8:17pm: The Yankees are not only involved but have “serious interest,” Andy Martino of SNY.tv tweets. He adds that the O’s are trying to get something done in short order, which is perhaps not surprising given that Britton is throwing well now but goes represent an injury risk.
12:39am: The list of teams being linked to Zach Britton continues to grow, with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweeting this morning that the Diamondbacks are also showing interest in the lefty. The D-backs join the likes of the Astros, Cubs, Rockies, Brewers, Red Sox and Braves as clubs holding some level of interest in acquiring Britton.
Of course, it stands to reason that virtually every contending club will want to familiarize itself with the asking price on Britton. It’s not known exactly how aggressively all of the teams that have been tied to Britton are actually pursuing him. That said, Rosenthal adds that, similarly to colleague Jim Bowden, he hears the Astros’ interest is “heavy.” The Yankees, who weren’t among the teams prominently linked to Britton over the weekend but are “still trying” to pry him away from the Orioles, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link).
Meanwhile, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported today that the Dodgers could be a tough fit for Britton given the team’s ongoing quest to remain underneath the $197MM luxury tax threshold. Passan cites a league source in noting that a Britton acquisition would put the Dodgers over that threshold.
Certainly, the Dodgers could remedy that scenario by trading away a veteran player, but that didn’t pan out in the Manny Machado talks. Rumors surrounding the Dodgers and Machado at one point indicated that Logan Forsythe could be sent back to Baltimore as a means of offsetting some of the money the Dodgers would take on, but Forsythe ultimately remained in Los Angeles. Perhaps the two sides could come to an alternative solution when discussing Britton, but (speculatively speaking) the fact that no money changed hands in the Machado trade could be a reflection on the Orioles’ feelings on subsidizing a theoretical Britton trade.
On the flip side, it’s possible that the Orioles’ previous talks for Machado with other clubs who also hold interest in Britton could prove beneficial. Rosenthal tweets that the Brewers are indeed among the many clubs pursuing Britton, and their Machado negotiations already give them a good idea of how Baltimore values many of their prospects.
Britton has now snapped off eight consecutive scoreless appearances to drop his ERA to 3.45. Alternatives like FIP (4.43), xFIP (4.02) and SIERA (4.37) still aren’t exactly bullish on his overall body of work, but there’s little denying that he’s been an improved pitcher of late. Britton’s sinker has averaged 95.2 mph over that scoreless streak — up from the 93.8 mph it averaged through his first eight appearances. His ground-ball rate, too, is on the rise and is now sitting at 72.2 percent over his past eight outings.
If there’s a knock on Britton — beyond the $4.45MM he’s owed through season’s end — it’s that his control still doesn’t seem to be as sharp as it once was. He’s walked four hitters and thrown two wild pitches while falling behind nearly two-thirds of the batters he’s faced over his scoreless stretch (35.7 percent first-pitch strike rate). But, with his stuff clearly ticking upward and contending clubs universally seeking to deepen their bullpens, the market for Britton should continue to be robust right up until the moment he’s inevitably moved.
First team to offer a top 100 prospect gets him.
Soria with an extra year of control a good play (at likely less prospect demand) for whatever contender wants a closer/late innings depth piece as an alternative to Britton.
He doesn’t have an extra year of control…. his 2019 option is a mutual option and those never get picked up
I thought it was a team but I could be incorrect. I could see a 1/10 mutual option as a possibility for team and player though.
It is a team option for 19. Believe it was Jeff Todd who corrected that error a few days ago
Soria is a RHP. Unless your team needs a closer he doesn’t compare to Britton who is a lefty very well. The only contenders in need of a closer that I can think of are the Cubs and Astros. The Cubs will probably wind up with Soria since his cost will be less than Britton and the Astros are will get Britton since a dominant lefty is all they are missing. The Red Sox will try but the Astros can give up a better prospect without damaging their farm.
The Cubs don’t need a closer… their closer is on the DL for 5 more days. And then he’ll go back to having a fairly dominant season.
“Fairly dominant” after the DL. Sounds like a first round exit for the Cubs. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
It’s pretty easy to look up stats. He’s having a really good year.
If the Cubs get bumped in the first round it will absolutely not be because of anything Brandon Morrow did or didn’t do. He’s about as close to a sure thing of knowing what you’re going to get as the Cubs have on their pitching staff.
Wrong Morrow may not be back that soon and if back may be ineffective
For those of u that don’t follow the cubs 365, morrow is on the dL for bicep soreness nothing to do with his back. We r playing the long game and have been all year. Morrow would be still active in pitching on almost every other team, we are just doing our absolute best to keep him and everyone else is precious possible for the playoffs because we know we’re making a deep run at least back to the LCS and hopefully the World Series. And even if we did get bumped in the first round we’re still taking the right approach with the players were just being cautious we have a little leeway because we are very confident that we will easily win the division.
You mean morrow “the porcelain doll”. The cubs need another closer. Morrow is hurt more than he’s healthy and when he’s healthy he has to be coddled.
Ask George Springer what he thinks of Brandon Morrow. Round 2!
until he gets hurt again. Dodgers fan here..he had a big workload last season and this season. Don’t forget when the Dodgers got them he was coming of injuries also that’s why nobody was picking him up. Maybe injuries caught up with him again. I hope not I like the guy
The Cubs absolutely need a closer. Morrow is very good but he is the very definition of injury risk. If he were to go down again in late September the Cubs can wave goodbye to a World Series birth. Getting someone like Soria, to pair with a solid Cishek (sp?) who is willing to setup and can easily step into the closer role if Morrow goes down again makes a ton of sense. Plus, Soria can be picked up without touching their 25 man roster. A 50 prospect like Lange should be enough to get him.
Also, a bullpen with Edwards Jr., Wilson, Cishek, Soria and Morrow is deep enough and talented enough to challenge any lineup. It doesn’t sparkle like the Yankees but it is very solid nonetheless. 4 relievers with closing experience is exactly what you want for the playoffs.
Soria has 10mil team option for 2019 with 1mil buyout. Not crazy these days to pick up as extra year if he continues performing as he has been. Understood he’s not a lefty, but as volatile as relievers are + health, not a bad alternative for contenders bolstering its bullpen depth….especially if O’s ask too steep to rent.
Soria is the FAAAAR better option for a team looking for value. I can see the Astros grabbing him for 70% the cost of Britton for better production.
Trey Ball for Britton and Schoop and Boog Powell’s recipe book
Schoop will not be traded at the deadline. They will learn from the Machado deal and try to work out an extension for him, and if none is forthcoming they will trade him in the offseason. Also, right now would be selling low on him. since he started the year off terribly. He’s been red hot for three or four weeks but his overall for the year is still pretty awful..
They already didn’t learn from Machado or else they would’ve extended him last year. 2 mistakes were made with Machado. 1 was not extending him earlier and 2 was not trading him last year. They’ve already waited too long to try to extend schoop, and now their in a tough spot as whether or not they should trade him on a bad year but with control, or hope he bounces back next year (but he’ll be a 3 month rental). This team is so poorly run it’s amazing how any of them have jobs at such a high level.
By recent calculations the Dodgers are now about $5M below the cap. This assumes an average payout to Maeda on his massively performance-based contract. The way he’s pitching this year it seems likely that he will collect a larger than average bonus. The Dodgers might be forced to heavily discount a veteran, such as Forsythe, just to clear enough payroll to get Maeda a few more starts. The Maeda contract looked so team friendly when it was signed, but now we can see it has the teeth to bite back.
The teeth to bite back or fair market? Seems like you’re just paying for the results. Still at a discounted rate honestly. That deal is team friendly for sure.
Whether it’s fair market or not is completely irrelevant to my point.
Your post is about dealing forsythe for the luxury tax. I get that but 90% of your post is about Maeda;s deal and then you said it “bites back.” and it “looked so team friendly.” All fair points to comment on wouldn’t you say?
No, I would not say. If you read what I actually wrote what I am saying will be completely clear. You haven’t responded to that at all.
With all the interest in Britton it makes it even more dumbfounding that the Mets moved so quickly on Familia, who’s just as good, for a fairly weak return.
The Royals with Herrera as well. I thought he would bring back way more than he did. Rental relievers just don’t seem to be commanding the return they have in recent years. Britton will be the exception though since he is a lefty.
I think the market is just correcting. Also guys like miller and Chapman are special. Familia and Herrera are good pitchers but they aren’t dominate left handed relievers. I don’t think you’ll see as many oversized reliever contracts this offseason either. Relievers were clearly undervalued a few years ago but it appears that their value may have peaked this offseason and it’s now settling down somewhere to their actual value.
A healthy Britton(which he hasn’t been) is in the same league as Miller / Chapman
Familia just as good? Britton’s only concern is health. Familia even healthy makes me nervous. Go after Britton but use the O’s medical evidence to decide given how hard they review medicals.
That last part doesn’t make much sense. He’s shown no after effects from the Achilles injury, or from last year’s forearm injury. His only problem this year is that he missed spring training and is, for all intents and purposes, still in it. I know the Astros are a front runner, but if he were to go to a NL team, those players have rarely if ever have seen him and he’ll be nearly unhittable again.
Typical Mets…misreading yet another trade/FA move. When the O’s out-maneuver you it’s time to admit you suck at life.
Can’t argue with that one.
Dodgers gonna have to give up a good prospect in order for Bmore to take on Forsythe
To get Britton and take back the money of Forsythe it’s going to cost. I don’t see the two lining up very well. The orioles already took 5 of the dodgers minor leaguers. I don’t see them lining up again.
If the Red Sox had a deeper system it would be ideal to get Britton. They need a solid lefty out of the pen but they don’t have the prospects to outbid Houston. I see them picking up a pair of cheaper arms like Kirby Yates and possibly one of miamis bullpen pieces.
I honestly see Boston getting Luis Avilan from the Sox. Hes had a solid year out of that pen and could excel as a LOOGY
One option LAD might be exploring would be to move Alex Wood’s contract, instead of or in addition to Forsythe. Wood is making $6 m (Forsythe is making $9 m). My guess is that that there might be a market (NYY, Cubs) for Wood as he is controlled through 2019 and would seem to be at least as good an option as some of the other 4-5 starters being discussed.
Given their depth of starters, I think LAD could afford to move Wood.
Thoughts?
I can’t imagine why you’d move a young controllable starter to save a little cash. Ryu makes more sense if you’re looking to dump cash. Wood could end up hurting the Dodgers in October if you ship him out to another contender.
I hear you. I just don’t think there is a market for Ryu given his injury. Personally, I would also rather have Ryu if he returns to the form he was in at the time of his injury.
I probably have a lower opinion of Wood than you do; but, no worries. Thanks for the comment.
By giving up Forsythe it doesn’t take much away from the current 25-man roster. Whereas the Dodgers need Alex Wood, and need him to perform, to secure a playoff spot or division. I see where you are going with this idea. I think LA would look at Forsythe as the primary contract to dump.
Alex Wood is someone who would actually bring back value. Not a guy you’d trade to dump money. Forsythe is a guy who’s not playing well and isn’t a productive piece and a classic dump candidate
Seems as if you and I are in agreement gleybertorres. I’m assuming you are a NYY fan and if you see value in Wood, perhaps Cashman might as well.
I believe trading Wood is something the LAD can afford to do as they actually have quality starter depth (Kersh, Strip, Maeda, Hill, Buehler, Ryu on the cusp of a return). Ferguson Stewart and Urias provide a second tier of depth. I really believe LAD can deal Wood to a team that needs a quality 4-5 starter.
So, rather than be forced to “dump Forsythe” (requiring a prospect to be added to a deal), trading Wood accomplishes the objective (allowing LAD to stay under the cap) and still acquire a Britton. I’m still not sure Britton is Friedman’s #1 target though. Paying more for a controllable 8th inning guy that is also less expensive may well be the route taken.
You’re the only guy that looks at Wood as a 4-5 starter. He’d be the #3 on the Yankees tomorrow. I don’t know why you’d deal a better pitcher, Wood is a better pitcher than Ryu and Hill. Both of whom are huge injury risks. You’re making the Yankees better while hurting yourself. That mid range prospect you give up to dump forsythe isn’t going to hurt you this year and it may never hurt you. Wood is 100x more likely to do so.
I hope you’re right about Wood and, more specifically, that Cashman agrees with you. If he does, he would be willing to give the Dodgers a top 10 prospect from his system to get him.
I just disagree with you about Wood being better than Hill or Ryu. No worries, that’s the great thing about the game–people can agree to disagree. Thanks for your comment.
Dodgers have great rotation depth for sure. I just think it’s tough to arbitrage with another contender and wind up better off. Hill and Ryu when healthy may be as good or better than Wood but that’s a huge risk and has to be discounted accordingly. Always good to banter with someone respectfully though. Appreciate it.
Second tier? I’m sorry, but you can in no way factor any portion of that group into this for a team attempting to march towards the WS. Expecting anything from Urias is a bad position to put the kid in. Stewart has been pretty bad and his substantial loss of velocity is quite concerning. Much like Ferguson, the problem they both experience is the inability to keep guys honest without a third pitch. That’s before even mentioning the injury concerns involving the remainder of the rotation. Maybe if this were the offseason, I could potentially see them willing to move Wood. But in reality, the one thing you have to factor in is what potential arms would be available after the TDL. I can’t see it tbh, simply for the fact that everyone is trying to add arms not subtract them.
So whether or not there is a market for Wood is there really anything substantial or are you selling low? Is what you’re obtaining a greater value than Wood? When we discuss all these matters, I think we have this perception that the Dodgers wouldn’t be willing to move prospects or that what is owed will require major significance.
Likewise I don’t see them being at all interested in moving Wood. Ahead of him on the list of possible trade candidates for the purpose of lowering payroll are Pederson, Puig and Forsythe. As I pointed out above it would be painful to have to trade any veteran player at what amounts to a forced clearance price but that’s the developing scenario.
I’d quite honestly dispute such a notion, especially if you consider the upcoming roster crunch the Dodgers are going to experience in the offseason. Add onto that guys that are blocked and/or don’t really have a future. The last place I would expect them to trim though is in the rotation. Where I might expect a surprise place for them to trim, might be sac religious to a sect of Dodger fans, but it appears that Puig would be the easiest to trade and potentially clear up log jam. I’m no way calling for it, but I don’t envision them locking him up long term and with the versatility of this team it’s appears to be more realistic. I just look at the team and see that with 20+ available for the upcoming rule 5 they will be losing talent in some form or another. I guess we also have to temper our views of how much 2-3M is actually worth in terms of prospect capital. Surplus value on that end isn’t as significant as opposing fans would probably hope for.
Looking at the list of players who could be dealt to lower payroll, it isn’t really a long one, and Puig is definitely on it. If the Dodgers are serious about adding to the back end and especially if they want to see Maeda make starts deep into September then their hand is forced. Somebody on that short list has got to be moved, and soon. The big problem with making Puig that player is he’s on the DL, not that it’s sacrilegious to suggest it.
I was looking at The Dodgers 40 man myself earlier and wondering the same thing. Forsythe and Puig are the only names that jump out as potential salary swaps. As we all know, pitching wins championships and dumping a quality lefty who can start or be a good long reliever, just for a bit of salary relief is never a good idea. If Friedman were to trade Wood, I am sure several teams (including the Yankees) would send a decent prospect back. He would be a great replacement for Warren in the Yankees bullpen for the playoffs.
You’re severely overvaluing the Yankees rotation right now. Wood’s FIP. Would put him right behind Severino in the rotation. I don’t think the Yankees can get away w a 3 man rotation of CC, Tanaka and Severino. Wood would be starting and is arguably better if not just as good as any other starter available. Happ, Gausman etc.
@BlueSkyLa
The second portion of that comment was originally a part of my post. I guess it was split up. So I wasn’t attempting to dispute your comment, because I generally agree.
The whole idea of trading Wood wouldn’t be such an outlandish concept if he had an expiring contract and he was simply just an innings eater. My main contention is simply you don’t trade a guy like Wood, bc he has a year of control left, can swing to the pen if need be, and SP is always a concern. Plus I’m not sure if there is anything better on the market if someone were to get hurt. Finding a corner guy to fit in the bottom portion of your lineup always appears to be significantly easier and cheaper.
Hats off to you two dodger fans. You two are the only people on here that understand the dodgers and Yankees aren’t going over the 197 mil. The rest of the people on here completely forgot about that. Giants also have gotta be super close and adding upgrades will be difficult without shedding salary.
The Yankees would be in much better shape than they are today of they pried Wood away from LAD. The Yankees SP is *not* made for the post season. They have a ridiculous lineup and BP, but they are 1-2 starters short of competing with HOU or even CLE. Pitching wins in the playoffs and the Yankees still need their starters to go 6 if they want a realistic chance to get a deep run. Should they trust their #3-#5 to go 6 against BOS/HOU/CLE? Cashman is too good of a GM to let them go into the playoffs (and likely a 1 game WC) w/o reinforcing his starting pitching.
🙂
I completely agree. I think my fellow Dodger fans here agree with you too in your assessment of Wood’s value. However, they would not entertain the idea of trying to exploit the NYY need as they see Wood having far more value to the LAD than I do.
I think Wood is a fine pitcher, He would really help the NYY. I just think the LAD have 4-5 starters that are just as good or better and they could afford to deal him, save some short-term dough, position themselves better to pick up a reliever (their real need) and acquire a real prospect.
What do you feel would be a fair return from the NYY system for Wood?
unless he can also hit cleanup for the Crew, not interested
Astros would have the “inside track” to get Brittan, because of their very deep and talented farm system.
There’s other very deep elite farms involved here. It comes down to which deep farm is willing to up their offer, or not.
Yes but if they aren’t willing to trade any of those assets then other teams will jump in Britton is someone every team can get. The O’s are hoping some team blinks and gives them a top 100 prospect.
yeah like last week when everybody had at least four teams fighting for Machado when he was already traded a week before and they were waiting for the All-Star Game to be over. You can trust this sites where do they get that info from? Probably agent trying to build up the player’s they represent or teams trying to get other teams to outbid each other. Anyone that thinks that Britton is anywhere close to Manny’s worth is crazy. About Britton’s control problem he comes off of an Achilles tear surgery I know I had one in each leg done and I’m an athlete. You start compensating because you are so scared of the way you are going to land and what could happen that you are completely out of whack when you finally realize that the Achilles tendon you had fixed is now stronger than the other one then you’ll be okay until then it’s a head game
Why would any team trade for Logan foresyth! Negative war, contract up, not playing well, this isn’t the NBA of sign and trade.
Only for the prospect. I could see Forsythe being DFA’d immediately by his new team.
Because the dodgers would have to give a team a prospect for the salary dump.
Because the Dodgers would be over the luxury tax if they acquired Britton and have to either send back Forsythe to Bal or have them take on part of Brittons remaining salary. Both scenarios would definitely cost the Dodgers more in terms of prospects. But If the Dodgers are indeed willing to swing a deal, I look at it as a slight advantage in negotiations because the O’s would almost certainly get more out of LA than the other clubs involved
I hear what you’re saying, but I see the Orioles playing it stupidly and opting to take on less salary and less prospects instead of paying for a better return.
Now the Yanks are making an aggressive push. I’m seriously starting to doubt how many serious offers the Orioles have in hand. I’m beginning to think teams are telling them that they’re going to wait till the deadline to make sure he’s healthy and meanwhile the Os are desperately trying to push rumors for every team.
I don’t believe the Yanks will do this other than drive up price for Houston and Boston, who are better fits.
Considering the prospects the Dodgers would need to give up to be able to dump Forsythe or (hopefully not) Puig(even though the dodgers will likely not resign him this offseason) they will have little to no chance to acquire Britton, and would have better luck going after a Marlin reliever or possibly Brad Brach or Joakim Soria, a veteran with a potential to finish off the season at an elite standard, or a veteran who has been producing but only has one year left on their contract. The Dodgers would not have to give up such a return for both of these players as they would have for Britton.
I don’t think they’d need to give up any prospects to get rid of Puig. Someone would take him. I don’t think the prospect required to deal Forsythe would be that prohibitive either. Forsythe isn’t owed that much money in the grand scheme of things. It’s just that the Dodgers are backed into a corner on salary.
Sorry I wrote it improperly. It would not be hard to dump Puig’s salary but considering how much of a spark plug he was in the playoffs I do not see the Dodgers wanting to trade him unless they will get a perfect deal. Forsythe, however, I think will be tough to dump
because he is practically useless and will need to be packaged with a couple of prospects to get a good bullpen arm.
Puig is a FA after this season?! I could have sworn he was still under contract for 2019. Huh…time flies I guess.
Seeing how the Orioles are hardly ever in a Save situation, chances of Britton getting in to pitch are lessened thereby lessening chances of injury. Go O’s !