While we’ll certainly break out any stories that seem to have some helium, we’ll use this post to keep tabs on less pressing developments in the market for starting pitching:
- The Pirates are talking to the Yankees about Ivan Nova, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Marlins are now looking for another starter after sending Colin Rea back to the Padres, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets.
- Angels lefty Hector Santiago is still on the Tigers’ radar, along with Hellickson, per Morosi (via Twitter). Santiago has been talked about a decent bit in recent weeks, but we haven’t heard very many strong connections. Los Angeles is likely willing to deal him in the right situation, but surely puts a high value on a useful starter who is controllable beyond the year.
- The Astros are mostly just “dabbling” in the market for starters, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Edinson Volquez of the Royals represents one possible target, though Houston is said not to be terribly interested in the veteran righty.
- While we haven’t heard much in the way of specifics, the Cubs are said to be eyeing an impactful rotation addition, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that’s still the case. (He adds that the team prefers not to overpay for a left-handed-hitting outfielder, which is also on their wish list.)
- The Phillies may well hold onto righty Jeremy Hellickson, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark tweets. Philly hasn’t changed its asking price — last we heard, at least one quality prospect — but the market is changing. The Giants and Tigers aren’t in the bidding, per Stark, while the Rangers and Blue Jays have other names higher on their priority lists. With that being said, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that Detroit is still looking at Hellickson, among other starters, as they seek to add to their rotation.
Considering the price that the Yankees received for Chapman and Miller, the cost to acquire Sale would be staggering.
I’m not even sure if proposed example trades come remotely close to what it would take for the White Sox to agree.
It’d have to be staggering. There is no reason for the White Sox to trade Sale. If the White Sox want to stay competitive in the AL Central they need Sale
The white sox will trade sale. If not today then this offseason.
This team is mired in mediocrity. Time for a rebuild and sale will bring back a ton.
I don’t know why we are not hearing the names of Frazier, eaton, Cabrera, etc. today.
Agreed, the Sox are mired in mediocrity. No one is debating that. The problem is that people are debating how much Sale should bring back – mostly from Boston fans who are shocked at the very obvious price tag.
To your point, Sale should bring back a ton. But again, Red Sox fans are taking over these boards saying that Bentinendi plus Moncada – AND other prospects – is a ridiculous price tag. These same fans say the Sox are mediocre and should just take what they can get. To that, these fans are ridiculous.
Chris Sale is not the reason the Sox are mediocre. His performance is elite. His contract is not prohibitive by any stretch. And the team is at no risk of losing him for three more years. If the Sox think their best way to rid their organization of mediocrity is to trade Sale, then they need to make it a franchise-altering move. Acquiring one elite prospect plus a bunch of mid-level guys does not do that.
So unless the Red Sox are willing to engage in a package that includes Moncada-Benitendi-Devers-PLUS, then there’s no chance they’ll acquire Sale. Unless the Dodgers are willing to talk Urias-DeLeon-Vertugo, then they won’t acquire him either. The same can be said of the Rangers with Gallo-Profar-Mazaro or the Astros with Bergmann-Martes-Tucker. The Sox aren’t looking to acquire mid-level talent for a premium talent. They’re looking to set up the next 10 years for their franchise. Otherwise, trading him just isn’t worth it.
Well Eaton is immensely valuable as well, to the point where he may not be available. He’s an abover average hitter with speed and some power, above average defender capable of playing all outfield spots, and is playing on a ridiculously team friendly contract that has him under team control until 2021, and he’s only 27 years old. The White Sox probably haven’t even made him available, but if they did, they’d probably ask for about the same kind of return they’d want for Quintana.
Probably a notch or so below Quintana. Pitching is just immensely more valuable on this market. There are cheaper options to be had. Options, mind you, that don’t put up the same long-term value, but who can easily put up just as much value as Eaton over the final two months of the season.
I think that goes with the totality of your thought, though – Eaton isn’t going anywhere. His value to the market isn’t as great as his value to the Sox right now.
I agree with your points on sale and believe it’s in the sox best interest to trade him this offseason so they can get a betts, Bradley or boegarts. Don’t think the red
Sox can afford to part with any of them right now.
Plus, there are other teams like the Cubs who could package Baez for sale,
But can’t afford to do it right now.
Every team can afford sales contract and could make a great offer for sale.
I think the sox trade him this offseason for the reasons I mentioned.
You think the sox would ask for about the same return for eaton as they would Quintana?
No way they get it, but it never hurts to ask.
justinept nailed it. As a White Sox fan I’d love to see such a package materialize, but it’s not looking likely today.
3 team trade. Red Sox acquire Sale.
Dodgers get Frazier, Groome.
White Sox get Moncada, Benintendi, Kopech, Swihart, Urias, Lux, Vertugo, De Leon.
Hard to scope out but seems okay of a trade. Dodgers get the worst of the hit but they get their big name 3rd baseman with tons of pop. Seems doable.
Dodgers already have a better 3rd baseman. Why on earth would they give up anything to get someone they dont need?
Sox won’t give up all their top 5 prospects and Swihart for just Sale
Why would the Dodgers do this when they have Turner at 3B and could of kept Frazier instead of spinning him to the Sox?
If Dodgers get Quintana instead, then maybe. But why give up 3 of top 4 prospects for a guy who could be argued is a downgrade from their current 3B (Turner)?
No kidding, this talk always seem to get to the fever stage around this point. Somebody recently suggested the Dodgers might trade for Profar. Because they don’t have enough infielders.
The Dodgers will not trade Urias, De Leon and Verdugo if for anyone but Sale. In your trade, they are giving away 3 prospects for 2 worse ones.
Groome can’t be traded why could they give up Swihart moncada Benintendi Kopech and their #1 draft pick. This is more than ChiSox are asking.
Dodgers were involved in trade that netted Frazier for White Sox. Unlikely they want him now – especially at the price of Urias, Vertugo, and DeLeon. Those guys names come up ONLY in scenarios where they’re acquiring Sale.
Agreed with the assessment of the proposal. However, Groome can be traded as a PTBNL. It just can’t be official until December, and it puts Groome in the same awkward position that Trea Turner was in last year.
Groome cannot. Look at the new rules. PTBNL must be trade eligible at time of trade.
agree 100%. As much as I’d love the Red Sox to get him I doubt DD will meet the asking price. Based off of the other trades going on I wouldn’t be shocked at all, and I wouldn’t blame Hahn, for asking for Moncada, Benintendi, Kopech, Owens, Swihart/Vazquez, and the rights to Groome.
**I also hope to GOD DD does not make that trade
If the trade would go through my guess would be Pomeranz, Benintendi, Kopech, Owens and maybe 1-2 small prospects and a bullpen guy.
1. Groome is signed you don’t need the rights.
2. The Reliever market is different than the Starter market and my guess is though there is some overlap they are mostly independent.
3. It’s been reported that the asked for four prospects and “3 of their bests”
4. I would hope DD would never make your proposed ask either.
5. What do you think about a Pomeranz Devers Basabe Dubon deal? I know that’s not 4 players and 3 of their best but since we aren’t GMs it’s entertaining to postulate on trades like this.
I bet its one of Betts/Bogaerts, one of Benintendi/Moncada (maybe both), and likely one of Swihart/Devers.
All Red Sox fans will say too much but I bet this is what Williams is asking for,
Groome can’t be traded until after the World Series (unless maybe its a PTBN.)
You’re right they changed part of the rule but not all. Also, he can’t be part of package because the new rule says the PTNL must be eligible to be traded at time of trade.
Part of me wonders if the packages the Yankees got for Chapman and Miller combined would even be enough for the White Sox. If so, I think the Yankees would pull the trigger.
It’s not nearly enough for Sale. Torres, Frazier, and Sheffield are very good prospects, but Yanks would need to add like three more top prospects to get Chicago’s attention.
Phillies–just get a decent piece for him. We dont need a top-5 guy just get what you can. He’s leaving next season and theres no guarantee he maintains this level of productiom for a QO.
The White Sox have been in win-now mode for the last couple of years. I don’t see a reason to trade one of the best players on your team when you want to win and you have control over him until 2020.
Because they’re not a good team and their idea to win now has continually failed
Hellickson isn’t traded. He then goes on to get injured or a mountainous collapse to suckdum. Phillies get absolutely nothing for him and are in the negative since they traded an asset for him.
Disgusting if he’s not moved.
I like you
Phillies are in a two year rebuild. If Hellickson accepts arbitration you have him for another one year deal and hopefully he can put together another solid season next year. The Phiilies have the payroll to spend and no great free agents until the 2018 off season. If Hellickson does not accept you get a draft pick. Either of them is a better scenario that just accepting any minor league player who is not a prospect. Get something solid or hold on to him
Hellickson pulling an Aaron Harang and reverting to who he was 2013-2015 would make him so bad you wouldn’t give him a qualifying offer. If you did give him one and no one wanted him the Phillies could end up with a pitcher making $17 million with a 5.50 ERA who is blocking prospects at AAA.
As double just said, Hellickson is more likely to pull an Aaron Harang and get injured or suck than he does lasting the rest of the season at this pace.
The best case is he stays good and rejects a QO resulting in a draft pick. When you hope he puts together a solid season after this is hard to swallow. This isn’t a pitcher who has a slew of solid seasons on his resume to bank on.
The bad far outweighs the good, so you sell high and cash in now. You also want to get something better than Hellickson plus McWilliams. Not sure pick 30-40 will be better than what you could get for him traded right now.
No with the Phillies luck they will keep him, he will get hurt when they don’t move him. We will let him walk, and this offseason he will sign elsewhere and be an absolute stud for some other team. And then that team will trade him next year for a solid prospect.
Yeah, the chance he lives up to QO status is slim and any interested clubs know this and know that they have a huge advantage leverage-wise and will likely wait to see if the phils come down off their asking price…that said, if some of the other rotation options come off the board as the deadline looms closer, there is a chance the phils get a team in the position of having missed out on the other available pitchers and subsequently acquiesce to the Phillies’ demand of a “quality prospect”. with that in mind, has anyone heard how much “quality” they’re looking for?
Earlier I believe they were asking for someone who was a top 5-in system type guy, so I’d imagine someone similar to Justus Sheffield in terms of value?
I see no reason why the Phillies should hold on to Hellickson unless they are convinced that they can contend next year with him accepting a QO/extension. If they can get a top 100 or close type prospect for him most fans should prefer that to a draft pick
I feel like Yankees should just keep on selling. The two moves they’ve already made are going to be big in the near future. I’d trade Beltran and McCann. Release ARod and Maybe Tex.
Does anyone even want McCann and his contract? Keep him around to DH some next year
Yanks can help with money. Open up the spot for Sanchez.
All they are looking for is a prospect that they deem better then what they can get with the comp pick. I heard next years draft is really deep so they should be able to get a very good prospect at that spot.
I think Rich Hill may be the best option for the Jays. It looks like they are going to move Aaron Sanchez to the bullpen sometime in August. They can then replace him with Hill in the starting lineup. They even have some time to get him completely over the blister issue as Sanchez probably won’t be sent to the pen until mid August. Just a thought, but, the Jays new management team does not have a track record of big trades like Alex Anthopoulis did.
If last night wasn’t an indication, the Cubs have 0 rotation depth beyond the starting 5. Yeah, there’s guys like Cahill or Wood who could be stretched out, but beyond that, if an emergency should arise, we’d be looking at Brian Matusz again, or else racing to unearth another Rodrigo Lopez or Justin Germano.
This being said, it doesn’t make sense to shell out for a 6 starter, so my thinking is that they should be looking into a long term option, seeing as there will probably be baseball in 2017 and beyond too. What it comes down to is that Theo and Jed did a hell of a job stacking the organization with bats, but in terms of pitching, the cupboard is bare.
Reddick to the Cubs, how many years have I been praying for this to happen. Offer up E-Mart
Can something just happen already? Less than 4 hours left.
Chicago man here. I love Sale BUT he has incredible trade value at the moment because of his talent, salary and contract years. The thing is…I DO NOT TRUST the Sox management to evaluate positional talent. I look at the Cubs draft position the last 4 years and think the Sox could have had all of the same guys. Yet, they Cubs have/had a farm system to dream about while the Sox have nobody. They have to overpay for positional players. So, I say trade Sale to the Yankees but demand the talent they traded for…at least that way you know it is ‘real’ talent.
I just mess around about the Braves trading for Trout. But if Atlanta will not be competitive until 2020 and is truly in rebuild, why not trade Freeman and bring home a bundle of talent?? Someone mentioned about the Braves sending Freeman and a player like Jenkins to the Astros for AJ Reed and Bregman. How do you guys feel about that?
This is the most sensible comment that I recall you ever making. Cheers!
Braves could offer MLB Top Prospect LHP Sean Newcomb for Matt Moore. Newcomb is a stronger Matt Moore with his clock not started.
no one likes the braves