Results tagged ‘ MLB trade deadline ’
The Mother-Of-All Trades That Almost Happened: Joey Votto for Joey Bats.
Great googly moogly, these guys almost were traded for one another?
From Cinncinnati.com’s “Reds’ Blog” comes this bit of shocking news.
We almost saw a deadline deal that would have shipped the Cinncinnati Reds All-World 1B Joey Votto to the Toronto Blue Jays for their slugging outfielder “Joey Bats”.
Here are the details:
We know that the Reds swung and missed on the trade front on Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn and Ubaldo Jimenez. But is there a chance they were working on something much bigger?
A reader tipped me a while back that he has a friend in baseball who told him the Reds were talking to the Blue Jays about a trade Jose Bautista-for-Joey Votto trade. The Reds would have had to kick in a prospect as well.
I get tips like that from time to time. I usually dismiss them. But the fact that the Blue Jays sent a scout to Dayton to specifically watch Daniel Corcino, probably the Reds best pitching prospect, tells me they were talking trade with the Reds.
Votto-for-Bautista makes sense on several levels for the Reds:
–It opens a spot for Yonder Alonso.
–It fills left field with about as good bat as you could possibly hope for. Bautista is hitting .324 with 31 home runs and 71 RBI.
–Bautista is signed through 2015 at $14 million per year. He has an option for 2016 at the same number. Votto is cheaper next year at $9.5 million, but he makes $17 million in 2013 after which he’s a free agent. And he made clear when he signed his current contract that he was only interested in a three-year deal.
The Blue Jays, of course, would get their hometown hero — a player who could sell tickets.
The Reds would never confirm that they were talking about a trade like that. And there may be nothing to it. But it’s certainly interesting to consider.
As good as Votto is, in addition to being both younger and a good defensive player, this trade would have made a ton of sense for both teams.
I am not a big fan of making changes solely for the “sake of change”. It happens a little too often in the sports world.
This deal, however, I could have gotten behind.
Buster Olney Weighs In On Waiver Trade Candidates
Wandy Rodriguez: Waiver wire claim in waiting?
ESPN’s Buster Olney talks waivers in his latest blog post, and I can’t help but join in.
- The Twins are currently seven games out in the AL Central. If they slip further from contention, Olney wonders what will happen if they place outfielder/designated hitter Jason Kubel on waivers later this month. He projects currently as a Type B free agent. I wonder if the draft pick alone would compel a non-contending AL team to make a claim, with less than a million bucks remaining on his contract after August.
- Olney sees such a scenario as possible for Rays reliever Kyle Farnsworth, who profiles as a Type A. He could see the Blue Jays jumping in for the draft picks, though I imagine the Rays would keep him for the same reason.
- Would Reds catcher Ramon Hernandez or Padres closer Heath Bell make it to an NL contender? Or would Type A status again factor in? Olney sees the A’s pulling back Josh Willingham rather than dumping his contract, probably because he’s a Type A currently. I wonder if Willingham would accept an arbitration offer though.
- Cubs first baseman Carlos Pena is a good candidate to be moved as a salary dump, with half of his $10MM due in January.
- Astros lefty Wandy Rodriguez is expected to clear waivers, with over $38MM left on his deal through 2014. Just to play devil’s advocate: Wandy is a bargain this year with just $2.27MM remaining, so it’s possible one contender could decide they can stomach three years and $36MM from 2012-14, and make a claim.
- Guys like Carlos Quentin and Jeremy Guthrie would be claimed, but dealing them in the offseason probably makes more sense.
The Art of the “Type B Free Agent” Grab.
Don't cry when your team deals for Bruce Chen. He might get you a free draft pick =)
With the Nationals recent acquisition of Jonny Gomes from the Reds, it be came apparent that another interesting facet of MLB‘s trade deadline gamesmanship had already kicked in.
The art of the “draft pick grab”.
For starters, you need to understand the basics of Type A & Type B free agent classifications. A lot goes into it, which you can read in detail here, but in simple terms:
Type A – Top 20 percent in their positional group.
Type B – Top 21-40 percent in their positional group.
No Compensation – 41-100 percent in their positional group.
Gomes is no lock to receive and turn down an arbitration offer. Still, we saw plenty of apparent handshake deals where Type Bs turned down arbitration offers last offseason. A Type B free agent has nothing to lose by agreeing to such an arrangement.
Let’s take a look at players who currently project as Type Bs free agents and play for teams expected to sell.
- Blue Jays: The Jays will probably be trying to add Type Bs, but Jose Molina, Aaron Hill, Octavio Dotel, Jason Frasor, Jon Rauch, Frank Francisco, and Shawn Campqualify.
- Orioles: Vladimir Guerrero
- Twins: Jason Kubel
- Royals: Bruce Chen
- Athletics: David DeJesus
- Mariners: None
- Mets: None
- Marlins: Omar Infante
- Nationals: Ivan Rodriguez, Jonny Gomes
- Cubs: Aramis Ramirez, Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood
- Astros: None
- Rockies: Mark Ellis
- Dodgers: Rod Barajas, Casey Blake, Hiroki Kuroda
- Padres: Ryan Ludwick
The most transparent instance of trading for a draft pick came last offseason, when the Jays acquired catcher Miguel Olivo from the Rockies with the intent of declining his option and offering arbitration. The ploy worked, and Toronto drafted Dwight Smith Jr. 53rd overall in June as a direct result.
So if the Jays or some other draft pick-obsessed team makes a run at Bruce Chen this month, you’ll know why.
