Jon Heyman kicks off his latest Inside Baseball column for FanRag sports by making a few predictions on some popular trade candidates. While he forecasts Sonny Gray to be the best pitcher that is seriously discussed in trades, he ultimately believes Gray will stay put, and teammate Rich Hill will be the top arm moved at this year’s non-waiver deadline. On the bullpen side of the equation, Aroldis Chapman has a “pretty good” chance to be moved, whereas teammate Andrew Miller was given a “less than one percent chance” to be traded by one Yankees-connected official, per Heyman.
A few of the more notable items from his lengthy column…
- Brad Ziegler, Daniel Hudson and Tyler Clippard are generating the most trade interest among D-backs players, per Heyman. Arizona considers Paul Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb and perhaps Brandon Drury to be among its untouchables in trade takes even if the club does elect to sell off some parts.
- The Marlins continue to hunt for starting pitching and have interest in Rays starters Jake Odorizzi and Matt Moore but also recognize that they don’t have much in the way of prospect capital to offer up for controllable arms of that nature. Miami could turn to Jarred Cosart if a rotation alternative is needed, though Cosart is sporting a pretty pedestrian 3.92 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in eight starts (39 innings) since being demoted to the minors earlier this year.
- The Cardinals are considering a long-term deal for rising young right-hander Carlos Martinez, per Heyman, though there’s no indication of any serious talks between the two sides from his report. Martinez is a logical extension candidate as a 24-year-old former top prospect that has made good on that hype with a 2.97 ERA across his past 282 innings. However, he’s also on track to hit arbitration for the first time this offseason, which does eliminate some of the urgency to take a club-friendly deal from Martinez’s camp. That, of course, doesn’t mean that an agreement can’t be reached, but Martinez is already in line for a sizable payday this winter, and buying out free-agent seasons would be expensive considering the platform he’s in the midst of building.
- The Mariners could look to upgrade at closer in the coming weeks. Steve Cishek has been a nice pickup for the team (though he did blow a save tonight), but Joel Peralta didn’t pan out in Seattle and Joaquin Benoit has struggled. Heyman notes that GM Jerry Dipoto is a big fan of Angels setup man Joe Smith, which isn’t a big surprise considering Dipoto signed him to a three-year deal when he was the Halos’ GM. Smith, though, doesn’t really fit the description of the closer upgrade Heyman initially mentioned. That’s not meant to downplay Smith’s ability to help the Mariners, but I’d imagine a more powerful arm would be the type of target the club would pursue if looking to upgrade over Cishek.
- The Rays are getting quite a bit of interest in Moore, Odorizzi and Chris Archer, but there’s no sense that any of the three are available yet. Other teams do expect Tampa Bay to move at least one pitcher, though Heyman notes that it’s highly unlikely that Archer would be moved.
- The Rangers have exchanged numbers with Rougned Odor’s camp in extension talks, but the two sides aren’t believed to be close to a deal yet. Odor won’t be arbitration eligible until after the 2017 campaign, so he’s a ways off from his first significant salary. We’ve previously seen several second basemen in his service bracket — between two and three years of service once the season is up — sign extensions, so there are a fair number of comparables from which to draw. Brian Dozier signed away his arbitration year for a total of $20MM, while Matt Carpenter and Jason Kipnis each signed away their arb years and a pair of free-agent seasons for about $52MM in total, as can be seen in MLBTR’s Extension Tracker.
- The Blue Jays may try to add some left-handed pop and could be a landing spot for Jay Bruce, per Heyman. Toronto was known to be interested in Bruce back in Spring Training and even had a reported three-team trade with the Reds and Angels fall through after some medical reports on minor leaguers that were set to change hands derailed the deal. That, of course, looks quite fortuitous for the Blue Jays right now, as Michael Saunders would’ve gone to the Angels in that deal. The bullpen is also a likely area of focus for the Jays, he notes, which makes more sense than a run at Bruce, who doesn’t strike me as a great fit for their roster.
How about we don’t give up any young talent for Bruce and focus on relievers instead
I agree. It makes no sense for the Jays with that high powered offense to go out and get Bruce when they need help in the same places as Baltimore and Boston (SP), plus the BP. BP help is a lot easier, not to mention cheaper to get than a luxury item like Bruce would be.
Writers get carried away and just dream up these fantasy deals it seems like.. Just like Lucroy to Boston when he’s about the last thing they need and already had to send down Vazquez.. One of the best defensive catchers around.
Not saying that the Jays should go after Jay Bruce but last year the Jays were rumored to get multiple position players and everyone said we don’t need hitting, just pitching. Fast forward to the Tulowitzki acquisition. I think the lesson learned there is that if you have a chance to improve the team in any area you do it. Especially considering that Jose Bautista has now, more than likely, priced himself out of the Blue Jays interests and will most likely be the one to leave at free agency leaving a spot available in the outfield. Yes, pitching is needed but you’ll most likely pay a premium price for that. Bullpen pitching is much much easier to acquire it’s just a matter of who.
How does Bruce improve the team though? Tulo was a clear upgrade over Reyes; Bruce is not an upgrade over anyone and seemingly wouldn’t even have a position to play. Unless they are going to move Bautista at the deadline, getting Bruce makes no sense.
Our starters are just fined or now, we could maybe add a 5th guy like Santana for when Sanchez gets moved to the bullpen
Brinson and Faulkner for vizcaino
Hell no
wow that’s terrible haha
Braves fans have become insufferable
Any chance the Rays trade Logan Forsythe? Haven’t heard a single rumor of him being available.
Why would the rays move forsythe he has years of controls left and the rays wouldn’t have anybody to replace his production
Now is the time to sell high on this guy. He had 3 below average seasons in SD from 2011-2013 and a poor 2014 in Tampa. Then he comes out of nowhere last year with a great year and is back at it again this year. He’s 29 and under team control next season and has a 2018 team option.. So this year is lost for Tampa and he’s under contract for 2 more seasons at most. If Tampa thinks they will compete for a championship next year, then they should keep him. But if they start moving starters this year, might as well hit the reset. AL East is looking strong this year.
The AL east is not strong you don’t know what you are talking about..
The ALE would get both wild card spots right now, I’d say that’s a pretty strong division.
What are you talking about there is currently 3 teams with winning records and one that’s a game below in the ALE. Its probably the best division in the AL right now, with the central a close second
gotta say that the only reason to pick up Bruce would be to keep him out of Boston’s reach Gray? sure…but can’t afford to lose anymore prospects…Santana? I view him as a middling starter…low middling since last year, not bound to improve….So what does Rogers have that a lot of teams don’t? Money to spend over a short period…why not pick up somebody like Niese from Pittsburgh (anybody say “salary dump”?) for cash? he’s still relatively young(erish) and he has team options that can be declined but if he rebounds can be released and/or re-signed to fill vacancies that will exist next year on the roster…
The Rays don’t HAVE to move any of their SP’s. All of them have years of control left and upside that is still somewhat desirable. BUT, with this season being a low point for the franchise in general, moving an Odorizzi or Matt Moore should definitely be considered because of their vast pitching depth. Especially with Cobb approaching the bigz again; don’t forget about Andriese or Faria either. I don’t know how the trades would look for Odo or Moore.. Maybe two top 20 guys? but you know the Rays will have their prices high.
Also, the Farm system for the Rays has gotten better recently, it’s not a top 5 system but maybe a fringe 10. Double-A Montgomery is booming with potentially solid big leaguers like Adames, Gillaspie and Bauers. The rest of the calendar year will be very intriguing for the entire Franchise.
Nicolino for Hutchinson Mike Hill make it happen
or a Nicolino Eddie Butler trade I would love to see also
I personally think all you people who talk about trading Miller are nuts. While Chapman is an overwhelming closer, so was Miller. He is signed for a decent salary and neither Chapman or anyone else has been better. To trade Chapman now makes no sense, why did they bother in the 1st place. Try to get a deal with Chapman NOW, while he is enjoying playing for the Yankees. While it doesn’t look like the Yankees can make any playoff push this year, we can certainly be ready for a big move next year. NO_RUN BMC is unstoppable.