Erik Williams, Ron Chenoy, Brett Davis-Imagn Images
The trade deadline is nearing, and while we’ve had some recent activity — Josh Nayloris a Mariner! Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosarioare Yankees! — the general environment can be best described as “peaceful.” If this is anything like past years, however, that’s about to change as teams face up to their Artificially Designed Roster Construction Deadline anxiety. And while we don’t know exactly what will happen — and if you do, you should probably use that time machine for purposes better fit to benefit humanity — it doesn’t mean that we can’t do some fantasy tradecrafting. Asusual, I’ve conjured up some possible trade scenarios, trying to construct packages that are at least within the realm of plausibility. So get out your Hugwatch foam finger, read along, and maybe add your own ideas in the comments section!
For each player in the high minors or the major leagues, I’ve included their post-2025 projections while under contract — you can find their rest-of-2025 projections on their player pages.
The Philadelphia Phillies acquire 3B Eugenio Suárez from the Arizona Diamondbacks for OF Justin Crawford, P Jean Cabrera, and 1B Keaton Anthony
Alec Bohm is out with a fractured rib until at least mid-August, well after the trade deadline, but even after his eventual return, Eugenio Suárez represents a real short-term upgrade. Some thump is more than welcome, as the Phillies are currently 13th in the majors in homers, easily their lowest ranking since emerging as a legitimate contender in 2022. I’m skeptical about Suárez over the long haul given his age and up-and-down career path, but two months is a short sprint, and Philadelphia’s core isn’t getting any younger. Otto Kemp is a nice enough fill-in, but he’s more of a solid utility infielder, and is stretched as a starter.
Justin Crawford was one of the big movers in the ZiPS projections compared to the preseason, and I’m more bullish on him than the 40+ FV next to his name on The Board. Frankly, I like him enough that I would do this trade straight up if I were the Diamondbacks, but I think the Phillies, who have an aging core and still want that World Series trophy, would give up more than just Crawford. Jean Cabrera and Keaton Anthony are lesser prospects, of course, but they’re lesser prospects who are fairly close to contributing in the majors if they develop well, which I think ought to be a priority for Arizona, an organization that appears to be more interested in retooling than undergoing a full teardown.
ZiPS Projection – Justin Crawford
Year
BA
OBP
SLG
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
SB
OPS+
WAR
2026
.296
.343
.402
503
79
149
26
6
5
57
36
109
30
107
2.8
2027
.291
.340
.391
519
82
151
27
5
5
59
38
108
30
104
2.7
2028
.290
.342
.397
527
85
153
28
5
6
60
40
107
30
105
2.8
2029
.286
.339
.392
528
84
151
28
5
6
60
41
104
30
103
2.7
2030
.284
.339
.392
518
83
147
28
5
6
59
42
100
28
103
2.6
2031
.282
.338
.392
500
80
141
27
5
6
57
41
94
26
103
2.5
ZiPS Projection – Jean Cabrera
Year
W
L
ERA
G
GS
IP
H
ER
HR
BB
SO
ERA+
WAR
2026
5
5
4.51
21
20
105.7
110
53
13
45
76
92
0.8
2027
5
5
4.28
20
19
103.0
103
49
11
41
75
97
1.0
2028
5
5
4.07
20
19
104.0
102
47
10
40
76
102
1.3
2029
5
5
4.02
20
19
103.0
100
46
10
38
75
103
1.4
2030
6
4
3.89
20
19
104.0
101
45
10
38
76
106
1.4
2031
5
5
3.91
19
18
101.3
98
44
9
37
73
106
1.4
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The Chicago Cubs acquire P Nathan Eovaldi from the Texas Rangers for OF Owen Caissie and SS Cristian Hernandez
Giving up Owen Caissie is tough to swallow, as both ZiPS and I feel pretty confident that he will be a legit dude at the major league level (and I like Caissie more than ZiPS does). You don’t get real pitchers for free, however, and there just aren’t many good ones available. Nathan Eovaldi isn’t a short-term rental, and the Cubs are deep in bats. Chicago has an elite lineup “supported” by a questionable rotation; failing to get the best starter possible would be borderline malpractice. As a groundball-heavy pitcher, Eovaldi is a good fit on a team that has Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson on the middle infield.
Because of my love for Caissie and the fact that I’m also having the Cubs pick up the $59 million or so remaining on Eovaldi’s deal, I’m not inclined to add too much else to this package, which may cause Rangers fans to unfriend me (or at least, they would if I had any influence over the organization). Cristian Hernandez is pretty far down Chicago’s minor league pecking order, but he’s a solid defensive player, he’s fast, and he has a frame that seems like he could add some power as he develops. With Marcus Semien in decline and Corey Seager good for an IL stint seemingly every year, it would be useful for the Rangers to have another hedge or two for Sebastian Walcott. I would not, however, offer Moisés Ballesteros in addition to Caissie.
ZiPS Projection – Nathan Eovaldi
Year
W
L
ERA
G
GS
IP
H
ER
HR
BB
SO
ERA+
WAR
2026
9
5
3.25
23
23
130.0
117
47
14
32
118
127
2.8
2027
8
5
3.51
21
21
118.0
113
46
14
31
102
118
2.2
ZiPS Projection – Owen Caissie
Year
BA
OBP
SLG
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
SB
OPS+
WAR
2026
.239
.321
.415
494
63
118
26
2
19
75
56
187
5
107
1.7
2027
.245
.329
.431
503
66
123
27
2
21
80
59
180
5
113
2.1
2028
.249
.334
.445
510
70
127
27
2
23
83
61
176
5
118
2.5
2029
.251
.336
.452
518
72
130
28
2
24
86
62
172
4
120
2.6
2030
.251
.338
.451
521
72
131
28
2
24
88
64
168
4
121
2.7
2031
.250
.337
.449
521
72
130
28
2
24
88
65
165
4
120
2.6
ZiPS Projection – Cristian Hernandez
Year
BA
OBP
SLG
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
SB
OPS+
WAR
2026
.216
.278
.316
500
55
108
26
3
6
49
41
146
25
68
0.0
2027
.223
.286
.329
511
59
114
27
3
7
53
43
141
25
74
0.5
2028
.226
.289
.333
514
60
116
28
3
7
55
44
136
24
76
0.7
2029
.230
.292
.341
405
48
93
23
2
6
44
35
103
18
79
0.7
2030
.235
.299
.349
344
42
81
20
2
5
38
30
84
15
83
0.8
2031
.238
.303
.358
302
38
72
17
2
5
34
27
73
12
86
0.8
The New York Mets acquire P Merrill Kelly from the Arizona Diamondbacks for P Blade Tidwell and 1B Ryan Clifford
There are some questions about Blade Tidwell’s command, but I think his upside makes him interesting enough to be worth acquiring in a Merrill Kelly trade. I’ve already given the Diamondbacks another outfielder, and I personally think the Mets should be leery about sending Jacob Reimer in a theoretical Kelly deal, but I think Ryan Clifford has enough promise to give Arizona a solid enough starting first baseman; Pavin Smith isn’t the definite solution there and feels more at home as the DH.
Kelly’s no superstar, but he’s one of the few Diamondbacks starters who is overachieving this season, and I think he shores up the Mets’ rotation for the homestretch.
ZiPS Projection – Ryan Clifford
Year
BA
OBP
SLG
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
SB
OPS+
WAR
2026
.213
.313
.398
488
55
104
25
1
21
72
67
175
3
97
0.6
2027
.220
.320
.413
501
59
110
26
1
23
78
70
170
3
103
1.1
2028
.226
.326
.424
509
62
115
27
1
24
82
72
165
3
107
1.6
2029
.235
.336
.445
515
65
121
28
1
26
86
75
160
3
116
2.2
2030
.238
.340
.446
522
67
124
29
1
26
88
78
157
2
117
2.4
2031
.238
.342
.445
526
67
125
29
1
26
89
80
155
2
117
2.4
ZiPS Projection – Blade Tidwell
Year
W
L
ERA
G
GS
IP
H
ER
HR
BB
SO
ERA+
WAR
2026
8
7
4.20
25
20
113.7
110
53
13
51
100
99
1.2
2027
8
6
4.00
23
18
108.0
103
48
12
45
94
104
1.3
2028
7
6
3.91
22
17
106.0
99
46
11
43
93
106
1.5
2029
7
6
3.83
21
16
103.3
96
44
10
40
89
108
1.5
2030
8
5
3.82
21
16
103.7
96
44
10
40
89
108
1.5
2031
7
6
3.84
20
15
100.7
94
43
10
39
85
108
1.5
The Tampa Bay Rays acquire C Sean Murphy from the Atlanta Braves for 1B Xavier Isaac, OF Colton Ledbetter, and P Gary Gill Hill
Drake Baldwin has rendered Sean Murphy practically redundant, making the latter surprisingly tradeable for the Braves as they look towards the future. To that end, Atlanta has a bit of a shopping list: minor league pitching depth, a bat to replace Marcell Ozuna, who is a free agent at the end of the season, and a candidate to start in left field so that the Braves don’t have to leave the position open for auditions in the spring, as they have recently. Gary Gill Hill, Xavier Isaac, and possibly Colton Ledbetter may be able to meet those needs.
The Rays give up value, but they also keep their prizes; I’m not even considering sending Carson Williams in this swap. Murphy has proven he can still be a top-notch catcher and he’s a big upgrade for the Rays here. Picking up the very reasonable three years and $45 million left on Murphy’s contract would also allow the team’s new owners to give a hint that they won’t be quite as thrifty as the current regime without really spending a large amount of money.
ZiPS Projection – Sean Murphy
Year
BA
OBP
SLG
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
SB
OPS+
WAR
2026
.230
.320
.443
343
42
79
16
0
19
52
36
102
0
112
3.0
2027
.224
.313
.426
326
38
73
15
0
17
47
34
98
0
105
2.5
2028
.217
.308
.401
304
34
66
14
0
14
42
32
94
0
98
1.9
ZiPS Projection – Xavier Isaac
Year
BA
OBP
SLG
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
SB
OPS+
WAR
2026
.215
.313
.398
339
45
73
16
2
14
53
44
142
4
95
0.5
2027
.225
.322
.419
356
49
80
17
2
16
59
47
142
4
103
1.0
2028
.228
.326
.424
373
52
85
18
2
17
65
50
141
4
105
1.2
2029
.235
.334
.440
391
57
92
19
2
19
70
53
142
4
112
1.7
2030
.238
.339
.446
404
60
96
20
2
20
74
57
143
4
115
1.9
2031
.240
.342
.448
413
63
99
21
1
21
77
59
142
4
116
2.0
ZiPS Projection – Colton Ledbetter
Year
BA
OBP
SLG
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
SB
OPS+
WAR
2026
.237
.295
.366
435
55
103
21
4
9
57
33
150
18
81
0.7
2027
.242
.300
.376
442
58
107
21
4
10
60
34
145
19
86
0.9
2028
.244
.304
.382
442
60
108
22
3
11
62
35
140
19
88
1.1
2029
.246
.306
.383
407
55
100
20
3
10
58
33
125
17
89
1.0
2030
.248
.308
.394
371
51
92
18
3
10
53
30
112
15
92
1.1
2031
.245
.307
.388
330
45
81
16
2
9
47
27
99
13
91
0.9
ZiPS Projection – Gary Gill Hill
Year
W
L
ERA
G
GS
IP
H
ER
HR
BB
SO
ERA+
WAR
2026
4
4
4.52
22
21
99.7
108
50
13
37
64
92
0.7
2027
4
4
4.19
22
21
103.0
107
48
12
37
65
99
1.1
2028
5
3
4.04
22
21
107.0
107
48
11
37
69
103
1.4
2029
5
4
3.89
22
21
108.7
106
47
10
36
70
106
1.6
2030
5
4
3.72
22
21
111.3
106
46
10
35
73
111
1.7
2031
5
4
3.65
22
21
111.0
104
45
9
34
74
114
1.8
The San Diego Padres acquire 1B/DH Ryan O’Hearn from the Baltimore Orioles for pitchers Bradgley Rodriguez, Bryan Balzer, and Jagger Haynes
Ryan O’Hearn is having a very nice season for the Orioles and has been a highlight for the team, one that I didn’t see coming at all when they purchased his contract from the Royals a few years ago. The fact remains, however, that he has little defensive value and hits free agency in two months. As such, I couldn’t in good faith give any top prospects to the Orioles; if J.D. Martinez didn’t land any back in 2017, I don’t think the Orioles are going to this year. What I did do is give the Orioles a couple arms in Bradgley Rodriguez and Jagger Haynes who could actually contribute over the next few seasons. Bryan Balzer is much farther away, but unless the Orioles decide to spend aggressively on pitching in free agency, which I doubt, they need to find other ways to get interesting arms into the system wherever they can.
ZiPS Projection – Bradgley Rodriguez
Year
W
L
ERA
G
GS
IP
H
ER
HR
BB
SO
ERA+
WAR
2026
3
3
4.03
49
0
58.0
51
26
5
22
53
99
0.1
2027
3
3
3.84
51
0
61.0
52
26
5
21
57
104
0.3
2028
4
2
3.64
52
0
64.3
54
26
5
21
60
109
0.5
2029
4
2
3.44
53
0
65.3
53
25
5
21
61
115
0.6
2030
4
2
3.51
54
0
66.7
53
26
4
20
62
113
0.6
2031
4
2
3.39
54
0
66.3
53
25
4
20
62
117
0.7
ZiPS Projection – Jagger Haynes
Year
W
L
ERA
G
GS
IP
H
ER
HR
BB
SO
ERA+
WAR
2026
3
6
5.25
22
21
96.0
101
56
13
57
70
76
-0.2
2027
4
4
4.86
22
21
96.3
97
52
11
52
72
82
0.3
2028
4
5
4.57
22
21
100.3
98
51
10
50
76
87
0.6
2029
4
5
4.34
22
21
101.7
97
49
10
47
78
92
0.9
2030
5
4
4.15
22
21
104.0
97
48
9
45
80
96
1.1
2031
5
4
4.08
22
21
103.7
96
47
9
43
81
97
1.2
The Toronto Blue Jays acquire P Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins for OF Alan Roden, 3B Orelvis Martinez, and OF Yohendrick Pinango
People mostly talk about Sandy Alcantara, but Edward Cabrera has quietly been Miami’s best starter this season. He has stayed healthy and has cut back on the walks, and both of his breaking pitches and his changeup are viable strike three offerings, set up with a fastball that still comfortably hits 97. There’s risk with Cabrera, certainly, but I think the Jays should be firmly in win-now mode. For their part, the Marlins are in sore need of anyone who can offer even a remote chance of providing their punchless lineup with something worthwhile in the future. I think Kyle Stowers is for real, but he needs some sidekicks. Alan Roden can hit, but it’s hard for Toronto to give him too much rope given the pennant race, and Orelvis Martinez’s poor 2025 is practically screaming “change of scenery candidate.” You might see including Yohendrick Pinango as gilding the lily, but given that the Jays get to keep Cabrera well past this season, I think it’s fair to add him to the trade.
ZiPS Projection – Edward Cabrera
Year
W
L
ERA
G
GS
IP
H
ER
HR
BB
SO
ERA+
WAR
2026
6
6
3.93
26
25
126.0
106
55
16
51
125
106
1.7
2027
6
5
3.94
25
24
118.7
100
52
15
47
115
106
1.6
2028
6
5
3.96
23
22
113.7
98
50
14
43
107
105
1.5
ZiPS Projection – Alan Roden
Year
BA
OBP
SLG
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
SB
OPS+
WAR
2026
.266
.347
.399
414
60
110
22
3
9
52
41
72
7
105
1.4
2027
.266
.349
.400
413
60
110
22
3
9
52
42
70
7
105
1.5
2028
.267
.349
.402
408
59
109
22
3
9
51
41
68
6
106
1.5
2029
.263
.346
.394
396
57
104
21
2
9
49
40
65
6
103
1.2
2030
.261
.343
.388
376
53
98
20
2
8
46
38
62
5
101
1.0
2031
.257
.338
.382
346
48
89
18
2
7
42
34
57
5
98
0.8
ZiPS Projection – Orelvis Martinez
Year
BA
OBP
SLG
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
SB
OPS+
WAR
2026
.200
.269
.374
439
49
88
20
1
18
57
36
140
1
74
-0.5
2027
.209
.277
.395
446
52
93
21
1
20
61
37
136
1
82
0.0
2028
.213
.282
.401
446
53
95
22
1
20
62
38
132
1
85
0.2
2029
.217
.287
.412
405
49
88
20
1
19
57
35
116
1
89
0.4
2030
.220
.291
.412
369
45
81
18
1
17
52
33
104
1
91
0.5
2031
.222
.292
.413
334
40
74
17
1
15
47
30
93
1
91
0.4
ZiPS Projection – Yohendrick Pinango
Year
BA
OBP
SLG
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
SB
OPS+
WAR
2026
.235
.311
.372
476
49
112
23
3
12
54
50
119
6
87
0.2
2027
.241
.318
.390
490
52
118
25
3
14
59
53
119
6
93
0.6
2028
.245
.323
.400
497
55
122
26
3
15
62
55
116
6
98
0.9
2029
.251
.328
.412
478
54
120
26
3
15
61
53
108
6
102
1.1
2030
.251
.329
.410
463
53
116
25
2
15
60
52
102
5
102
1.0
2031
.254
.332
.420
448
51
114
25
2
15
58
50
97
5
105
1.2
The Cleveland Guardians acquire IF Shay Whitcomb from the Houston Astros for 1B Ralphy Velazquez
If you’re looking for the next Addison Barger, I think Shay Whitcomb is a good candidate. Much like Barger was, Whitcomb is an older, fringy infield prospect who stat people like a lot more than scouts, and he has real upside in the right situation. Still, the Astros appear to have basically no interest in Whitcomb; when he’s been up in the majors, he’s been limited to a combination of pinch-hitting, pinch-running, and late-inning defensive work, with only scattered starts at third. If simultaneous injuries to Isaac Paredes and Jeremy Peña can’t get him an extended audition in Houston, I don’t see what would.
The Astros have struggled at first base since age caught up with Yuli Gurriel, and both of the name brand free agents brought in as solutions since — José Abreu and Christian Walker — have kinda splatted in Houston. I don’t think Cleveland would part with C.J. Kayfus for Whitcomb, but Ralphy Velazquez is more speculative; he’s still in the low minors, with promising tools and decidedly mixed results. Even if Walker bounces back, he’s only signed through 2027, so Velazquez developing into a big leaguer is unlikely to cause any kind of position controversy.
Dan Szymborski is a senior writer for FanGraphs and the developer of the ZiPS projection system. He was a writer for ESPN.com from 2010-2018, a regular guest on a number of radio shows and podcasts, and a voting BBWAA member. He also maintains a terrible Twitter account at @DSzymborski.
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username098
1 year ago
Why would the Rangers sell Eovaldi when they’re tied for the third wild card and have the 2nd best run differential in the AL?
I might just be being crazy — I like to have at least one crazy trade — but the Rangers offense just feels so meh to me that I think swapping a pitcher for a similar bat (as I note, I love Caissie) that they should still do it. I probably should have directly addresse dthis though.
I also removed another Rangers trade (MacKenzie Gore for pitching prospects) because I was running long and had to cut a few and it didn’t dawn on my dumb brain that until the thread that it kinda unravels this trade)
For what it’s worth, I had it in my head that the Giants might actually give up Bryce Eldridge for Eovaldi, but that might be crazier.
sanctii
1 year ago
Rangers are tied for wc3, and instead of competing down the stretch, theyre going to trade one of the best pitchers in baseball for the Cubs #7 prospect.
formerly matt wMember since 2025
1 year ago
Hot take: With playoff odds over 50%, I don’t think the Rangers should trade away Eovaldi. Looks like they could use a DH?
Apparently they are saying they want relief pitching so I was trying to put together a homerish trade for Bednar, but after Walcott their prospects mostly seem to be pitchers.
Almost every playoff contender needs relievers every year, but it does feel like the top playoff contenders are especially desperate for them. The Blue Jays, Astros, Padres and Red Sox are fine (if you can call the Red Sox and Padres top contenders, probably not). But the Mets already traded for one, and the Dodgers, Tigers, and Phillies are all clearly on the hunt for top-end high-end relievers, while the Brewers, Mariners, Cubs, and Yankees are almost certainly looking for relievers as well even if they aren’t desperate for a Proven Closer (TM).
Those eight teams have a collective probability of winning the World Series of 75% (!!!). They make up the top 5 teams in % of winning the World Series plus the 7th, 8th, and 10th teams (and the last team, the Brewers, are the last team with a 5% of better chance).
Red Sox are just over 50% to make the playoffs (along with the Rangers and Padres), which is roughly where you should be the most desperate to pick up some wins. I wouldn’t call any of them a top playoff contender, but they should all be near the top in looking for improvements at the deadline if they can find one.
Chapman left the game last night with back tightness and is day to day. With a one run lead on the Dodgers and the heart of the Dodgers order up, they faced Jordan Hicks with the game on the line for the last 5 outs. It worked.
I’m not sure that the Red Sox should trade anything for relievers, but I wouldn’t say that they’re fine and don’t need relievers.
You can look at it this way if you are a Red Sox fan and think that it is impossible for Breslow to do more damage than he did last year when he killed the bullpen with Luis Garcia and Lucas Sims. The Sox pen has been excellent and doesn’t need that kind of “help”.
This is what Stearns likes to do, buy the stuff not the performance because the performance fluctuates so wildly for relievers in 70% of the season, that’s like 40 innings. Gregory Soto is a good example of the types of guys they like to target.
Garcia is still available again this year, if a team wants to try for them. But realistically this year those guys are Seranthony Dominguez and Kenley Jansen. At the higher end of the market, you’ve also got Ryan Helsley, Jake Bird, Brock Stewart, and Anthony Bender, and at the lower end you’ve got Ryan Thompson (ARI) and Seth Halvorsen (COL). Garcia is probably more like the lower-end guys, but Sims did have some success as recently as the previous year so he’s more like Dominguez and Jansen.
Not sure if the Brewers fall under the group that needs relievers. 6 of their RPs have sub-3.00 ERAs. Myself (and likely a lot of Brewer fans) would like them to bring up Craig Yoho as well from AAA, but there’s not room.
They’re probably fine at the back end with Megill, Uribe, and Ashby, and Koenig and Mears are pretty good too.
I think they just called up Yoho? Like, literally today? Maybe Yoho is the answer, but I think the Brewers can improve upon him, Grant Anderson, and DL Hall.
I don’t think they’re in the market for a Tier 1 reliever but I would absolutely roll the dice on Seranthony Dominguez if I were them because he’ll probably only cost a couple of FV40-level prospects. You can’t have too many options in the bullpen for the playoffs.
I think Yoho is probably the best guy in the system (maybe any system) to deal for an upgrade. He’s clearly too advanced for the minors and not quite ready for the majors. If he goes to a team that’s out of it this year, they can work through the growing pains at the end of this year. He’s a high-leverage arm if you’re patient, and the Brewers shouldn’t be patient (they will probably be patient). But I think he’s probably too much for Seranthony Dominguez.
I think they probably just have to hope Joc Pederson gets better.
It’s a fairly complete team aside from relievers. The farm system is kind of weak though, so I think they’re probably shopping at the second (Maton, Coulombe, Bird, Santana, Matz) or third tier (Kittredge, Chafin, Seranthony Dominguez, Kyle Finnegan) of relievers rather than at the top (Helsley, Bednar).
You beat me to it – Pederson has been good against lefties for awhile now. Of course, none of his teams has given him any sort of chance against lefties even as his numbers have improved.
Joc has been horrible, but I think he is going to continue being a DH vs RHP. He had one of the worst starts ever, iirc he was something like 0-50 and was coming up on Chris Davis territory. The way he reported to camp left something to be desired (hard to picture him having played CF at one point) but while the overall line is like the worst in the whole majors, he did start turning it around a bit before his injury, and is back now.
They could certainly use a bat, though.
sadtromboneMember since 2020
1 year ago
I personally think these deals are fair but based on what it cost to acquire Naylor (very little) I think most of them have more prospect value in them than it would take.
Maybe not the starters, but for the position players.
I’m not giving up Sean Murphy on 3/$45m for anything resembling that package.
Like, Murphy’s performing at an All-Star level, this year.
The fact that Baldwin’s even better doesn’t incline me to trade him for a group headlined by a bad-bodied 1B who’s hitting .206 in AA, can’t hit lefties, and has missed time in each of the last couple seasons.
Murphy and Baldwin are in the lineup basically every day. Ozuna is now a bench bat (till he gets traded). I don’t think they mind having those two catchers one bit, as they are both everyday players, and are both get enough hitters to actually DH. I think Baldwin might see some outfield work as well.
cashgod27Member since 2024
1 year ago
“Alan Roden can hit” I know it’s a small sample and all but he has a .234 xwOBA
Yeah the MLB line in a small sample isn’t great but he has crushed AAA and even with the 66 WRC+ at the MLB level he was still a positive by FWAR due to plus defense although also too small a sample to necessarily project moving forward.
At AAA the last two years in 428 plate appearances he has hit 320/411/505 with 24 doubles, 4 triples, 12 HRs, 51 walks, 54 Ks, 12 stolen bases while only being caught once and an elite contact rate supporting the almost even BB/K rate.
sadtromboneMember since 2020
1 year ago
A couple of Phillies notes:
I would think that the Phillies are probably more focused on relievers.
I would also issue a warning about trading for Crawford since their outfielders are so bad and Crawford appears major league ready. If Dombrowski is willing to trade Crawford when he looks ready to contribute over the disaster of the current MLB outfield then that probably means the Phillies know something you don’t. Someone like Aidan Miller, who is blocked, wouldn’t raise the same alarm bells for me even though he is a better prospect.
Very surprised that Zips is this high on Justin Crawford. He has a history of beating the ball into the ground. His consistently high BABIP over the course of his career is surely due to a combination of luck and bad minor league infield defense. He’s never run an ISO above .137 at any stop. He’s never run a decent walk rate until this year, and I find it hard to imagine he’d run a decent walk rate in the majors–pitchers would challenge him with strikes until he proves he can do damage. “Johan Rojas with fewer K’s, a bit more pop, and worse defense” doesn’t sound very exciting to me. I find it hard to imagine that it would excite the Dbacks enough to be the centerpiece of a winning bid for even 2 months of Suarez.
Yeah, I could see him consistently running BABIP a bit above .300. But he’s currently above .400 and he’s often been above .380 throughout his minor league career. Yes, he’s fast, but nobody runs a .380+ BABIP just due to speed.
I agree with you, at least to some extent. You can’t ever expect BABIP to translate from the minors because of bad minor league defense. These teams are trying to see if the guy everyone knows is going to end up at third base can stick at shortstop and are willing to live with the growing pains.
At the same time, he’s 21 in AAA with a 127 wRC+, and has had a BA >.300 at every step over the last 3 years. I agree it shouldn’t work… but maybe it does for him? I think it’s worth the look at the majors. And if he can start elevating the ball? There’s real star potential there. I’d like to see him work with the major league hitting coach.
I also think Crawford’s bat-to-ball skills are much better than Rojas’ (and of course Crawford is a better prospect than Rojas ever was).
I keep looking at him and thinking of Jon Jay. Who was a good baseball player but more in the platoon CFer than an everyday guy. Alek Thomas is another one that comes to mind. And Brendan Rodgers. It’s hard to profile like that every day unless you have a 70 glove.
If he’s an 80 rather than a 70 runner that changes things, that’s the world where you can make a living off of BABIP. Dee Gordon and Michael Bourn hit the ball weaker than Crawford does and they were league-average bats (occasionally, and they were also 70 defenders).
Top end prospects tend to run absurd BABIP numbers in the minors. Soto ran in the high .300s over his minor league career, and he is not exactly a burner.
I am not saying he is Soto, I am just saying that one of the signs of major league success is running absurd minor league BABIP numbers
mhenders26Member since 2020
1 year ago
Can someone please get the Tigers a bullpen?
aglossmanMember since 2016
1 year ago
The most realistic part of this article is the absence of a move from the Red Sox…
They are playing maybe the best defensive center fielder at second base because they are idiots, where he has already found himself down -2 OAA in 48 innings. So I’m going to say they definitely need someone there to save them from themselves.
Or they could get a first baseman because they are currently playing (checks notes) Abraham Toro there, and move the Toro and Gonzalez show to second base.
They need to lengthen the lineup with O’Hear at 1st and Toro sent back to Wor. I would add a catcher who can defend and move on from Wong….Carlos is getting so tired. Add a bullpen arm that is not a rental.
Unfortunately, for the Braves they have a LF for next year already with (post-PED but gets to keep the rest of the contract) Jurickson Profar.
formerly matt wMember since 2025
1 year ago
How bad is this:
Rangers acquire Starling Marte from Mets
Mets acquire David Bednar from Pirates
Pirates acquire Ryan Clifford from Mets and Cameron Cauley from Rangers
(Per MLBTR, the Rangers want a RH bat and the Mets have been listening on Marte and might acquire more bullpen help even after trading for Gregory Soto.)
I can’t imagine the Pirates would want that deal, and I don’t think the Mets are paying more than that for reliever help. Clifford is interesting but right now he still looks more like a defensively limited platoon bat.
I’d be asking the Dodgers about Alex Freeland or Zyhir Hope and the Phillies about Aidan Miller. They both might say no, but this is I think they level they sould be shooting for.
I think the Cubs and Tigers would also be very interested, but their top prospects are probably too good for Bednar and I’m not super high on the next tier down (Liranzo, Alcantara, Caissie, Rojas). Just IMO.
I’d definitely ask for Aidan Miller–was trying not to be too homeristic as Pirates fan! I assumed that if I said “Jett Williams” I’d be booed off the stage. It would be very nice if the Pirates could pick up a highish level shortstop because their depth chart looks kind of like
Plan A: Cam Devanney
Plan B: Jared Triolo can’t really keep up a .176 BABIP, can he?
Plan C: Konnor Griffin
Somewhat hopeful that the consensus seems to be that everyone wants relievers, and the Pirates have several relievers, but long experience tells me not to raise my hopes too high.
Right, the issue is that the Pirates can’t afford to walk away from a deal right now.
If they can’t get the Phillies or Dodgers to say “yes” to Freeland (or Hope) or Miller the next step down is hoping the Cubs to say yes to Caissie or Rojas, or the Tigers to say yes to Liranzo (or Briceno, but that seems like an extreme long shot).
I’d consider Clifford the next step down from that, in the same range as The Password (BOS) and Edwin Arroyo and Cam Collier (CIN). Collier and Arroyo wouldn’t be bad, now that I think of it. The equivalent from the Mets would probably be Clifford and Baty, I think. For the Mariners probably Michael Arroyo and Tai Peete, although I wouldn’t trust the Pirates to develop Peete at all.
But I think it’s worth a shot to ask for the high-end FV50 type players, the guys who could very well be a 55, because Ryan Helsley is the only other guy in the same class as Bednar who is actually available and (1) he is pitching worse than Bednar this year and (2) he has less team control. Enough teams are looking for someone that I think they have a shot
Twitchy
1 year ago
I’d be happy with that trade for the Jays. Don’t trust Martinez at all, Roden hasn’t done much with his opportunity and the Jays have a ton of OF depth. Pinango is pretty intriguing, but for Cabrera that’s an easy yes. And the Jays keep all their young SP prospects too which is a bonus.
I like it but… who comes out of the rotation? The guy with the 2.61 ERA? Or the 3x Cy Young winner with 11 Ks in his last start? I get why people feel uncertain about banking on Lauer going forward but… why not? Even if only one of Lauer or Scherzer end up still having juice in the tank, that’s still 4 solid starters going into October.
A 6 man rotation for a week and then Scherzer is likely back on the IL with a thumb injury.
Also that’s great that he had…1 good start, but you don’t avoid adding quality SP because your fifth starter had one good game.
I don’t want Scherzer anywhere near a playoff start, and honestly the Jays front 4 isn’t that great. Lauer is doing well but I don’t trust a playoff rotation with Lauer/Berrios/Gausman/Bassitt.
The Jays have one of the worst rotations in the league, acting like they shouldn’t add SP to me if not just for depth, but to also raise the ceiling of the team, to me is organizational malpractice. You have a legit shot at homefield throughout the playoffs, take advantage of this.
I was ready to dig into your claim that “The Jays have one of the worst rotations in the league”… but turns out that yeah, they’re 24th in fWAR. Also 24th in ERA. Bring Cabrera north!
The real issue is that the guy who should probably lose his rotation spot is Jose Berrios, whose stuff hasn’t been great since the Blue Jays traded for him but has cratered this year. Like, bottom-5 stuff among qualified starter this year bad. You cannot trust him to continue to do this.
But they’ve been getting good results out of him for two and a half years so they’re probably going to keep starting him until it blows up in their face. Hopefully for them, not in the playoffs.
But if they wanted to, they could make a real splash. They have a fair number of prospects who are overperforming preseason expectations, especially on the pitching side. Rojas and Yesavage are probably FV50 at this point, and Watts-Brown and Khal Stephen could be as high as FV45. Add in Roden (who is blocked) and I think they have the power to get almost anyone they want. They could make an offer for Mackenzie Gore if they wanted to, although it would cost them almost of those names I mentioned and probably some filler like Orelvis Martinez or Josh Kasevich.
Last edited 1 year ago by sadtrombone
boomstickMember since 2024
1 year ago
The Chicago Cubs acquire P Nathan Eovaldi from the Texas Rangers for OF Owen Caissie and SS Cristian Hernandez
Eovaldi is a solid pitcher, but he’s also 35 years old and currently has an ERA under 3.63 for only the second time in his 13-year career. Moreover, his advanced stats (3.29 xERA, 2.38 FIP, 2.77 xFIP, 2.94 SIERA) are great, but not nearly to the level his ERA (1.50) suggests, and he spent most of June on the IL with a triceps injury and was scratched from a start due to back tightness nine days ago.
Cassie + Hernandez, a toolsy, projectable, legit defensive SS who finally started hitting last season after drawing comps (according to MLB.com) to A-Rod and Manny Machado as a 2021 international signee, seems like way too steep a package for the right to pay Eovaldi $59MM for his age 35, 36, and 37 seasons – especially when you factor in the Cubs’ (presumed) desire to re-sign Kyle Tucker. So while “the worst idea in the history of mankind” might be a slightly hyperbolic description, you’re definitely not wrong.
On the other hand, the return for Edward Cabrera seems extremely light, and I’d be shocked if the Marlins dealt him for such an uninspiring package. However, if I were a Cubs fan, I’d be perfectly fine sending Cassie + for Cabrera and his three + season of team control – even if this is the first year his production has remotely approached his talent level. Given the Ricketts’s miserliness, that’s not even necessarily a negative since it means he’ll be cheaper in arbitration than if he’d broken out earlier. With his absolutely filthy stuff, it’s also very possible that he could unlock another gear and blossom into a true #1 or #2 starter in a better organization.
jpd4Member since 2025
1 year ago
Is there any way you could make the long term ZiPS projections public? Trying to do some mock trades with a model but kind of guessing on WAR projections after 2027
isaacprinceMember since 2023
1 year ago
I think that would be a very significant over pay by the Mets for two months of Merrill Kelly
Yeah, I dislike this proposed deal a lot. You can never have too much starting pitching, but Kelly is not a guy that excites me enough to give up what this proposal is suggesting. It seems like the kind of trade that the Wilpon-era Mets would have made.
Actually, I don’t think they would be giving up all that much in this scenario. Other pitching prospects — McLean, Sproat, Tong– seem a lot more exciting that Bidwell, and Clifford may be just another guy, despite the good numbers. He’s a platoon player who may not have a position. I think they are going to acquire more relief pitchers, though, unless a higher-upside SP falls in their lap.
Ivan_GrushenkoMember since 2016
1 year ago
There seem to be lots of relievers available – Ryan Helsley (which autocorrected to Sherman Hemsley, well sort of), Matz, Kittredge and probably anyone else on a 2026 non contender
My tier list of likely available relievers goes something like this:
Tier 1:
Bednar
Helsley
Tier 2:
Phil Maton
Danny Coulombe
Jake Bird
JoJo Romero
Steven Matz
Dennis Santana
Tier 3:
Seranthony Dominguez
Andrew Kittredge
Andrew Chafin
Kyle Finnegan
Anthony Bender is probably also available, I’d probably put him at the back of Tier 2 or top of Tier 3. Kenley Jansen is probably also available and I would normally put him in Tier 3 but he seems absolutely determined to close, and I don’t trust him in that role. I’d put Pete Fairbanks in Tier 2 if available, but he might not be.
I would also trade for Reid Detmers for sure, at least partially because I think he could be converted back into a starter in training camp, but I don’t think he’s available.
Chafin is just destined to be traded every mid-season (note that he’s been traded in late July or early August in 4 of the last 5 seasons). Do not buy Andrew, it’s better that you rent.
That’s a lot of people who aren’t very different from each other
calfenn
1 year ago
Braves won’t trade Murphy, right now you’d have him listed as the catcher and Baldwin listed as the DH/Backup Catcher and combined they’d make about 17 mil total. Replacing Murphy with a player like Schwarber costs you more financially, removed positional flexibility in the role, and you lose surplus WAR by a lot. Right now you could forecast Baldwin and Murphy on a full season to be 4 WAR a piece, to get that for 17 mil is INSANE value. Murphy has been integral to Baldwins development behind the plate. He’s more than likely staying, outside of a team supremely overpaying with a MLB ready shortstop that can step in for 2026. Since that isn’t happening he isn’t moving.
Re: Left Field
The Braves already have a left fielder in Jurickson Profar. The argument could be made based on his batting inputs this season thus far he was clearly helped by PEDs and they should try and rid themselves of him but every team can access the same data and would see the same red flags.
Re: 2026
The Braves experienced a lot of offensive underperformance this season and only really have a couple of places to look for upgrading. That would presumably be SS or 2B. With how they drafted one option I’ve wondered is if they try and sign Bichette this season, then if Albies again is not productive move Bichette to 2B for 2027 and maybe one of their SS prospects are ready?
Can they find someone to take Profar and acquire an upgrade there?
I think SS and RP are the key places Atlanta needs help, if you bank on any kind of bounceback from Harris and Albies. I guess SP depth as well since they always seem to be relying on a 7th or 8th starter since they have 2-4 of their expected rotation members on the shelf at any given time.
They would probably have to eat a significant portion of Profar’s contract to move him at this point.
Yep – Murphy and Baldwin are already at 4.5 WAR on the season…and having them be a C/DH platoon is pretty emphatically their best option to replace Ozuna next year.
Like, Murphy probably is available in the right deal…but that deal is headlined by a top SS prospect in the upper levels.
I honestly wouldn’t trade him for Carson Williams…but the Braves mighty if they throw in a couple more pieces.
A platoon DH as the centerpiece just gets a bark of laughter and a dial tone, though.
I’ve seen several outlets stating about two weeks or so ago that Murphy would be on the trading block to the point of the Braves having to come out and explicitly say that he’s not. Do these people even know the contracts on the teams they’re reporting on?
They’re not going to move on from Murphy when he’s a top 5 NL catcher when they have a DH hitting FA this year who’s currently making more than their two catchers combined.
Or possibly Otto Velez, Otto von Bismarck or Auto Rickshaw
tyguy8Member since 2025
1 year ago
If trades proposed here have to be within the realm of possibility, I think that excludes the proposed Eovaldi trade. There’s no way the Rangers are trading him.
fangraphsreaderbutwokeMember since 2025
1 year ago
I love that the Ben Cherington Pirates are so uninteresting they don’t even merit mention in a trade deadline writeup.
It is pretty surprising given that they have some of the very best trade chips being floated. At same time I could see Keller being a better winter trade when you can get a MLB bat and they could just extend Bednar.
Old Washington Senators FanMember since 2020
1 year ago
Any chance the Cubs would offer that deal – and perhaps more – to wrest Gore from the Nationals? Not sure Lerners will approve any deal and it is a big, big longshot to happen, but Gore’s is a free agent after 2027 and a Boras client, so he’s likely not going to be a National and go to one of the big boys in NY, LA or CHI (NL team) or SF after that.
I don’t think the Nationals say yes to that without Matt Shaw on top of that.
If the Nationals do decide to trade Gore the Cubs, Red Sox, Mets, and maybe even the Braves would be extremely excited to trade for him. They won’t have to settle for one FV50 prospect and filler.
Like, this is probably the deal I’m asking for if I’m the Nationals, and I’m pretty sure this basic framework is non-negotiable:
Matt Shaw
Jefferson Rojas or Owen Caissie
Brandon Birdsell
Nick Dean or Jaxon Wiggins
Cristian Hernandez
bananabreadbitch
1 year ago
I really don’t get this Suarez move for the DBacks. We’re trading the most valuable trade piece we have for a package headlined by a lefty outfielder (a position at which we remain glutted, even if every trade candidate is moved) who hits almost 65% of his balls on the ground? And the other 2 pieces are an unexciting R/R 1B and a fairly whatever near-MLB arm?
Maybe I’m missing something, but I just don’t see this being the trade the DBacks want to make for Eugenio.
Some sort of three way with Alcantara makes more sense to me. Not that Suárez is worth as much as Alcantara
jmomccMember since 2020
1 year ago
I would be sad to see Roden go. He has a very compatible play style with the current jays. The fanbase views roden as well below our top two prospects so i think most would love this trade.
For Miami, let’s say Cabrera mostly repeats this year and say puts up say a 3 win season next year. Would that increase his trade value enough to take a chance on just keeping him?
Last edited 1 year ago by jmomcc
soddingjunkmailMember since 2016
1 year ago
What’s the general consensus on what Clase would bring back in a trade for the Guardians?
Seems like they’re in a spot where a top closer isn’t really something they need.
BTW, when I originally read your comment I thought the “never mind” meant “Never mind, he just got traded so we now know his actual value” instead of “Never mind, he decided to light his career on fire”.
It doesn’t make a ton of sense. What wouldn’t surprise me is if it is somehow linked to crime, and the players aren’t choosing to do it, they are being told they have to. Like organized crime in the DR, or something
That also could be true. I think there is a lot of things it could be. And they aren’t all what everyone assumes. I mean that is what it likely is, but still.
I don’t think that two #5 starters (Tyler Anderson, Kyle Hendricks), a 37 year old reliever who desperately wants to keep closing with a 0.3 fWAR (Kenley Jansen), a utility guy having his worst year (Luis Rengifo), and a semi-permanently injured third baseman (Yoan Moncada) all on expiring contracts are going to return many prospects that are worth talking about.
If they were willing to trade Taylor Ward that’s another story, but last deadline Moreno quashed any trade involving a player under team control the next year.
Last edited 1 year ago by sadtrombone
OddBall Herrera
1 year ago
This is the second worst idea in the history of mankind
Extra innings Manfred man still being undisputed king atop the list (the guy trying to fly in the wingsuit and jumping off the Eiffel Tower coming in a close third)
sadtromboneMember since 2020
1 year ago
Dodgers: A bunch of prospects they don’t care about anymore for Shane Bieber or Sandy Alcantara
Because what is more Dodgers-like than acquiring a guy who used to be a #1
Kenley Jansen is an impending free agent earning $10 million with nineteen saves for a sub.500 Angels team with siginificant post season experience. He should be very much available, and of others on the block only Helsley has more saves (and will cost much more) (Royals aren’t sellers and Clase is likely staying put). The Tigers and Phillies should be very interested and the Dodgers, Yankees and, if Chapman’s injury is significant, the BoSox should be checking in, too. The Phils should not think that David Robertson (one save in 42 post-season appearances) addresses their issue.
Clase def staying put now. But yes, Jansen is likely on the move, but I also think it is a bit of a tricky situation though, because I highly doubt he accepts a deal where he isn’t the closer. And while he is still fine, he is no longer elite. But most smart teams realize that “closer” isn’t necessarily the most important bullpen arm. Who knows.
I agree that Jansen should be on the block, but the Angels in the past have been hesitant to sell everything that isn’t nailed down, particularly when they are more mediocre than outright bad.
If I were a betting man, I’d bet against Jansen being moved.
diminishedsixthsense
1 year ago
surely eovaldi (one of the best pitchers in all of baseball with 2.5 years of control) gets you a better return than that?
alexpMember since 2020
1 year ago
If that is the best an offer for Murphy would get, then he isn’t going anywhere. Those 3 prospects have the same problem of the current lineup anyway, no hit tool. Hard pass. Having Baldwin and Murphy on the roster is hardly a problem anyway.
It’s crazy that the Braves went from “crazy good, almost historically good” lineup 2-3 years ago to “current lineup has no hit tool” so quickly. It really is tough to keep your competitive window open for years and years.
ED44Member since 2017
1 year ago
No Reds deals?! Come on, man! I’ll throw some Skyline in if you’ll work one up. I say Robert Jr. They can even choose to keep him next year if they want, since Martinez’s salary comes off the books.
I am still cringing over last year’s deadline acquisitions by the Red Sox the, the Arson Squad of Luis Garcia and Lucas Sims, and am looking for a real pitcher. Mitch Keller is actually getting hitters out which bigger names, Cease and Alcantara to mention a couple are not. I am offering Yoshida, Franklin Arias and J%^$&#$ Garcia and hoping the Pirates see the value.
Pirates are not trading for Yoshida unless the Red Sox pick up at least three-fourths of the remaining money, or throw in, like, Marcelo Mayer. Maybe. This is not a statement about Yoshida but about the Pirates.
isntthisrichMember since 2026
1 year ago
Bradgley Rodriguez. Is it pronounced bradge-lee? Or brad-glee? Or do we just call him B-Rod?
NikolaiMember since 2017
1 year ago
That Padres/Orioles trade is quite the “wild ass names” arms race.
PatBurrellMember since 2024
1 year ago
36 year old Kelly for Clifford and Tidwell is laugh out loud funny. Some classic anti-Mets stuff right there.
Proph of the SandlotMember since 2024
1 year ago
Poor Red Sox……
KennyMember since 2020
1 year ago
“for pitchers Bradgley Rodriguez, Bryan Balzer, and Jagger Haynes”
I’ll be honest, I thought you were just making up names here…
Stan WineMember since 2024
1 year ago
I like crazy trades also. I don’t think the Cubs get Suarez. Texas sent Jung down and recalled him last week even though he wasn’t hitting in AAA either. I think Jung needs a new start somewhere and Wrigley would be good for him. Texas needs someone to play 1b. Jonathon Long looks ready. So Jung and a lower pitching prospect to CHC for Long, Cassie and Wiggins.
Why would the Rangers sell Eovaldi when they’re tied for the third wild card and have the 2nd best run differential in the AL?
I might just be being crazy — I like to have at least one crazy trade — but the Rangers offense just feels so meh to me that I think swapping a pitcher for a similar bat (as I note, I love Caissie) that they should still do it. I probably should have directly addresse dthis though.
Not feeling the Keller/Caissie vibes?
I also removed another Rangers trade (MacKenzie Gore for pitching prospects) because I was running long and had to cut a few and it didn’t dawn on my dumb brain that until the thread that it kinda unravels this trade)
For what it’s worth, I had it in my head that the Giants might actually give up Bryce Eldridge for Eovaldi, but that might be crazier.
Rangers are tied for wc3, and instead of competing down the stretch, theyre going to trade one of the best pitchers in baseball for the Cubs #7 prospect.
Hot take: With playoff odds over 50%, I don’t think the Rangers should trade away Eovaldi. Looks like they could use a DH?
Apparently they are saying they want relief pitching so I was trying to put together a homerish trade for Bednar, but after Walcott their prospects mostly seem to be pitchers.
That was my first reaction, too. Wonder if this was mostly written before their hot streak.
I can’t see a way they don’t take advantage of a healthy deGrom & try to win this year.
Relievers will be interesting. Feels like EVERYONE needs at least 1, maybe 2-3 (Detroit).
Almost every playoff contender needs relievers every year, but it does feel like the top playoff contenders are especially desperate for them. The Blue Jays, Astros, Padres and Red Sox are fine (if you can call the Red Sox and Padres top contenders, probably not). But the Mets already traded for one, and the Dodgers, Tigers, and Phillies are all clearly on the hunt for top-end high-end relievers, while the Brewers, Mariners, Cubs, and Yankees are almost certainly looking for relievers as well even if they aren’t desperate for a Proven Closer (TM).
Those eight teams have a collective probability of winning the World Series of 75% (!!!). They make up the top 5 teams in % of winning the World Series plus the 7th, 8th, and 10th teams (and the last team, the Brewers, are the last team with a 5% of better chance).
Red Sox are just over 50% to make the playoffs (along with the Rangers and Padres), which is roughly where you should be the most desperate to pick up some wins. I wouldn’t call any of them a top playoff contender, but they should all be near the top in looking for improvements at the deadline if they can find one.
Chapman left the game last night with back tightness and is day to day. With a one run lead on the Dodgers and the heart of the Dodgers order up, they faced Jordan Hicks with the game on the line for the last 5 outs. It worked.
I’m not sure that the Red Sox should trade anything for relievers, but I wouldn’t say that they’re fine and don’t need relievers.
You can look at it this way if you are a Red Sox fan and think that it is impossible for Breslow to do more damage than he did last year when he killed the bullpen with Luis Garcia and Lucas Sims. The Sox pen has been excellent and doesn’t need that kind of “help”.
Wow… Suff plus, fan graph under the radar darlings.
This is what Stearns likes to do, buy the stuff not the performance because the performance fluctuates so wildly for relievers in 70% of the season, that’s like 40 innings. Gregory Soto is a good example of the types of guys they like to target.
Garcia is still available again this year, if a team wants to try for them. But realistically this year those guys are Seranthony Dominguez and Kenley Jansen. At the higher end of the market, you’ve also got Ryan Helsley, Jake Bird, Brock Stewart, and Anthony Bender, and at the lower end you’ve got Ryan Thompson (ARI) and Seth Halvorsen (COL). Garcia is probably more like the lower-end guys, but Sims did have some success as recently as the previous year so he’s more like Dominguez and Jansen.
Not sure if the Brewers fall under the group that needs relievers. 6 of their RPs have sub-3.00 ERAs. Myself (and likely a lot of Brewer fans) would like them to bring up Craig Yoho as well from AAA, but there’s not room.
They’re probably fine at the back end with Megill, Uribe, and Ashby, and Koenig and Mears are pretty good too.
I think they just called up Yoho? Like, literally today? Maybe Yoho is the answer, but I think the Brewers can improve upon him, Grant Anderson, and DL Hall.
I don’t think they’re in the market for a Tier 1 reliever but I would absolutely roll the dice on Seranthony Dominguez if I were them because he’ll probably only cost a couple of FV40-level prospects. You can’t have too many options in the bullpen for the playoffs.
I think Yoho is probably the best guy in the system (maybe any system) to deal for an upgrade. He’s clearly too advanced for the minors and not quite ready for the majors. If he goes to a team that’s out of it this year, they can work through the growing pains at the end of this year. He’s a high-leverage arm if you’re patient, and the Brewers shouldn’t be patient (they will probably be patient). But I think he’s probably too much for Seranthony Dominguez.
I think they probably just have to hope Joc Pederson gets better.
It’s a fairly complete team aside from relievers. The farm system is kind of weak though, so I think they’re probably shopping at the second (Maton, Coulombe, Bird, Santana, Matz) or third tier (Kittredge, Chafin, Seranthony Dominguez, Kyle Finnegan) of relievers rather than at the top (Helsley, Bednar).
Pederson rebound doesn’t seem like something a contender should rely on when DH don’t cost much
RH bat makes sense anyway; you definitely can’t count on Pederson against LHP, and if he doesn’t rebound at all you’ve got a guy to cover both sides.
Pederson has a 105 wRC+ against LHP since 2020, which is far more than I’d have guessed, but it’s only over 283 PA. Before 2020 he was dismal.
You beat me to it – Pederson has been good against lefties for awhile now. Of course, none of his teams has given him any sort of chance against lefties even as his numbers have improved.
Agreed – I saw that as the first one listed and as a huge Rangers fan, thought to myself — surely there is no way we actually trade Evo, right?
Joc has been horrible, but I think he is going to continue being a DH vs RHP. He had one of the worst starts ever, iirc he was something like 0-50 and was coming up on Chris Davis territory. The way he reported to camp left something to be desired (hard to picture him having played CF at one point) but while the overall line is like the worst in the whole majors, he did start turning it around a bit before his injury, and is back now.
They could certainly use a bat, though.
I personally think these deals are fair but based on what it cost to acquire Naylor (very little) I think most of them have more prospect value in them than it would take.
Maybe not the starters, but for the position players.
I’m not giving up Sean Murphy on 3/$45m for anything resembling that package.
Like, Murphy’s performing at an All-Star level, this year.
The fact that Baldwin’s even better doesn’t incline me to trade him for a group headlined by a bad-bodied 1B who’s hitting .206 in AA, can’t hit lefties, and has missed time in each of the last couple seasons.
I must have skipped over that one. That is definitely not something I would do if I were the Braves.
Murphy and Baldwin are in the lineup basically every day. Ozuna is now a bench bat (till he gets traded). I don’t think they mind having those two catchers one bit, as they are both everyday players, and are both get enough hitters to actually DH. I think Baldwin might see some outfield work as well.
“Alan Roden can hit” I know it’s a small sample and all but he has a .234 xwOBA
Yeah the MLB line in a small sample isn’t great but he has crushed AAA and even with the 66 WRC+ at the MLB level he was still a positive by FWAR due to plus defense although also too small a sample to necessarily project moving forward.
At AAA the last two years in 428 plate appearances he has hit 320/411/505 with 24 doubles, 4 triples, 12 HRs, 51 walks, 54 Ks, 12 stolen bases while only being caught once and an elite contact rate supporting the almost even BB/K rate.
A couple of Phillies notes:
I would think that the Phillies are probably more focused on relievers.
I would also issue a warning about trading for Crawford since their outfielders are so bad and Crawford appears major league ready. If Dombrowski is willing to trade Crawford when he looks ready to contribute over the disaster of the current MLB outfield then that probably means the Phillies know something you don’t. Someone like Aidan Miller, who is blocked, wouldn’t raise the same alarm bells for me even though he is a better prospect.
Very surprised that Zips is this high on Justin Crawford. He has a history of beating the ball into the ground. His consistently high BABIP over the course of his career is surely due to a combination of luck and bad minor league infield defense. He’s never run an ISO above .137 at any stop. He’s never run a decent walk rate until this year, and I find it hard to imagine he’d run a decent walk rate in the majors–pitchers would challenge him with strikes until he proves he can do damage. “Johan Rojas with fewer K’s, a bit more pop, and worse defense” doesn’t sound very exciting to me. I find it hard to imagine that it would excite the Dbacks enough to be the centerpiece of a winning bid for even 2 months of Suarez.
“His consistently high BABIP over the course of his career is surely due to a combination of luck and bad minor league infield defense.“
Speed. You forgot his 70/70 speed, which allows guys to run a consistently high BABIP. It is not simply luck + bad defense.
Yeah, I could see him consistently running BABIP a bit above .300. But he’s currently above .400 and he’s often been above .380 throughout his minor league career. Yes, he’s fast, but nobody runs a .380+ BABIP just due to speed.
Chandler Simpson ran a .388 BABIP last year in the minors and a .369 BABIP this year in the minors.
I agree with you, at least to some extent. You can’t ever expect BABIP to translate from the minors because of bad minor league defense. These teams are trying to see if the guy everyone knows is going to end up at third base can stick at shortstop and are willing to live with the growing pains.
Crawford’s caveats are well taken.
At the same time, he’s 21 in AAA with a 127 wRC+, and has had a BA >.300 at every step over the last 3 years. I agree it shouldn’t work… but maybe it does for him? I think it’s worth the look at the majors. And if he can start elevating the ball? There’s real star potential there. I’d like to see him work with the major league hitting coach.
I also think Crawford’s bat-to-ball skills are much better than Rojas’ (and of course Crawford is a better prospect than Rojas ever was).
I keep looking at him and thinking of Jon Jay. Who was a good baseball player but more in the platoon CFer than an everyday guy. Alek Thomas is another one that comes to mind. And Brendan Rodgers. It’s hard to profile like that every day unless you have a 70 glove.
If he’s an 80 rather than a 70 runner that changes things, that’s the world where you can make a living off of BABIP. Dee Gordon and Michael Bourn hit the ball weaker than Crawford does and they were league-average bats (occasionally, and they were also 70 defenders).
I’m sure they’d be fine w most of those outcomes w whatever they have in the outfield now
Top end prospects tend to run absurd BABIP numbers in the minors. Soto ran in the high .300s over his minor league career, and he is not exactly a burner.
I am not saying he is Soto, I am just saying that one of the signs of major league success is running absurd minor league BABIP numbers
Can someone please get the Tigers a bullpen?
The most realistic part of this article is the absence of a move from the Red Sox…
They could use another starter but they don’t really need much else. I doubt a minor upgrade on Fitts would cost much
They are playing maybe the best defensive center fielder at second base because they are idiots, where he has already found himself down -2 OAA in 48 innings. So I’m going to say they definitely need someone there to save them from themselves.
Or they could get a first baseman because they are currently playing (checks notes) Abraham Toro there, and move the Toro and Gonzalez show to second base.
Is Campbell not a 2B option?
I have no idea how viable he is right now. He was a bad defender at 2B and his hitting crashed.
I would still rather call him up to play second or first base than have Rafaela there.
I would rather play David Hamilton there.
I would rather trade for Luis Rengifo, who is playing terribly, than risk messing up something that is working with Rafaela.
They need to lengthen the lineup with O’Hear at 1st and Toro sent back to Wor. I would add a catcher who can defend and move on from Wong….Carlos is getting so tired. Add a bullpen arm that is not a rental.
That would help a little
Braves Note –
Unfortunately, for the Braves they have a LF for next year already with (post-PED but gets to keep the rest of the contract) Jurickson Profar.
How bad is this:
Rangers acquire Starling Marte from Mets
Mets acquire David Bednar from Pirates
Pirates acquire Ryan Clifford from Mets and Cameron Cauley from Rangers
(Per MLBTR, the Rangers want a RH bat and the Mets have been listening on Marte and might acquire more bullpen help even after trading for Gregory Soto.)
I can’t imagine the Pirates would want that deal, and I don’t think the Mets are paying more than that for reliever help. Clifford is interesting but right now he still looks more like a defensively limited platoon bat.
I’d be asking the Dodgers about Alex Freeland or Zyhir Hope and the Phillies about Aidan Miller. They both might say no, but this is I think they level they sould be shooting for.
I think the Cubs and Tigers would also be very interested, but their top prospects are probably too good for Bednar and I’m not super high on the next tier down (Liranzo, Alcantara, Caissie, Rojas). Just IMO.
I’d definitely ask for Aidan Miller–was trying not to be too homeristic as Pirates fan! I assumed that if I said “Jett Williams” I’d be booed off the stage. It would be very nice if the Pirates could pick up a highish level shortstop because their depth chart looks kind of like
Plan A: Cam Devanney
Plan B: Jared Triolo can’t really keep up a .176 BABIP, can he?
Plan C: Konnor Griffin
Somewhat hopeful that the consensus seems to be that everyone wants relievers, and the Pirates have several relievers, but long experience tells me not to raise my hopes too high.
Right, the issue is that the Pirates can’t afford to walk away from a deal right now.
If they can’t get the Phillies or Dodgers to say “yes” to Freeland (or Hope) or Miller the next step down is hoping the Cubs to say yes to Caissie or Rojas, or the Tigers to say yes to Liranzo (or Briceno, but that seems like an extreme long shot).
I’d consider Clifford the next step down from that, in the same range as The Password (BOS) and Edwin Arroyo and Cam Collier (CIN). Collier and Arroyo wouldn’t be bad, now that I think of it. The equivalent from the Mets would probably be Clifford and Baty, I think. For the Mariners probably Michael Arroyo and Tai Peete, although I wouldn’t trust the Pirates to develop Peete at all.
But I think it’s worth a shot to ask for the high-end FV50 type players, the guys who could very well be a 55, because Ryan Helsley is the only other guy in the same class as Bednar who is actually available and (1) he is pitching worse than Bednar this year and (2) he has less team control. Enough teams are looking for someone that I think they have a shot
I’d be happy with that trade for the Jays. Don’t trust Martinez at all, Roden hasn’t done much with his opportunity and the Jays have a ton of OF depth. Pinango is pretty intriguing, but for Cabrera that’s an easy yes. And the Jays keep all their young SP prospects too which is a bonus.
I like it but… who comes out of the rotation? The guy with the 2.61 ERA? Or the 3x Cy Young winner with 11 Ks in his last start? I get why people feel uncertain about banking on Lauer going forward but… why not? Even if only one of Lauer or Scherzer end up still having juice in the tank, that’s still 4 solid starters going into October.
A 6 man rotation for a week and then Scherzer is likely back on the IL with a thumb injury.
Also that’s great that he had…1 good start, but you don’t avoid adding quality SP because your fifth starter had one good game.
I don’t want Scherzer anywhere near a playoff start, and honestly the Jays front 4 isn’t that great. Lauer is doing well but I don’t trust a playoff rotation with Lauer/Berrios/Gausman/Bassitt.
The Jays have one of the worst rotations in the league, acting like they shouldn’t add SP to me if not just for depth, but to also raise the ceiling of the team, to me is organizational malpractice. You have a legit shot at homefield throughout the playoffs, take advantage of this.
I was ready to dig into your claim that “The Jays have one of the worst rotations in the league”… but turns out that yeah, they’re 24th in fWAR. Also 24th in ERA. Bring Cabrera north!
The real issue is that the guy who should probably lose his rotation spot is Jose Berrios, whose stuff hasn’t been great since the Blue Jays traded for him but has cratered this year. Like, bottom-5 stuff among qualified starter this year bad. You cannot trust him to continue to do this.
But they’ve been getting good results out of him for two and a half years so they’re probably going to keep starting him until it blows up in their face. Hopefully for them, not in the playoffs.
But if they wanted to, they could make a real splash. They have a fair number of prospects who are overperforming preseason expectations, especially on the pitching side. Rojas and Yesavage are probably FV50 at this point, and Watts-Brown and Khal Stephen could be as high as FV45. Add in Roden (who is blocked) and I think they have the power to get almost anyone they want. They could make an offer for Mackenzie Gore if they wanted to, although it would cost them almost of those names I mentioned and probably some filler like Orelvis Martinez or Josh Kasevich.
The Chicago Cubs acquire P Nathan Eovaldi from the Texas Rangers for OF Owen Caissie and SS Cristian Hernandez
=
The Worst Idea in the History of Mankind
Why do you have this opinion? Which side says no?
Yeah this seems like the rare trade proposal where both sides say “no”.
Eovaldi is a solid pitcher, but he’s also 35 years old and currently has an ERA under 3.63 for only the second time in his 13-year career. Moreover, his advanced stats (3.29 xERA, 2.38 FIP, 2.77 xFIP, 2.94 SIERA) are great, but not nearly to the level his ERA (1.50) suggests, and he spent most of June on the IL with a triceps injury and was scratched from a start due to back tightness nine days ago.
Cassie + Hernandez, a toolsy, projectable, legit defensive SS who finally started hitting last season after drawing comps (according to MLB.com) to A-Rod and Manny Machado as a 2021 international signee, seems like way too steep a package for the right to pay Eovaldi $59MM for his age 35, 36, and 37 seasons – especially when you factor in the Cubs’ (presumed) desire to re-sign Kyle Tucker. So while “the worst idea in the history of mankind” might be a slightly hyperbolic description, you’re definitely not wrong.
On the other hand, the return for Edward Cabrera seems extremely light, and I’d be shocked if the Marlins dealt him for such an uninspiring package. However, if I were a Cubs fan, I’d be perfectly fine sending Cassie + for Cabrera and his three + season of team control – even if this is the first year his production has remotely approached his talent level. Given the Ricketts’s miserliness, that’s not even necessarily a negative since it means he’ll be cheaper in arbitration than if he’d broken out earlier. With his absolutely filthy stuff, it’s also very possible that he could unlock another gear and blossom into a true #1 or #2 starter in a better organization.
Is there any way you could make the long term ZiPS projections public? Trying to do some mock trades with a model but kind of guessing on WAR projections after 2027
I think that would be a very significant over pay by the Mets for two months of Merrill Kelly
Yeah, I dislike this proposed deal a lot. You can never have too much starting pitching, but Kelly is not a guy that excites me enough to give up what this proposal is suggesting. It seems like the kind of trade that the Wilpon-era Mets would have made.
Actually, I don’t think they would be giving up all that much in this scenario. Other pitching prospects — McLean, Sproat, Tong– seem a lot more exciting that Bidwell, and Clifford may be just another guy, despite the good numbers. He’s a platoon player who may not have a position. I think they are going to acquire more relief pitchers, though, unless a higher-upside SP falls in their lap.
There seem to be lots of relievers available – Ryan Helsley (which autocorrected to Sherman Hemsley, well sort of), Matz, Kittredge and probably anyone else on a 2026 non contender
Well, good chance he’ll be “Movin On Up”..possibly to the “East Side” if he goes to Philly or NY.
My tier list of likely available relievers goes something like this:
Tier 1:
Bednar
Helsley
Tier 2:
Phil Maton
Danny Coulombe
Jake Bird
JoJo Romero
Steven Matz
Dennis Santana
Tier 3:
Seranthony Dominguez
Andrew Kittredge
Andrew Chafin
Kyle Finnegan
Anthony Bender is probably also available, I’d probably put him at the back of Tier 2 or top of Tier 3. Kenley Jansen is probably also available and I would normally put him in Tier 3 but he seems absolutely determined to close, and I don’t trust him in that role. I’d put Pete Fairbanks in Tier 2 if available, but he might not be.
I would also trade for Reid Detmers for sure, at least partially because I think he could be converted back into a starter in training camp, but I don’t think he’s available.
Chafin is just destined to be traded every mid-season (note that he’s been traded in late July or early August in 4 of the last 5 seasons). Do not buy Andrew, it’s better that you rent.
That’s a lot of people who aren’t very different from each other
Braves won’t trade Murphy, right now you’d have him listed as the catcher and Baldwin listed as the DH/Backup Catcher and combined they’d make about 17 mil total. Replacing Murphy with a player like Schwarber costs you more financially, removed positional flexibility in the role, and you lose surplus WAR by a lot. Right now you could forecast Baldwin and Murphy on a full season to be 4 WAR a piece, to get that for 17 mil is INSANE value. Murphy has been integral to Baldwins development behind the plate. He’s more than likely staying, outside of a team supremely overpaying with a MLB ready shortstop that can step in for 2026. Since that isn’t happening he isn’t moving.
Re: Left Field
The Braves already have a left fielder in Jurickson Profar. The argument could be made based on his batting inputs this season thus far he was clearly helped by PEDs and they should try and rid themselves of him but every team can access the same data and would see the same red flags.
Re: 2026
The Braves experienced a lot of offensive underperformance this season and only really have a couple of places to look for upgrading. That would presumably be SS or 2B. With how they drafted one option I’ve wondered is if they try and sign Bichette this season, then if Albies again is not productive move Bichette to 2B for 2027 and maybe one of their SS prospects are ready?
Can they find someone to take Profar and acquire an upgrade there?
It’s going to be a fascinating offseason for AA
I think SS and RP are the key places Atlanta needs help, if you bank on any kind of bounceback from Harris and Albies. I guess SP depth as well since they always seem to be relying on a 7th or 8th starter since they have 2-4 of their expected rotation members on the shelf at any given time.
They would probably have to eat a significant portion of Profar’s contract to move him at this point.
Yep – Murphy and Baldwin are already at 4.5 WAR on the season…and having them be a C/DH platoon is pretty emphatically their best option to replace Ozuna next year.
Like, Murphy probably is available in the right deal…but that deal is headlined by a top SS prospect in the upper levels.
I honestly wouldn’t trade him for Carson Williams…but the Braves mighty if they throw in a couple more pieces.
A platoon DH as the centerpiece just gets a bark of laughter and a dial tone, though.
Honestly they have already replaced Ozuna with him. Ozuna has started like 1x since the all star break
I’ve seen several outlets stating about two weeks or so ago that Murphy would be on the trading block to the point of the Braves having to come out and explicitly say that he’s not. Do these people even know the contracts on the teams they’re reporting on?
They’re not going to move on from Murphy when he’s a top 5 NL catcher when they have a DH hitting FA this year who’s currently making more than their two catchers combined.
I think they’d trade Baldwin rather than Murphy
Otto Lopez?
I think you meant Otto kemp, not lopez
Or possibly Otto Velez, Otto von Bismarck or Auto Rickshaw
If trades proposed here have to be within the realm of possibility, I think that excludes the proposed Eovaldi trade. There’s no way the Rangers are trading him.
I love that the Ben Cherington Pirates are so uninteresting they don’t even merit mention in a trade deadline writeup.
It is pretty surprising given that they have some of the very best trade chips being floated. At same time I could see Keller being a better winter trade when you can get a MLB bat and they could just extend Bednar.
Any chance the Cubs would offer that deal – and perhaps more – to wrest Gore from the Nationals? Not sure Lerners will approve any deal and it is a big, big longshot to happen, but Gore’s is a free agent after 2027 and a Boras client, so he’s likely not going to be a National and go to one of the big boys in NY, LA or CHI (NL team) or SF after that.
I don’t think the Nationals say yes to that without Matt Shaw on top of that.
If the Nationals do decide to trade Gore the Cubs, Red Sox, Mets, and maybe even the Braves would be extremely excited to trade for him. They won’t have to settle for one FV50 prospect and filler.
Like, this is probably the deal I’m asking for if I’m the Nationals, and I’m pretty sure this basic framework is non-negotiable:
Matt Shaw
Jefferson Rojas or Owen Caissie
Brandon Birdsell
Nick Dean or Jaxon Wiggins
Cristian Hernandez
I really don’t get this Suarez move for the DBacks. We’re trading the most valuable trade piece we have for a package headlined by a lefty outfielder (a position at which we remain glutted, even if every trade candidate is moved) who hits almost 65% of his balls on the ground? And the other 2 pieces are an unexciting R/R 1B and a fairly whatever near-MLB arm?
Maybe I’m missing something, but I just don’t see this being the trade the DBacks want to make for Eugenio.
Some sort of three way with Alcantara makes more sense to me. Not that Suárez is worth as much as Alcantara
I would be sad to see Roden go. He has a very compatible play style with the current jays. The fanbase views roden as well below our top two prospects so i think most would love this trade.
For Miami, let’s say Cabrera mostly repeats this year and say puts up say a 3 win season next year. Would that increase his trade value enough to take a chance on just keeping him?
What’s the general consensus on what Clase would bring back in a trade for the Guardians?
Seems like they’re in a spot where a top closer isn’t really something they need.
Given the late breaking news, um, well, never mind.
Just read the news. WOW! Keeps getting worse and worse.
BTW, when I originally read your comment I thought the “never mind” meant “Never mind, he just got traded so we now know his actual value” instead of “Never mind, he decided to light his career on fire”.
It doesn’t make a ton of sense. What wouldn’t surprise me is if it is somehow linked to crime, and the players aren’t choosing to do it, they are being told they have to. Like organized crime in the DR, or something
Or like if they have a serious gambling addiction—like, they lost millions of dollars–and they need to work off the debt.
That also could be true. I think there is a lot of things it could be. And they aren’t all what everyone assumes. I mean that is what it likely is, but still.
Don’t want to speculate, but if this is a similar thing to what Ortiz was doing…man, what is wrong with people?
no angels trades….?
I don’t think that two #5 starters (Tyler Anderson, Kyle Hendricks), a 37 year old reliever who desperately wants to keep closing with a 0.3 fWAR (Kenley Jansen), a utility guy having his worst year (Luis Rengifo), and a semi-permanently injured third baseman (Yoan Moncada) all on expiring contracts are going to return many prospects that are worth talking about.
If they were willing to trade Taylor Ward that’s another story, but last deadline Moreno quashed any trade involving a player under team control the next year.
This is the second worst idea in the history of mankind
Extra innings Manfred man still being undisputed king atop the list (the guy trying to fly in the wingsuit and jumping off the Eiffel Tower coming in a close third)
Dodgers: A bunch of prospects they don’t care about anymore for Shane Bieber or Sandy Alcantara
Because what is more Dodgers-like than acquiring a guy who used to be a #1
With recent injury history to boot!
Kenley Jansen is an impending free agent earning $10 million with nineteen saves for a sub.500 Angels team with siginificant post season experience. He should be very much available, and of others on the block only Helsley has more saves (and will cost much more) (Royals aren’t sellers and Clase is likely staying put). The Tigers and Phillies should be very interested and the Dodgers, Yankees and, if Chapman’s injury is significant, the BoSox should be checking in, too. The Phils should not think that David Robertson (one save in 42 post-season appearances) addresses their issue.
Clase def staying put now. But yes, Jansen is likely on the move, but I also think it is a bit of a tricky situation though, because I highly doubt he accepts a deal where he isn’t the closer. And while he is still fine, he is no longer elite. But most smart teams realize that “closer” isn’t necessarily the most important bullpen arm. Who knows.
I agree that Jansen should be on the block, but the Angels in the past have been hesitant to sell everything that isn’t nailed down, particularly when they are more mediocre than outright bad.
If I were a betting man, I’d bet against Jansen being moved.
surely eovaldi (one of the best pitchers in all of baseball with 2.5 years of control) gets you a better return than that?
If that is the best an offer for Murphy would get, then he isn’t going anywhere. Those 3 prospects have the same problem of the current lineup anyway, no hit tool. Hard pass. Having Baldwin and Murphy on the roster is hardly a problem anyway.
Frankly, Ozuna’s blocking a pair of better hitters at DH!
It’s crazy that the Braves went from “crazy good, almost historically good” lineup 2-3 years ago to “current lineup has no hit tool” so quickly. It really is tough to keep your competitive window open for years and years.
No Reds deals?! Come on, man! I’ll throw some Skyline in if you’ll work one up. I say Robert Jr. They can even choose to keep him next year if they want, since Martinez’s salary comes off the books.
I’ll take “disincentives” for $800 Alex
Predicting the Reds to do nothing is sadly realistic.
Who do the Reds have to sell?
I am still cringing over last year’s deadline acquisitions by the Red Sox the, the Arson Squad of Luis Garcia and Lucas Sims, and am looking for a real pitcher. Mitch Keller is actually getting hitters out which bigger names, Cease and Alcantara to mention a couple are not. I am offering Yoshida, Franklin Arias and J%^$&#$ Garcia and hoping the Pirates see the value.
Pirates are not trading for Yoshida unless the Red Sox pick up at least three-fourths of the remaining money, or throw in, like, Marcelo Mayer. Maybe. This is not a statement about Yoshida but about the Pirates.
Bradgley Rodriguez. Is it pronounced bradge-lee? Or brad-glee? Or do we just call him B-Rod?
That Padres/Orioles trade is quite the “wild ass names” arms race.
36 year old Kelly for Clifford and Tidwell is laugh out loud funny. Some classic anti-Mets stuff right there.
Poor Red Sox……
“for pitchers Bradgley Rodriguez, Bryan Balzer, and Jagger Haynes”
I’ll be honest, I thought you were just making up names here…
I like crazy trades also. I don’t think the Cubs get Suarez. Texas sent Jung down and recalled him last week even though he wasn’t hitting in AAA either. I think Jung needs a new start somewhere and Wrigley would be good for him. Texas needs someone to play 1b. Jonathon Long looks ready. So Jung and a lower pitching prospect to CHC for Long, Cassie and Wiggins.