JABO: What Could the Reds Get for Chapman and Cueto?
It’s been known for a while that the Reds are in a difficult place. Stuck somewhere between contending and rebuilding, they’ve had good talent — but not enough of it — and it figured they’d have to make some decisions in 2015. There was sense in trying to win — in this wild-card era, it doesn’t take much — but, failing that, tearing down appeared to be the right course. And while it’s not like the outcome has already been determined, the 2015 Reds are coming into focus.
And they’re not great. Nor are they good. And at a few games below .500, it doesn’t seem like this is the year. Odds are, these Reds aren’t going to win the World Series. Now, to be fair, the World Series odds work against every team, and that’s not always a reason to sell off valuable pieces. But, for the Reds, this is Johnny Cueto‘s contract year. Next year is Aroldis Chapman’s contract year. Doesn’t make much sense to keep Cueto if you’re not contending down the stretch. And without Cueto for 2016, it’??s tougher to see Chapman belonging. Contention-wise, the Reds aren’t in a good position. But trade-wise, they’ve got some power.
Since the end of the winter, we’ve been waiting to see where the Phillies might send Cole Hamels. The rest of the trade market has been relatively unclear, because pretty much every other team had better chances of playing competitive baseball than this year’s Phillies. We have heard recently that the Brewers are somewhat open for business. The Rockies seem open to mixing things up, even if those things don’t yet include Troy Tulowitzki. But the Reds could offer two of the premier pieces. Cueto’s as good as almost any other starter. Chapman’s definitely as good as any other reliever. In one course, they could be dealt separately; in another, they could be packaged.
So it leads you to the question: What might the Reds be able to get back for their ace starter and their ace closer?
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Jeff made Lookout Landing a thing, but he does not still write there about the Mariners. He does write here, sometimes about the Mariners, but usually not.
I’ve been wondering this as well. Definitely could see a package to some teams but will likely be separate if both get traded. Better question is could Cozart be packaged w/ one? BP(bad contract though — but Drew is awful for Yanks)? Frazier? Lots of possibilities & assets.
why would the Reds trade Cozart? He’s cheap and hitting like an All-Star. Same with Frazier.
Sell high, both are near 30 yrs old if you’re gonna lose might as well get something in return.
Both Cozart and Frazier are still under team control for the next 2 years. Why trade cheap arb-eligible guys? Who’s going to replace them? Suarez isn’t exactly tearing up AAA.
I suppose the thought would be: you don’t worry about replacing them with anyone at this time. CIN isn’t good, and dealing Chapman/Cueto won’t make them better; unless you expect to turn around while Cozart/Frzier are under control and still good, might as well turn that value into something useful later.
Because Cozart didn’t suddenly become Troy Tulowitzki at age 29, he will return to being Zack Cozart, and we have Eugenio Suarez waiting in the wings.
Suarez hasn’t been doing well but he’s a capable ML starter (just like Cozart) so if you can get something for Cozy do it
The Reds should definitely trade Cozart before his average plummets to .200. He’s going to make nearly 4 M$ in arb this winter – they just acquired a near mlb ready SS to replace him.