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Discussion: Should The Padres Deal Adrian Gonzalez?

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Writing for VoiceofSanDiego.org, Tom Krasovic analyzes the Padres' options when it comes to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

San Diego CEO and vice chairman Jeff Moorad has maintained that Gonzalez will not be traded during or after the season, saying that "at some level, albeit a significant one financially, I can see him fitting in long term."

Just how "significant" that is will be the issue for the Padres. Krasovic has heard that "the Padres believe that Gonzalez could command $20 million per season as a free agent."

Will the Padres be able to sign Gonzalez when his contract expires after 2011? If not, when should they consider dealing him and stocking their depleted major and minor league rosters? Who might put in a bid for him this offseason?

Odds and Ends: Cubs, Meredith, Fuentes, Dunn, Pavano

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A few links on a busy Tuesday night around the league:

Gammons: Indians Must Be “Overwhelmed” To Trade Lee

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7:44pm: Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun, watching the Blue Jays play the Indians at home, tweets the following: "Dodgers, Brewers, Phillies and Red Sox scouts here to see Cliff Lee…"

5:44pm: On an ESPN Baseball Tonight Minute, Peter Gammons downplayed the possibility that Cliff Lee might be making his last start as an Indian tonight, but indicated that the Indians are indeed open to a trade if they are "overwhelmed" by an offer.

According to Gammons, "[Indians GM Mark] Shapiro wants a major league-ready young starter that can go into the second or third hole in the rotation." In addition, Gammons said, "He wants a couple of other young players." 

Earlier today, we broke down a piece by SI.com's Jon Heyman, who said that the Indians are becoming more open to trading Lee.

Discussion: Evaluating Theo Epstein

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Jim Donaldson of the Providence Journal wrote today that evaluating Red Sox GM Theo Epstein is "as tricky as [Julio] Lugo trying to field a hot grounder." The reason, says Donaldson, is that the Sox can afford to make expensive mistakes like Lugo's contract.

Donaldson seems to argue that Epstein is overrated, citing continual problems at shortstop and big contracts to Daisuke Matsuzaka and J.D. Drew as his biggest flaws so far.

Well, if our readers can't resolve this, nobody can. What do you think? Does large payroll capacity allow Epstein to get away with mistakes? Where do you rank his moves compared to those of other GM's?

If you need a crib sheet, don't forget MLBTR contributor Brendan Bianowicz's GM Trade History for Epstein from last year.

ESPN: Nats Not Close To Signing Strasburg

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Pedro Gomez of ESPN is reporting that that Nationals are "not on pace" to sign phenom Stephen Strasburg by the August 17 deadline. The information was given to Gomez by a "source close to the negotiations."

In spite of an "ongoing dialogue" with Scott Boras, Strasburg's advisor, the Nats have not made an offer other than the minor league tender that clubs must make within 10 days of drafting a player.

Nats interim GM Mike Rizzo talked to the Washington Post but revealed little, saying that a lot was happening "behind the scenes"  but that the Nationals will not negotiate "through the media."

Odds and Ends: Pedro, Wells, Tepesch, Zito

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A few links for your pre-second half entertainment:

  • Dave Cameron at Fangraphs is counting down the 50 players with the most trade value. Today, he posted #30-#26.
  • ESPN's Jayson Stark recaps the Pedro Martinez press conference, and contends that the newest Phillie will start off on the DL because he didn't want to sign a minor league contract.
  • Anthony Rieber of Newsday.com argues that the Yankess are in a unique position to land Roy Halladay – if they are willing to eat the contract of Vernon Wells. 
  • In the latest in a series of short videos on college prospects, ESPN's Keith Law scouts Missouri RHP Nick Tepesch.
  • And Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News argues that it is time for the Giants to attempt to trade Barry Zito or release him in the off-season.

Discussion: When Is “Now” For The Blue Jays?

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In this article at SI.com, Joel Sherman argues that the Blue Jays cannot realistically expect to make the playoffs in the AL East anytime soon and thus should start building for the future by trading ace Roy Halladay.

"To have any kind of sustained run," Sherman writes, "the Blue Jays have to turn Halladay into three or four significant pieces that will help the next really strong Toronto team, which is 2011 at the earliest."

On the slowest American (and Canadian?) sports day of the year, I'm looking to start a little discussion. Do you agree with Sherman's assessment of the Jays' playoff chances? In the brutal AL East, what should the Blue Jays' long-term strategy be? Should they stop with trading Halladay, or is completely rebuilding an option?

Orioles Hoping To Deal Before Deadline

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According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, "The Orioles are one of only a handful of teams entrenched as sellers." Here's a summary of his breakdown of what the Orioles can offer:

  • George Sherrill "has been the most popular target." The Orioles have him under control for two more years and are looking for a pitcher with "closer" value in return.
  • The Marlins "still look like the best fit" for Sherrill. They need a bullpen arm and have "a number of corner infield prospects that intrigue the Orioles." 
  • Danys Baez "is probably the most likely Oriole to be moved."  Zrebiec notes that the Orioles will have to eat "a good portion" of his contract if they want to get anything substantial in return.
  • Melvin Mora is available, but has a blanket no-trade clause. According to Zrebiec, Mora "may want a team to pick up his 2010 option in order to approve a trade."
  • The compensatory draft picks the Orioles might get if Aubrey Huff left via free agency "may be worth more to the club than what they could get for him in a trade." 

Zrebiec quotes Orioles President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail as saying, "I would hope that we'd do something [before the deadline], I really would. But as I've said before, we're not a farm system for contending teams."

Dodgers Looking For Arms

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GM Ned Colletti "is on his annual Trade Deadline search for pitching help," according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

According to Gurnick, Colletti "will inquire about" Roy Halladay, although the package of players required to net the Toronto ace would probably need to start with Clayton Kershaw.

The Dodgers also seek a reliever to replace the injured Ronald Belisario in the seventh-inning role. Gurnick writes that "management isn't convinced it has a replacement for Belisario in-house."

Finally, Gurnick says that the Dodgers are in the market for a fifth starter "along the lines of another Randy Wolf."

Indians Prospect Faked Identity

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Ben Badler at Baseball America reports that Indians shortstop Jose Osoria falsified his age and identity. He is 20 years old, not 17, and his real name is Wally Bryan.

Bryan, whom Baseball America ranked as the Indians' No. 30 prospect this season, is "one of many players MLB has been investigating" for this type of misrepresentation. According to Badler, "industry insiders believe the number of players under suspicion is at least 70 and expect several other Dominican signings to be caught soon as well."

This issue came to light in February, when Carlos Alvarez (aka Esmailyn Gonzales) was found to have lied about his age and identity.

Bryan has not been suspended and will remain in the Indians organization.

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