SUNDAY, 8:01pm: Last year’s failed Britton trade talks between the Astros and Orioles won’t play any factor in this year’s negotiations, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden tweets. A source tells Bowden that Houston is “all in” on acquiring Britton.
3:48pm: The Rockies and Brewers are also in the mix, Heyman tweets.
1:38pm: There are indeed teams ahead of the Dodgers in Britton talks, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, who lists the Astros, Cubs and Red Sox as being “more active” than LA.
8:06am: It doesn’t appear the Dodgers or Braves are “quite as engaged” on Britton as other teams are, Crasnick relays. LA’s wary of the luxury tax, as mentioned below, while the Braves aren’t keen on giving up prospects for short-term help, Crasnick suggests.
SATURDAY, 8:44pm: It’s “at least” a six-team race for Britton, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets.
8:14pm: The Orioles are seeking a return equal to or better than the one the Royals received for reliever Kelvin Herrera in a trade last month, Buster Olney of ESPN reports. Washington acquired Herrera for three prospects, though none ranked among the Nationals’ absolute best farmhands at the time.
7:39pm: Both the Cubs and the Astros “are trying to match up prospects with the Orioles,” Jerry Crasnick of ESPN tweets. The Dodgers are also among those who would like to acquire Britton, Dan Connolly of The Athletic reports, though Rosenthal notes that it may be difficult because of LA’s desire to stay under the luxury-tax threshold. No matter where Britton goes, the O’s hope to make a deal happen within the next few days, Crasnick adds.
6:38pm: With Brad Hand and Jeurys Familia now off the market, Orioles left-hander Zach Britton may be the best soon-to-be traded reliever in baseball. The 30-year-old has drawn widespread interest in recent weeks, too, with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reporting “virtually every top contender” is in on him (video link). The NL Central-leading Cubs are among that group, and they “remain deeply involved” in the Britton discussions, sources tell Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (subscription required).
In at least the near term, Britton would likely serve as a replacement for Cubs closer Brandon Morrow, who went on the disabled list this week on account of right biceps inflammation. Britton has also endured injuries, most recently a ruptured Achilles that shelved him from the start of the season until mid-June. The two-time All-Star got off to a less-than-dominant start in his first action of the season as he returned from that injury, though he has been better of late as the deadline approaches.
Not only has Britton gone eight straight appearances (eight innings) without yielding an earned run, but he has seen his velocity climb closer to its past levels in the process. Of course, Britton has also walked a batter in three straight outings and has issued an unpalatable 10 free passes against 13 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings this year. To Britton’s credit, though, he has posted a 3.45 ERA and a terrific groundball rate (64.1 percent).
While the Cubs are high on Britton, Mooney wonders if they have a good enough farm system to win a bidding war for the pending free agent. Chicago has Baseball America’s 28th-ranked prospect pool, which seemingly places it behind the 8-ball, and Rosenthal notes Britton is likely to yield a “strong” return with so many championship hopefuls chasing him.
Given the competition for his services, Britton to the Cubs may be a long shot. However, if acquired, Britton would further strengthen a bullpen that ranks fifth in the majors in ERA and just added ex-Ranger Jesse Chavez via trade this week.
The Cubs’ relief corps has received great results from Morrow, Steve Cishek, Pedro Strop, Justin Wilson, Carl Edwards Jr., the unit’s top five innings leaders. Although, only one of those hurlers (Wilson) is a lefty, and fellow southpaws Brian Duensing and Randy Rosario are difficult to trust. Duensing has endured a brutal year, having logged a 7.31 ERA with more walks (23) than strikeouts (18) across 28 1/3 innings. Rosario, on the other hand, has done well preventing runs over 27 2/3 innings (1.95 ERA), but with 5.2 K/9, 4.23 BB/9, a sky-high 94.2 percent strand rate and a .238 batting average on balls in play against, he’s an obvious regression candidate. It’s likely Britton would be an upgrade over those two, and if his track record is any indication, he’d join Wilson in giving the Cubs a second formidable lefty reliever.
More upside than Familia, at probly less the cost. Familia has better stats but believe Britton’s bigger potential.
Or maybe not, unlike Mets, I can see the O’s making QO to Britton. Either way, the return for this one is going to be fascinating. Any guesses? Think the prospect will be better than prospective QO comp.
Doubt they’d offer him a QO at $18M if they kept him for the rest of the season. The Familia trade is a good comp for what Britton would bring back.
Orioles have discussed giving Britton a QO and if he were to accept making him a starter again. Britton wants to stay a RP tho.,
If you believe O’s will make a QO for Britton you should move on to fantasy football because you are in fantasy fantasy baseball.
It’s very likely if britton isn’t traded that he would receive a QO. No reason to think he wouldn’t. I’m sure he’ll be dealt but if not he’ll be QO’d.
I don’t think Britton would get a QO that’s what sources from within the organization have floated the idea. People need to learn how to read.
Is that right pal? Deep inside the organization?
Yes sources from within the organization told Buster Olney that the Orioles have floated the idea of QO Britton and making him a starter.
Somehow that got turned into I said it or suggested it. Given it’s the Orioles it’s completely plausible they could entertain it.
Britton has told them he would prefer to stay a RP.
So then the O’s are going to give Britton away for free? The Mets got next to nothing for Familia. The O’s will get more for Britton than the Mets got for Familia.
Thinking caratini is who could be on move. Not thinking it’s a lock, but BAL has had scouts watching cubs-cards and caratini was 3-3 BB on Thursday. I could see a couple minor league pieces as well.
Agreed. I’m sure Theo would try his best to talk them into someone else, but my guess is Caratini will be the price of doing business.
Totally agree, Caratini and a decent minor leaguer makes sense
Caratini is an overpay for Britton. I understand the Cubs’ caution with Morrow on the D/L, but if they’re going to (potentially) give up Caratini, then it should be for a starter, which is something they need much more than a reliever.
Cubs will punt this season if needed . Will play the current cards they have in deck. Kershaw Harper machado kimbrel familia targets next year and they only cost money .
“Cubs will punt this season if needed”
One of the worst takes I’ve seen in a while. Don’t know if you noticed, but they have the best record in the NL. That’s enough right there to make your post look really stupid.
Honestly is Caratini really that valuable? I mean I’m not bashing because I’m a Brewers fan; he’s decent and already a MLB’er. But he doesn’t seem to have a high ceiling or anything. He wouldn’t be a big prospect on a team with better prospects like ATL or NYY.
He’s a headstrong hitter who makes great contact and doesn’t crack under pressure. Defense could use a little work, but he’s got a fairly strong arm. He’s a very solid and consistent hitter.
A closer for a backup catcher seems like a good deal to me
In a vacuum Caratini is an overpay, but not necessarily for the Cubs. Caratini is not likely to supplant Contreras as the starter and if you make him the backup, you are wasting his potential. I wouldn’t advise a team without a young starting catcher to trade a guy like Caratini, but for the Cubs he is just extra.
I agree, Caratini is a likely centerpiece for a deal here
C’mon Braves. Make an offer.
They have it seems
In the end, it will be the Yankees or Braves, both of which have better farms than the Cubs or Phillies.
Yankees are tight with their prospects, and they have bigger needs (weak rotation depth).
The Yankees have an absolute need for a lefty for the pen. I doubt they want to go into the playoffs with Shreve as their only lefty besides Chapman. Britton is probably more than they need but it is a giant hole that needs filled.
Hes not going to the yanks. Guaranteed
I think the Astros will get him. They probably have more motivation to add a reliever than the Yankees, and are probably more willing to part with prospects than the Braves.
The Phillies farm system is pretty good. It is a top 5 or 6 in all of baseball. MLB Pipeline had them ranked ahead of the Yankees coming into this season. The Phillies are also more willing to surrender some of their prospects than the Yankees are. The Cubs farm system isn’t very good, but we are talking about the Orioles who seem to view young players in a completely different way than everybody else
Doesn’t really matter who has the better farm in this case since this is a Zach Britton trade we are talking about. It has to do with who offers the best return as opposed to who has the best overall farm- we aren’t talking about deGrom or Syndergaard
I think the Yankees and Cubs could do well in a reliever trade. Betances for Wilson would take care of the hole in each teams bullpen. If the Cubs don’t like Betances the Yankees have several very good RH options to choose from. Wilson would give the Yankees the lefty they need badly and he would be a known commodity to them.
Only a gut feeling. Given the year the O’s have had, if old man Angelos is involved even a little, I think Britton goes to the NL. I just don’t think he wants to help ANY of his AL foes.
Think your short changing the Stros
Caratini is way too much for Britton
Considering he’s a free agent next year
You gotta give up something to get something and we can afford to deal Caratini
Can we? Who’s going to back up Contreras?
Pick up Rene Rivera again. Not sure if he’s off the dl yet
Schwarber is next on catcher depth chart
Aj ellis from the padres.
The GOAT…Blake swihart.
Gee that’s the guy no said could catch…. sure has looked different to me his last two starts!
Back up catchers are not nearly as hard to find as late inning relievers. Besides, how often are back up catchers even used in the playoffs?
Can the cubs afford to give up their backup catcher? Victor caratini isn’t a key cog to your team. He’s a backup catcher. He plays what once, maybe twice a week in the regular season? This is crazy.
The Cubs can always recall Chris Gimenez from AAA if Caratini is dealt. Perhaps Gimenez can be the spark needed to light a fire in the body and mind of injured “head case” Yu Darvish if and when the expensive FA returns to the mound in the coming weeks.
If not, there are plenty of backup catching options available to the Cubs just as there were last summer when they acquired both Alex Avila and Rene Rivera to fortify the position. The acquisition of Avila along with southpaw reliever Justin Wilson last July 31st was particularly fortuitous when Willson Contreras suffered a disabling hamstring issue 10 days later on August 9th. Rivera was selected off of waivers 10 days later to provide additional depth at the position with Contreras sidelined up until just before the playoffs began.
Lol
Completely agree.
Caratini is MLB ready and is probably a lot less risk than other offers the Orioles are getting. Unless the Orioles are getting a top prospect in return for Britton(which they won’t), Caratini would be a top-tier return for 2 months of a reliever. I have to believe the Cubs would get another piece in return along with Britton.
Agree. There was some talk recently about Cubbie interest in Adam Jones.
I don’t understand the Adam Jones talk unless Ian Happ was headed the other way. That would just complicate the Cubs already-complicated depth. Happ would be way too much for Britton/Jones. I don’t see Adam Jones coming to the Cubs. He’s not an upgrade over what they have whatsoever.
Despite both being rentals, Zach Britton and Adam Jones for Ian Happ would enhance the Cubs chances for a World Series title in 2018. The Cubs can worry about the long term future after another celebration, perhaps even replace the 2018 Happ/Jones combo with Bryce Harper in 2019 and beyond. Kris Bryant might agree with this potential outcome. lol
The current version of Jones does not help the Cubs in any way
The Orioles have a few veteran pieces that might interest the Cubs in addition to rental OF Adam Jones. They might include another rental in righty reliever Brad Zach along with a couple of controllable SP’s in Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman.
If Jones is added to any expanded trade involving Zach Britton then an outfielder off of the Cubs active roster might be in play rather than catcher Victor Caratini, perhaps the versatile switch-hitting Ian Happ. Jones would replace Happ in 2018 while Britton would give the Cubs the bullpen southpaw they have been seeking as well as some insurance in the closer role with Brandon Morrow on the DL. With Jones a FA following the season, the Cubs would have one less OF this offseason in pursuit of Kris Bryant’s pal Bryce Harper.
Happ is probably equally as good of a defender as Jones, and a better hitter at this stage of their respective careers. There would be no point to trade Happ in that scenario. Adam Jones makes no sense for the Cubs. Look at his numbers.
Why do people think Adam Jones is a) good anymore and b) will get traded he has 10/5 rights so I dunno why he’d get traded to be a bench bat for a contender.
Him being added to a Zach Britton means teams actually give up less in prospect capital as Jones makes way too much money the rest of the year for the player he is.
If Adam Jones get traded anywhere it’s probably Cleveland. They need a RH Hitting OF.
In fairness, Ian Happ isn’t good either. But he’s obviously younger with team control
It’s not a comparison of Jones and Happ. It’s a comp of Britton + Jones for Happ in order to improve the Cubs chances for a title this season. What prospects do the Cubs have that might interest the Orioles in a bidding war with the Astros or Dodgers? Adding Jones to a deal for a few months might give the Cubs a leg up, especially with the Dodgers who will have enough trouble just fitting Britton into their payroll without luxury tax repercussions in 2018.
In addition, what’s with all the hand-wringing over Jones’ numbers in 2018. His triple slash is OK and comes with a whole lot more contact than what Happ offers. Both have identical 1.6 oWAR metrics as well. Neither are much defensively but Jones does have the bulk of his experience playing in CF. Jones hasn’t been to the postseason much lately and hasn’t been great in the playoffs but he does have 14 games worth of experience. Again, it’s Britton who the Cubs can really use and Jones might be the one added piece that could net them their reliever. It’s not an ideal scenario but one that might have to be done if the Cubs want to improve the backend of their pen/closer situation down the stretch and into the postseason.
For all the talk of the Cubs acquiring an impact starter by July 31st, any pursuit of an ace like Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard, or even a mid-rotion type like Chris Archer, would include multiple players off of their active roster so pick your poison. That or be satisfied with the team acquiring another back of the rotation arm/fringe reliever or just standing pat because the Cubs do not have the prospect capital to make a trade for an impacting pitcher otherwise.
Happ is A switch hitter with power from both sides plays + defense and can play second first and all outfield spots and still hasn’t achieved full potential.
Happ is worth far more than Britton and adding Adam Jones is negative value so I dunno why people are connecting the cubs and orioles with trade talks and talking about Happ. But as you were in your fantasy land.
This isn’t a “bidding war.” This is about the Orioles ability to scout an origination’s depth pieces.
They received one viable prospect for Machado. Happ has a year of MLB experience and just a year ago was a higher ranked prospect than Diaz has ever been. There’s no logic to the idea that the Cubs would give up more for Britton than the Dodgers gave up for Machado.
But maybe he has achieved full potential. Everyone assumes 23 year old guys will continue to gt better. Not true. A lot of players actually peak around 23. That’s why so many prospects tend to fail.
Gleyber Torres also had far more “worth” as an elite MLB prospect than rental Aroldis Chapman which he is now showing to be true with his Bronx teammate and the rest of MLB. The Cubs realized this was a strong probability at the 2016 trade deadline but they had more than sufficient middle infield depth in Addison Russell and Javier Baez along with a strong desire to break a certain 108 year old streak back then.
In 2018, the Cubs also have sufficient OF depth in which to trade a player like Ian Happ in order to help secure another championship before another 108 year streak can be too far along.
Personally, I wouldn’t do this trade but I am also a fan who was opposed to the 2016 Chapman deal and the Jose Quintana acquisition last summer, so I am going with the historical trend of Theo Epstein who also managed a few blockbuster summer trades in his reign as the Red Sox GM. My preference would still be to do something this summer to enhance the Cubs pitching staff rather than just stand pat down the stretch and into the postseason. I might be more inclined to use players like Happ, Victor Caratini or even Kyle Schwarber to pursue a controllable top of the rotation starting pitcher and try to add a cheaper bullpen depth piece like Joakim Soria as a late inning/closer insurance policy.
Of course, the best situation might ultimately be to stand pat and just pray that the current rotation actually starts pitching up to expectations. Despite his meltdown the other day, only Jon Lester has managed to meet or exceed expectations thus far in 2018. It’s not like Kyle Hendricks and Quintana don’t have the stuff or past resume to also be top-3 rotation pitchers, to say nothing of expensive, often injured and seeming head case Yu Darvish as he “attempts” to get back on the mound in the coming weeks. I mean, how much money and player capital can the Cubs continue to dish out each year in trying to constantly fortify a pitching staff that was generally neglected during their past rebuild?
Comparing Chapman in 2016 to Britton in 2018 is absurd. Chapman was elite in 2016. Britton is not elite in 2018.
Bringing up the Quintana deal is also ignoring the fact that Quintana’s value was significant due to his contract both in terms of length and dollars.
In Britton, you have a guy two years removed from being elite who is coming off a significant injury and headed to FA in the winter. One could argue that he has less value than Familia – and few could argue that he hs more value than Herrera.
Neither of those guys brought back significant returns. Stop thinking Britton will he different.
No comp was intended to Britton in regards to Chapman and Quintana other than to point out Theo Epstein’s history of deadline deals and my dislike for both trades as a Cubs fan. Fortunately I am also a White Sox fan so the deal for “Q’ gets high marks from the other half of my split Chicago personality fan disorder.
I had made a more specific comp to Britton and recently dealt rental Jeurys Familia, stating that a return might be comparable but also acknowledging that the Cubs might not have the pitching prospect capital to satisfy the Orioles in a trade which is when the notion of an expanded trade involving the likes of Victor Caratini or Ian Happ came into play.
As was the case with Chapman back in 2016, I would have preferred the Cubs were more aggressive in their pursuit of a controllable asset like Andrew Miller if they were going to surrender top prospects. They had no intention of signing Chapman as a FA the following offseason and then opted to surrender yet another young asset in Jorge Soler to acquire another short term closer in Wade Davis for the 2017 season. I also had a personal problem with Chapman anyway due to his prior suspension for domestic abuse but that’s a gripe for another thread.
In my mind and like the Miller possibility from 2016, I was hoping the Cubs could work out a deal for Brad Hand before he was dealt to the Indians recently. Hand actually has much more experience as a closer than what Miller had as a Yankee back in 2016 and throwing out the names of Ian Happ and Victor Caratini would have made more sense than for acquiring Britton.
There is no expanded trade that includes Happ…
I think people ignore how good Happ actually is. They see a guy who struggled to start the year. A guy who strikes out a lot. And a guy who doesn’t have a regular spot in the Cubs lineup — and they think he’s no good. Or that he’s expendable for a couple rentals.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. At 23, Happ has 705 big league plate appearances. That’s roughly a full season’s worth. In that time, he has a .254/.350/.491 triple slash with 36 home runs and 97 RBI.
Adam Jones best season, his 26-year old campaign in 2012, he had 697 plate appearances with a 287/.334/.505 triple slash with 32 home runs. That represented his career high in average and slugging while it was 1 point off his career best on-base and 1 home run off his highest home run total.
So I’m sorry but there’s no way the Cubs trade Happ for a rental reliever coming off a bad 2017 and a major injury in 2018- even if the Os throw in a guy whose prime was similar to Happ’s first full season…
You mentioned trading Soler for Davis- and you think that’s some kind of evidence that Epstein is just willing to deal from his core group of young players for rentals. Soler struggled to stay healthy in the minors. He struggled to stay healthy in the big league in 2015 and 2016. And he struggled to hit with any consistency when he was healthy. By the time that trade was made, he had long since played himself out of being a core positional player for the Cubs future.
Now – I’ve been wrong before. And I’ll admit when I am. Coincidentally, I was wrong with the Soler for Davis rumors. When Bruce Miles first broke news of that rumor during the 2016 meetings, I thought it was bs. I thought there was no way they’d get Davis for that little… and I was wrong.
But with this one, I won’t be wrong. The Cubs rightly value Happ as they did Schwarber in 2016- refusing to trade him even for a guy in Miller who had two years remaining on his deal… and despite the assumption that Schwarber had zero chance of seeing the field until 2017.
That’s not to say the Cubs wouldn’t deal Happ for anything. There are 3 “available” players the Cubs would include in a deal to acquire. Those players are DeGrom, Syndergaard, and Archer. The first two would take Happ plus another major piece to acquire. But Archer? It might take Happ, Amaya, and two middle of the road prospects.
well thought out and written…….
The Yankees can offer the quality pitching prospects the Orioles are searching for.They have a ton of RH pitching prospects and a 40 man crunch coming up. Moving a couple for Britton makes a ton of sense. Even overpaying a bit if it only involves RH pitching would be ok.
The Cubs would kill two birds with one stone by acquiring southpaw closer Zach Britton. They had been seeking a lefty for the backend of their bullpen and now need a closer with Brandon Morrow on the DL. Britton is a rental with some health concerns of his own so the cost shouldn’t be nearly as prohibitive as what a controllable Brad Hand cost the Indians.
The Orioles figure to land something comparable to what the Mets received for rental closer Jeurys Familia although in the case of a Cubs organization with a depleted farm system the cost might be a young player off of their active roster, perhaps 24-year old switch-hitting catcher Victor Caratini. That would seem an overpay on the Cubs part considering Caratini’s upside ans control through 2023 so any deal involving him might need to be an expanded one.
I don’t understand the cubs fans love of caratini. He is a backup catcher. He has shown zero power in his bat and he’s sporting a .366 BABIP to keep his numbers where they are right now. Please explain to me how he improves on that? Once his BABIP normalizes he’s a .250/310 hitter with no pop and average defense. Highly replaceable. You have one of the top let’s say 3-4 catchers in baseball right now. If Britton is your guy trading caratini isn’t an impediment.
Kris Bryant to the Yankees for Gleyber Torres and then the Cubs send Torres to the Orioles for Britton.
Even when trying to be funny the end result is more stupidity on your part.
How about CaseysPartner for literally any other commenter?
Anyone but ray_derek and you’ve got yourself a deal, bud.
As an Orioles fan I think this is a wonderful idea.
CaseysPartner. There it is. In writing for all to see. Your utter lack of baseball knowledge.
If a Zach Britton trade comes down to a prospect battle between the Cubs and Astros my money is definitely on Houston!
More chips at the table.
don’t forget the phillies
You guys all act like the cubs only need prospects
Wow your money is on the team with the better farm system. So impressive
This has such potential for a hangover. He’s not really right yet, he’s a rental, which means if he performs well he will cost a bundle next year, he can’t be given QO. Maybe he will be worth the prospect value., but…
He’s not gonna cost that much
Both your comment and mine got downvoted…I suspect by Orioles fans who think his price should be high.
Britton for Kyle Fuller who beats that ?
Please don’t call it a sweepstakes. That and “kicking the tires” are two phrases that are really getting old.
Actually I prefer “bidding war” over “sweepstakes” among cliche phrases. However, I am a huge fan of “kicking tires”, both literally and figuratively! lol
The Orioles seem to be trying to get better, at least, at working the media… “…a return equal to or better than the one the Royals received for reliever Kelvin Herrera” sounds suspiciously like the opening demand of two MLB ready pitchers for Machado…
Kelvin Herrera’s return was not overly impressive. That is a fair ask.
A few years ago the Cubs had one of the if not the best farms in all of baseball they are currently playing in the show now it’s not like they are all gone completely
Yes. The Cubs best prospects from “a few years ago” are mostly playing in Wrigley field right now. The top ones that aren’t are currently in the Bronx (Gleyber Torres) and soon to be on the South Side of Chicago (Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease).
The Cubs no longer have any top-100 prospects, at least according to mlb.com listings. Additionally, two of the top-3 in their system are either out for the season due to injury (RHP Adbert Alzolay) or lost due to a suspension for a banned substance (RHP Oscar De La Cruz). Those arms would have likely held some interest for an Orioles team in desperate need of organizational pitching depth but are no longer options for a deadline deal in 2018.
1- They’re both options for a deadline deal. And 2- Both of them are better than the organizational depth pieces the A’s traded for Familia.
But by all means – keep acting like Britton is going to require a significantly larger return than Familia did.
Do you seriously believe an organization like the Orioles, with their past history of medical issues holding up or aborting trades, would sign off on any prospect with physical or illegal substance issues?
Having worked for the Orioles in their PR Dept – yes, I do.
Perhaps that’s a reason why you are no longer in their employ. lol
Well… it’s not because of my ability to diagnose player injuries. That job belongs to the trainers and team doctors.
It’s not because of my ability to scout and evaluate talent. That job belongs to the baseball ops people.
It actually has to do with another company offering me more money for less hours… Traveling all summer and working 80 hour work weeks is fun when you’re 25. Not so much when you get married…
Your saltiness aside, name a player the Os were wrong to fail in their physical. I’ll wait … and wait… because you won’t come up with one.
Eloy and Dylan are yet to make any ML debut yet. I think Eloy Jimenez will be a beast but the white Sox will somehow ruin him. Dont know much about Dylan Cease he’ll be decent probably.
Some Cub fan you are not knowing much about their top pitching prospect at the time of the Quintana deal!
Btw-You are showing your true colors as a Cub fan who hates anything White Sox in your comment. As a fan of both teams for nearly 60 years, I can say the same sentiment occurs more often than not among South Side die-hards. That doesn’t make such comments from either fan base any less ignorant.
There’s no real way to ruin Eloy. He has a massive frame and an advanced approach at the plate. His only true concern is injury. He’s been banged up a lot in the minors. It isn’t on the level of Soler, but that’d be my fear.
Actually flew down to Birmingham a month ago with Ron Kittle to see Eloy. He makes Kittle look like a child. It’s staggering how large he is.
As for Cease- haven’t seen him just yet, but from what I’ve heard from those who have, he’s a back of the pen guy. That’s valuable. But the Cubs won’t regret his inclusion.
The real surprise for me… Dane Dunning. He’s gonna be a 2-3 starter in the near future.
Well there is always the possibility that he turns out to be Jorge Soler. Soler has put up some gaudy minor league stats but he hasn’t been able to make that transition to the MLB. I doubt that as well but he’s no sure thing. Dunning came over from the Nats. You might’ve known that but it was difficult to tell from the comment.
Yea I can see why that was unclear. I was only referencing Dunning because of the many pieces the Sox acquired via trade between Dec 2016 and July 2017, he was one of the few I was able to see in Birmingham. And he looked really good – like, he’s probably going to wind up being the best piece of the Eaton deal.
Escobar, Duke & Belisle for Fried, Peterson & Demeritte
Sweet random comment for an article exclusively talking about Zack Britton
Depending on the return Happ is to much of a over pay for Britton he’s a switch hitter that can play all over the field whereas Jones can play a capable corner outfield spot but then who do you move? Heywards bat is coming along and scwarber is in left not to mention almora is mostly on the bench
My guess is that it’ll come down to two teams and the Orioles will pick the weaker offer to stay consistent with their season.
Maybe the O’s will take the recently acquired Chavez from the Cubs he has started and been a swingman out the pen seems like they can use all the pictures they can get just awful they have been
omfg you cubs fans are lost
omfg you cubs fans are lost
Yeah way to generalize buddy. Btw he may be joking and if he’s not that is a stupid idea
Hmm… wonder what the Orioles need with all those pictures.
So they can see the big picture chief for starters
Forget Britton. Too much risk. The best arm available is Baraclaw on Miami.
Donuts for everyone!
Bear-o-claw
The guy that has outpitched his FIP by almost 2.5 runs? Eh, debatable at best.
you arent getting barra. he is having a great year and is signed thru 2022. you do not have the specs to make the deal
When did he become Mariano Rivera? He’s just a guy. Every team in mlb can easily trade for him.
you dont follow baseball than.
I read all 500 comments about how the package was light for said player who has been traded within the last year. And the random RP from the marlins you are talking about is far from the best guy who has or will be traded in that time period.
I watched the game in which he just blew a save and cost the marlins the game.
Looks like Britton would be the next rental who is traded. Can’t wait to read the plethora of “ OMG the package was so light” god awful takes.
It will be light because fans are unrealistic. Britton is a rental arm coming off a major injury whose most recent 1.5 seasons have shown a significant decline from where he was… He’s not going to bring back a significant return. The best Os fans can hope for is that their scouts can pluck an obscure player who eventually reaches the big leagues.
Fans haven’t yet adjusted to the current market. Every fan references Chapman when talking about rentals closers. Chapman was the exception and a complete outlier, nobody is giving up a top ten prospect for any closer right now
Well… not an average closer whose 2 months from free agency. If he had a year or two left on his deal after this one, then the Os would get more. But he doesn’t. And they won’t.
I think one issue is people think Britton is still the pitcher he was two years ago. But he had a shaky 2017 and then missed the first 3 moths of 2018 with a significant injury. The guy isn’t what Chapman was. And no team is as desperate to win a WS as the Cubs were in 2016.
But you’re right. People need to recalibrate. The Familia and Herrera deals are closer to the expected return for Britton than the Chapman deal.
Except maybe the 2018 Cubs. Just winning the NL Central and making it to the NLCS is no longer acceptable among Cubs nation. Man, how that thinking has changed in the past two years compared to the previous 108!
Please stop. I am not in the WS or bust mood for cubs. Just the fact
that they are contending every year is brilliant. I am completely satisfied if this core only got the 1. I still think they have 1 or 2 left in them. But no, this is not World Series or we’re ticked. Lol just beating the cardinals is gravy too
Same can be said for the Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, Dodgers- and probably the Nats. There are a number of fan bases who will be majorly disappointed if their team doesn’t go to the WS.
But that doesn’t mean the front offices are desperate to get there.
If any teams were, though, the Red Sox who keep getting bounced in the first round would probably top the list. The Nats, who are likely losing their best player after this season, would be next. And the Dodgers who haven’t won despite their payroll would be next.
The Cubs, though? Hardly desperate. They’ll do what they can to win. But trading a lot for a guy who doesn’t greatly improve their chances of winning a WS isn’t one.
Man, tonight was brutal. And I definitely saw on Twitter caratini is coveted by Baltimore. He’s controlled for at least 5 seasons and would give them decent pop from a catcher. Yes, he is the cubs backup at this point, but effectively is a worse version of willson. Cubs will pickup a defense first C off waivers or via trade and carry on. The bullpen needs help. They have pitched a ton of innings so far and morrow might not be healthy rest of way. Britton is regaining form and could be viable backup plan. I think strop Edwards morrow and Britton is solid if all healthy. Cubs are good enough to win pennant, but will need to play up in second half.
If they want Caratini, then they’ll have to cough up A LOT more than a closer with an expiring contract, and a history of physical problems and inconsistencies.
Caratini has proven himself to be an extremely consistent and headstrong hitter who doesn’t crack under pressure.
He could easily be their immediate starting catcher for MANY years to come.
That’s what I call an EXTREMELY one-sided/uneven trade.
Lord Caratini. Lol. He’s okay.
You can have Caleb Joseph too.
Cardinals should be in it. Cardinals should be in on every competent reliever. That’s whats holding them back big time.
Exactly CompanyAssassin! Mozeliak certainly has assembled a fine free agent pool of expensive, useless relievers! And they are still trying to throw Cecil and Holland at the Cubs!!! What a joke. And…..Mozeliak was the only one not fired?? He’s the one that has assembled this mess.
Smart organizations don’t trade valuable prospects for an outside shot at getting the second wild card spot…
What do the O’s want? ML ready SPs would be my guess. Maybe an OF too? I honestly don’t know where to start. Fisher and Armentaroes gets it done for the Astros. But pretty sure the Braves could easily outdo that.
You’re too high on the cost. It’s not gonna be great.
Hard to gauge. Maybe Armentaroes and a lottery ticket A baller? I’m not sure.
Hard to gauge? No. It’s actually really easy to gauge. There’s no reason to believe the Orioles get a significantly more valuable return for their rental closer than the Royals or Mets did for theirs.
Except that Britton is the last quality rental closer standing as the trade deadline approaches and at least 6 contenders are still interested in fortifying the back end of their bullpen down the stretch and into the postseason.
Closer… first off, we don’t know that to be true since Washington is a bad 4 dats from being a likely seller – which puts Herrera back on the market, and might put Doolittle there as well.
Additionally, most contending teams don’t need a closer. They need help in the back end of the bullpen, which Britton would provide. But when you actually look at the full scope of available back end options, the list is considerably longer than just Britton.
A good front office isn’t going to pigeon hole itself into just looking at guys who have closed games a- especially teams like the Cubs and Yankees who probably wouldn’t even deploy Britton as a primary closer anyway if they acquired if.
*if they acquired him
yanks need pitching, pitching and more pitching – tanaka just got a rest n cc needs some summer time off and severino will need some time to rest before September. they need
to get at least a starter and lefty rp in case chapman needs some more time off. the yankee teams of old always gave their vets some time off before sept and boy this staff needs it
It seems to be tough to pitch in Yankee stadium, I think it’s rated 9 th out of 30. They can bring up Sheffield at some time, and need to add another piece.
Screw britton.. happ, caratini, alzolay, hatch to the Mets for degrom… bote, Lange for britton.
LOL. If the Mets are truly interested in dealing the best pitcher in MLB right now it will cost significantly more than your offer. Additionally, if the Mets are intent on moving deGrom to launch a full scale rebuild they should be targeting multiple top-100 prospects in any deal, something the Cubs do not have.
Cubs have russell Schwarber happ Almora those don’t equal or exceed suspects I mean prospects
All are pretty much untouchable except for Happ, in the eyes of Theo and Co. I’d say there’s a slight chance they bend on Russell (if the return was huge, not for a guy like Britton), but I highly doubt it.
None of those players offer the team control that elite prospects can give a team embarking on a full-scale rebuild. It’s still questionable whether the Mets will actually commit to such an endeavor but if they actually do trade deGrom and/or Syndergaard wouldn’t that indicate their willingness to finally do so?
Both Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber are arbitration-eligible through their remaining 3 years of team control following this season. Albert Almora will be arb-elig in 2020 and a FA in 4 years while Ian Happ has one extra year before the same occurs. These are not the kind of players in which to launch a full-scale rebuild with, especially with a Met ownership still feeling some residual effects of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme and its legal settlement fallout. This might be a good opportunity for the Mets to finally do what other organization in big markets like Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia and Atlanta have done in the past decade…start from scratch, including a long overdue shakeup at the top echelons of management.
None of those names are “untouchable” when it comes to trading for the likely NL Cy Young Award winner who also happens to have two more seasons of arbitration eligible team control beyond this year. You are not talking about Kris Bryant when bringing up names like Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ or Albert Almora. Theo Epstein would be thrilled to part company with some reasonable combination of any of those names in order to acquire Jacob deGrom this summer or even in the coming offseason if the Mets truly commit to shaking things up. The same could be said for deGrom’s rotation mate in Noah Syndergaard who comes with an extra year of arb-eligible control.
It’s unlikely the Mets will go in a full rebuild. That’s never been their MO. Still, Russell and Schwarber are too close to FA to provide the necessary value. Happ, though, is still 5 years away. And his career 841 OPS with 36 home runs in 707 career plate appearances is enough to be a center piece for DeGrom or Syndergaard. The problem is that the Cubs would need a second player with the same appeal as Happ to get that deal done – and they don’t have that.
The Mets would hang up immediately. Nothing in that package resembles a potential star. Happ would be an above average starter if given the chance. Caratini could be an average Mlb catcher with a decent bat. And The pitchers both have middle of the rotation ceilings.
DeGrom will cost elite star talent. It’ll be less than what the Sox got for Sale but more than what the Cubs gave up for Quintana.
except the mets do not have anyboy qualified or with the
authority to make a degrom or noah trade, so that will wait
until they get a gm
Is HOU shopping Ken Giles?
Don’t think they are actively but if somebody came with a half decent offer I wouldn’t be surprised if they said yes. But who would?
I’d take a shot on ken Giles. I wouldn’t give up anything great but I’d part with a mid range prospect. Wouldn’t do it if I was Houston because the guy could get his head together and give another team a huge boost in October. He’s a head to be sure though so you never know what you’ll get.
Keep loading up Orioles. Get whatever you can get!
Hey Atlanta, giving up prospects for a rental is how this whole thing works.
Britton & Givens for Max Fried, Alex Jackson, Travis Demeritte, and Thomas Burrows.
Why would the Braves be interested?
They traded Kimbrel in his prime, they don’t like their own relief pitchers, so why would they like other team’s relievers?
Huh, Are you drunk?
Yeah, and the Red Sox once traded Babe Ruth, the greatest right fielder in history before his prime. Does that mean they should never try to find another right fielder again?
So they traded Kimbrel decades ago so what? That means they do not want to get bullpen help years later when they are in a pennant race? They traded Kimbrel as the team was not good and bad teams do not need a closer .. they trade them as part of the rebuild. Why the heck to you think Britton is on the market? So You think Baltimore will never want a closer again when they need one years later?
They traded Machado. So they never want a SS again?
Anyone think the phillies should go after Vazquez from the pirates?
No, too costly in prospects, especially for a team that’s not a World Series contender..
They could be a world series contender, if they added the right pieces. Machado I think would of made them an easy favorite for the NL , but If they play their cards right, they can make a run.
If they go for Happ they should ask for Tepera.
YAY Braves!!!
The Dodgers needed a SS; they got MM. They need pitching for an all-out go at the World Series; they will get ZB and maybe BB. They have to do it this year. Kemp won’t be this good 2years in a row will he?
They don’t have the payroll flex for Britton unless Forsythe comes back. It’d be odd that they didn’t work something out in the MM trade if that was a distinct possibility. I’d say it’s highly unlikely LAD and BAL match up on another deal.
The Brewers were interested until Baltimore told them they wanted players back in any deal.
Don’t let this distract you from the fact that ray_derek murdered 4 handicapped children in the 90s. He also hates music.
^Uh, what? How dare he hate music….
Yeah wondering why we would want him ?
He will go to the Astros. The rich always get richer
If the dodgers were involved wouldn’t Britton Of been in the machado trade some how ?
Friedman said that he attempted to make a package deal for the two, but the O’s weren’t on board with it. They wanted as many teams as possible to be in on Britton, which makes sense because more teams are looking to upgrade their bullpen before the deadline then positional players. Especially a player the caliber of Machado. Most teams simply wouldn’t have the resources to make a deal for both
Cubs trade Minor league catcher Taylor Davis, minor league pitcher Jeng-Ho Tseng and minor league outfielder Mark Zagunis to Orioles for Britton.
That’s laughable. And I’m a Cub fan
It would take more than that. Not much more. It will be a 3 for 1 at most. If not a 2 for one.
That Cardinals need to cut ties with Brett Cecil (a wonderful free agent, long term pick up by John Mozeliak). He’s absolutely killed the Cardinals from the second he signed his multi year contract. How about rectifying yourself Mozeliak and get a useful lefthander? Get Britton.
Best trade for Aaron Loup before they want to sign him during free agency
why not consider Brach or another reliever as well as Britton and cut ties with Holland as well unless they are planning on getting in a bidding war for Kimbrel,miller or another big name reliever since they are looking for long term acquisitions maybe consider cody allen in the offseason one things for sure the bullpen needs big changes
Dombrowski will get a deal done. He’s in win now mode and will further gut the farm.
They wont get that much back for a rental. Maybe 2 mid level prospects. No one from a teams top 10 prospect list.
“If” they don’t get Britton, I could see the Astros using Keuchel out of the pen in the postseason, as the only lefty next to Tony Sipp.
But if that’s the case, then who’ll the Astros deal for, if it’s not Britton?
Barraclough? Conley? Ryan Pressly?
Kuechel has been great lately. If he continues to pitch the way he has, he is probably slotted 2nd behind Verlander in the playoffs, not out of the bullpen.
What the hell are the Braves doing? Herrera and Familia both going for barely anything. AA needs to realize trading for rental players isn’t a bad thing when you are giving up org filler. Now Britton is the last good rental player available and the price is going up.
from what I saw of britton in his small sample size, he was throwing straight
fastballs in the dirt and getting swings, I think they will adjust to that, then
we will see what he really has coming back from this injury. I am hesitant at
this time to go all in on him. maybe a week from now someone with better eyes
then mine will see something different
I heard the Sox trying to do a package deal for Britton that will include Schoop. Heard sox offered Chavis, Houck and Chapman. Can’t see the Astros topping that offer or anyone. That is 3 very decent prospects.