This represents the second iteration of MLBTR’s top 10 trade candidate series. We’ve already seen a name fly off the shelf, as last week’s fifth-ranked trade candidate — James Shields — was flipped from the Padres to the White Sox.
Remember, we’re not just ranking players by skill alone; we’re looking at overall asset value and trade likelihood. To assess trade value, we’re starting with overall on-field value — with a premium on an ability to make an impact in the current season — and then adjusting for contract and market factors. With contenders’ needs in relatively sharp focus, limitations such as future contract status, age, and niche role (platoon bats, relief-only pitchers) tend to have less of a drag on value — though obviously they still matter quite a bit. With regard to the likelihood of a swap, the focus is on potential selling teams’ motivation to deal, with contract status, near and long-term roster fit, and overall competitiveness all weighing heavily. Some teams simply aren’t in a position at present where it makes sense to include their top potential trade chips, but that will evolve over the coming weeks.
Without further ado, here’s this week’s list:
1. Jonathan Lucroy, C, Brewers — Lucroy holds the top spot again, and barring a surprise move up the charts, he could stay there until he’s traded. It probably makes sense for Milwaukee to let the market shake out a bit before a deal, though, as several clubs with plausible catching needs may wish to wait and see how injury and performance issues progress over the coming weeks. Plus, with a high-value asset, an unexpected injury can always have a huge impact.
2. Rich Hill, SP, Athletics — Hill is currently out with a groin strain, but hasn’t yet been put on the DL, and the hope is that he can take the ball on Friday. At this point, a minor non-arm injury isn’t enough to ding Hill’s interesting trade candidacy. But the 36-year-old has already recorded more major league innings this year (64) than he has in any season since 2007, and durability will be watched closely by suitors looking to gauge his value.
3. Ryan Braun, OF, Brewers — Speaking of injuries, that’s probably the biggest variable on the market for the veteran Milwaukee slugger. He’s missed nine of the club’s last 21 games, and the list of maladies seems only to grow. But Braun has been as good as ever when he has been on the field, so he continues to occupy a top spot.
4. Jay Bruce, OF, Reds — After two straight years with below-average offensive production, Bruce is mashing. Yet he finds himself rated at or just above replacement level by measure of WAR. The culprit? A precipitous dive in his defensive metrics. He’s tied for a league-worst -11 defensive runs saved and is the lowest-rated qualifying defender in baseball by measure of UZR. The struggles with the glove limit his value and his market, but he’s still a prime target for teams in search of offense.
5. Arodys Vizcaino, RP, Braves — The Viz Kid has been among the game’s top 15 relievers by most any measure, and he’s posted significant jumps in ground-ball rate (56.9%) and swinging-strike rate (17.2%) to support his improvement over an already-strong 2015 season. Vizcaino has three more years of arb control remaining and should remain quite affordable, even though his save accumulation will begin to boost his salaries. That makes him a future asset for Atlanta, but the bet here is that he’s the likeliest of the team’s controllable assets to be dealt this summer.
6. Danny Valencia, 3B, Athletics — Valencia continues to rake, and the A’s continue to scuffle, so he makes a big move into the top ten. Needless to say, the one-time journeyman doesn’t seem terribly likely to maintain his current .343/.387/.580 batting line — he’s carrying a .374 BABIP, for one thing — but it’s hard to ignore that the 31-year-old has hit at a .291/.336/.492 clip over nearly 1,000 plate appearances dating back to 2013. Though Valencia doesn’t grade out very well at third or on the bases, his overall value is boosted by the fact that he’s appeared in the corner outfield and even second base at the game’s highest level. Jed Lowrie is another second/third candidate to watch from Oakland.
7. Julio Teheran, SP, Braves — Every quality start Teheran turns in raises his appeal — along with Atlanta’s already-steep asking price. Teams will forgive his 1-6 record, of course, and they’ll be drawn to his 200-inning history and 2.92 ERA. On the other hand, the 25-year-old continues to outperform ERA estimators and isn’t elite in the strikeout or ground-ball departments. While Teheran may be available for the right offer, it remains tricky to see a deal coming together.
8. Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Rockies — I’ve said before that I’m not convinced the Rockies will sell, let alone that they’ll move the second of their two former franchise faces. But with the team still producing middling results and new stars rising, perhaps the time for a CarGo swap is finally upon us. Since reeling off a five-game winning streak in mid-May, Colorado has gone 6-13 and currently sits eight games back of the Giants in the NL West. Gonzalez, meanwhile, is producing at a typically solid clip and would be one of the game’s bigger deadline chips. He’s still just 30 years of age, and while his injury history is troubling, he seems reasonably priced at $17MM this year and $20MM next.
9. Fernando Abad, RP, Twins — He’s still the best high-performing, obviously-available lefty out there, and he’d appeal to a wide variety of teams since he’s playing for a relative pittance. But Abad’s time on the top-ten list may not be long; even if he doesn’t follow Shields as an early trade piece, there are some other arms that may soon challenge. The Brewers’ Will Smith could warrant for a spot if he continues to pitch well upon his return, though he’s no certain trade piece since he’s only a Super Two. Keep an eye on Jake McGee of the Rockies; his velocity and swinging strike rates are off, and he’s not especially cheap, but his track record is intriguing. Oh, and I hear that the Yankees have a couple of guys — if they decide to sell. And that’s all before accounting for the right-handed relief contingent.
10. Melvin Upton, OF, Padres — The much-maligned elder Upton isn’t exactly living up to his old standards, but he’s running wild on the bases and playing quality defense while hitting enough to be a useful reserve outfielder for a contender. True, Jon Jay is a more valuable trade chip — he’s doing more at the plate, is much cheaper, and is a pure rental — and he’s the pick here of my colleague Steve Adams. But I’m going with Bossman Junior for now because the Friars have shown some real salary-shedding motivation of late — not just in moving Shields, but also in the very swap that brought Jay to San Diego (for Jedd Gyorko and a big chunk of his contract) and, to some extent, both the Craig Kimbrel deal and the trade that landed Drew Pomeranz (with over $5MM of salary going with the players that headed to the A’s). The time may be right to offload as much as possible of the Pads’ remaining commitment (he’s earning $15.45MM this year and $16.45MM next). On the topic of shedding salary, the Padres would probably love to shed Matt Kemp’s deal, but it’s tough to envision suitors lining up for a .249 OBP, even if his production has been on the upswing for 10 games or so.
—
Falling Out:
Chris Carter, 1B, Brewers — He is now in an extended stretch of marginal hitting, which reduces the goodwill he built up early.
Trevor Plouffe, 3B, Twins — Plouffe continues to underwhelm, and the Twins’ trade intentions remain unclear despite their increasingly dire straits at the major league level.
Already Traded: James Shields (Padres to White Sox)
Just Missed:
Sonny Gray, Jed Lowrie, Ryan Madson & Sean Doolittle (Athletics) — We’ll see how Gray rebounds and how the A’s approach the deadline with respect to a core player who doesn’t need to be moved unless a great opportunity arises. All of these players come with future control, with high price tags likely being slapped onto Gray and Doolittle, especially.
Ender Inciarte (Braves) — Inciarte could have a future role in Atlanta and isn’t at peak value right now.
Jeremy Jeffress & Will Smith (Brewers) — Likewise, these two arms are affordable and controllable, so there’s no rush; but if the trade chatter picks up, and Smith proves he’s back, then both could move onto the board.
Jeremy Hellickson, David Hernandez, Andrew Bailey & Jeanmar Gomez (Phillies) — Philadelphia somewhat surprisingly still remains within striking distance of contention as of early June, but even that might not necessarily deter them from flipping Hellickson while his value is at a considerably higher point than it was when he was originally acquired. Hernandez is a one-year rental, and Gomez’s out-of-the-blue emergence as the team’s closer will balloon his arbitration salary, so perhaps the Phillies will look to sell high on him as well. Bailey hasn’t been healthy in years, but he’s whiffed 17 hitters in 17 2/3 innings this season, and is lined up to hit free agency this winter, so moving him certainly makes sense.
Brad Ziegler, Daniel Hudson, Tyler Clippard & Welington Castillo (Diamondbacks) — I’m bumping the fading D-Backs into the likely seller camp, but their intentions remain unclear and all of their most obvious potential chips come with some questions (both as to quality and the willingness of the team to move them).
Andrew Cashner, Derek Norris, Jon Jay & Fernando Rodney (Padres) — Cashner and Norris just haven’t performed thus far. Rodney has, at least in the earned run department (he hasn’t allowed one), but the K/BB ratio doesn’t suggest vintage Rodney and there’s some batted-ball luck (.167 BABIP-against). On the other hand, his swinging-strike rate has recovered to prime levels and his batted-ball profile (lots of soft contact and grounders) looks like it did in Rodney’s excellent 2012-13 seasons, so he’s certainly one to watch.
Zack Cozart (Reds) — Always a gifted defender, Cozart’s bat is on the rise again this year, but it remains to be seen how interested Cincinnati is in moving him and the demand side at shortstop remains unclear. Fellow infielders Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips both have no-trade rights and big contracts, so unless something changes they don’t seem likely to move.
Ervin Santana (Twins) — Santana is not so different from Shields at this stage of their respective careers, so he could rise with some improved results.
Injured: Tyson Ross (Padres), Josh Reddick (Athletics)
Not Yet Eligible: I’m still not quite willing to push the Rays, Yankees, or Angels into the selling ranks. All of these clubs still are holding out hopes of contention, and the latter two in particular will likely wait until the bitter end before making their best assets available.
Bit surprised that some of the Phillies relievers and Hellickson aren’t atleast mentioned.
Full disclosure: Their absence was a byproduct of some re-ordering/copy & paste maneuvering. They were supposed to be in there all along and have been added back to the pile. Thanks for pointing it out.
Welcome to 4th place white sox fans.
They were mentioned.
Love to see Toronto grab a guy like Abad. I doubt they’ll be much in the mood to empty the farm again for a top-line guy, but they clearly need another middle-inning bullpen arm. A lefty who can also get righties out would help if the price is right, and Abad shouldn’t require too much in return.
Cashner is a lot better than he has shown to be. Lots of pressure playing for the Padres. One run and you can get beat
Yeah, tons of pressure pitching for a last place team.
Don’t mind chester. Just throw some facts his way and he’ll disappear in the blink of an eye.
In 2015 Cashner led the league with 22 unearned runs to his name. You know runs that were able to score because teammates made errors? When the defense behind you is bad of course it puts more pressure on pitchers to get strike outs as balls in play are resulting in errors.
But dont let facts get in your way chester.
1st place last place these are competitors and want to go out and do their best.
Also chester, you do realize that baseball is a magical sport where individual performances get players paid even on bad teams. And when the team around you cant score runs and hurts your W-L record which can be used against you in arb and free agency then yeah there’s pressure.
Got it. Unearned runs is why he is striking out the fewest batters of his career. But wait wouldn’t he strike out more guys if he doesn’t trust his defense? Maybe it’s the fact he has lost velocity on his fastball and still throws it 70% of the time.
Are you and this Chester guy like best buddies? It seems like when one of you has something to say about someone else’s opinion the other one comes to back him up
This isn’t 1995. I highly doubt teams are looking at a pitchers w=l record when they sign free agents.
You know there are statistics that look at a pitcher’s individual influence on the game and attempt to isolate the defense around them for that exact reason, yes?
You mention facts, then you try to use them, and consistently get shut down because you are either wrong, or just using them in a manner that doesn’t support your argument. People choose not to respond to you because you’ve consistently shown a lack of properly supporting an argument, not because you are some master debater.
It’s the same guy with two different names. Not even two best buddies agree on everything like these two.
1. Given the immense amount of shifts in baseball pitchers typically pitch to induce players to hit into the shift now a days. With such a bad defense cashner pitched to get strike outs, not pitch to hit into the shift. Where you pitch to try and strike a guy out is different than where you pitch to get a hit into the shift. Varies from hitter to hitter but the spots arent the same.
2. His velocity is down this year, except, last year when he struggled with unearned runs his fastball velocity was the same as it was in 2014. At 94.9 mph. And his 2 seam went up from 93.7 to 94.6 from 2014 to 2015.
3. In 2014 Cashner threw his 2 seamer more than his fastball, but the difference was about 100 more 2 seamer then fastball. In 2015 he threw the fastball 400 more times than his 2 seamer. Same velocity on his fastball at 94.9mph in 2014 and 2015 but threw it 1200 times in 2015 vs. 598 in 2014. He had more games in 2015 but widely over used his fastball, despite it being the same velocity. Why was he using it more? Oh, pitching for strike outs rather then using the 2 seamer or change up to hit into shifts.
5. Strictly talking about 2014 and 2015. Cashner had to pitch to literally win games in 2015 with strike outs because unearned runs are still runs on the scoreboard.
He’s still out on the mound throwing 94 most all game long and think if he ever got to play for a team that wasn’t out of contention by opening day? He’d actually be a decent mid rotation pitcher.
He’s not Joe Kelly command, actually has some command and decent secondaries. Could be the sneak, pillow contract buy of the FA offseason..
Wow, all you need to do for bad pitchers on bad teams is put them on good teams to make them pitch well? Someone call the twins!
I honestly think some you do. it’s that extra bit of drive to go with the talent that some guys have.. Feel of adrenaline of being in games that mean something.. Having stadiums which are packed day in and out, screaming in the background for them, rather than 10k at the most with nothing but echoes of a few fans hollering in a stadium to cheer them on as some..Like Cashner has had while in SD..
I like SD ok.. Dick Enberg has been on of my favorite announcers for years. Sad to see he only does few games now, just think some guys, of which Cashner is one, could do better with that extra push. He’s got almost that John Lackey drive that think could go an extra mile with a perennial winner, or team that is generally competitive.
Why would he have pressure on a last place team who plays in a very pitcher friendly park
My point was that if you give up one run you are likely to get beat because your team cant score runs. I thought everybody would have gotten my point but you didnt.
If it was a valid point, maybe more people would have gotten it.
Because baseball puts such emphasis on the W-L stat so much that players can lose money in arb hearings cause of bad. W-L records. You look at Lance Lynn who’s making 7 mill this year on an extension and was 12-11 last year while shelby miller posted very similar numbers is making 4 mill coming off a 6-17 season. Had shelby miller had a good W-L he’d probably be higher in the pay scale.
Dude lance Lynn is a year ahead in arbitration, of course he makes more. He also strikes more guys out which plays a role in arb.
Well to slightly straighten this out, Lynn is in a 3 year $22M contract, his last year of arbitration he made just over half a million. So honestly Miller is being compensated better I arbitration, even with his piss poor W-L record last year with Atlanta, his ERA and strong first half performance helped his arbitration.
haha, i didn’t have to wait very long to see an instance of exactly what I was referring to above, bigh52334.
This is shelby Miller’s first year of arbitration. Last year would have been Lynn’s first if not for the extension. Its not arbitration when they were making near the minimum, they get an auto increase as stipulated in the cba.
Good call Theo, St. Louis bought out only Lynn’s arbitration years in his contract. Thanks for setting me straight on that one, my bad.
Doolittle’s arb years have already been covered by his 2014 extension, plus, I believe one free agent year and an option on a second year. They sort of cynically did that before offering him the closer’s role, but he’s responded by being injured most of the last two years.
I know. I am referring to the asking price in a trade.
Doolittle has responded this year to a whip under 1 and a ERA of 2.59. He will probably be back as the closer next year. Madson who could be flipped for a prospect. Gray will not be traded since the A’s do not have very much starting pitching ready and they would need to be offered a boat load of good prospects.
Always troubled by this concept of “peak value.” You never when the value of something has peaked until after it goes down, and even then, you could just as easily be selling right before the value goes back up again as before it continues down.
Villar (Brewers)? He has been on a roll and they have a ton of infield prospects in the wings. He has also balked at a position move.
They are keeping Villar.
Who are these ton of IF prospects in the wings? Arcia is obviously going to be the SS sooner than later, but what do they have after that? Rivera is a glove first light hitting utility player kind of guy. Lara, Diaz, and Gatewood are all at least 2-3 years away and those are the only IF even in their top 30 prospects. Also wondering where you heard that he balked at a position move. He has said that he would like to stay at SS, and of course he would, but I’ve seen nothing to say he wouldn’t move to 3B or 2B.
What about Jose Reyes?!
No chat today Steve
Fun fact on Derek Norris. He was horrifically bad in April, but since May 1, he’s been a bit better than league average offensively while continuing the positive trend in framing and other defensive value that he started in the second half of last year.
His season numbers are still ugly, but after a .156/.198/.247 April, it takes a while to come back.
If a club believes what they’ve seen over the last month is what they’re getting for the rest of the year, he’s a good buy (especially because his arb numbers will be held down in part by the brutal April they didn’t have to endure).
And anyone on the Angels.
Like the Padres….. Lots of pressure playing for the Angels…. “Not”!
There is pressure, but a different kind of pressure. Some players on losing teams must feel the pressure of staying in the league. Mediocre guys on playoff teams can get the reputation of being a winner and occupy a bench ahead of a similar guy on a losing team. Jonny Gomes comes to mind. He lasted 13 years in the league with a career total of 3.3 WAR. While other players that were arguably better were out of luck.
May as well put down ALL of the Chicago white sox, including Chris Sale. But whoever gets Sale has to take Ventura and K. Williams! After this week they’ll be a 4th place team again.
I can honestly see the Dodgers taking a look at Hellickson, Gomez, and Bailey. You would figure the FO is not willing to trade away their top top prospects (rightfully so) for this year. It just seems like there are a lot of ties involved. It would cost a lot but probably is line with what the FO is willing to part with. Although that’s contingent on the Phillies willing to sell.
Do you think that francouer or beckham (Braves) would have any semblance of trade value?
I would think so
A semblance? Sure. Not much more. Beckham, maybe, if he really keeps hitting, though he is on the dl.
Unless they get blown away with an offer I don’t see the Braves trading Viz.
last place teams really need to hold onto their relievers. Lots of high leverage situations for atl the next couple seasons.
He is one of the few reliable arms they have. With his controllable years and the Braves already stating they are done with those big trades (simmons, Heyward etc) the pieces have to start being put together and put to work.
Rebuilding teams that are at least a couple years away from real contention shouldn’t be building around a reliever. Relievers are rather volatile and really don’t contribute much value to bad teams. Viz has been good for 57.1 innings. The fact that he’s one of the few reliable arms they have says more about the state of the Braves than it does anything else.
The market for relief pitchers appears to be high. They’d be wise to capitalize now, unless the offers are underwhelming. The Phils are probably closer to being good than the Braves and part of the reason for that is that they sold high on their closer.
And to your point that they said they’re done with those trades….didn’t they also say they weren’t trading simmons, right before they traded simmons?
I’m sure most of these people come to talk baseball with knowledgeable baseball people (which might be you), but I’m sure they don’t come for your little snobby sarcastic remarks all the time
And I don’t come here to see braves fans overvalue their scrub team and meh players all the time, but such is life.
I’m not just talking about Braves fans. At the top you did the same to the guy talking about Cashner. I see you doing the same to Whitesox fans. Their are a lot of openings in MLB front offices each year and i’m sure if you knew as much as you think you do, you would have a job in one of them. But the reality is you don’t. You’re just a regular dude sitting behind a screen like everyone on here. I see your a Cubs fan. Well your team has been a scrub team with meh players for a long time buddy. So since they’re good now doesn’t give you the right to say your little snobby sarcastic comments. Oh I know you like facts so their is some facts for you. Oh here is another one. I see you like to talk to Whitesox fans with disrespect as well (the Chicago rivalry thing), but at least they have a championship in the last century. Fact! But such is life, right?
By the way, you said you don’t come here to see Braves fans over value their meh players. Well he wasn’t. He said he wanted the Braves to keep Viz. Then you said your little snobby comment “last place teams really need to hold onto their relievers.” You know the rest. So you were implying that the Braves need to get rid of Viz. Not the Braves fan. Also, I’m sure almost every teams fan base over values their players. If you’re as knowledgeable as you think you are, you should know that already though.
I go back and forth between thinking he’s as good as gone and leaning more toward your direction. Maybe they do, too. I do think they’ll shop him very heavily regardless and will bite if they get someone who could have near-term function and long-term impact.
Absolutely makes sense the way you worded it.
Agreed Jeff and Braves. Whether they compete in 2017 for WC like they hope or 2018, he is still a nice piece to have. Given his suspension, the team’s willingness to keep him and look for him to have opportunities to close, he may not command too much on an extension from Atlanta.
Someone actually asked on a fangraphs chat about the braves contention. Here are the responses –
Predict the Braves next competitive window.
Paul Swydan 9:15
I can’t see them being competitive before 2019.
But I’ve been wrong before.
Jeff Zimmerman 9:15
3 years from now if everything goes right
Despite the lip service that the front office is paying to the fanbase, I don’t think they realistically see themselves competing for anything other than the #1 pick next year.
I really don’t think Paul Swydan and Jeff Zimmerman work for the Braves front office nor can they accurately predict the future. So basically it is two random guys disagreeing with the Braves front office. Big deal.
I’m sorry you are saying you know definitively that the braves front office plans on competing before that? What they tell the public isn’t what is being said internally. As constructed 2019 is the absolute earliest, that’s assuming they hit on their first round pick and he is up that quickly as well.
Haha Ray Ray, they would be the first wouldn’t they?
chesteraarthur so you are just planning when to hop the Braves bandwagon from CHC, Right? #bandwagon
If not for Shea Simmons I would agree. If Viz brings in a Giles-like return I hope the Braves take it. He’s still an injury concern.
Who in the league doesn’t have injury concerns? Anything could happen to any player on any given pitch or play. If Viz has injury concerns then I would def think Shae Simmons has them as well especially considering that he is the one 14 months removed from TJ surgery. Just my opinion
Here’s where that is wrong, he will be accruing saves on a last place team for the next 2 years following this. So he will be in his final year of arb with a big save and strikeout total making him cost like 8 mil for the one year he is under control and they compete. If they want to compete before 2019 they have to move at least one of teheran or vizcaino.
The Viz, Inciarte and Teheran for Bregman, Martes, Springer and Gomez. Clear Gomez out of there and Coppy gets his “major league hitter of the same value” out of Springer. Seems pretty even to me. If it seems lopsided either way, take out Martes or Inciarte to even it out.
That’s insanely lopsided. You must be a braves fan
Coppy gets his “major league hitter of the same value”
Springer has been almost 3x as valuable as Tehran and hitters are much safer bets due to pitchers’ arms exploding on the reg.
Yeah the Astros giving up the best 2 pieces makes no sense. Clearing out Gomez? They could just cut him, it’s not like he’s on a long term deal.
You might be right about hitters being the safer bets, but apparently GM’s don’t care because they are still trading hitting for pitching. You know as well as I do that teams will pay for pitching. In some cases, they’ll overpay for pitching because it’s in such high demand. Now I do have to admit that that trade is a little too much and would never happen, but don’t act like Houston couldn’t use a pitcher like Teheran right now. He’d easily be their #2
Oh coming to back up your best buddy again huh? I have a serious question for you theo. Now I agree that that trade is a little ridiculous and wouldn’t happen. You said Houston would be giving up the 2 best pieces. I understand Springer to be one of those pieces. Who is the other piece?
My guess would be Bregman, long term value Bregman – short term Teheran. Depends on how you look at it. I think most people would go 50/50 on a Bregman for Teheran swap. Personally I’d say another piece on the Braves side considering the years of control, durability shown for a contending team. I don’t see this happening this year though because the Stro’s are pretty horrid.
Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr. are both superior pitchers to Teheran, stop over rating him.
Bregman, the added power to his already excellent tools will have him a top 10 midseason prospect. SS capable of 25 homers, above average batting average, above average d, above average running. At this point he is a better prospect than swanson.
What I think is funny, who cares where Julio would fit in any rotation. Any trade that Julio is involved in depends on how much the receiving team needs him. Braves can see him as the ace and Houston can see him as the 5th, but if Houston (or any damn team) wants a strong 4/5 option, how much do they want to pay? So tired of this constant bickering on here of “overvaluing Julio” and whatnot. Who cares? Cannot wait for responses. Have a good day fans.
There is zero chance I would trade Bregman for Teheran. Bregman is a guy you would package to get Sonny Gray, an elite starter as long as he comes back okay in the next month or so. I think Teheran is a decent middle of the rotation starter back end type signed for a good contract. He deserves some good prospects thrown his way but no way in hell am I giving you Bregman. Bregman has star potential.
I’ll come back with: stop UNDERrating Teheran. He’s a great pitcher.
Haha is this another joke Chester? McCullers hasn’t even pitched a whole year and the superior Keuchel seems to have come back to Earth. He has one year of pitching good in the majors. Could they become better? Yes. But to sit their and say they are superior now just shows your blind hatred. I’m not over rating anyone. I asked him a question and he gave me his opinion and respect his opinion even though I disagree with it. Theo I respect what you say, but this dude you keep coming to back up says a bunch of nonsense that makes ppl laugh. Chester show me where I over rated Teheran. Since you like facts, right? Show me.
I respect that. I disagree, but I repsect that and I could see where your coming from. I do agree that he is now a better prospect than Swanson right now. I think he was a better prospect going into the draft imo. I don’t think Bregman is the second best piece right now. Just because he is doing good in AA does not mean that success translate into success at the major league level. He has a really good chance to, but their is risk with all prospects. To say he is better than someone who has proved it at the major league level and is young enough to continue to get better is just a little unbelievable to me. I respect your opinion and can see where your coming from, but we both have to agree that Bregman (not having failed at any level) could struggle at AAA or the majors and not know how to handle it mentally and just fall apart. I don’t believe that will happen, but it could. I’m not ready to say he is better right now. Springer? Yes. Bregman? Not yet. And I’m not over rating anyone. This is just putting everything into consideration and it’s what I believe.
Also, stop backing up Chester who just spews out nonsense just because it’s a team other than the Cubs!
Vizcaino already has had one PED suspension to his name. I would hope that if the braves get offered excellent value of young controllable high ceiling offensive players they don’t hesitate to deal Viz.
i think they hold viz til the offseason and shop him for similar packages as what Giles got even though that trade is way lopsided to the Phillies. He will have very similar numbers by then.
Padres would probably take a couple of mid-level prospects for Jon Jay. A good versatile left handed OF
Perez was a potential top 5 pick before this. The slide could cost him well over a million dollars or more. Depending on the drug of abuse, I hope the Padres have the opportunity to give him a close look at pick 24.
A smart team will value Norris and know Padres are in a bit of a pickle to deal him. While I hate all beard schtick’s, Norris has started hitting for power of late, and his framing has been good since last year.
He’s not the same guy in Oakland as he isn’t platooning anymore and like all Padres hitters have stopped walking. But given the low bar for catcher offense (82 wRC+ per fangraphs) and the hard hit/statcast data suggesting Norris has been unlucky with BABIP, he clearly projects to be better than that and is cheap.
BTW trading Melvin makes a lot of sense for padres to open up spot for Renfroe next year and give Dickerson a shot who is an older guy raking in PCL this year. But I still have some doubts they will eat money needed to do it, he will be owed around 23 million left on deal at deadline which isn’t too bad tho.
How is Renfroe doing this year?
Renfroe is playing in an extreme hitter’s park, his numbers are a bit gaudy. Not drawing walks at all, which seems to be a problem system-wide with the Padres.
That’s always been a concern for Renfroe, right? Big power, big speed, questionable hit tool and approach. Hopefully he puts it together, those players are fun to watch.
I’d still keep Shields on this list. The Sox acquired him early enough that they could still re-trade him if they don’t get things moving in the right direction.
I’m not sure if the sox would trade him, but with their recent slide, that’s an interesting point.
What could the Yankees get for
Miller
Chapman
Beltran
Not all in one trade but??
I’m a huge Cashman fan as of late, but if he doesn’t trade at least two of those guys before the deadline I will start to d=change my thinking. Teams way overpay for closers so I can’t image he couldn’t get a good package that would outway the QO pick you’d get for Chapman. You’d probably get a great haul for Miller. As for Beltran, I can see a KC trade coming in the near future that should net a decent prospect or even a major league ready guy depending on how much $ cash might want to eat.
Ventura for Beltran?
The Braves, Reds, Padres and Phillies want to dump veterans and the A’s and Marlins are always looking to deal. This could be the year someone goes big for Joey Votto and Matt Kemp. Ricky Nolasco looks like a good target. Other than that, I see no other big news headlines.