TODAY: Chance Adams and Miguel Andujar could be part of a hypothetical Yankees/Pirates trade for Cole, Kristie Ackert and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News report. If those two prospects and Frazier are all included, that could mean the Pirates will also include Josh Harrison in the deal. While the Yankees have also talked to the Diamondbacks about Patrick Corbin and the Tigers about Michael Fulmer, it seems as if Cole is New York’s preferred target of the three pitchers; Corbin is under control for just the 2018 season while Detroit is putting an enormous asking price on Fulmer’s services.
SATURDAY: A trade of Gerrit Cole doesn’t appear to be imminent at this point, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (via Twitter). Though it seemed at one point that talks between the Yankees and Pirates were picking up momentum, Crasnick says that multiple clubs have engaged with the Pirates since the winter meetings; the prospect of a Cole trade isn’t “Yankees or bust”.
The Yankees don’t appear to have tunnel vision on a Cole deal, either. Though the Bronx Bombers are trying to net Pittsburgh’s prized right-hander with proposals centered around Clint Frazier, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Bombers offered similar packages to the Rays and Tigers for Chris Archer and Michael Fulmer, respectively. From my perspective, it seems as though the Yankees may not be interested in Cole specifically, but rather could have a broader objective to move the 23-year-old Frazier in exchange for pitching help. Following the club’s acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton, it appears as though Frazier is destined to be a high-ceiling depth piece for the Yankees, whose outfield picture features Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks and Stanton, with Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury also on the roster.
In a brilliant piece for the New York Post, Joel Sherman points out that the Yankees can afford to be patient, as they did with Stanton this winter and Sonny Gray this summer. They’re not desperate for pitching right now, as their rotation is set to feature Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Gray, CC Sabathia and Jordan Montgomery. While each of those pitchers carries a question mark or two (or in Sherman’s words, “red flag possibilities”), the ballclub wouldn’t be chastised if it were to have these five in the rotation come Opening Day. Furthermore, top prospects Chance Adams and Justus Sheffield could reach the majors before long, with Adams being the more likely of the two to contribute in 2018.
From the Pirates’ side, they don’t necessarily need another outfielder. However, it stands to reason that a trade of Cole could set off a domino effect that prompts Pittsburgh to sell off other pieces. As Brink states in a separate article (one that deals with the “what if” scenario of a Cole trade), trading the right-hander could act as “the first tug on the rope that raises the white flag on 2018.” In that case, they’d be highly likely to shop Andrew McCutchen, the 2013 NL MVP, and his hypothetical trade would mean that Frazier could suddenly become a useful piece.
It’s unclear how serious the Pirates’ talks are with other potential suitors at this time, or even whether those clubs have made formal offers. Crasnick notes in his above tweet that a deal probably won’t come together before Christmas, but adds that trade talks could pick up again between then and New Year’s. It stands to reason that Pittsburgh could be patient for months, or even wait until the 2018 trade deadline to trade Cole (if they opt to move him at all). It will of course be far more evident how the Pirates’ playoff chances compare with those of the other NL Central clubs. However, there are plenty of reasons to move him now as well, including the high probability that clubs would be willing to pay more to have Cole for a full season, and the risk that the Yankees might acquire a different starter.
The chatter makes it almost sounds like the Yanks want to “get something for Frazier now” more than they “want Gerrit Cole” or “want a young controllable stud pitcher.”
Reminder: you don’t HAVE to trade Frazier
You act like Frazier’s value is trending down. The Yankees are looking for impact pitching and Frazier is their highest value expendable piece. Not hard to wrap ones mind around that
His trade value is trending down, because every team in MLB knows he probably doesn’t have a role on the 2018 bombers, so everyone knows they are going to be pushing him in trades. Whenever the hand goes from “needing to get blown away by” an offer to “we are willing to trade player X” the trade value goes down immediately.
His value as a player is still steady at “possibly a really good player”.
That’s all assuming there’s no market forces. It’s a nice theory in a vacuum but there’s plenty of teams who want Frazier and players like him. Frazier’s market value isn’t different than a player B of equal value on a team where player B is not expendable. The only difference is possibly asking price. But it doesn’t sound like the Yankees asking price is lower just because Frazier is expendable.
This assumes he doesn’t have options the Yankees can send him down until an injury or until needed. They don’t HAVE to trade he is just our best expendable piece
His value is at maybe a 4th OF after 2 bad seasons in AAA.
Are you drunk? His most recent AAA season was .260/.350/.470 with a lower than career average BABIP and a 20-20 pace for 600 AB. His AAA performance has him at the center of some major trade rumors. Who do you want him to be, Trout?
Frazier hit .256 and uber prospects don’t hit .256. He hasn’t hit 20 Hr in his last 600 PA in the minors. He hit .230 the season before in 30 games in AAA. Overall in the AA and AAA he has hit .256. Not a great prospect.
Now compare that to Acuna – link to baseball-reference.com
or Robles – link to baseball-reference.com
or Verdugo – link to baseball-reference.com
or Devers – link to baseball-reference.com
or any other great prospect that played in AA or above last season.
Frazier just isn’t that good. That is why he is 6th on the Yankees depth chart. Truth hurts.
His market value is lower than player B with the same skills specifically because of the Yankees depth. Other teams know that the Yankees would be better with a piece with more surplus value to them than Frazier. The Yankees necessarily demand him less because of that, given the opportunity cost of not moving him to improve another element of the team. The Yankees value of Frazier isn’t really chosen by the Yankees, rather its chosen by how much value he will add to them vs how much another piece traded for him will add.
As long as two or more teams demand Frazier, the Yankees lack of demand doesn’t affect the market materially. I don’t think I’d be remiss either to point out to you that the Yankees are on the supply side of the equation with regard to Frazier
Frazier still has value, just not top 100 prospect value. Most scouts now see him as a platoon player. His struggles in 2017 against higher level RHP was telling. To answer one of your previous posts, Hitting .256 in the upper minors does not condemn a players value completely, but it is not a selling point in a trade. It would be insane for a team to take Frazier as the main piece of a trade for a pitcher of Cole’s quality.
Who has demanded Frazier in trade? At this point, all we know is that the Yankees have offered him in 3 trades and been turned down. The other teams didn’t value Frazier as much as Yankee fans do.
Frazier hit .256 and uber prospects don’t hit .256. He hasn’t hit 20 Hr in his last 600 PA in the minors. He hit .230 the season before in 30 games in AAA. Overall in the AA and AAA he has hit .256. Not a great prospect.
Now compare that to Acuna – link to baseball-reference.com
or Robles – link to baseball-reference.com
or Verdugo – link to baseball-reference.com
or Devers – link to baseball-reference.com
or any other great prospect that played in AA or above last season.
Frazier just isn’t that good. That is why he is 6th on the Yankees depth chart.
Oh really,what scouts have confided in you
Good Lord. He is “6th” because Stanton, Judge, Gardner, Hicks and an overpaid Ellsbury are ahead of the 25 year old. You sound ridiculous. He remains a very top prospect.
No one is demanding Frazier. No one. The Yankees keep insisting on moving him as a centerpiece and no one is biting.
Cole is not that good.
He kind of is actually
Exactly. 82 wRC+, 5% walk and 30% K guys don’t grow on trees.
Nice troll, let’s see if you can get a 12 year old Yankee fan to bite. Merry Christmas Sully.
Just like 4.10 FIP 16 HR/FB pitchers who get over 140 IP twice in five years don’t grow on trees right?
Cole is Dan Straily – perfect match
” but rather could have a broader objective to move the 23-year-old Frazier in exchange for pitching help. ”
EXACTLY
The Dodgers sold hard on the pitching “prospect” with the long-term shoulder issue. The Twins refused to accept José De León and the Dodgers sent him to Tampa for a less talented 2B.
The Yankees know Frazier will never have any higher value than now and they need to see what they can get for him.
Pittsburgh needs to say no.
That’s fine with me ,Pittsburgh can keep cole
This is exhaustingly unfunny and poorly attempted trolling.
Reminder we don’t need 5 Outfielders.
Controllable stud pitcher and the name Gerrit Cole do not belong in the same sentence.
Pirates should just take Frazier and Adams be done with it. Adams will have a better year than Cole anyways.
Bold prediction there.
Steamer600, which assumes 200 innings for each starting pitcher, projects 2018 WAR of 3.2 for Gerrit Cole and 0.8 for Chance Adams:
link to fangraphs.com
link to fangraphs.com
Because steamer is always right? What was judge predicted last year?
I don’t know about this year, but within 2 years Adams will be better than Cole as well as a lot cheaper and controllable. Yankees would be stupid to trade any of these guys for 2 years of Cole (whose career years are already behind him).
I don’t get why everyone is so high on Cole. He got shelled last year for 31 long balls which in my opinion doesn’t bode well if you take that kind of scenario to the Bronx and a bloated ERA over 4! He slots in at the 3rd or 4th spit in our rotation and who cares that he throws hard. Everybody throws hard now. The guy is two years from a great year and 2017 wasn’t much better than 2016. I don’t think he has an upside and a contact pitcher like him isn’t gonna do well in the AL east. Keep chance Adams and see what he gives us.
Good for cashman being strong in the trades and refusing to deal Torres. Cole isn’t worth Torres.
Agreed
trade him now before he either gets injured in ST or during opening month or goes 1-4 with a 4.50 era..
give him to the Yankees. the pirates window has been sealed shut.
Time to blow it up Pirates. Hopefully not losers for another 20 years.
The Yankees can afford to wait this thing out for another SP. Whether it’s Cole, Archer, Fulmer or someone else there is no need for Cashman to surrender more than he’s comfortable with for another starter. As fans we want this thing to be over but as the GM he can afford to wait for the best deal.
Cole is Dan Straily – perfect match. Archer, Cole, Fulmer, Straily, they all put up the same numbers and had losing records.
Did you really just judge multiple pitchers on their win loss record?
Lol had the exact same thought as was going to say just about the same thing. Guess it is all the pitcher’s fault if their team loses 1-0 or 2-1. Not to mention unearned runs…….boggles the mind…….
Hey Sandman if you think Straily is in the same league then maybe the Yankees should trade for him he will cost next to nothing and they can put him the rotation just like they would Cole. Lol.
Oh sandman … so cute … you rate pitchers by win loss record … adorable.
Sooner or later some MLB farm team of the Yankees will “do a Jeter” for the Yanks.
I guess when one is jealous of the Yankees, believing silly conspiracy theories is easy. Stanton only wanted to go to 4 teams, 2 weren’t interested. One wanted to give bad contracts, the other gave the better offer and happened to be the Yankees.
Do a Jeter? Get over it already dude
The Yanks want Cole. And They’ll almost surely re sign him after the 2 years he has left, so he WILL be a Yankee. And lets not forget, he’s a BARGAIN at that price….
On a side note, the way MLB/Payroll is setup, with the hundreds of millions of dollars a team like the Yankees can spend Every …….. Single…… Year…….it’s a travesty, a true embarrassment, the Yankees don’t win more. . The advantage teams like the Yankees/Red Sox/Dodgers/etc have on the lower 25% of MLB teams payroll wise is unconscionable, when they can outspend outher teams 3 times the amount, and they arent winning a high % because of it, is shocking, and shaming, to say the least.
I agree that the Yankees, nor the Pirates, should feel pressed to do a Cole/Frazier based deal. Yankee have a solid-ish 5 starters and good minor league depth in that, in addition to Adams and Sheffield, they have high ceiling pitchers Domingo Acevedo and Domingo German at AAA too. They also have guys like Cessa who can swing back and forth from rotation to bullpen.
Adams/frazier for cole. Get it done.
Yankees are better off holding on to both
and the pirates are probably better of not taking Frazier unless they’re flipping him pretty directly
Exactly. Who the hell is gonna play LF once Gardner retires. Ellsbury is older too. Can’t trade everyone. Pretty obvious to me he sticks around
Or Andujar/ Frazier. They have less of a “need” to trade Cole than Yanks need to trade Frazier. Cole could return as much or more in July when there are five or six teams in playoff contention needing SP help. Yankees are looking for a big return for a player who they have no room for this year.
Sure if in July Cole is not sitting with another 4 plus ERA. Then what?
Even though some people down voted you, this is looking like the possible scenario.
You forgot Brett Gardner
What I do think is not so quietly being said is that they are committed to Hicks being their CF with Gardner being the 4th OF. Frazier doesn’t fit into their plans right now unless they plan on moving Stanton to DH with Frazier either being the 4th OF this year and maybe taking over for Gardner in LF after 2018.
Stanton states he would have 0 problem with DH
But do you really want Sanchez catching 120+ games?
Why not, because of passed balls? That has minimal affect compared to his other considerable abilities.
I think Sanchez is a better defensive catcher than Posada or Piazza, and he’s in the Hall of Fame.
Agreed.
Posada was much better defensively than Piazza – no comparison – and to this point, he was much better than Sanchez has been. Sanchez has good arm strength, but that’s about it defensively.
Do you really want to be paying a DH $326 million dollars for the next 10 years? That seems absurd!
If he can hit 50 bombs in the first 3-5 yrs and get a better complete on field product, why not? They are paying him either way, put the best team forward.
If Stanton doesn’t opt out of his deal in 3 years, the Yankees’ commitment is $265 over 10 years.
10/$295 left on his contract…..minus the $30 Million the Marlins pay
C’mon guys……(I know…….Math Is Hard)
3/$77 until he Opts-Out to go play with the Dodgers…..
Do you really want to pay $265 million for a DH?
He’s leaving after 3 years to go play for his hometown dodgers
Lmao at his agent saying he’s not opting out. Lmao at his agent but props to him for negotiating that contract even though Loria knew he [most likely] won’t be there to pay the backloaded portion.
Exactly !
So is knowing anything about baseball huh?
Stop commenting
like this
you duashcanoe !
C. Frazier isnt exactly ready for MLB just yet. Maybe after spring he will be, but as of now it looks like the best decision is to have Frazier on the AAA team if Ellsbury cant be dealt and then call up Frazier if he plays really well/OF gets hurt. After this upcoming season there will be at least the 4th OF spot open for Frazier.
It’s not being said because Gardner is not the 4th OFer. He also has 1 year left on his contract.
Cashman already said that Judge and Stanton will both rotate between the field and DH. Gardner is the full time left fielder.
Pirates should hold onto their players and hope for the best. If they fall out of contention then trade them away at the deadline. It’s a buyer’s market as far as veterans go with so many free agents on the board.
Cole’s value will go way up after the free agent starters are off the market. Best hold onto him until a team has a few injuries and are desperate. Some team will flinch and give the pirates what they want.
That also means there will be fewer places for him to go.
Cole is a perfect deadline guy since he has the 2019 season left.
Big return in July.
Dodgers should step up soon
Alex Verdugo and Yadier Alvarez.
Verdugo is easy to flip if the Pirates don’t want him as many other teams do.
Two top 50 MLB prospects for a gifted, but inconsistent pitcher with a few years of control left… hard pass.
sounds like the Pirates are content to hold onto Cole and wait till the trade deadline to move him when teams are more desperate. A tad risky since Cole could underperform or get injured but they’ll get a better haul most likely.
Frazier is a nice trade asset but after the Yankees got such great hauls for Miller and Chapman the prospect cost to acquire starters has gone up considerably. Sale is really the only ace type pitcher to move via trade recently and he took two top 10 prospects in all of baseball. Cole, Archer and Fulmer aren’t in his class obviously but I think it will take more than Frazier as the headliner to get any of them. Or at least Frazier plus 2 pieces for Cole and plus 3-4 for Archer or Fulmer.
Agreed, Frazier, Andujar, and Adams.
Nope, Yanks aren’t overpaying for Cole. Frazier, Andujar, and Adams is a definite overpay.
First it was no torres. Lmao yankees fans are delusional. They already said the yankees are pushing for adams/frazier trade. They are higher on torres/andujar/sheffield/florial.
Agreed, Frazier, Andujar, and Adams, that’s way too much for Cole.
Than again I think Frazier and Adams is generous.
I’m not real sure that the Pirates are that interested in Frazier. Probably more interested in arms.
There is no way that Tampa trades Archer without a package headlined by Torres plus same for Fulmer not happening without Torres.
See ya! Yankees aren’t trading Torres and the Rays aren’t trading Archer to the Yanks.
Yeah but nobody said they were? The other guy’s right there’s no way the rays would trade Archer to yanks for anything less than Torres. I think Rays would want something in like with what White Sox got for sale aka one of best regarded prospects in baseball and then some.
I know archer not as good as Sale, but he also has 1 more year of control than Sale did and making a little over half as much per year so if u factor italent+$+yrs of control pretty similar I think.
Yankees aren’t moving Torres for Archer/Cole/Fulmer. Syndergaard? Absolutely, but not for these guys.
Syndergard is fragile
Then Yankees aren’t getting Archer or Fulmer and it would take more then the Yankees would want to part with to get Thor. They can most likely get Cole without Torres but not Archer or Fulmer.
Mets would never trade a guy like Thor to the Yanks unless it was an insane overpay.
That’s what I’m saying they would have to open the farm.
Quintana, Gray, and Verlander have all been traded since Sale,
Forgot about Quintana. Good call. Verlander I don’t count because totally different situation since he’s old and has a massive contract. Gray doesn’t have the upside of Cole but is a nice pitcher.
Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing, or the best trade can be the trade you don’t make. Nobody knows how top prospect are going to do when they get established in the majors. Nobody knows how pitchers like Cole, Fulmer, and Corbin are going to do this year. One thing for sure is that their price will go down like a used car as they get closer to free agency. Teams have been trading more this year rather than paying over the top for free agents. I think this will continue in the future and the rest of the winter. Free agents are going to get less than they thought except in some top pitchers.
I see the Yankees waiting it out and trading Ellsbury for Greinke later on in the winter.
Greinke has a limited bit trade clause I would guess high pressure such as New York and Boston are probably on his no trade because of his anxiety condition.
Good point… I forgot about that. I figure it just makes sense if the Yankees ate say 30ish million that would give both team relief from contracts they want to shed and both players would be at a more palatable rate in an area of need. Cheers
No taxes in Arizona. Sky high taxes in NYC and Boston. Yanks/Sox would have to include another year at say $40 million for Greinke to wave his no-trade.
Lol, nobody is tacking on 1/40 for Greinke. C’mun, that’s ridiculous.
He didn’t say any team would.
$40million? Are you suggesting NY and MAs state income tax rates are roughly 30%? Arizona does have a state income tax and it’s highest bracket is not much lower than MAs. It’s lower than NYs sure, but the difference between the two is not remotely close to $40million.
the other trade id like to see the Yankees make is Farder for Gio Gonzales from the Nationals. Fills a need for both teams and their salaries are similar…
Damn spell check… lol. I meant to say Gardner…
It might fill a need for the Yankees, but the Nationals already have one open spot in their rotation. Dealing Gio Gonzalez would mean two open spots.
Besides which, the Nationals have a plethora of outfielders now: Starters Harper, Eaton and Taylor (with the #2 MLB prospect Victor Robles just waiting out the few weeks needed in order to get the extra year of control), so I don’t know what they would do with Gardner. They don’t even need a LH #4 OF since they have Brian Goodwin.
how does that fill a need for the Nats? Taylor is a far superior defender than Garnder, significantly cheaper the improvement offensively isn’t worth giving up Gio.
If the Nats make a huge trade for Archer then maybe they would move Gio but they’d want a bullpen arm most likely.
Hate to tell you Dude, but Gardner is a Gold Glove outfielder, who has his glove stolen by that hack in KC this year.
Don’t know anything about Taylor but can he play left and center with equal skill as Gardner can?
And he’s killing it with that .243 BA. Wow what a stud!
Amazing how many criticize Gardner probably without ever seeing him play…like you Mr Nat!
Eaton, Taylor, Harper with Robles waiting for a chance to play. What do the Nationals need with a 34-year-old that is not as good as any of their options now?
Didn’t say that…all I said is that Gardners value is constantly being talked down which isn’t the case when you see him play 162 games a year.
Younger ballplayers will always get better play, but you can do a lot worse than him.
No comparison with Harper at all, but he certainly matches up defensively with Eaton, this kid Taylor and Robles from what you say hasn’t even cracked the majors yet.
Um I wasn’t criticising Gardner. Taylor was a gold glove CF finalist this year and was rated by fangraphs as the 2nd best OF defender in all of MLB in 2017. He also hit .271 this year. That could be a one year blip and he regresses to his .240 career BA but he was a highly touted prospect and it may have finally clicked late like other late bloomers. Regardless, Gardner isn’t enough of an upgrade to create a hole in the rotation for.
Citing Gold Glove AND batting average to compare two players?
You kids with your advanced metrics…
absolutely agree….I understand now….thanks for the explanation.
Happy Holidays!
You too man! I actually wanted the Nats to trade for Gardner instead of Eaton last year since it would have cost way less in prospects…so I’m a Gardner fan. I personally think Yanks should keep him to be a clubhouse leader, plus with the DH slot he can play most games when Sanchez catches.
That hack in KC is a five time gold glove winner it’s more likely that the hack in New York stole it for one year from the real gold glove in KC.
What a lopsided deal for Arizona
You mean lopsided for the Yankees I’m guessing if you are talking about Greinke for Ellsbury. If Greinke would waive his ntc to go to New York which I doubt then the Yankees would live to have Greinke he would be their Ace immediately.
Cole could just as easily pitch lights-out in an effort to up his value and get the heck outta Pittsburgh.
And if you read around, scouts aren’t as enamored with Frazier as they were a yr or so ago, just like with Meadows (although not as drastic as Meadows.
Someone from LA, NY, DC, or CHI will get hurt and need a sp.
Just as well for the pirates. at the deadline if Cole is still available they can probably get more from a contender that needs a starter badly.. The pirates are a better team with Cole and have a shot at not being bad this season
What a great new slogan for the Pirates in 2018! We have a shot at not being bad! LMAO!
Talk about a boring offseason. Not very many stars I offer in FA, none of them signing so far, and it seems like every rumor flip flops more than a fish out of water. This is just an example of that with the Yankees “locked” to get Cole to “nothing imminent”. Besides the fire sale down in Miami of everyone besides Jeter himself, this has been a very underwhelming MLB off season. Wake me up when it’s Spring!
As a Yankees fan, I’d rather keep the prospects and young, cost-controllable players rather than trading them all in one offseason. Having “big names” doesn’t necessarily guarantee production, especially when it comes to pitchers. No matter how good they are, they’re an injury waiting to happen. The Yankees starting candidates currently goes 7-8 deep including Chad Green. They’re all going to be called into service this season because pitchers get hurt EVERY year. Rather have the depth than a top heavy roster. They were terribly boring and mediocre before they called up Sanchez in 2016. The youth, athleticism, and roster flexibility with prospects in the minors and current 25-man roster is more vital to this team than wasting assets on a pitcher who’s probably the third best starter if they’re all healthy.
Almost completely agree with the exception that I think Green should stay in the bullpen.. He reminds me of Adam Warren a couple of years ago. When Warren is left in the pen he is very solid and reliable.. When they stretched him out he becames mediocre and seemed to stumble a bit upon returning to the pen.. I think Green is a pitcher in the same mold.. Plus, with pitchers like Sabathia Gray and Tanaka not always going deep into games they need pitchers like Green and Betances that can pitch multiple innings without much difficulty.. I still believe Betances should be traded along with others like Frazier (I know the Cubs don’t really need him) Adams/Montgomery to the Cubs for Happ.. Torres can then stay at 3rd and Happ would be perfect for 2nd.. I know I am dreaming but it would still be nice to see a trade that benefits both win now teams.. Especially if both teams can trade non-essential solid players that fill obvious needs for the other team..
Also, I think Cole would be the 4th best pitcher on the Yankees if they all stay healthy.. 5th if Sabathia repeats the season he had last year.
Agreed Betances needs to be traded. Either dominant or can’t throw a strike, he’s either the best reliever in baseball or a guaranteed double on a walk. I’d rather trade him to cincy, get a few good arms back (including Ariel Hernandez) and let him dominate on a team who’s going nowhere while we get pieces back who won’t walk every batter or scare you every outing with control. Hernandez is a few mechanical tweaks away from that.
Yeah, Hernandez has immense potential.. The only problem I see is that I don’t think Cincy needs Betances.. He is already in arbitration and will likely become a free agent before the Reds seriously contend again.. I think the Diamondbacks, Cardinals, Cubs, and Brewers make the most sense.. Others like the Rangers, Mariners, and the Angels are fits as well… I think he will fit the National League a bit better though..
He was second only to Severino On the Yankees staff in fangraphs war 3.1 last year which was his worst year. He is clearly not the 4 or 5 th best pitcher on the Yankees. Cole is not an ace but let’s not pretend that he is some AAAA guy either.
I wish the Yankees would give up on trading Frazier for a pitcher with only a couple of years of control left.. Their rotation should be fine to excellent (excellent if they stay healthy and pitch to potential) this year.. Severino, Tanaka and Gray are more than enough to front a rotation of a team with the offense the Yankees will provide..
Frazier is valuable and is wasted on the Yankees.. He should be traded (even though I am certain he will do well in NY) and I would like to see them just do a trade for a top notch pitching prospect.. My proposal would be Frazier and Cave/German (or another lesser but MLB ready prospect) to the A’s for A.J. Puk.. Puk is a lot for the A’s to give up but Frazier is exactly the player they need for LF this year.. This trade makes a ton of sense for me because Puk is still a year or so away and Sheffield is the only lefty the Yankees have with a high ceiling.. I would really like to see a trade similar to this.. The Braves and Gohara also would be interesting but it would be the Braves having to sweeten that deal with a lesser prospect instead of the Yankees..
Thanks for reading yet another one of my drawn out posts.. I would like to hear thoughts on a potential (and rare) prospect for prospect trade for Frazier.. Do the Yankees really need a pitcher like Cole with only 2 years of control left?
Even established major league outfielders tend to generate weak returns on the trade market these days. Most teams have talented OF in AA or AAA or have full major league outfields (case in point: Pirates). And Frazier has been pretty underwhelming lately. He’s really not all that valuable.
He was a top 20 prospect before losing his status last year.. He still holds quite a bit of value due to his versatility in the OF as well as having a swing that generates both power and hits.. I completely agree that he does not hold anywhere near the value of someone like Puk one for one.. But, the A’s need a LF badly this year and they never have any money to spend.. Frazier fits their budget completely.. The Yankees will defintely have to add another one of their top 10 prospects to get someone like Puk and IMO it will have to be a high ceiling starter.. That is why I was thinking Tate or Abreau.. Either one of them could become as good or better than Puk.. They also have Acevado who has a Chapman like fastball but will probably end up in the bullpen.. Frazier, Tate and Acevado/German should be enough for Puk..
I do agree that most teams have solid OF prospects but most ( Acuna, Robles, Robert, Meadows) have more of a hit tool than power.. The last scouting report I saw of Frazier he graded a 65 for power.. I don’t think anyone outside of Brinson or Jimenez can match that.. Frazier and Jimenez comp pretty close on their scouting.. Frazier didn’t impress in his limited MLB time last year but Judge didn’t in 2016 either.. Rookies sometimes need a year or two to make adjustments.. Especially, in New York.. Look no further than Brett Gardner.. He had about as many at-bats his rookie year as Frazier did last year…. I think his OPS was around .582.. He was pretty bad his sophomore year as well.. Who would have guessed he would be worth 3.5 to 7 WAR every year since (except for the year he had the bad leg injury)..
I know a good amount of Yankee fans can rival Red Sox fans in there overwhelming assessment of their prospects.. Frazier is different.. Since he is in the Yankee system we get more updates an news about him than fans of other clubs do.. The kid has one of the best work ethics out there and when his game is lacking somewhere he does whatever he has to do to improve.. He is a baller and a special prospect.. He is one player I think Yankee fans can be very bullish on because he is only going to get better and better..
The A’s value their top pitching prospects highly. I don’t see them trading Puk at all. Maybe for a proven guy like Yelich they would. They just traded for Piscotty, have Fowler of he’s healthy and spent their top 7 pick on a OF in the draft, they’ve also talked about shifting Baretto and Mateo to the OF. I think they need a corner OF still but will probably look in the bargain bin while they wait for prospects to develop.
Still, your premise that the Yankees should target pitching prospects is something I agree with. They should go after Duffy imo.
Duffy over Cole I mean….he’s not a prospect obvs lol
Gohara is someone they should target on the prospect side. Close to majors and has a high floor as a lights out relief pitcher imo.
You’re kidding right? He’s gonna be their ace… You even watch baseball? Relief pitcher?!? Lmmfao…um.no
I said that is his floor. I didn’t say that is his likely outcome. I obviously am high on him of I’m saying he’s the prospect SP they should target.
Gohara has had weight issues which impacted his ability to go deep in games. If he doesn’t keep it in check he could have to be a bullpen guy. Otherwise he’s got elite upside. Saw him pitch live vs Nats last year, he’s fun to watch.
Don’t worry, he was really good until he wasn’t.
Trade em to Miami for Braxton Garrett
You are on crack if you think the Braves would give up their number #1 pitching prospect that throws 98mph with a wipeout slider for your punk utility player…pleeeeaaassseeeee
I think the Braves are the match to move Frazier, they have the young pitching like Newcomb, Fried, Wright, Soroka, Allard, or Gohara.
The Braves aren’t giving up any of their stud pitchers for this utility scrub wannabe
Frazier is 6th on the Yankees depth chart. They have been offering him to everyone and no one wants him. At least not as the centerpiece of a trade. Other teams must not see him as having much value.
6th yes, but what a depth chart, he could start for a lot of teams.
What team would he start for? He is a 4th OF type player and no matter who the team is, he would not be a starter.
Neither team has to make this trade, but it is both team’s preference for different reasons.
Most of the other names being tossed out as SP options for the Yankees other than Cole don’t check both boxes of what the Yankees are trying to achieve…
1) Stay under the luxury tax.
2) Keep their top prospects.
Darvish, Cobb or a FA pitcher would cost far more in salary than Cole. Archer or Fulmer or another trade target would require giving up better prospects.
The only other name being bandied about that could also check both boxes would be Corbin, but the Dbacks intend to contend, so they might not deal him unless they get an overpay.
Cole might be the only guy actually available who fills both needs for the Yankees.
For the Pirates, many of the other teams said to be interested in Cole (Twins, Phillies, Braves, Brewers) are teams more similar to the Pirates in terms of market and payroll. The Pirates would (never admit it but would) prefer to trade him to “The Evil Empire” and sell a “rich get richer” narrative instead of explaining why the Twins can afford him but the Pirates cannot.
While I agree that Huntingdon isn’t getting Torres (knowing the same thing, the local media has set up a “the Pirates better get Torres or else they lose the trade” narrative, of course) there is no reason for them to take a bad package for Cole now when he would have as much or more value in July.
The pirates don’t need to sell a narrative. The fans know Cole is a Boras client who will not stay beyond 2019. Plus Huntington has never made deal or signing ever with even a thought of how it sells to the fans. He can not afford to.
The Yankees really want Cole tho. That’s key. He’s a bargain. And they’ll almost surely re sign him. He will end up Yankee, eventually.
Braves definitely need to be in on this one. Package prospects for Cole and Josh Harrison. Get it done AA!!
Remember, AA traded Syndergaard!
Cole definitely doesn’t impress me enough to say that undoubtedly he would outperform any specific ones of the Braves rotation in 2018. YES he has been great, but it is entirely possible for Gohara, Fried, Teheran, Foltynewicz or Newcomb each COULD out produce Cole. Even though the odds say that Cole is LIKELY the better producer the real question is would the addition of Cole even move the needle for Atlanta enough to warrant moving prospects for him? I don’t think so.
Could they have interest in Julio Tehran?
Not after the season Tehran had.
Seems like the Yankees want (and need) to move Frazier before the season starts. He’s spent one full season at
AAA, and the majority of last year at AAA and showed nothing special at the plate the last 2+ seasons in two different organizations.
If he starts the season in AAA for NY and struggles, his value is nearly nothing. Much like Profar in Arlington, as soon as he came to the majors and struggled/got hurt, his value was gone.
Yankees would have been wise to move him before Stanton trade as other teams now see he has no home in N.Y. either.
This kid has 5 tools and the best bat speed I’ve ever seen. You have to keep this kid
Never bats for average and strikes out a third of the time but has five tools?
He’s very young. I don’t know why people discount this fact
He is 23. That is midlife crisis time for a prospect. Devers is two years younger.
The Braves aren’t giving up any of their stuff pitchers for this utility scrub wannabe…delusional much?
Dude, I’m a Yankee fan and think this is an overpay for Cole but he’s a 4 tool prospect (at best) should everything fall into place.
I’m pretty sure he’s best suited for LF and 5 tool players play elite ‘D’.
“Bat speed” isn’t a tool. Speed is (which he doesn’t have)
Both teams are smart to wait, especially the Yankees, who’ll likely be able to wait until July to add another starter, should they find it necessary. There will be more quality starters to choose from, with prices perhaps dropping as teams fall out of contention.
No real especially in this scenario. No rush to deal Cole for the Pirates as he is under contract for 2 seasons. They may well get a better return when a contender loses a starter to injury and really want a pitcher.
Why can’t the Yankees just go into the season with what they have right now?
I do not let go if Cole without getting Adams or Sheffield along with Frazier and Acevado or another young arm that can hold down a 4 spot with potential to be more Sheffield looks like a 3 with potential to be a 2…. a 1 if he locks down a 3rd pitch. FULLMER, COLE. Or Archer would all require at least 3 . NYY should understand this since they got back more for much less w Chapman and Miller bringing in huge rewards. I
Too many red flags with Cole;
1. he’s represented by Boras who will want the moon if Cole is nothing more than average over the next two years. If he has a breakout year next year, he will command a boatload of money.
2. Cole is coming off somewhat average 2 years with the best thing you can say is that he threw 200 innings.
3. 49% of the time he’s throwing ground balls, but also gave up 30+ homers which is a problem in yankee stadium.
4. He pitched in the NL, and coming into the competitive AL East could be a problem.
5. Doesn’t seem to be worth 3 let alone 4 prospects…..maybe true of Fullmer and Archer.
The AL Least is the worst division in baseball, esp if you don’t have to face the Yankees hitters.
This notion that only the AL east is competitive is nonsense. Even in his worst year (2017) he was 26 in fangraphs war 3.1 which would have been second on the Yankees behind only Severino. His “somewhat average” is better than most of what the Yankees have. He has been an ace and that is what the Yankees ( and other teams are looking to acquire). As for Boras, he is a reason for the pirates to trade him but not a worry for the richest team in sports. It won’t stop them from going after Harper.
First, you can take your fan graphs war 3.1 and you know what.
That is a statistic and doesn’t predict how he will pitch in the thick of the AL East, and most importantly for 15-18 games in Yankee stadium.
I can’t fathom how you can say he’s been an ACE.
The Yankees have some pretty good talent and the last time I checked, Tanaka pitched pretty well down the stretch for the Yankees.
As for the Boras factor, that certainly lowers the bar somewhat due to the fact he never lets his clients sign extensions which means he sells himself to the highest bidder. Give the Yankees potential payroll adds, that doesn’t spell new contract for Cole. Bigger free agent fish coming in 2018..
Oh and by the way, I didn’t say that the AL East is the only competitive division in the AL, even though top to bottom its an 18 game war within the division every year.
Also, Tanaka’s fan graphs war in 2017 was 3.3. and he won as many games as Cole. BRAGGING about COLE are you?
Check you stats next time DUDE!
Tanaka had 2.7 fangraphs war. Check your stats dude. I like how you minimized the meaning of the stat then felt the need to say Tanaka was better than Cole using the stat. You are funny. Happy holidays.
what are these two teams waiting for. Yankees could use another top of the rotation arm and have little use for Frazier in 2018. The Pirates, they are going nowhere with or without Cole. Frazier and Adams for Cole sounds good for both organizations
Cashman doesn’t need cole and the pirates can hold on to him. Neither GM really needs this trade
Pirates have little use for Frazier either. They have a full OF with Meadows – who’s basically the same as Frazier – on the way.
Right, Pirates do not need Frazier as much as the Yanks want to get Cole for a guy who has little value to them in 2018. Contrary to what it appears based on rumors coming from NY media, Pirates have been talking with multiple teams about Cole. It seems certain that Cole will be traded, but not at all clear where he is going.
Meadows could still have a ways to go. He needs to succeed at AAA first.
So does Frazier. Both were bad in AAA.
The Bravos should put this 1 to bed before the New Year and give the Pirates some pitching for Cole…
Pirates get: Kolby Allard, Sean Newcomb, Travis Dermeritte, and Matt Wisler
Braves get: Gerritt Cole
As a Braves fan I don’t want to give up
Alarm unless it’s in a package for Yelich.
Kolby and Newk for him? Are you crazy?
That’s a serious overpay. The Pirates throw in Josh Harrison and take out Newk would be about equal.
The Twins get Cole. I can see Cashman explaining to Hal how great these prospects are going to be in 2022 as Cole pitches the game that eliminates the Yanks. Last yr. many Astro fans were saying : “Don’t give up prospects for Verlanger”
And then you woke up from your fantasy 😉
Pirates will trade Cole for the rights to the off spring of Clint Barmes and a bag of infield dirt from Yankees stadium because that’s how great of a gm he is.. as a pirate fan I’m just over this whole thing ill believe a trade when i see it and I feel retooling for the future is necessary as I don’t feel we can “compete” with what we have.
I think be smart for them to deal Cole and McCutchen as the Pirates are in a position themselves to avoid a tear-down because they still have a few long ‘stars
Be happy with Frazier and Chance Adams as a return”
Trade McCutchen.. The Giants seemed confused enough to pay for a one year rental.. Maybe the Mariners,Blue Jays, or even Cleveland(Move Jose Ramirez to 3rd,Kipnis at 2nd, Cutch in a corner) .
I’m down for trading cutch, not to the giants however as there Farm is delpleted but to someone probably. I feel after Cole, then cutch, j hay, cervelli and others should follow.
The only trade the Yankees need to make is to move Ellsbury. They don’t need to trade for Coke or any other pitcher . Let the kids like Adams and Sheffield have a spot as a sixth starter for God’s sake. With that deep bullpen they only need 5 or six innings from them. They’ll do fine. With Ellsbury traded that gives Frazier a shot to make the team.
It will be hard to trade Ellsbury with the albatross of a contract and the no trade clause.
Bad contract swap. Jordan Zimmermann to the Yankees, Jacoby Ellsbury to the Tigers. I don’t know if Ellsbury approves that trade, but CF is wide open for him in Detroit. Both players are just in the way where they are now.
Cole*
If I were Jacoby, I would pick up 1b in the off-season so he just doesn’t serve as a pinch hitter.
Why would he risk trying to learn playing the IF? He has 2 rings, a 153MM contract that goes thru his age 38 season, a no trade clause a wife and 2 kids who like living in NY and he likes playing the OF. He can demand that the Yanks pick up his option as a condition to waiving his NTC or wait to be released and get all of his $$$.
Pretty solid return for the pirates. With frazier sloted in outfield they can move mccutchen for pitching and infield depth. Maybe mccutchen to the giants?
They have Marte, Polanco & Meadows for the OF. If they took Frazier they would have to trade McCutchen and one of their good young OFs. Cashman needs to get a 3rd team involved that really wants Frazier and has either a 2b or 3b prospect that the Buc’s want.
Frazier,allows,Meadows to,stay in the minors for another year & allow him to make up,for the injury time last year. MMcutcheon should be traded while he still had value.
The Bucs do not need a 4th young OF. Let the Yanks send Frazier to AAA and replace Gardner with him next yr.
Please no Cole Ca$hman…… he’s riding his high for getting Stanton, but it’s unnecessary to add Cole. If he wants pitching depth, resign Marquis or another veteran at minimal contract…. he’s raping the farm system as is….
he’s raping the farm system as is….
This makes absolutely zero sense.
Yankees have surrendered quite a few quality prospects for unexceptional players …. Gray, Frazier….. play the kids
Just play Torres, Andujar and Torreyes/Wade in the infield ….
if it’s a disaster, you can make an in season move with additional financial space
I’m not buying this story at all. Every time Cashman trades prospects, or trades for prospects, we never get the names until the deal is done. Yet this time we are hearing all the names. This story is either being fabricated by the Pirates to get more teams interested in Cole, or by the Yankees to get more interest in Frazier.
By the Yankees. The Pirates have already said no to Frazier as the key piece in a trade for Cole. The Tigers have also said that they want a better player than Frazier for Fulmer. It’s clear that the Yankees need to dump Frazier and that other teams don’t value him as much as the Yankees hoped.
Why get Harrison when you can just play andujar ? This trade is dead to me (thank god). The media needs to let it go
Just because it is dead to you does not mean it is dead to,Cashman. Even if the Media would let it go that does not mean that Cashman would let it go. Just sayin…..
never understood the want to trade harrison, but really with out him they pirates are pretty much giving up on ’18 and maybe ’19. They can always attempt a trade next off season after our farm is ready to move in.
As much as I like Adam his defense is pretty far behind his bat.
Yankees – just stop. Don’t overpay for Cole. Too many red flags
Adams Frazier and Andjubar for cole and maybe Harrison. Stop. Keep what you have yanks and move on. Coles not even that good. U can find another strong starting pitcher without emptying ur system. All those guys are going to be good for you and good for you as soon as this year.
Cole is Eovaldi 2.0…… no need for that. He’s been in the league for a number of years now and shows he can’t get it done and/or is injury prone …. pass
To be honest, if the rotation wasnt already filled to the brim, i wouldnt mind having Eovaldi. However, I wouldnt give up my top prospects for him
Cashman did an an MVP job restocking the farm system, and trading long term projects for help now. The current minor league rosters can supplement the main roster for years, and NYY need to be careful not to mortgage their long term future for players they don’t need.
Hard pass on Cole.
Agreed- “B, B+ prospects are not A prospects. Adams, Andujar and Ace have holes in development but they’re close and have upside. Fish for Corbin. Andujar has the arm, mobility a concern, and needs plate discipline work, but potential regular 3rd baseman isn’t just hype, split calls on Adams – maybe a change away, Ace has performed as a starter but is maybe a closer. Cole could be difference maker? But it seems like a lot! Corbin seems better deal even for a year.
Way to much cashman not worth it
Its surprising to me that no other teams are being talked about, with the scarcity of SP on the market, surely there must be other suitors. The Cubs, Nats, Twins, and Astros are all in win-now mode and shopping for SP. Its clear hes not going to go cheap, and it seems like Frazier is not going to get it done.
Even though its inter-division, the Cubs trading off their roster seems like a more logical deal to me.
I was hoping the game would be changing. I enjoyed the years of yankee failure because of bad contracts. Now it’s the same ol thing. Pay your way to the top. Especially with the class of free agents the next few years… it looks rough for small market teams.
ARE YOU AN IDIOT? THEY HAVEN’T BOUGHT ANYTHING, THEY ARE MAKING TRADES.
While you have a point at the moment, I don’t know if all caps is necessary. Next year they will sign both machado and harper and the next murderers row will be formed. From a Phillies fan, it will be 2009 all over again best case scenario.
Dude seriously? The Phillies had what… $0 payroll (hyperbole) until they doled Santana that $20M AAV, Now they got what,…$20M payroll? (another hyperbole) Phillies are team in best position to sign both. And a $2.5 Billion TV contract.
You’re just still salty from 2009. Dude, Get over it ! You won the year before (2008) Last time Yanks sniffed the World Series before 2009, was 2003, where they lost to the Marlins..
They just bought Stanton. Sure, technically the Marlins got a return to make it a trade but they basically bought him.
They didn’t by him… they’re payroll is the same it was when they had Castro and Headley. It was a classic salary dump move.
Buy***
lol the Houston Astros just won the world series after the Royals and Cubs and now when the Yankees are good again its unfair? They built their team through the draft and trades, only buying a few players like every other team. This isnt the 2009 Yankees, not even close. The 2009 and 2018 Yankees have been built with two completely different methods with the newest method attempting to get under the luxury tax which is a soft cap that MLB deemed to be fair.
Frazier, Adams and Andrujar for Cole and Harrison would be as good a package as the Pirates could realistically get.
If the Yankees got Harrison, there would be an MLB Now segment in June about whether he or Stanton was the better off season acquisition. The kind of guy who helps a ball club in so many ways.
The Pirates are on record as saying that they are not interested in a deal headlined by Frazier.
To be honest, for both Cole and Harrison I’d want more than that. They’re all nice pieces but none of them excite as a headline for both.
Pittsburgh radio saying in no way is Harrison involved in trade talks with Yankees. There has been talks of Adams, Andujar, and Acevedo for Cole.
That sounds pretty realistic as a trade that could happen
A package including Frazier, Adams, & Andujar is way too much. I’d rather keep Andujar and include a couple of lower level guys
I would hold onto Frazier. Cole isn’t worth it
if that’s really the price…I wouldn’t pay it if I were the Yankees. Cole is neither controllable nor exceptional….and the Yankees don’t have a desperate need.
Don’t tell me this Cole thing is going to drag out like Stanton. Let’s wait until there is a trade to report on it instead of discussing abput “hypothetical” trades
Its a trade “rumor” site. Its ok to see rumors being reported. Yankees and Pirates have been in talks so that is what is reported. Dont be dense.
Oh boy Yankees working overtime to dump Frazier asap it sure seems like.
Don’t worry the pirates are going to get boned hard on this deal.
Huntington might as well go buy vasiline now.
Yeah that AJ Burnett trade really looked bad for the Pirates. Cayones and Moreno really tore it up for the Yanks.!
That would be a horrible trade for Cashman. To give away away that much for a 4.26 era pitcherthats controllable for only 2018 is crazy.
Everyone is forgetting about Josh Harrison too..a top 3 utility player in all MLB…a really good fielder & always a good WAR(was an all-star last year). He can play 3B, 2B, CF, LF, RF and has played SS, 1B, C, in a pinch. 30 year old under control till 2021(team options in 2019, 2020 too). Harrison is a gamer..Yankees fans will love him and he will definitely help contribute to a championship.
And Cole = Straily..lol..
1st- Yankees haven’t had a 200 plus innings pitcher since H.Kudora in 2014. Cole has had 200 plus innings and 200 plus strikeouts 2 out of the last 3 years( 3rd in CY voting in 2015 behind J.Arrieta and C.Kershaw). Gerrit Cole is a bull!!! He’s a #1 overall draft pick. Again, Yankees fans will love him. He’ll remind you guys of Clemens( his competitiveness).
2nd- he is cheap, still under his rookie contract and Arbitration for the next 2 years; 3 full years counting this year.
3rd- Cole still had a 3.1 WAR last year despite his struggles with the HR..And a 5.5 WAR in ’15.
4th- Cole throws 5 good pitches. His main 4 seam- fastball(throws 95plus; hits 98-99mph), throws a 2 seamer, change-up, knuckle curve, and a hard slider is his stike-out pitch.(200 plus strike-outs in ’15 and ’17).
Cole > Straily..it’s not close in my opinion..especially in potential ceiling…Cole is a CY young candidate on a great hitting Yankee team. I think he’ll be your Ace. Cole or S.Gray. In my opinion, Id start Cole in a 7th game over L.Severino, M.Pineda, M.Tanaka, CC, or Montgomery..like I said, Yankees Fams will love him(and Harrison).
Why so stuck on A.Hicks in CF..Why not make it a complete BLOCKBUSTER and trade A.McCutchen(who Yankees fan will love too), G.Cole, and J.Harrison..??
Then we would(should) get G.Torres. If I was the Pirates GM, I’d take G.Torres, C.Frazier, M.Andujar, C.Adams, T.Webb and take B.Gardner’s contract.(I would not take J.Elliburys; no way Yankees dump that contract. You can’t pay 21M for the next 4 years for J.Ellisbury..McCutchen has 1 year left on his deal for only 14M.)
Could you imagine a Yankee line-up with :
McCutchen-CF
Harrison-2B
Stanton-RF
Judge-LF
Sanchez-C
Bird-1b
Didi-SS
Frazier-3B
DH-Hicks/Holliday/hell, whoever u want.
That’s a trade!! That’s a Yankees Dynasty, Pirates rebuild w/ a SS, 3B, LF, SP prospects. That should staff our OF for years w/ Marte, Polonco, C.Frazier and A.Meadows. Hopefully our infield holds up to be G.Torres/K.Newman-SS,
Andujar/K.Hayes-3B,
T.Webb/A.Frazier-2b,
J.Bell-1B..
Yankees get 3 great players in their prime(that will all probably re-sign too, all 3 players are loyal, old school baseball player mentality..All 3 players are winners who Piartes fans love and Yankees fans will love too..All 3 players aren’t only gamers but top players at their postions too( McCutchen, a former MVP, still just 31 and in prime. G.Cole, 27, 200 inning, 200 strike-out, bulldog SP, former #1 overall draft pick. In my opinion, will be Yankees Ace and Cy young candidate on this Yankees team. J.Harrison, 30 year old, all-star, top ultility player in MLB).
Yankees Dynasty!!!
Pirates Rebuild!!!
Yankees give up the farm for a #5 pitcher, old center fielder, and a utility player that they don’t need. And they toss in Gardner that they need and don’t want to dump his contract. Dream on pirates fan, Cashman is usually on the haul side for garbage.
I’d much rather wait until the season starts and hang on to what we’ve got. Let’s see how Chance Adams performs in the big leagues. Same for Andujar. We’ll also be able to see if Cole bounces back to his previous dominant form. Personally, I’d like to see how the young guys do. As for Frazier, he’d be a prime candidate to replace Gardner after next year. Another year developing in the minors would be great for him. I really have no interest in Harrison or McCutchen at this point in their careers. Let’s keep the young, cheap prospects we have. We can always wait until the trade deadline to see how everything pans out. I also like Montgomery in the rotation – and he’d be the one bumped down to the minors if we bring Cole in. We also have Sheffield who can come in if someone in the rotation AND Chance Adams struggles or gets injured. No point in giving up the farm for Cole/Harrison. Let’s try Andujar at 3B and Gleyber Torres at 2B and see what happens.