The Dodgers were reported to be interested in Yu Darvish even before today’s news broke that Clayton Kershaw is very likely headed to the disabled list. Regardless of whether Kershaw’s injury proves to be serious or not, Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times argues that the Dodgers should still acquire Darvish or a similar front-of-the-rotation starter. With the team having a legitimate chance at a World Series title, Hernandez feels the time has come for the Dodgers front office to make a bold trade of valued prospects to add an ace that could at least help lessen the postseason load on Kershaw or (worst case scenario) replace Kershaw entirely if his back problems are serious.
Here’s some more trade chatter from around the league…
- In an interview with Astros Radio (hat tip to MLB.com’s Christian Boutwell), GM Jeff Luhnow said that his team’s deadline plans have changed thanks to Collin McHugh returning from the DL and Dallas Keuchel also expected to soon get back in action. “We were thinking we may have [to] go out and get a depth starter — a fourth, fifth starter guy to help us get through the season,” Luhnow said. “That’s no longer the case. If anything, we’ve going to have to put guys in the bullpen.” Of course, Houston has been linked to bigger names than just back-of-the-rotation types, as names like Sonny Gray, Jaime Garcia and Justin Verlander have been mentioned in connection with the Astros’ trade talks. Luhnow added that the ’Stros are still open to pursuing other options that may help them in the postseason, which could hint at pouncing on a bigger name if a good deal becomes available.
- In his weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan (hat tip to Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Pirates GM Neal Huntington said that the team will keep an eye on the outfield trade market with Gregory Polanco on the DL and Starling Marte ineligible for postseason play. Huntington said that asking prices for outfielders in May and June were too high, and the Bucs still won’t “overpay” for a player that may not be much of an upgrade over their internal options, plus the GM is hopeful that Polanco won’t miss much time recovering from his strained hamstring.
- While the White Sox are continuing to trade veterans, Melky Cabrera is hoping to remain with the team, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin writes. “I like this team and I would like to stay here for a long time, not just until the end of the season. But I don’t have control of those decisions,” Cabrera said via a translator. Cabrera wasn’t garnering much trade interest as of a month ago, though the veteran has continued to post solid numbers at the plate. Cabrera is owed approximately $5.2M in salary for the remainder of the season before hitting free agency this winter.
Darvish would put the Dodgers in the drivers seat. Prospects come and go. Flags fly forever.
Kershaw missed 10 weeks last year with pain in the same area. Hope that isn’t the case this time as he is such an asset for MLB. I hate seeing all these injuries to pitchers.
Kershaw missed ten weeks with a herniated disc. That’s more serious than this, although nobody will know for sure until he’s actually examined by a doctor.
Monday, though I would not count on knowing much more even then. The Dodgers are pretty cagey about the cards they turn over. It was that way with Kershaw’s trip to the DL last year, and others, with only spare details released on the player’s condition. Would not be shocked if they chose to give him most of August to rest up for the big push, especially if they can land Darvish.
I’m going out on a limb and say that, if your scenario is correct, and Kershaw’s injury is minor……that the Dodgers pass on the high-priced Darvish and land a #2-3 in the trade market instead….save the big named prospects, and cruise into the playoffs anyway.
Rays and Pirates probably aren’t trading SP’s right now, because they are fringe playoff contenders.
Would they spend the prospects and get a guy like Sonny Gray (controllable) instead?…..makes more sense.
They’ve had dealings with Atlanta before……maybe they deal for Jaime Garcia as a stop-gap?
What #2 or #3 starter is available who is a clear upgrade to the Dodgers rotation? Aside from your best of the best trade guys, I don’t see any clear upgrades. Those will all cost a sizable return, prospect wise.
The Dodgers are already loaded with mid-to-lower rotation starters. But even with a healthy Kershaw, they still don’t have any clear 2-3 arms. Probably Wood is one of those, if his last start turns out to be an anomaly. Everybody else is a definite maybe. Darvish nails down that #2 and slips a righty into a very lefty-heavy rotation. As a rental, he’d be a lot less costly than Gray or any other controllable pitcher. The big cost to the Dodgers will be compensating the Rangers for the loss of the high draft pick they’d probably get for qualified offer. This alone probably means sending someone of equivalent value to Texas.
that high draft pick is a 4th round pick with the new rules?? or is better
Not sure, I thought it would be between the first and second rounds. Has that changed?
i read here could be a 3rd or 4th round but im still dont understand the new cba for that i was asking
I’m glad kershaw got injured he’s the most overrated player in the MLB
First and last time I’ll hear that.
Wow, first time I have ever replied or acknowledged a comment posted on a site like this but couldn’t let this one slide…. Your response to that last person referring to Kershaw as “overrated” couldn’t have been better…. Thank you
I understand you hate dodger I do to but that just a dumbest comment I ever heard
Whatever you are smoking you need to give it up !
The Most overrated player , would be an Welcome addition to every team in major League Baseball.
He’s one of the best pitchers in the game. Don’t know how he can be considered overrated. Any team would love to have him.
This comment needs two down vote buttons.
One for wishing ill on a guy who is a good human being by all accounts.
And the other for having absolutely no understanding of the game of baseball.
Easy there sport, that’s bad for your cholesterol.
Last year it was a herniated disc. This is different and not as severe, assuming we know all the details
The Pirates don’t absolutely have to get an OF to shore up the position. If they get an IF they can move Josh Harrison to the OF.
I like the idea of trying to get Matt Moore and Eduardo Nunez from the Giants. Moore would be a guy who had more prior success than any of Searage’s other reclamation projects and two reasonable club options. Also, he would add a lefty to a righty only rotation.
Getting Moore would also push Chad Kuhl to the bullpen where he could throw 100 mph and pitch multiple innings, if needed.
While Moore makes sense from the Pirates standpoint, why would the Giants give up on Moore after half a season?
Because they’re done
Moore has been really bad for the Giants this year. 3-10 5.82 ERA 4.66 FIP 72 ERA+ -0.5 WAR.
It’s very possible they won’t pick up his almost $10 million option so he’s essentially a pending FA to them.
But, if they can fix Happ and Volquez, it would be worth the Pirate’s time to try to fix Moore, especially with two Jon Niese like team options so they can keep him if they do.
If they can get good value out of a trade, they’ll move him. Moore’s cheap salary and controllable years won’t come cheap, and the Giants know that.
I’d offer something decent for either player and something better than decent for the package. If Nunez had another year of control, I’d offer something actually good.
One of their young pitchers (Brault, maybe) or last year’s first, Will Craig, would be guys I’d part with…especially with Bell blocking Craig at 1B for the foreseeable future.
I think that would be a solid return for Sam Francisco. Brault gives them a controllable starter, which means they don’t have to find a FA replacement for Moore, which would cost well above what Moore is making.
With the numbers he’s put up in Indy, I’m slightly surprised Brault hasn’t been plugged into the rotation and moved Kuhl to the bullpen already. Brault can put up similar if not better results in the rotation and Kohl’s stuff would play up in the pen mostly because his changeup is pretty weak.
I like the idea, depending on what Bucs have to give up.
One problem I have with that idea is this: Harrison is good defensively at 2B and 3B, but is not so good in the OF. In fact, I would consider him a borderline liability. He made some spectacular catches in the OF in recent years, but usually after misreading the ball or taking a bad line to it. Osina and Frazier aren’t the best defensively in the OF either. If the Bucs do want to acquire OF depth, it needs to be someone whose actual primary position is OF
Fair. I have always liked the idea (suggested below, as well) of Jay Bruce. He knows the NL Central. They need power.
But, he’d have to play RF which (if they made the playoffs) would shift Polanco back to LF. Not ideal. But…
You’d almost need a Cameron Maybin type to cover LF if that is the goal of the trade. I think I’d rather have Bruce and the power.
Bruce would be a great fit, if they could work it, and I don’t think they can. I just think that Harrison is a strength where he is, so don’t move him. Maybin is a good example of the type of player they could target, although since he’s hurt it won’t be him. Chris Young comes to mind, although he won’t be on the block. Someone who is at least average at least at 2 of the 3 OF positions, plus isn’t a detriment at the plate.
Verlander will be a dodger soon
Agree
Why not Melky Cabrera to the Pirates?
Wouldn’t be a bad fit. Wouldn’t cost the bucs too much either I would imagine.
I agree … with Polanco on the DL maybe Cabrera and Swarzak for SS Kevin Newman. Put Melky in Left, McCutchen in Right and Marte in Center.
getting Newman may be wishful thinking unfortunately but based off of Hahn’s trades to this point who knows!
I mean this statement literally…
Neil Huntingdon would cut off both of his pinkies before he’d trade Kevin Newman for a rental 4th OF.
No offense to Melky. Just not who Huntingdon is or what he does.
Swarzak one could argue is even bigger/far cheaper rental prize than Melky….but yes Newman for an outside shot this year makes little sense.
Wouldn’t be a terrible idea, except for one thing: Melky usually only plays LF, and in PNC Park LF is the hardest one to play. Melky does not have a great arm, and you almost have to have one in PNC LF. Doesn’t mean I am totally opposed to adding Melkys bat, but it’s something to consider.
Melky has a very good arm he has horrible range though
Is Jaime Garcia not a back of the rotation type? It’s hard to see how he would be a meaningful upgrade over any of their current starters, especially with the switch to the AL.
Too bad Coco Crisp signed that contract to coach high school. He may have been a good fill in, but what about Luplow?
As for Neal Huntington’s overpaying comment. Just ask Hutch what he got traded for.
We now have the benefit of hindsight to see what Hutchison was traded for…two warm bodies and a $13 million box of grenades.
McGuire and Ramirez are not the next Posey and Trout, despite what the yinzers say. Check the FG prospect page for Toronto. They traded the next Chris Stewart and Gorkys Hernandez IF they pan out.
Liriano and his 6 ERA and his many 2 inning outings that wreck the bullpen have done more than their fair share to help blow up the Jay’s season.
Well Luplow got hit on the wrist last night and left the game so that could be bad.
I hope JD passes on trading Darvish except for a massive overpay in talent.
May and June isn’t trade season; the main outfielder being shopped then was McCutchen, The high asking prices on outfielders were being generated by Huntington himself..what a clown.
Stupid Huntingdon…
Setting a high asking price for his former MVP, potential future Hall of Famer who was hitting. 400 at the time on his way to his 5th career NL Player of the Month award.
I know… the nerve of that guy, right?
He did exactly what he should have done: stick to his guns.
Haha yes stupid Huntington for valuing Cuth properly! Thus not getting hosed. Whose laughing now….he is now off the market
Not only that, let’s look at what the July outfield market has been.
JD Martinez was basically a salary dump so July must be the semi-annual outfielder sale month.
Jay Bruce will not cost much Mr Huntington he has 25 homers and could spell Bell also.
I’d be happy with Bruce.
Bruce in PNC would be awesome. The Bucs have wanted a legitimate lefty slugger in the lineup not named Pedro Alvarez for a long, long time.
Anyone who thinks that the Dodgers front office will get a top name like Darvish, hasn’t been paying attention. And no, Hill and/or Forsythe don’t count!
Of course Dodgers will explore deals for Darvish and Gray. As long as Buehler or Alvarez are not involved, they may even make a deal for one of them.
That said, Dylan Hernandez has absolutely no credibility when it comes to assessing what this FO needs to do. If it had been up to Hernandez, the Dodgers would have traded Seager and Urias for either Price or Hamels. Moreover, Hernandez was shocked when the Dodgers refused to exceed the absurd offer that AZ (Stewart and LaRussa) gave to Greinke. This passive-aggressive idiot has been on a campaign to undermine the current FO from the very first day they were hired. Not once, despite their success, has Hernandez ever written anything constructive, positive, not-to-mention conciliatory, about the Dodger leadership. Every time anything occurs (injuries, a slump involving an player acquired, a rare losing streak that he can instigate around) this so-called journalist tries to stir up angst. Dylan Hernandez needs to crawl back into his hole or better yet get a job with a paper in some other city..
I just wish the white sox some how get francis marte from the astros people might call me crazy but i feel he’s the next Cueto hes gonna be good
Jeff Sullivan just nailed it earlier today:
fangraphs.com/blogs/yu-darvish-is-no-kind-of-dodge…
Why is this so difficult for Dylan Hernandez and the Neanderthals who follow him to acknowledge, let alone appreciate?