Team-by-Team Trade Possibilities: AL Central

Yesterday, I ran down the big rumors involving AL East teams, today, it’s the AL Central.   Without further ado…

AL Central
Cleveland Indians – The Indians have already been busy, moving free agent-to-be ace CC Sabathia to the Brewers earlier this month.  Over the weekend, they sent 3B/1B/OF Casey Blake to the LA Dodgers for Jon Meloan, a high minors pitching prospect, and Carlos Santana, a catcher at High-A ball with impressive hitting numbers.  They also acquired Anthony Reyes from the Cardinals for minor league pitcher Luis Perdomo.  A couple of years ago, Reyes looked like a good bet to have a long career as a middle of the rotation starter, but faltered in St. Louis.  These all look like good moves for a team that is not contending this year, but will in the near future.  Maybe they should have held onto CC a bit longer, but the package they got – centering on LF/1B Matt LaPorta, who might be up in September – is not lacking.
It now seems as though the Indians have done most of their selling.  They would like to move Paul Byrd, but there probably are not lots of teams panting after him; he’s 37, he’s struck out 51 men in 110.1 innings, and he’s given up 23 home runs.  Oh, and he has a 5.14 ERA.  He’s no more than a back of the rotation starter at this point, but some teams just need a guy to take the mound and give them 5 solid innings every 5 days.  He might not move until the waiver period in August, but I suspect someone will bite, even as an injury replacement.

Kansas City Royals – As has been the case in recent years, the Royals are in a position to sell off their veterans at the trade deadline.  This year, there are fewer to move, but they have several nice pieces, so we’ll see what happens.  There has been some noise about the Yankees wanting Brian Bannister; if they can’t pry Jarrod Washburn from the seemingly very stubborn Mariners, they might turn their attention elsewhere.  That’s where Bannister comes in.
Jose Guillen is another name who keeps popping up in rumors, but as I wrote yesterday, most of the contenders seem pretty well set at the outfield corners/DH.  Also, the Royals are not just going to give him away, as reports indicate they want to get back a nice package of players for him.
Catcher Miguel Olivo has been connected to at least a couple teams who badly need to improve behind the plate – Yankees and Marlins.  Despite what Joe Girardi says, the Yankees can do better than Jose Molina back there.
Theoretically, Esteban German could be moved, but there does not seem to be much interest.  Mark Grudzielanek’s name has been whispered around this time of year every year since he’s been a Royal, but he’s still there, and it does not seem like they want to move him.

Detroit Tigers – The Tigers have had a real roller coaster of a season.  Still, they’re only 6.5 games out of the division lead right now, and coming on pretty strong.  They’re looking for relief help, especially now that Freddy Dolsi and Joel Zumaya are experiencing some aches and pains.  They’ve been linked to all the usual suspects, and seem to be especially hot on Gians lefty Jack Taschner and O’s lefty George Sherrill.  Presumably, they could be a suitor for Scott Eyre, should the Cubs decide to move him, which seems likely, given their other two lefties (Sean Marshall, Neal Cotts) and the emergence of Jeff Samardzija.
This year marks the second straight year they’ve been linked to Pittsburgh shortstop Jack Wilson, but Pittsburgh would rather keep him, as they have few in-house replacement options, so the asking price is high.  He’ll probably stay put, unless Detroit decides they can’t live without him.

Minnesota Twins – The big story here is that Livan Hernandez just keeps getting lit up, while Francisco Liriano is toying with Triple A hitters.  Seriously, check out his recent starts, he’s been tremendous.  There are service time concerns, I guess, but Minnesota is just being incredibly cheap if they won’t cut bait on Livan and call up Liriano as soon as…last week.  Most of the other players they’re rumored to be interested in are hitters – that’s pretty much the case every year with this franchise, by the way.  They seem to be really interested in adding a third baseman, with the two primary targets being Hank Blalock of the Rangers and Adrian Beltre of the Mariners.  They also might be interested in LaTroy Hawkins, who the Yanks recently designated for assignment.

Chicago White Sox – Sox GM Kenny Williams recently said the “climate was awful” for trades, which for some reason I find hilarious.  They already have a nice bullpen, but they have been linked to Oakland A’s closer Huston Street nonetheless.  They’ve also been linked to the A’s Justin Duchscherer, who’s leading the AL in ERA.  They also might be willing to move Orlando Cabrera, which would open up shortstop for Alexei Ramirez, their current second baseman.  That would make sense if they acquired Brian Roberts, who they’ve been rumored to like, but it seems unlikely to me.  The Dodgers and Red Sox are also interested in Cabrera.
There have been some rumblings that they might send their backup shortstop, Juan Uribe, to the Red Sox for their backup infielder, Alex Cora, but those talks seem to have fizzled.  They would probably still be interested in moving Uribe, and in the right deal, they would part with third baseman of the future Josh Fields.  At this point, I would be surprised to see them make any blockbuster deal, but Kenny Williams has been quite a dealer in the past, so not much would shock me.

Up next:  AL West

Team-by-Team Trade Possibilities: AL East

The non-waiver trade deadline is quickly approaching, and the rumors are flying.  We’ve already covered a bunch of the trades that have happened, so here’s a quick rundown of each team’s status.  By the way, the best site on the web for rumors is MLBtraderumors.com, which aggregates rumors from reliable sources in one place.

Anyway, team by team, division by division, here we go, starting with the Worldwide Leader’s favorite division.

AL East
Baltimore Orioles – The O’s are overachieving a bit this year, making a run at .500, but the difference between 78 wins and 82 wins should not be enough for the team to hold onto its veteran hitters.  They ought to be shopping Jay Payton, Ramon Hernandez, Kevin Millar, Melvin Mora, and Aubrey Huff.  It’s unclear whether anybody on that list other than Huff could bring back a worthwhile piece.  The O’s would especially like a young, promising shortstop in return.
Early in the year, there were a bevy of Brian Roberts rumors, usually with the Cubs as the destination, but obviously they all fell through.  Rumor has it that O’s owner Peter Angelos, a notorious meddler, squashed any Roberts deal, but it might be wise to explore their options with him.  They don’t have an immediate replacement, but as an ideal top of the order hitter and a solid glove man at second base, Roberts could be a hot commodity.

Toronto Blue Jays – There have been nonstop A.J. Burnett rumors since roughly the beginning of time, but he can opt out of his contract after this year.  If he doesn’t, he’s due $12 million in each of the next two years.  His market value is probably right around that, give or take, oh, $4 million, so it remains to be seen whether he should opt out.  Anyway, most of the teams who wanted pitching have already turned to better or more easily acquired alternatives.  At this point, I’d say it’s more likely that Burnett stays put.
There have been some other rumors about Toronto’s two primary shortstops, David Eckstein and John MacDonald.  MacDonald is one of the best gloves at shortstop in all of baseball, but he is not any kind of hitter.  He might be an upgrade for the Dodgers or another team in need of a shortstop.  Eckstein isn’t much of a defender, but he’s an adequate bat at either middle infield slot.
Matt Stairs could also be moved, he can still hit, but this year, most of the contenders are pretty well set at first base, DH, and the outfield corners.  He might be Plan B for a team like the Mets, though, as he’ll come more cheaply than, say, Raul Ibanez.
Two other names being batted around:  Greg Myers and Rod Barajas.  Neither is more than a temporary solution at catcher.

New York Yankees – It usually is not possible for the Yankees to do anything quietly, but by their own standards, their recent surge has been quiet.  Even with injuries to 60% of their opening day starting rotation (Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Chien Ming Wang), the Bombers have gotten good pitching.  The offense has been another story, but the recent acquisition of Xavier Nady should change that, and Damaso Marte will bolster the bullpen from the left side.  The Yankees will definitely be buyers over the next 4 days, but they might not do anything too noteworthy.  It seems at this point as though they will add Jarrod Washburn from the Mariners, although the M’s want a solid prospect in return, and the Yankees would rather just absorb the innings eater’s contract and send back a C+ prospect.  Nonetheless, I think both teams will figure it out in time for the Yankees to add Washburn before his scheduled start Friday.

Boston Red Sox – The Sawx just got David Ortiz back from injury, which just about amounts to adding a bat at the deadline.  They’re one of the few teams that doesn’t have an obvious hole to fill at the deadline, especially if Clay Buchholz can return to pitch effectively.  The bullpen could use a little help, maybe from the left side, but with the transition of Justin Masterson from starting to relieving, they might be fine.  There’s been some chatter that they might add a shortstop, especially a defensive minded one, but Jed Lowrie will probably be good enough that Julio Lugo’s job might be in jeopardy even when he recovers from injury.  Lowrie’s bat is definitely major league ready, but scouts doubt his ability to handle it defensively.
Due to Manny Ramirez’s recent antics, there have been some rumblings about his potential departure, but I doubt that Boston could trade him for more than 80% of his true value.  He’ll stay put, but don’t be surprised if he becomes a free agent in the offseason if/when Boston declines his $20 million option for next year.

Tampa Bay Rays – Like Boston, Tampa is solid in all facets of the game.  There have been rumblings that they’ll add a bullpen arm or a right handed hitting OF/DH, but they might find the price too high.  Their minor league talent and depth is unbelievable, and they might decide to hold onto it.  Rocco Baldelli will make his return sometime in the next month or so to fill that void.  Also, last year’s top pick David Price seems likely to make a Joba/K-Rod-esque impact on this pennant race, negating the need for the bullpen addition.  A Gabe Gross/Erik Hinske/Rocco Baldelli/Jonny Gomes timeshare in RF and at DH is, in my opinion, better than they could do via trade.

Up next:  The AL Central

I Never Would Have Guessed that our First Post would be about the Orioles

Well, hello out there. If you’re just trolling through, make sure you check out our “About” page. I’m Dauthan, and I’ve blogged before, but never really about baseball. I’m really excited about the possibility of this blog, and thrilled to do it with my brother, Wyatt.

Anyway, on to the point of this post: It seems as though the Orioles have taken a turn for the better in philosophy and player management. For the past 15 or so years, Baltimore pretended as though they were AL East contenders, or at least Wild Card contenders. In reality, they rarely were better than the 3rd best team in their division behind the Red Sox and Yankees; often, they were the fourth best team in the division, behind the Blue Jays, too. Nonetheless, they never seemed to resign themselves to a rebuilding phase, instead handing out big contracts to David Segui, BJ Surhoff, Aubrey Huff, Jay Gibbons, Ramon Hernandez, Javy Lopez…the list could go on. They have had quality players on the positional side with regularity, the problem is that they’ve been paying nice, complementary, middle aged corner players as though they’re stars, and they never seem to have enough pitching.

However, over the past year or so, it seems like the Orioles are figuring out that they have to regroup occasionally if they want to compete in the AL East. Let’s start with the trade of Steve Trachsel to the Cubs for Scott Moore and Rocky Cherry last August. Neither player they got back is going to set the world on fire, but Trachsel has been cooked for some time, and getting anything – not to mention two reasonably useful players – in return is just gravy. Anyone could have made that deal, though; the really impressive moves are coming. A few minor moves that I like quite a bit are just free agent dice rolls, but with little cost: adding guys like Freddy Bynum, Alex Cintron, and Roberto Novoa. Again, none of these guys are All-Stars, but Bynum has positional flexibility and some pop, Cintron is having a rough year, but his career .277/.314/.400 line and average shortstop defense is an adequate stopgap solution at shortstop (at the very least, it’s better than Luis Hernandez). Novoa might never be anything, or he could be an effective middle reliever someday. He throws hard, and it costs the O’s very little to find out what he can be.

What really point the O’s in the right direction are the offseason trades of Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada. Bedard was moved at peak value, and the O’s got their centerfielder of the present and future, Adam Jones, plus a useful lefty reliever in George Sherrill. The O’s have used Sherrill in an expanded, non-specialist role, for which he’s well suited. Now, it looks as though he might command something shiny from whoever loses out on the Brian Fuentes Sweepstakes at the deadline.
In the Tejada trade, the Orioles got 5 guys who may be part of the next good Orioles team for one guy who probably wouldn’t be. Luke Scott, again, is no All-Star, but if he’s your 5th, 6th, or 7th overall hitter, you can score some runs. They got three pitchers – Matt Albers, Troy Patton, and George Sarfate – who all can be contributors now and for the foreseeable future. Lastly, they got a good-if-not-great third base prospect, Michael Costanzo, who has shown a nice bat at every level on his way up until this year at AAA.

Following that, the O’s knew this year would be one in which they wouldn’t contend. There was a lot of spring training/early season chatter that Brian Roberts might be headed somewhere else – namely, to the Cubs. Holding him looks like a good idea now, as none of the proposed returns – often centering around around Felix Pie – don’t fit the O’s needs. It’s also worth noting that the O’s have drafted well recently.

Have they been perfect? No, they definitely could have moved guys like Ramon Hernandez and Melvin Mora before their production declined.  They might want to shop Daniel Cabrera now, as his peripherals have been declining for 3 years now.  Also worth noting on the positive side of the ledger is adding Jeremy Guthrie.

This all is a bit unexpected to me, the O’s new general manager, Andy MacPhail, oversaw some middling Cubs teams with a couple of exceptions over the past 2 decades, and Peter Angelos can be quite a meddling owner, so the two of them seemed an unlikely pair in my eyes to make the right decisions, but it looks like the O’s are on the right path, even in a division where it seems like everyone has it “figured out.”