Holding two game-changing trade chips puts the Yankees in an enviable position, and Tyler Kepner of the New York Times argues that the organization should exercise every bit of leverage it possesses. There’s plenty of demand for the southpaw relief duo of Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman, and New York is perhaps uniquely well-suited to sit back and wait for someone to overwhelm with an offer. (After all, the club is within striking distance of contention, can utilize the qualifying offer or extend Chapman, and still controls Miller for two seasons.)
Here’s more on some major trade deadline storylines:
- We’ve seen rather clear indications that the Cubs won’t be parting with Kyle Schwarber, whether for Miller or anyone else, but that hasn’t stopped the idea from being batted around. Bob Nightengale of USA Today looks at the concept, noting that president of baseball operations Theo Epstein continues to be clear that he has no intentions of moving Schwarber — but also that he is letting teams know that the ballclub is looking for an impact addition. For those interested in all of the dimensions of the Cubs’ decisionmaking on their injured young slugger, this piece is worth a full read.
- With the Cubs looking at any number of possible means of upgrading at the deadline, GM Jed Hoyer says to “expect the unexpected,” as Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com writes. Hoyer noted that “you can’t have untouchables and you have to be willing to explore bold ideas,” but also suggested the organization will be hesitant to part with certain assets. “We really like our core and I think that’s something that we plan to build around,” he said.
- We’ve heard plenty of chatter surrounding the Rays, potentially involving just about any player on their roster. They’ve been tied, in particular, to the Rangers (see here and here). But the two clubs have “nothing brewing at the moment,” per Crasnick (via Twitter).
- One league executive tells ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link) that the Dodgers are “big-game hunting,” indicating that the organization is primarily interested in the kind of “elite-level players” that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has cited previously. Meanwhile, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi says that the Dodgers and Rays have been in trade talks of late, though it’s not clear where the focus lies in those discussions. (Morosi seemingly suggests that Evan Longoria is of interest to Los Angeles, but says there’s no real chance of him changing hands this summer.)
- Though the Indians aren’t generally the type of organization to engineer major deadline swaps, that could change this year. As MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti suggested that budget constraints won’t be a problem. “I don’t think economics will have an impact on which players we acquire,” he said. “I think we’ll have the flexibility that we need to acquire a player. I think our difficult decisions are going to come down to what level of talent are we willing to part with to acquire players, and whether or not there’s the right fit out there.” That’s certainly an interesting point to keep in mind as Cleveland works to bolster its roster, as the team might be inclined to take on a somewhat more expensive player than might normally be expected if it helps avoid the loss of significant prospect assets.
- Antonetti also suggested that the Indians aren’t necessarily particularly focused on their bullpen. Instead, he said, the club is open to improving everywhere but the rotation — where a stacked group is hardly in need of change. Though the relief corps still seems the biggest area of concern, the recent news on Michael Brantley could increase the need for a lineup boost, with Antonetti acknowledging that could be a factor in his approach over the next ten days.
Where does Theo think Schwarber is going to play for them? OF after that bad knee injury? 1B is uh, occupied. NL doesn’t have DH. So….?
This Yankees winning streak is a mirage. Most fans know the future for this franchise lies in their return for their current assets. If ownership approves moving them, then I think we’ll all be surprised by how much the Yankees actually move and how much they will get back. I’ve seen so many trade proposals based on prospect volume and not value. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Yankees do a 1 for 1 swap with Chapman if it means bringing back a young major league ready impact player. I also do not think Miller will get moved because I don’t see any team meeting the asking price. I also don’t think Cashman will lower his asking price either.
A team would have to suffer a bullpen injury or blow quite a few late-inning games over the next week or so to pony-up the type of return Cash will seek.
I agree. Cashman has absolutely no reason to lower his demands on a player like Miller.
Finally a guy who makes sense. Miller is valued high for good reason. Chapman isn’t worth 2 top 100 prospects or even 1 for that matter. As a Cubs fan I agree that the Yankees should be asking for he moon for Miller. If the Cubs gave up Vogelbach and a low level arm the Yankees should be happy. The get a mashing DH.
This is laughable. It’s a sellers market and Chapman is arguably the most dominant closer in baseball and as far as salary, pretty cheap. Now I’m not saying we should expect a top 10 prospect in all of baseball but certainly a top 50-75 and maybe a lower level prospect who hasn’t charted yet is reasonable. Your tone makes it sound as if you’re doing us a favor as if Chap was a salary dump or something.
Chapman is gonna be a free agent so he’s not worth 2 prospects, maybe 1
They won’t get anything close to what they sent to the Reds
Chapman is worth more then one as they can make a QO and get a good prospect that way
Lol I wonder what the framework of a Longoria to LA deal would look like
Longoria and one of their pitchers for 4 or 5 prospects?
ANY…four or five prospects?
It would look like a Martian invasion, and is nearly as probable.
No chance this summer. None at all.
Of a Martian invasion? Darn. What am I going to do with all these extra hotdogs?
I thought the Martian invasion was scheduled for next year? I might be wrong you might want to hold onto those hot dogs just in case.
Okay. Can I borrow your freezer?
That was actually destroyed in the last Martian attack lol.
Hah. You made my day, thanks!
I’m sorry, but if I am a Cubs fan and Epstein has the opportunity to add a true difference-maker like Miller, who they desperately need to solidify the back end of the bullpen (for a modest $9m/yr from 2016-2018 mind you), and Schwarber is what it takes to get him, then I’d be pissed at Cubs management for passing on that opportunity.
Where does Schwarber fit in long term for Chicago? Do they seriously consider him their future catcher when Contreras has already demonstrated an ability to handle those duties? OF??? That didn’t work out too well this season did it? Dude ain’t built for that. 1B? You got Rizzo there. DH? Nope, not in the NL.
Simply put, they don’t need Schwarber and he is truly expendable, however good of a hitter he is. They’re loaded offensively for at least the next three years with the core of Rizzo, Bryant, Heyward, Contreras, and Zobrist, And guys like Addison Russell and Javier Baez will only get better and better with experience.
This is a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned.
If the Yankees are dealing Miller to the Cubs, Schwarber absolutely must be the return. Anyone else I’d say no thank you to.
Otherwise, send him somewhere else.
The Yankees aren’t sitting that bad. They have a couple young players getting ready to come up plus the money coming off the books They can restock their team either way
Doubt the Yanks trade anyone besides Chapman. MAYBE Beltran but I just doubt it.
I’m a big Yanks fan but in all reality, we maybe get Vogelbach for Chapman or a Nats b-level SP prospect.
Brad Hand and Ryan Buchter are available and will cost a fraction of what Miller and Chapman will.
Miller- 1.30 xfip, 15.24 k/9, 1.52 BB/9
Chapman- 2.47 xfip, 12.71 k/9, 2.54 BB/9
Buchter- 3.97 xfip, 12.51 k/9, 4.61 BB/9
Hand- 3.99 xfip, 10.73 k/9, 4.67 BB/9
Against lefties in same order
.167/.189/.343- miller
.154/.267/.154- chapman
.130/.230/.226- buchter
.143/.260/.207 – hand
For Hand who has 3 more arb years I can see the padres asking for Bryan Hudson and Dan Vogelbach.
For Buchter whos got 6 more years I could see them asking for Christian Villanueva, Victor Caratini, Bryan Hudson, and Brad Markey
Theyre cheaper in cost of acquisition and overall financial committments.
They are a fraction of the cost of Miller and Chapman, but their numbers are nowhere near Miller’s or Chapman’s. Those walk rates…. yikes.
If you look at the splits Buchter has only allowed 5 BB to lefties in 17.1 innings and 16 to righties in 23.2 innings. His walk rate is skewed because of that.
Hand on the other hand has walked righties and lefties at about an equal rate.
Hand and Buchter may not have the same abilities vs righties, theyre not awful against righties but not as effective as miller and chapman, but theyre on par with miller and chapman against lefties.
HIs walk rate is skewed by the walks he has given up?
Really?
How about pitching in San Diego instead of NY? remember the DH thing they have in the AL?
I do agree the cubs should settle for players like that if they want to hold onto their prospects but pretending they are the same thing isn’t realistic.
Yeah, who would of thought looking at a pitchers splits and not overall numbers combined for righties and lefties has value…..you should try it sometime!
Had you read the previous comment youd see the poster commented on the cumulative BB/9 of buchter and hand.
My response was Buchter, as expected, is more effective vs a lefty than a righty. Which, if the cubs acquire buchter, doubt they’d put him out there facing righties often given the domaninance of their righties in the bullpen as evident by
Strop posting .171/.215/.241 in 25 innings vs righties.
Grimm posting .200/.277/.373 in 20 innings vs righties.
Cahill posting .217/.316/.289 in 25 innings vs righties.
Knowledge is power and context is important.
Also, the final segment of my 2nd comment blatantly said buchter and hand may not be as dominant against righties but they are on par with miller and chapman against lefties.
It is. As long as you are looking at situational relievers.
Chapman and Miller are not situational relievers and comparing their cost to the cost of a situational reliever is completely invalid.
I do look at relevant splits such as Schwarber’s inability to hit lefties even when he’s doing well. Looking at left/right splits for relievers as a reason to pass on an elite closer in favor of a cheaper guy who can only be effective against one side is using splits to talk yourself into a bad decision.
Knowledge is knowing how a bullpen and pinch hitters are used
Context is comparing apples to apples.
Remember, relievers seldom get to pitch against the pitcher in the NL, unless they are the mop up guy. That seems to off set the DH argument.
“but it only seems that way”
Situational relievers don’t work very well when you pinch hit on them, unless you plan to switch relievers every time a pinch hitter comes up. The fact that the NL has more pinch hitters is a reason you need someone who can face either side. Not a reason you don’t.
Having one guy who is virtually automatic has a ton of value. Especially in the playoffs.
You aren’t seriously trying to make a case that platoon relievers are about the same as an elite closer are you?
Brad Hand isnt a situational reliever, nor is ryan buchter.
Furthermore, theyve both pitched well on the road vs. home.
Against righties
*Hand has posted .246/.339/.370 and an era of 1.13 away from petco with a line of .163/.256/.253 in 23 innings.
*Buchter has posted .195/.320/.337 and an era of 0.60 away from petco with a line of .102/.254/.229 in 15 innings
Compare that to
*Miller who has posted .155/.214/.275 against righties and .141/.217/.317 away from home in 20 innings
*Chapmam who has posted .182/.234/.295 against righties and .192/.250/.346 away from home in 14 innings
You can see hand and buchter are not just products of petco park and can hold their own against righties.
those trades are worse for the Cubs than the Schwarber nonsense
Miller at least as a track record outside of an extreme pitchers park
holding two amazing rp pieces in the trade market a sellers one no less. why would the yanks not Consider trading both Chapman and miller. I mean trade miller and insist on shwarber. They want impact without giving up anything come on. and chapman to Indians or Rangers or nats and then if the yanks aren’t convinced betances is a closer yet resign Chapman.
You make it seem like the Cubs can only get Miller if theyes trade Schwarber. If they insist on Schwarber, they will be getting crickets on the other end, because that would be a bone headed move.
Exactly! If Schwarber wasn’t hurt, his name wouldn’t even be being brought up in trade talks. And the Cubs have the prospects AAA and below to get any player they want to get this year, including Miller. These Yankee fans are delusional. Theo and Jed wouldn’t even discuss trading a left handed power bat like Schwarber for a 60IP relief pitcher. The WAR difference alone over these next few years would mean it would take 3 pitchers of Miller’s caliber to even start to level out the trade value on both sides.
Yankees need to make a team take ellsbury w/ either chapman or Miller and eat some of his contract. They need to trade as many people as they can get and get some minor leaguers then do a partial cheap rebuild over the winter and get money ready for free agency after 2018 season
Why should the Yankees have any motivation to trade any of their top 3 relievers?
Chapman will return next year or they get a first round pick. Anything less than a 1st round pick in a trade is a bad trade. Trading for a DH is also a terrible way to start a rebuild.
The idea of trading the teams best players for a bunch of mid level prospects is also nuts unless you are just looking to save money. The reason the team sucks isn’t because they lack prospects or good players. The reason they stink is because they insisted on building the offense around Tex and Arod and continue to ride that train to nowhere. You make every hitter in the line up worse when you have automatic outs in the middle of the batting order.
Next year the team will have a huge influx of young high end talent with Bird, Severino & Sanchez They also have a few other players who should be solid contributors ready for big league action in addition to a very deep pool of talent in the lower levels of the system.
Schwarber seems highly valued in Chicago and is completely unnecessary in NY where Sanchez and McCann can easily rotate between Catcher and DH. Dismantling the best bull[pen in the history of the game to have some theoretical upgrade at DH while once again tying the position up full time is poor roster management at best.
If there is a team that thinks Chapman is the difference between a possible world series victory and maybe missing the playoffs and is willing to overpay for that final piece I think you look at it but if your return is simply a prospect comparable to the 15th pick in next years draft I wouldn’t even trade Chapman.
The key for the Yankees is cutting the fat giving your own prospects an opportunity to exceed expectations while looking at the team on a long and short term basis with every decision. Making wholesale changes when you basically need to make one or two adjustments is a bad idea and the current management shouldn’t be allowed to start over.
are you a Yankees owner? to think this team only needs one or two changes is delirious. need more sp and have no real sp prospects. need a 3b a 1b a t least one outfielder and you want to rely on McCann who is getting older and an unproven commodity. good luck with that. just like with the yanks front office, this crash is going to smack you in the face.
The crash has already happened and even with the front office refusing to react to it the team is still at .500.
The Yankees actually have a lot of pitching prospects.
Enns is in AAA with a 1.17 era and hasn’t given up more than 2 runs in at least 10 starts.
Severino is also in AAA and ready to go in the majors when there is an opening.
Kaprielian is injured but should be in the majors next year.
Beltran is a far better hitter than Schwarber and can actually hit lefties or righties.
Bird is an outstanding prospect at 1b who hits about as well as Schwarber.
They have Headley under contract and Andujar is playing exceptionally well in AA.
McCann is older but is still one of the better two way catchers in the game and in AAA they have the best catching prospect in the minor leagues
Eovaldi, Pineda and Nova are all young starters with very good stuff
Austin, Judge and Gamel are in AAA and hitting very well. Austin can also play 1st base.
The teams problem is arod and tex in the middle of the line up. Not a lack of prospects and certainly not a lack of any major league talent on the big club.
and no, If I owned the team that wouldn’t be playing tex and arod just so they can get their moneys worth on their contracts.
Enns averages less than 5ip a start , Sanchez career .274 hitter career .337 obp in 7 years in the minors , bird hitting .251 , Beltran old and on last year of deal. Three young pitchers with good stuff , injury histories , and no clue how to pitch
and what is his innings cap? and how many innings did he pitch last year?
you would think with a 1.17 whip him pitching 5 ip per start would have something to do with something else besides being ineffective right?
simple logic right?
That’s assuming all prospects will pan. You’re also assuming Scwarber can only DH. The difference is Schwarber was a first round pick that hit his way to the majors the latter is an unproven wild card that will probably bring you a back end of the 1st round pick as those are the teams that are going to pay.
It doesn’t assume anything of the sort. They have a lot of duplication at almost every position.
Chapman, assuming he is the latter, is an elite bullpen piece I would just as soon keep next year since I expect the team will be good instead of trading him for a prospect we don’t need.
so in your baseball world every prospect pans out, free agency is just a myth and headley is playing like an all star. got it.
In your world reading comprehension is secondary to winning the point.
Are you suggesting the Yankees should trade an elite closer for a back up DH in case their other options don’t work out?
The Yankees have 4 catchers I would be OK with seeing in the majors next year as well as 8 starting pitchers and over a half dozen outfielders and about a dozen infielders.
Why in the world would the Yankees trade for Schwarber because Headley isn’t hitting like a an all star?
Do you have a point or do you just have some childish need to defend Schwarber’s honor? I understand that you don’t know anything about the Yankees farm system but pretending they don’t have prospects because you don’t know anything about them is just weird.
Next time just scream at your computer instead of wasting my time pretending you have a thought.
Take some Prozac e , just another over emotional yankme fan
If anyone think this Dodger FO makes a “elite player” deal is smoking crack. And no, Odorizzi is NOT elite.
Calhoun to Cleveland for Bradly Zimmer, Zach Crockett, and a lower lvl prospect?
Too much?
Schwarber for miller is laughable.A 23 year old power hitting lefty who will hit 30-40 hr’s and have a 380-400 ob% will be in the line up with bryant and rizzo for years.Miller is 30 schwarbers value will be greater long term and he can impact the cubs daily.I don’t want andrew miller go get dolittle or abad let the yankess keep miller and continue to be irrelevant with their old washed team.
You don’t trade a lefty power bat for a pitcher who might pitch 50 innings at best . As good as Miller is not 1 GM would trade Schwarber for Miller straight up its not happening
If a GM thinks it is the difference in winning a world series or not I think a lot would actually do it Cubs fans seem to think every thing is given and this team will always be this good from here on out that is not the case. Cubs fans penciling in Schwarber for 30-40 homers a year is funny too. You never want to sell your future in a reckless manner, but to not even consider it is the type of mentality that ends up with a team that hasn’t won in over 100 years.
Wow we should fire Theo and hire you immediately , you have all the answers
No need looks like Theo agrees with me
Just won 6 of 9 from the Indians, Red Sox and Orioles.
This team should not be selling.
Stop trolling Sox fan
Not catching the Os, six or Blue Jays. Sell all.
The more I read about Schwarber I think the Yankees should pass on him and the Cubs for that matter. They should keep Miller and trade Chapman, Beltran and Nova to Nats, Royals and Texas. Since Schwarber is obviously the second coming of Ruth perhaps he can pitch relief for the Cubs as well.
If the Cubs move Schwarber it will be for a youngish long term cost controlled starter in the offseason. The cubbies current dominant starting pitching window only goes through 2017. After that It is murky and acquisitions will cost major $ or major prospects.
Trust me I’m engraved here in Chicago baseball since 1988. We Will Not Trade Kyle EVER! Everybody important and fans love him! You don’t get rid of your teams all time post season home run leader who hasn’t even gotten a chance to play a full season yet, and he’s what 22,23 years old! He’s not going anywhere! In Theo We Trust
Cubs and Yanks aren’t a good match up and should just both move on. The Cubs can get what they want elsewhere and the Yanks can see if they can get someone else. The Cubs have the luxury of sitting on Schwarber until he is healthy and either playing LF or C or being healthy and getting packaged for a TOR pitcher. Done and done
they Yankees need at least controllable SP.. Sabathia is on his way out. I wonder how much patience they have left with Eovaldi and Pineda. Nova isn’t a long term player whereas Severino in. There is nothing in the FA market next winter. Kaprelian might be up at some point next year and they have other SP coming.
They need SP more than any hitter. Even a good one like Schwarber and as good as he is …. where does he play?
No SP is probably the way they want to go. So are the Cubs a match?
The Cubs need to just go get Chapman and stop worrying about ways to add on Miller or Eovaldi. Management has already said that they will not move Schwarber. So drop the idea of getting Miller and send the Yanks 3 prospects to snag Chapman,
2 month rental not worth three prospects, that’s short term as chapman said he’d happily go back to the Yankees
The Cubs could always just stick with Carl Edwards Jr.
Question for Cub fans. Which would you rather have, Schwarber or a championship? I’m not saying the Cubs should or should not trade Schwarber as I don’t have any allegiance to either team. I think adding Miller and / or Chapman greatly improves their chance of winning a championship, Schwarber isn’t helping them this year. Would a WS ring be worth trading Schwarber? There may be other chances with the Cubs core but anything can happen. Players get hurt, other teams find a better mix of players, teams have bad luck. The Cubs have a legit shot at winning it all this year, In my opinion, they should explore all options that can help them win this year.
I love the “we have so much depth” comments from the Cubs, but then the moment you suggest trading someone, it becomes, “he’s untouchable!”
Maybe, just maybe, you don’t have as much depth as you think if you can’t give guys who aren’t even playing right now up.
Cubs just made a trade with Seattle
Get lhp Montgomery for vogelbach. No need for Miller now
Love how people get so angry/ nasty over hypotheticals. The point of a team trading a guy on their major league roster is because another team is willing to overpay. While chapman def isn’t worth Schwarber, he will still fetch a good package, or he won’t go anywhere. A non contending team isn’t gonna take something fair for one of their players, they want to get a haul. There are no favors in MLB. Don’t see miller going anywhere, Cash likes him to much and will ask for a kings ransom.
“After all, the club is within striking distance of contention, can utilize the qualifying offer or extend Chapman, and still controls Miller for two seasons.”
No, the Yankees can NOT extend Chapman. He WILL test the open market this offseason.
Yankees don’t have what it takes to land a Kyle schwarber. With all due respect to Miller and chapman you do not trade a talent like schwarber who is under team control for years to come for a half of a season of chapman or two and a half years of Miller.
You Cub fans are delirious. I guess that must be from waiting 108 years for a championship. You want to make an impact deal but you don’t want to give up the only impact prospect (Schwarber) you have. You can keep Schwarber and watch someone else in the WS!! And I am not a Yankee fan!!