Bullpen help remains a primary need for the Nationals in what has been a rather quiet offseason in terms of pitching additions, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Nats are still discussing potential David Robertson trades with the White Sox. Adding Robertson, who is controlled for another two seasons at a total of $25MM, would provide the Nats with an experienced arm to shut down games and also give manager Dusty Baker some much-needed depth.
The problem in talks is somewhat familiar for the Nationals, per Rosenthal, as the team’s ownership is reluctant to take on all of the remaining money on Robertson’s contract. Beyond that, after parting with Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning to acquire the remaining five years of control over Adam Eaton, the Nats’ front office isn’t keen on surrendering top-tier prospects.
That Robertson is coming off his worst season since 2010 can’t make the Nationals any more eager to part with premium young talent. While the 31-year-old (32 in April) maintained his continually impressive strikeout rate (10.8 K/9) and saw his ground-ball rate rebound after a dip in 2015, Robertson averaged an uncharacteristic 4.6 walks per nine innings pitched. Robertson’s fastball velocity was consistent with his career marks, though, and he once again avoided spending any time on the disabled list, so there’s perhaps reason to hope that 2016’s control issues were a blip on the radar.
As it stands right now, Shawn Kelley and Blake Treinen are poised to be the two primary right-handers at the back of the Washington bullpen. They’ll be joined by left-handers Sammy Solis and Oliver Perez, with the remaining three spots somewhat up for grabs. Young right-handers Trevor Gott, A.J. Cole, Koda Glover, Austin Adams and Jimmy Cordero will all be in the mix for spots, as will more seasoned non-roster invitees Joe Nathan, Vance Worley, Jeremy Guthrie and Jacob Turner.
There are plenty of options for the Nationals at present, but there’s little in terms of certainty beyond the top few members of the relief corps. And, of course, it should be noted that Kelley’s season ended in frightening fashion, as an arm injury forced him from Game 5 of the National League Division Series. Both player and team expressed optimism in the following days that the injury was not serious, but that type of injury for any pitcher — let alone one that already has two Tommy John surgeries under his belt — is troubling nonetheless.
If the Nationals want to pursue other avenues to acquire late-inning help, those options have dwindled over the course of the winter. Sergio Romo and Joe Blanton are the top remaining right-handed relievers on the market (though Romo may be wrapping up a deal with the Dodgers), while the majority of the other trade options come with similar caveats to Robertson.
Nationals take on 18 million. Send Erick Fedde and drew vetoes on to white sox.
way to much for little serplus value Robertson is good by not elite
Going lower level makes more sense to me… take on the full contract and send Juan Soto and Rhett Whiseman
I’d expect a better package than Soto + Wiseman for the Sox to take on the entire contract
If Dusty’s true to his word, the team *must* have a closer with experience.
No way Fedde is involved; he is the last remaining bright pitching prospect anywhere close to the majors. And I thought Romo went with LA?
Not official yet. It was reported another team upped their offer.
Right. Fedde isn’t going anywhere (nor is Voth). I believe Romo deal isn’t completed yet; “mystery team” (could be the Nats) apparently raised their bid.
Sox know the Nationals are desperate for closing help, and will certainly exploit that need
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Sox nab Feede and Stevenson for Robertson plus cash
It’d have to be quite a bit of cash. Sox benefit just from seeing his large contract leave during their rebuild.
Robertson has more value than just a salary dump. Sox have a ton of payroll flexibility moving forward, so they do not have to ditch his contract.
Sox will be most interested in getting th best possible prospect return, especially since Robertson is the only decent closer available right now
Just because they don’t have to move him doesn’t mean they don’t want to save that money. And it’s not just a salary dump; if he wins games for them, then he’s actually hurting them by getting them a worse draft pick. I’m just saying the Sox are, or should be, motivated sellers. I understand wanting a good prospect, but with his subpar last season, no team is going to both give up a good prospect and take on most of his salary.
He absolutely had a down year last year, but it was NOT a subpar year.
No team expecting or trying to rebuild wants to pay 12.5 to any reliever. My bet is they either want to pay a lot of it to buy a top prospect or pass on all the cost for a low level prospect. A mix between does them no good
Pedro Severino and Michael Taylor for DRob and 5M
This is fair. A decent catcher for the sox. Robertson isn’t worth the top prospects left in the nationals system. He may turn out decent for them, but at this point sox should cut ties and get on with rebuild.
That’s the package I’d offer also.
If you were the Yanks and knew the window starts in 2019 with this rebuild would you consider dealing Dellin Betances to Nats? Would Nats give up three of their top ten prospects?
you could likely get prospects 8-10 Betances showed some concerning signs towards the end of the year.
If I’m the Yanks GM I would laugh at that! The Nats 8-10 might be the Yankees 20-23.
That’s not enough for one of the top bullpen arms in the game Chester!
Not even close.
Former top relievers. Downward trending relievers aren’t what you overpay for. Especially ones that cannot close, as evident by his 5 blown saves last season.
If that were the case then look around the league at all closers blowing saves and ask why is pride still so high. Look at best bullpen arms the last few years and Betances has been a top ten abs even top 5 according to MLB network so don’t go off a limited sample and destroy a players value.
you asked “would the nats give up 3 of their top 10”. That is 3 of their top 10.
Chester, no. Beta fed would fetch Fedde plus 4/5 other prospects with high upside…
Betances***
Lol… stupid auto correct
Chieftoto, no. That is not what he asked. His post asked whether or not the yankees could get 3 top 10 prospects. My response was that yes, I am sure the nats would give up 8-10 for him. Could he get more, probably, but that doesn’t change that the answer to his question is yes, they could certainly get 8-10. Perhaps he meant can they get 3 really good prospects, but that is not what the wording of his question asked.
Nats gave up everything for Eaton.
If I get Feede, Robles, and Glover then yes!!!
calling BS on this one. trying to leverage toronto into shipping either Dalton pompey or Anthony alford.
“Don’t pay for closers” In a world of “closer roulette,” best to let someone rise to the top and let the hot hand close. If needed, trade for someone at the deadline.
That could also be a recipe for disaster for the Nationals.
“We’ll just trade for one at the deadline” can be extremely expensive with many teams bidding on bullpen help. Also going for months without a true closer can end up costing you important games.
If you need bullpen help it is better to add prior to the season, than be at the mercy of the deadline
I generally agree as closers have been way over priced but then I think about how good the Tigers have been over the last ten years with nothing to show for it all because they could not ever find consistency out of the pen. I like trying to find a closer from within but if you are a team that expects to compete for a ring you got to have some dependables for late innings.
So closers are most important in the playoffs where you can use them more creatively due to rest. David Robertson put up a very high bb/9 last year which might be a bump in the road. Why not just wait til the deadline and reevaluate whether robertson has found his control, whether kelly/treinen can do the job, and the record of the club overall.
Yeah, you might end up paying more for a reliever at the deadline, but Robertson is owed a decent amount of money, which could serve to limit his market at the deadline anyway. Add that to the peace of mind that you get by having a half a season to evaluate the things mentioned above and I think it would be a wise choice unless the white sox are willing to trade robertson as the 4 bb/9 reliever price right now.
The Nationals might not have the luxury of being able to wait until the end of July to have a solid closer.
Not having that backend bullpen piece can cost you crucial games that are vital to having home field in the playoffs
i suggest you look at treinen and kelly’s stats compared to robertson’s and re think your “not having that backend bullpen piece” idea.
I get it, you’re a ws fan and want the world for your pretty meh and expensive reliever, but he’s not bringing back the type of package you saw with chapman and miller. Think about what melancon brought back, that’s probably more realistic.
Not in all cases, but some pitchers perform differently in closing situations. One prime example would be Boone Logan.
Just because Treinen and Kelly can pitch in the late innings doesn’t make them closer material. Worth a shot – absolutely, guaranteed to outperform DRob – not necessarily.
Supply and demand Chesteraarthur. Right now Robertson is the only solid closer available via trade or free agency
I’m not expecting Robles, but to say the Sox should pick up tons of the contract and settle for mediocre prospects is not realistic. At least one piece coming back to the Sox needs to be a quality prospect
Sox are not going to give Robertson away
If Jacob Turner and/or Jeremy Guthrie see the field for the Nationals this year, things will not have worked out.
I suspect Robertson’s health was not 100% last season. We will have to see if the offseason knee surgery improves the BB numbers. Currently, If I were an acquiring team I wouldn’t be keen on taking all the $ in his k. Seems like the White Sox will probably roll with Robertson to open the season, hope he has a great 1st half and try to move him then when demand is up and his k is slightly more palatable.
Here’s to hoping turner in the next Andrew Miller
The white Sox didn’t add any payroll this Winter I know they’re all in on this rebuild then why not just pay the 20 of the 25 mill owed and get a good prospect or 2
That’s what I say
Huston Street for AJ Cole straight up
That’s another interesting idea. As a Nats fan, I’d do it.
plus the Nats and Halos have good relations
I’ll give up Nate Jones, Robertson, and $7 mil a year for Robles.
that’s interesting
now that’s a deal however I’m not sure the nats need both nor do I think the sox package them.
a full season like jones had last year as a closer nets them robles alone and I think that’s what they are hoping for. decent prospect and money dump for Robertson, showcase jones and get a good prospect near deadline.
Exactly this
I think Robertson could fetch a top 100 prospect outside the top 50 plus one more solid piece
If the CWS ate a large portion of his contract I can see a Top 60-100 player and maybe a lotto pick get moved. I wouldn’t do it bc Robertson’s numbers just weren’t that great (regardless of his large salary), but WAS are hardup for a guy who has experience as a closer.
I’m not shocked that Romo went with LAD (it was well known he prefers the west coast), though I’m wondering why WAS hasn’t snatched up Blanton and/or Smith, who both fill a need…albeit imperfectly.
In a perfect world, you’d be correct. The White Sox would absolutely prefer to ship off Robertson now for a decent prospect then showcase Jones and trade him for a haul at the deadline. But if Robles was on the table for a package deal (he wouldn’t be), they’d take it in a heartbeat.
Intriguing, but Jones may have a good deal of value at the deadline. If I’m the WS, I’d wait on him. I’d be interested to know if a deal with the Pirates involving Josh Bell as part of a package for Q is going to get done; if not, I wonder how much salary the Sox would have to eat to get the Mets to give back Dominic Smith for Robertson. The WS will need a 1B once they trade Abreu.
The Astros A.J. Reed might be that core first baseman you speak of in a re-worked potential trade package for Jose Quintana. I’d love to see his big left-handed power bat on the South Side as part of their rebuild. He would also be more MLB ready than any of their current positional prospects.
Imo, Reed will not just be a slugger who either hits HR’s or strikes out. I believe he will hit for a decent enough average and high OBP. Reed should also provide above average defense at 1B, better than what White Sox fans are seeing with Jose abreu or witnessed with Frank Thomas in the past. As a former ace pitcher in college, he possesses an extremely strong arm for the position and may even be useful as a mop-up pitcher late in blow-out games, something that may be occurring more frequently in the early stages of the rebuild. lol
The Astros are reportedly reluctant to part with SP’s Joe Musgrove and top pitching prospect Frances Martes in any deal for “Q”. Perhaps a re-worked trade involving solid prospects like RF Kyle Tucker, CF Daz Cameron, SP Forrest Whitley, along with a recent top prospect like Reed would work instead.
Reed hit well in the minors; maybe that will translate given time. I’m not that concerned about MLB-ready, though. If I were the WS, I wouldn’t take a guy like Robles who, though an elite prospect, won’t be ready until probably 2019 and maybe 2020, but it’d be fine with me if they take back guys who won’t be ready this year.
Overall, I’d still rather the Sox deal with the Pirates just because I’d rather they take fewer players with higher upside, but I haven’t heard of them having talks in several weeks.
Reed’s stock is down considerably since his awful 48 game stint in the majors in 2016. I think he is better than his numbers, but the extended poor showing does give reason for concern.
Reed would be a nice 3rd piece to a deal, but certainly his recent performance takes him out of any headliner status. A repeat of 2016’s performance would send him into prospect obscurity
Reinsdorf doesn’t have the patience for an extended rebuild. What makes you think they’RE looking to trade Abreu. They promoted a spanish speaking head coach & Moncada is like Abreu’s little brother. More likely they trade everyone except Abreu. Jerry wants prospects as close to mlb ready as possible in hopes they’ll be competitive by 2019. Chicago Bulls need a rebuild ten times worse than CWS did. Bulls fill the stadium regardless, Sox fans don’t for a below avg team. Jerry needs to expedite this rebuild b/c he won’t rebuild both teams at the same time. Not economically feasible plus he doesn’t care if the Bulls win another title, loves the White Sox though.
What the White Sox do has absolutely nothing to do with what the Bulls do. They are separate business entities in different professional sports. Each franchise has their own budget and need to be in compliance with league fiscal rules that govern them.
Jerry Reinsdorf may own both clubs and have the final say in the spending and direction each club takes but he is not taking any extra money out of his own pocket nor moving revenue from one club to the other. He is also very loyal to his front offices and will pretty much let them make chose the path each franchise takes. As an example, it was White Sox GM Rick Hahn who ultimately convinced both Reinsdorf and Executive VP Kenny Williams to undertake this latest rebuild. Each agreed and Hahn is now the primary conductor of this symphony.
Your foolish to think Jerry would have tons of empty seats in both stadiums at the same time. Rick convinced Jerry & Jerry told Kenny to stand down n know your role
Robertson is not a realistic piece to land Dom Smith. Keith Law has Dom Smith ranked as 29th on his top 100. There is no way Dom Smith gets moved for a guy coming off a down year that is owed $25m.
The Mets are cheap and the one thing they have is a surplus of arms. The Mets need Dom Smith to step in for Duda when he leaves and/or is injured and can’t come back. I wouldn’t non-tender Duda bc he is a year removed from being a top 10-12 1B, but his back is concerning given how much time he missed this past year. He also has ugly splits and Smith is a much more disciplined hitter and can produce solid D. He probably could have also made that throw home…but that’s just me being bitter. 😀
He’s ranked 63rd by MLB.com. And the Mets were asking about Robertson earlier in the offseason, so they’re not as high on their surplus of arms. I don’t know how high the Mets are on Smith, but if the WS paid most of Robertson’s salary, I think they’d consider it.
mlb.com has by far the worst prospect lists each season. I would put less stock in their ratings than pretty much any other source
Would jump at that if I were the Sox.
I think the Nats are going to try to make do until the deadline, they cannot continue shipping out prospects. They are a bottom third farm as it stands and if Robles goes away they are in really rough shape.
When you consider their back loaded deals, along with the Harper FA situation, they’re treading down a dangerous path already.
The Nats are absolutely in win now mode and cannot afford to enter the 2017 season without an established closer at the back of the pen. Robertson is not elite, but provides them with a league average closer…much better than what they currently have.
Sox know this and will not give him away for cheap. Nationals are backed into a corner and will be forced to pay more than they would like at this point to get a deal done
please get this narrative out of here. We know teams can certainly win without established closers and the nats do have backend type pitchers and are certainly not backed into a corner.
they seemed pretty adamant that they don’t want to trade robles
The Nationals don’t have any options left to find a closer other than a trade or in-house solutions. All the free agents are signed and the only other potential closer available in a trade might be the Rays’ Alex Colome who would cost a fortune in assets as a pre-arbitration eligible pitcher who won’t become a free agent until 2021.
It’s not at all certain that the Rays would even be willing to move Colome at this point. He is cheap, controllable and they fancy themselves as a potential contender heading into the 2017 season in an A.L. East that has only seen the Red Sox make major improvements this offseason.
From the Nats perspective, Colome is not exactly a spring chicken either, having just turned 28. He only just became a full time closer this past season after spending most of 2015 as a swing-man in the bullpen and rotation. He was excellent in the role last year but doesn’t exactly have the track record of David Robertson who has closed for 3 seasons now after being Mariano Rivera’s setup man with the Yankees. The job Robertson did having to fill “Mo’s” shoes as closer on the big stage in NY after the legend retired following the 2013 season was remarkable.
The Nats are expected to be a solid contender in the N.L. this season and Robertson would appear to be their best veteran option at this point. He shouldn’t be all that costly in prospects, especially if the White Sox aren’t willing to pay down some of the remaining $25MM left on the remaining two years of his contract. It’s also possible that Chicago may be willing to accept a controllable asset from the Nats MLB roster instead of paying down more money or in lieu of prospects, perhaps CF Michael Taylor, C Pedro Severino or better yet, SP Joe Ross.
Michael Taylor? Can’t see the Sox having interest in a below replacement level player for him
Ross would be interesting, but I don’t see the Nats parting with him
Fedde seems like a logical centerpiece
fedde is only a logical centerpiece in a robertson trade to unrealistic sox fans
I think it depends on how much salary the WS are willing to eat. I would like them to trade everyone they’re going to before the season starts just to have the worst possible team to go after the #1 overall pick, but realistically, they’ll probably wait until the deadline to trade Abreu, Frazier, and Robertson.
Sox would be interested in a package based around either Fedde or Soto + another piece
Can’t see a deal getting done if Robles / Fedde and Soto are all off the table
The White Sox would be buying Taylor’s potential as a former recent top-50 prospect (2015) as much as anything else. He will turn 26 in March, is currently pre-arb-eligible and will have 3 additional years of arbitration control until becoming a FA in 2021. As a right-handed hitting CF he could immediately fill a platoon role with another MLB ready controllable prospect who bats left-handed, Charlie Tilson. Soon to be 30-year old veteran Peter Bourjos is the likely candidate to fill that role currently, having recently signed a deal as a minor league invite to spring training.
Btw-Depending on how much money the White Sox would be willing to kick in, a more likely trade scenario involving Michael Taylor would also include another “lesser” prospect coming back to Chicago…or perhaps a swap involving both Taylor and C Pedro Severino.
Much like Taylor in CF, Severino would be a more “logical” platoon option for a rebuilding White Sox club as a right-handed hitting, defensive minded catcher to pair with left-handed hitting Omar Narvaez. The likely platoon partner currently looks to be 34-year old veteran Geovany Soto who, like Peter Bourjos, was also signed to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.
Bourgos and Soto would be nothing more than minor “flip” pieces at the trade deadline while Taylor and Severino are both young enough to be potential core pieces at best or bridge pieces to more impacting prospects like CF Luis Alexander Basabe and C Zack Collins.
My suggestion of Joe Ross in return for David Robertson was more a a “pipe dream” on my part and would likely involve another veteran asset going back to the Nats or virtually all of the cash left on the closer’s contract.
Sox should receive a better package than Taylor + Severino for Robertson, especially if the Sox are sending cash as well
Sox eat 6M and get OF Stevenson, C Severino, OF Daniel Johnson OR Sox eat 18M and get OF Soto, C Severino, and OF Yasel Antuna. Not getting Fedde and certainly not Robles. Either way Hahn should ask for Severino as another C option and some toolsy young outfielders
These seem pretty fair
Add Pittsburgh in the trade, Nats get mccutchen plus Robertson, Pitt gets Quintana, Frazier and Michael Taylor, soxs get Robles, Newman, Hayes, Keller, severino
Nats got Eaton already, they don’t need Cutch.
Sox fan looking from their prospective no way they give up Q, Robertson & Frazier for that return. Glasnow added in over Keller then maybe but I predict a huge 3 team somewhat similar involving Sox, Yanks & Pirates with Cutch & Frazier going to Yanks. Quintana, Avi Garcia & Headley going to Pirates and Glasnow, Josh Harrison, Brault, Hayes, Judge, Mateo & Blake Rutherford going to Sox.
Keller is better than Glasnow.
And that trade is awful for everyone but the White Sox.
I don’t understand why you would believe the Yankees would have any interest in Cutch and Frazier. Both players make zero sense for them and have very short contracts left. Trading 2 of their top 5 prospects for them (especially Rutherford) is laughable.
Don’t want Harrison, I want Josh bell
Cutch would be an upgrade over werth, right?
But would the nationals take on those two salaries
If I’m the Nationals, not a chance. Their farm system is low on high-end talent and Harper’s probably leaving in a couple years. If they don’t win now, the last thing they need to do is trade away talent and take on another anchor contract. And Cutch doesn’t help too much now.
How about Robertson and cash for Severino and C. Kieboom or Stevenson?
I’ll take Severino and Soto instead.
Sox eating 20% of Robertson contract does not sound unfair at all. With off season knee surgery this may help his above average value of a closer and moving to the NL may also improve his numbers with this switch to Nats
Nats get Robertson + $10mil.
Sox get Soto or Kieboom as the headliner + Severino, Watson or Baez as the secondary piece.
ex: Soto and Baez
or
Kieboom and Watson
PS- Glad to hear it’s the Nats ownership having cold feet and not Rick Hahn overvaluing his trade pieces.
this is where leverage comes in. blue jays come into conversation and who can offer more. sox would ask for robles and blue jays its vlad jr, plus rowdy, and maybe top picthing prospect or reese macguire. but i would settle for vlad and rowdy or basically vlad must be included.
Robertson is not pulling a top 50 prospect even if they eat a lot of his contract. Aiming in the 50 to 100 range is more realistic.
Not true
Then he stays. doesnt go anywhere until trade deadline. basically you say to these teams are you in it to win it or play it safe and live in regret for the move or moves you didnt make.
Donaldson was the best trade of them all, and yet he didn’t put the Jays over the top. I wouldn’t expect any deal that is done now to make a big difference. The big moves will be done at the deadline.
Hahn needs to move a lot of players this year, and the key for him is to get the max return for them. Frazier and Robertson seem to be the first players that need to be traded. Quintana will get the best return.. I still think most of them get moved at the deadline!
Yankees are gonna pull off a deal for Robertson and Frazier and dump headley
Why? They don’t need either player and have a slim chance at a wild card this year. The Yankees are the last team that would take Robertson. They just shelled out all of that cash for Chapman. Plus, they have Clippard, Warren, and Betances in the backend. What need do they have for a $12+ million per year setup man?
I’m glad Hahn seems to be sticking to his price on the Sox trade assets, but I would be comfortable with making a small concession and lowering the price on Robertson to make a deal. I’m not saying trade him for nothing, but maybe be willing to be flexible a bit more. It would be nice to just clear him out of the way, as a closer has little value on a rebuilding team, and then the team can also showcase Nate Jones during the first half of 2017 and trade him at the deadline.
Sox still should be able to get real value for Robertson. Keep in mind there are really no other viable closers available on the trade market or in free agency right now.
Robertson could provide a stable option as a closer for a contender.
Maness is available as a free agent. Maurer and Madson are reportedly available in trades. With the Holland signing the Rockies will probably listen to offers for McGee or they can look for a rebound candidate like Boxberger from the Rays (who also have Colome available). Heck, I bet the Yankees would send Clippard back to the Nationals cheaply. The Yankees don’t need 3 right handed setup men and Clippard is the most expensive of the 3.
I say Soto and carter kieboom and we pay this years salary and they pick up the rest
They aren’t getting both. They MIGHT be able to get 1 plus a lower ranked guy. I’d take Soto in a heartbeat.
First of all you tell me why they can’t get both ? Kieboom is the #3 ranked prospect and Soto is the #12. If the sox take on half of the salary left on the deal, I think it is a very fair deal.
Agreed. Take out Robles and I feel everyone else can be had in the right deal. Obviously if you want someone like Fedde you may be looking closer to a 1 for 1 swap or having to eat a lot of the contract. However Kieboom and Soto seems like what the trade would look like.
Because Robertson is coming off a down year, and there doesn’t appear to be much competition in the closer trade market at the moment. Also, I’d be willing to bet that Soto holds significantly more prospect value than #12 in their system. Just because mlb.com values him that way doesn’t mean everybody does. The kid is 18 years old and mashed last year. Personally, I’d take him before any other position player in the Nats system not named Robles.
I could see a Robertson for Drew Ward deal. Ward is a decent prospect but not overwhelming and the Nats have a ton of depth in the minors at 3B
Drew Ward? Get real! With that offer Rick Hahn doesn’t say anything but simply hangs up the phone.
I wouldn’t do that if I were Hahn. Ward is a pretty mediocre prospect at best right now. If that’s the best offer on the table, I think he’s better off waiting until the deadline.
Sorry I’ll take back I was looking at Soto and kieboom’s rankings last year. They are currently both between 2-6 somewhere. For that I’d eat the whole Robertson contract for the next two years but that is a fair trade
No one can predict what a GM “will or won’t do”…..did anyone see Moncada moving? How about the package Eaton brought back? Here’s another one….Josh Donaldson trade to Toronto. You can speculate all you want, but realistically all these offers are possible until they ain’t.
That said, I’d rather see the Sox stick it out for Conforto. Mets have a glut of outfielders and Bruce is going nowhere. Get on the phone and start negotiating how much of the salary Reinsdorf is kickin in.
Donaldson was the best trade of them all, and yet he didn’t put the Jays over the top. I wouldn’t expect any deal that is done now to make a big difference. The big moves will be done at the deadline.
I’m with you I’d go for conforto over anything Washington can offer and I’d try to get justin Dunn in the deal as well, even if white sox eat most of the money owed to Robertson
Mets said no to Conforto at last year’s deadline. Don’t see them changing their mind, much less throwing in Dunn
Agreed. Unless Robertson is having a dominating year, no way Sox get Conforto for him.
And just to let you all know robertsons numbers weren’t horrible but were down a little cause he had a torn meniscus in his land leg for the majority of the season last year. That has been taken care of in the offseason
If the Sox believe it’s truly been taken care of, then they should wait until the season is at least a couple months old so he can prove it. If Washington is reluctant to pick up his salary or part with a decent prospect, then it’s hard to see him getting dealt right now anyway.
Dude sucks I’d take a ham sandwich for him as long as the team he goes to eats that ridiculous salary. Terrible in 2015 too. Watched him personally blow 3 games Sale & Quintana pitched 8 innings strong, no heart. Trade Lawrie to the Nats for Robles & Soto they don’t use Vaseline in Washington. Trade Robertson to a team you haven’t already violated.
Trade Brett Lawrie for Robles and Soto? Whatever credibility you might have had on this site just went down the toilet.
Hey cubs/Sox fan it was an exaggeration, clownsuit. An example of another lopsided trade Washington may accept b/c their GM is horrible. Pick a team already
Lol so you want to trade a piece with some decent value despite a down year (Robertson) for a ham sandwich, but you think an actual garbage player (Lawrie) will bring back Robles and Soto? Seems logical.
I disagree. So he is mlb ready and you are gonna sit him another year because of the logjam of outfielders?
Gotta love the prospect perspective creep.
Robles is untouchable. Ok Fedde, then.
Oh no, Fedde is our best pitching prospect. Hmmm.. ok, I guess we can go with Soto and another prospect. Can’t do that, Soto is a once in a lifetime prospect…. sheesh, never mind. Go play on the reliever scrap heap.
Houston is just as bad, if not worse.
Bergman is completely off the table. Understood, let’s do Musgrove, Martes and another prospect.
Oh no, Musgrove is elite and untouchable! Seriously? Ok, Martes, Tucker and tickets to the Super Bowl? No way, Martes is an ace, Tucker is better than Willie Mays at the same age and Super Bowl tickets are, well, super!
I think part of it is from all the recent lopsided trades. Donaldson is the rare one where an established player brought back relatively little. On the flip side, though, you have Eaton, Shelby Miller, and Chapman, who all brought great prospects to their former teams. (Not counting Sale’s deal, because I think it’s a win-win for both teams.) I think teams are looking at these lopsided deals for stars and are afraid of getting fleeced long-term.
I think out of all these the only one you can say is lopsided is the Shelby Miller deal.
Sale like you said was a win-win,
Eaton (too early to tell with prospects and Eaton will provide a lot of value with that cheap long term deal and great defense if they put him in the corner
Cubs aren’t winning that world series if they did not do the Chapman deal so probably a win-win as well assuming Gleyber becomes at least a solid MLB regular.
If it’s too early to tell on Eaton, it has to be too early to tell on Sale. It’s prospects for established players. I think the upside the WS got in Eaton, though, is likely to outweigh the loss of Eaton. Giolito and Lopez could be 40% of a very good starting rotation in a few years. Eaton’s defense is terrific, but as you said, in the corner. When he was in center, he did not have that kind of impact.
As for the Cubs, Chapman had a few great performances, but due to overuse, a few lousy ones as well. The Cubs already had a solid bullpen and, properly used, I think they still would likely have won. That said, there’s really no way to ever know for sure. I think Torres is likely to be a stud, though, and they may regret this deal long-term.
This is extremely accurate lol
Honestly I think the Sox could get Bregman from Houston if they added abreu into the mix. Abreu is at first gurriel moves to third. Abreu under control for three years Quintana for four Sox get back Bregman reed tucker fisher and Forrest Whitley. Fair trade, Houston and Chicago get what they want.
Not happening. Bregman isn’t going anywhere.
This one shouldn’t be hard to keep dragging. Nats can use the reliable though not great closer & Hahn be happy with 1 legit prospect and some lesser guy their scouts think is better than ranked. Arm wrestle over the % each pays for contract balance.
Trade Roberson to Cubs for a couple minor leaguers