Taking Stock Of Seattle’s Trade Chips
The Mariners are in the playoff hunt with a 46-42 record, though many expected them to be sellers this month. As Gregg Bell of the AP reports, Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu and trade candidate Jarrod Washburn say they want to keep the team together and attempt to win now.
- Miguel Batista – Baker says it makes sense to move Batista, who makes $3.3MM before the end of the year. He could offset salary coming to Seattle.
- Relievers Sean White and Mark Lowe would atract interest and the Mariners may feel they have enough depth to part with one of them, especially with prospect Phillippe Aumont on his way.
- Unless the Mariners fall from contention, Baker suggests it makes sense to hold Erik Bedard, whose value is limited because of his time on the DL.
- Dealing Jarrod Washburn is a "no-brainer" if the M's fall out of it.
- Brandon Morrow, Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement could all be moved as well.
Rosenthal On Halladay, Frasor, Rios, Bay
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Angels and Cardinals will have a hard time assembling a package enticing enough for the Blue Jays to part with Roy Halladay. One GM said the Angels have "zero chance" at acquiring the Jays ace. Players like Brandon Wood and Howie Kendrick have lost some of their appeal and prospect Jordan Walden finds himself on the DL for the second time this season.
- The Dodgers are interested in Halladay, Jason Frasor and George Sherrill.
- The White Sox would probably have to part with Gordon Beckham to acquire Doc.
- The Jays and White Sox haven't discussed an Alex Rios deal recently, but the White Sox have long been interested in the Jays outfielder.
- Jason Bay is close to setting a cutoff date for negotiations on an extension with the Red Sox.
D’Backs To Have Stable Payroll
Ownership invested $50MM in the D'Backs, so they'll have enough money to maintain their current payroll according to MLB.com's Barry Bloom. The team plans to spread the investment over the next five years to make up for expected drops in revenue.
Olney On The Battle For Young Talent
Baseball's becoming younger and teams are changing the way they operate, as ESPN.com's Buster Olney shows. In the steroid era, teams relied on players older than 30 for their production. With the help of Baseball Prospectus, Olney shows that teams have become much more reliant on younger players. Here are the reasons why teams rely on young talent and the effect this reliance has around the league:
- Players are cheapest for their first six years in the majors, before they become free agents.
- As Oakland GM Billy Beane says, "everybody" is now working to develop their own talent.
- Even Yankees GM Brian Cashman prefers to develop his own players.
- Since teams are heavily invested in their top minor leaguers, they're providing them with better nutrition and more ways to stay in shape.
- Teams are willing to spend considerably more on amateur players, internationally and in the draft.
- There's now less information sharing between rival organizations, as the competition for talent has increased.
- Some teams, like the Red Sox, are sending multiple scouts to watch players since they want to be more confident in their evaluations.
- Teams have adopted a "broader use of statistics in evaluating players."
- Teams will poach the best coaches from other organizations to maximize their return on every player.
- There's more of a personal emphasis on players than before.
Angels Interested In Aroldis Chapman
Aroldis Chapman isn't ready to sign with an MLB team yet, but once he is, the Angels will be interested, according to Mark Saxon of the OC Register. Angels scouting director Eddie Bane told Saxon that the Angels always have interest in top pitchers. They scouted Daisuke Matsuzaka and took a look at Stephen Strasburg even though there's no way he was falling to the Angels at 25th overall.
Discussion: Trade Deadline Predictions
Just for fun, why don't we kick off the second half of the MLB season with a few trade deadline predictions? Here are three from me and I'm looking forward to reading yours in the comments below:
- The Blue Jays will trade Roy Halladay to the Phillies for a group of prospects headed by Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor or Dominic Brown.
- The Nationals will trade Nick Johnson to salvage some value from their first baseman before he hits free agency. Johnson missed three quarters of last season, so he's not likely to rank high enough under the Elias rankings to bring the Nats compensation picks and they won't want to let him walk for nothing.
- The A's will hold onto Matt Holliday as the market for pricey ($13.5MM), slumping (no homers since June 5th) players isn't strong.
Odds And Ends: Strasburg, Huff, Pedro
Some links to read through this afternoon…
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says the Nats "absolutely, positively must sign" Stephen Strasburg this summer. The Strasburg saga is just one of Crasnick's nine stories to watch in the second half.
- Stan McNeal of the Sporting News says a fringe prospect should be enough for the O's to ship Aubrey Huff and his $8MM salary away.
- Pedro Martinez said he was pitching hurt with the Mets, but feels better now, according to the AP (via ESPN).
- Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues says the Yankees would have to be prepared to give up a painful amount in a possible Roy Halladay deal.
- Pirates reliever Tyler Yates had Tommy John surgery, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Check out my thoughts on the market for outfielders this offseason at NESN.com. Evans Clinchy of NESN.com believes it's now time for the Red Sox to lock Jason Bay up.
Cards Willing To Make Strong Offer For Halladay
The Cardinals are prepared to offer talent for Roy Halladay, but they're not going to disassemble their entire system to acquire the Jays ace, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Heyman On GMs, Mulder, Bay, Reds
SI.com's Jon Heyman identifies the GMs facing the most pressure heading into the second half of the season and passes along some rumors, too:
- Despite "occasional rumblings" about Omar Minaya's job security, injuries are to blame for the Mets' disappointing start, so Minaya's bosses aren't about to blame him for the season.
- The Nats plan on hiring a permanent GM soon and acting GM Mike Rizzo is in the running for the position.
- Giants GM Brian Sabean saved one of his best showings for his walk year. He's put together a playoff contender and a talented crop of minor leaguers just as his deal's about to expire.
- Royals GM Dayton Moore and Braves GM Frank Wren are expected to have some time to work with.
- It doesn't look like Indians GM Mark Shapiro will ascend to club president this year.
- Heyman likes the Phillies' acquisition of Pedro Martinez.
- Mark Mulder could be the next pitcher to sign, as he's 95% ready, according to his agent.
- Heyman thinks the Red Sox will be able to lock Jason Bay up once they start talking extension.
- Look for the Reds to continue their hunt for outfielders.
Should The Pads Listen To Offers For Gonzalez?
Adrian Gonzalez is not on the block. The Padres aren't contenders, but they want to keep their All-Star first baseman and they have many reasons to hold onto Gonzalez:
- He's their best hitter, with 24 homers and a massive walk total (67).
- He adds value on defense, according to FanGraphs.
- He's just 27, playing in his prime.
- They only have to pay him $3MM this year, $4.75MM next year and $5.6MM the year after that.
- They let Trevor Hoffman walk and publicly tried to deal Jake Peavy, so their fans need to see the team commit to one of its stars.
But some of those same points would make Gonzalez incredibly appealing to other clubs. Here are some reasons the Padres could consider dealing him:
- Their team isn't about to win now, or in the near future.
- Gonzalez could command a Mark Teixeira-esque haul.
- His slugging percentage is 115 points higher on the road this year.
- He hinted that he'd like to play for a winner.
So what are your thoughts? Should the Padres entertain offers for their best player?