Best Prospects To Be Traded Recently
With so many top prospects untouchable these days, let's take a look at the ones who were traded last offseason or this summer. We'll use the preseason top 100 lists from Baseball America and ESPN's Keith Law unless otherwise noted.
Traded This Summer
- Justin Smoak (1B), by Rangers to Mariners in Cliff Lee deal. The Mariners reportedly chose between Smoak and Jesus Montero of the Yankees as the centerpiece of the Lee trade. Smoak was rated #13 by BA and #9 by Law before the season.
- Brett Wallace (1B), by Blue Jays to Astros for Anthony Gose. This was the second time in about seven months Wallace was involved in a prospect-for-prospect deal. BA had him at #27 and Law at #20. Wallace remained in the #26-50 range in BA's midseason rankings.
- Wilson Ramos (C), by Twins to Nationals for Matt Capps. Ramos was ranked #58 by BA and #42 by Law, and moved up in BA's midseason rankings despite an uninspiring Triple A performance. That doesn't mean they value Ramos more highly now, though – the midseason list is weaker than the offseason one due to prospects graduating to the Majors and 2010 draftees being left off.
- Dan Hudson (SP), by White Sox to Diamondbacks in Edwin Jackson deal. Hudson was at #66 by BA before the season, but fell outside of Law's top 100.
- Generally speaking the stock of these traded players dropped at least a little since they cracked preseason top 100 prospect lists. Hudson might be the exception, as he proved he could hold his own at Triple A.
Traded In The Offseason
- Of the seven top 100 prospects traded in the offseason, five were linked to the Roy Halladay/Cliff Lee blockbuster: Kyle Drabek, Travis d'Arnaud, Wallace, Michael Taylor, and Phillippe Aumont. Drabek, Wallace, and d'Arnaud were still ranked in BA's midseason top 50. Taylor and Aumont were not.
- Austin Jackson (OF), by Yankees to Tigers in Curtis Granderson deal. Jackson has had a solid rookie season, as he's hitting .307/.355/.411. He was ranked #76 by BA and #70 by Law.
- Arodys Vizcaino (SP), by Yankees to Braves in Javier Vazquez deal. Vizcaino was at #43 on Law's preseason list but did not appear on BA's. He did crack BA's midseason top 50.
How about players who were considered top 100 prospects before the 2009 season, traded within the last year? Michael Main (SP), James McDonald (SP), Andrew Lambo (OF), Daniel Schlereth (RP), and Aaron Cunningham (OF) fit the bill.
Alex Anthopoulos’ First Year
Alex Anthopoulos took over as general manager of the Blue Jays on October 3rd, 2009. Though he might make a few moves in August, most of his first year is in the books. Let's review his major moves.
- Signed John McDonald to a two-year, $3MM deal – 11-25-09. Fair price for the defensive whiz.
- Signed Alex Gonzalez to a one-year, $2.75MM deal with a club option – 11-26-09. Anthopoulos parlayed Gonzalez's strong start into a trade with the Braves for Yunel Escobar and Jo-Jo Reyes (the Jays also gave up Tim Collins and Tyler Pastornicky).
- Signed John Buck to a one-year, $2MM deal – 12-16-09. Buck was well worth the price, as he is having a solid year and made the All-Star team. He's currently on the DL with a thumb injury. Anthopoulos chose not to trade Buck in July, so he has to hope the catcher's Type B status holds up.
- Acquired Kyle Drabek, Travis d'Arnaud, and Michael Taylor from Phillies for Roy Halladay and $6MM – 12-16-09. Flipped Taylor to the Athletics for Brett Wallace. Drabek tossed a no-hitter in Double A this year and has done a solid job overall. D'Arnaud has been generating impressive scouting reports, wrote Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein in June. Wallace we'll get to later.
- Acquired Brandon Morrow from the Mariners for Brandon League and Johermyn Chavez – 12-23-09. Morrow had an incredible 17-strikeout one-hitter on Sunday; he's got the best strikeout rate of any starter this year. The move was difficult to understand from the Mariners' point of view at the time it was made.
- Signed Kevin Gregg to a one-year, $2.75MM deal with two club options – 2-5-10. Credit Anthopoulos for realizing Gregg would have a decent year if his fluky home run rate returned to normal. As with Buck, the jury is still out on whether Gregg can be converted to cheap, young players.
- Signed Jose Molina to a one-year, $1MM deal with a club option – 2-19-10. Another solid free agent signing.
- Signed Adeiny Hechavarria to a four-year, $10MM deal – 4-13-10. Signed as a free agent out of Cuba, Hechavarria has a big league-ready glove and is hitting a little bit at Double A.
- Acquired Fred Lewis from Giants for cash – 4-15-10. Hard to complain about Lewis' .272/.335/.444 line so far, especially given the price.
- Signed Adonis Cardona to a $2.8MM deal – 7-13-10. Anthopoulos remained aggressive on the international free agent front, setting a record for a Venezuelan amateur with the righty's deal.
- Acquired Yunel Escobar and Jo-Jo Reyes from Braves for Alex Gonzalez, Tim Collins, and Tyler Pastornicky – 7-14-10. Anthopoulos bought low on Escobar at a time most clubs might not have even realized the shortstop was available.
- Acquired Anthony Gose from Astros for Brett Wallace – 7-29-10. If you're going to nitpick one Anthopoulos move, it's probably this one.
- As for the draft, the Jays have signed three of their top four picks, with negotiations for first-rounder Deck McGuire expected to go down to the wire. Yesterday ESPN's Keith Law wrote that the Blue Jays had a "strong haul" in the draft.
- Blue Jays fans couldn't ask for more from Anthopoulos' first year. He's been aggressive on international free agents and in the draft, savvy in regular free agency, and shrewd on the trade front. It was surprising to see the Jays retain Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, Gregg, and Buck at the trade deadline, but those players may bring draft pick compensation after the season.
2011 Vesting Options Update
We began the season with nine potential vesting options for 2011, but they're dropping like flies. With Alex Cora and Magglio Ordonez now off the board, we look at the remaining three:
- Trever Miller, Cardinals. The lefty needs 45 appearances for his $2MM option to vest, and he's made 41 on the season. He could lock in next year's salary within a week, though a DL-worthy left arm or shoulder injury changes this to a club option.
- Darren Oliver, Rangers. Oliver needs 59 appearances for his $3.25MM option to vest, and he's got 46 so far. Barring injury, he'll get there.
- Ramon Hernandez, Reds. Hernandez needs 120 games for his $3.25MM option to vest. He's played in 65 so far. The Reds have only 50 games remaining, so we can cross this one off the list.
- An honorable mention goes to Billy Wagner, whose $6.5MM option vests with 50 games finished. Wagner has finished 46 so far. However just last month he repeated his desire to retire after the season. Having a guaranteed salary for 2011 might not sway Wagner, since he would've made at least that much on the free agent market anyway. But what if he finishes the season just shy of the fourth spot on the all-time saves leaderboard? He's currently 12 away from John Franco, who finished with 424.
- Also of note is Scott Podsednik, who needs 525 plate appearances to be able to void his $2MM club option. Pods is 41 PAs shy of that mark.
Indians Re-Claim Wes Hodges
THURSDAY: The Indians claimed Hodges back from the Rockies, according to Castrovince (on Twitter).
TUESDAY: The Rockies claimed infielder Wes Hodges off waivers from the Indians, tweets MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. Hodges had been designated for assignment on Friday to make room for Josh Tomlin.
Hodges, a second-round pick of the Indians in 2006, was hitting .270/.316/.423 this year in his second Triple A stint. He came up as a third baseman, but has been playing first base and DH this year. Baseball America ranked him 27th among Indians prospects heading into the season, citing health issues and the move off third base.
Fantasy: The All-Dropped Pitching Staff
Mat Latos, Andy Pettitte, Brett Myers – what do these pitchers have in common? They were all dropped at least three separate times in a competitive fantasy league of mine. Over at my fantasy site RotoAuthority, I name the All-Dropped Pitching Staff for the league and wonder why it's so difficult to exercise patience.
Pirates Claim Chris Resop
The Pirates claimed righty Chris Resop off waivers from the Braves, according to David O'Brien of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). The Braves had requested outright waivers on Resop on Monday.
Resop disappointed in his brief stint with the Braves. However, the 27-year-old posted a 2.09 ERA, 10.0 K/9, and 3.5 BB/9 with four home runs allowed in 82 Triple A innings this year (15 starts). This is a nice pickup for the Pirates, who were known to be trolling for pitching after trading away several key members of their bullpen.
Odds & Ends: Waivers, Lowell, Taschner, Sale
Alex Rodriguez hit his 600th home run today off Shaun Marcum. A-Rod is now the seventh player in MLB history to reach the milestone; up next is Sammy Sosa at 609. Links for Wednesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Players on the disabled list can't pass through waivers in August, reports ESPN's Buster Olney.
- The Yankees, Rangers, and Red Sox nearly reached a deal on Friday that would've sent Mike Lowell to New York, Jarrod Saltalamacchia to Boston, and prospects to the Rangers, reports WEEI's Alex Speier. A Lowell deal with the Blue Jays had been discussed in April and June, but both potential trades were killed due to health concerns.
- Lefty Jack Taschner filed for free agency, according to MLB.com's transactions page. Taschner had been designated for assignment by the Dodgers on Friday.
- First-round pick Chris Sale will join the White Sox today as a reliever, reports Baseball America's Jim Callis, making the lefty the first to reach the bigs from the 2010 draft class.
- With Thomas Diamond's MLB debut yesterday, Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs looks at what's come of the DVD trio.
Daniels On Hamilton, Vlad, Lee, Scheppers
Rangers GM Jon Daniels chatted with ESPN readers yesterday afternoon. A few nuggets:
- Daniels explained that Josh Hamilton will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2012 season, and "a lot can happen between now and then that could keep him in Texas beyond that point." Hamilton reportedly turned down a four-year, $24MM offer in 2009. Rangers president Nolan Ryan recently testified that Hamilton's salary could jump to $8-10MM in 2010 if he wins the MVP award.
- Daniels has let the agents for Vladimir Guerrero and Cliff Lee know he'd like to re-sign their clients, but he feels it's best to talk specifics in the offseason.
- It's "certainly possible" Tanner Scheppers will make his MLB debut this year, and Daniels says the Rangers "don't really make decisions based on service time." The 23-year-old righty sports a 3.76 ERA, 9.2 K/9, and 3.4 BB/9 in 52.6 Triple A innings this year.
- The Rangers were discussing Cristian Guzman with the Nationals prior to Ian Kinsler's injury; Daniels viewed Guzman as a luxury at that point.
- The expectation is that the Rangers will be able to announce the player to be named received from the Red Sox in the Jarrod Saltalamacchia deal shortly.
- Daniels has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave if the Rangers are sold to a group other than the one fronted by Chuck Greenberg, but he said yesterday that "leaving the Rangers is not remotely on my mind" and "I love it here."
Will The Rays Trade Garza Or Shields This Winter?
It's pure speculation, but rival executives who spoke to ESPN's Buster Olney expect the Rays to shop Matt Garza or James Shields in the offseason given a potential rotation surplus. Rotation surpluses typically disappear very quickly, but let's dive into this possibility anyway.
Garza, 27 in November, has a 4.11 ERA, 7.0 K/9, and 2.8 BB/9 this year with 20 home runs allowed in 135.6 innings. Olney notes that Garza has a higher ceiling than Shields, but lacks the cost certainty. Garza will enter his second arbitration year after earning $3.35MM in 2010. I estimate he'll make around $6MM next year. Garza is under team control through 2013, though most good young starters sign extensions instead of reaching free agency going year-by-year.
Shields, 29 in December, has a 4.54 ERA, 8.4 K/9, and 2.0 BB/9 this year with 22 home runs allowed in 142.6 innings. Shields and Fausto Carmona are the only two pitchers I've found with three club options in their contracts. Shields can be controlled through 2014.
Both pitchers are controllable, under 30, and healthy. Both have succeeded in the AL East. Teams like the Nationals, Mets, Brewers, Rockies, Dodgers, Mariners, Rangers, Tigers, and Twins would have to inquire if Garza or Shields becomes available this winter.
The Cubs’ Offseason
The Cubs have had a brutal year, and fans are already thinking ahead to the offseason and preparing for 2011. Here's what the Cubs have:
C – Geovany Soto
1B –
2B – Blake DeWitt
SS – Starlin Castro
3B – Aramis Ramirez
LF – Alfonso Soriano
CF – Marlon Byrd
RF – Tyler Colvin
SP – Ryan Dempster
SP – Carlos Silva
SP – Randy Wells
SP – Tom Gorzelanny
SP –
RP – Carlos Marmol
RP – Sean Marshall
RP – John Grabow
Kosuke Fukudome is absent from the starting lineup in this picture. I expect the Cubs to try to trade him in the offseason, especially if Jim Hendry remains the GM. Even if Fukudome stays, the Cubs would probably give more playing time to Colvin.
The Cubs should be active in the free agent market for first basemen as they attempt to replace Derrek Lee. Adam Dunn, Carlos Pena, Aubrey Huff, and Paul Konerko could be options. Troy Glaus, Adam LaRoche, Lyle Overbay, and Lance Berkman might fit into the second tier. I can envision the Cubs pursuing Dunn if the Nationals don't extend him.
The Hendry front office has always succeeded in dumping players they've soured on, and Carlos Zambrano should be no exception. That still leaves four decent rotation options, with a handful of viable candidates to compete for the fifth spot (perhaps including Andrew Cashner and Thomas Diamond). The rotation lacks depth, but I'm not sure there will be room in the already-bloated payroll to pursue Cliff Lee or even Javier Vazquez. The Cubs probably will survey the free agent market for a veteran setup man, of which there are plenty of hit-or-miss options.
Last offseason the Cubs were somewhat paralyzed by the need to move Milton Bradley's contract before they knew how much money they had to spend. History might repeat itself as they attempt to unload large commitments to Zambrano and Fukudome. They'll also face big raises for arbitration-eligibles Geovany Soto and Carlos Marmol, among others. The Cubs' offseason should involve plenty of financial wrangling as they try to free up enough dollars to avoid bringing back the same 90-loss crew in 2011.