn’t play CF. We need a CF to complement Lagares in CF; Nieuwenhuis has done an admirable job so far but he might turn back into a pumpkin at any moment.
Industry perception? Its not industry perception, its common sense. All you have to do to come to that conclusion is look at the salaries they have on the books.
Padres have $75 million committed to 6 players in 2016. Kemp, Shields, Melvin Upton, Kimbrel, Gyorko and Amarista plus Luebke’s option buyout. Bump that to $85 million if they exercise options on Benoit($8mm) and Barmes($2mm). Ross and Cashner are due raises in arbitration so you can add another $18-20 million for those two. They are at $103-105 million right there for 10 players. Norris, Thayer and 4 others are arbitration eligible. Thats another $10+ million. Add to that the 5 free agents they will either have to replace or resign – JUpton, Kennedy, Kelley, Morrow, and Venable. Those 5 are making about $33 million in 2015. Not including Josh Johnson in this because he hasn’t and won’t pitch this year. And you still have 6 more players to round out the roster for a little over $3 million at a minimum. Add it all up and they could easily have a $130-140 million payroll when Fowler is saying it will be about the same or $108 million.
OF COURSE they need to shed some payroll. That goes without saying.
Of those that might be back next year, the most obvious to trade are Shields, Benoit, and Thayer. That is about $32 million off the payroll that can bring back valuable prospects and be invested in younger players to build for 2016 and beyond. With the largest crop of FA starting pitchers in memory, the price of some good pitchers is going to be pushed way down simply due to the size of the supply.
The Padres can trade away Shields, Benoit and Thayer as well as Kennedy, Venable, JUpton, and Norris and take on some salary for this season, while still freeing up a lot of money for next season and getting back into contention in 2016 and beyond.
No one is interested in trading for Shields unless the Padres eat a large chunk of his contract. And Preller doesn’t seem like the type who pays a player to play for someone else, seeing how he made that elaborate trade for Kimbrel and M. Upton as opposed to just cutting CQ.
Bruce isn’t the stylish choice as far as outfielders on the current market go, but he also wouldn’t necessarily carry a high prospect cost and would provide some pop in a lineup with practically none right now. Couple Bruce with d’Arnaud (hopefully) coming back healthy and productive and the additions to the roster that they’ve already made, and you could have a good enough offense to win without giving up the farm.
I hope the Mets are bluffing on Jay Bruce and are targeting Marlyn Byrd. He’s cheaper, right handed bat, proven bat, and will cost the Mets less than Bruce would. He also showed he could be successful in NY. That’s really all they need right now for a bat.
Another I was looking at is Craig Kimbrel. I know the bullpen is pretty good for the Mets, if the price was right I think getting Kimbrel would make their bullpen filthy good. If they could eat salary, could that be an option? I want to think it is
Byrd would be a good bench player or platoon for the Mets, I could see that happening. Bruce, however, i think would be a great acquisition as well considering he has another year and plays great defense. Also a change of scenery might be good for him. His offense has been known in the past to carry the team…
I’d love Kimbrel. He, Familia, and Clippard would be tremendous.
The Padres don’t “have” to trade payroll but for the right deal they will.
Unless they could get someone to take Melvin Upton and his deal,of course…..which won’t happen.
Otherwise…..if they trade Shields or Kimbrel it will be so they can spend that money in the off season.Ownership is not demanding Preller to lower payroll so they can save money…..it’s only to get better again next year.Payroll will stay in the $100-$115 mil range.
Sorry, no one is interested in Shields.
Shouldn’t the Mets target a RH Center Fielder? Lagares has been hurt all year and Kirk’s hot streak won’t last all week.