Results tagged ‘ MLB trade rumors ’
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.
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.
MLB Trade Rumors: Are the Nationals Shopping Ian Desmond?
Ian Desmond has been absolutely awful in posting a .228/.276/.313 line in 2011.
The Nationals are being described as “actively shopping” shortstop Ian Desmond, with the Giants and Red Sox among the suitors, according to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan.
However, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post tweets that he’s hearing the exact opposite about Desmond’s availability.
Kilgore wrote yesterday that the Nats have received several calls about Desmond, but the team views him as a core player and is reclutant to move him.
Whether or not the Nationals are actively looking to trade the 25-year-old, it seems unlikely he’ll be dealt in the next week, writes MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. Ladson’s source says GM Mike Rizzo is a fan of Desmond and that if he “puts it all together in one season for another team, [the Nats] would look foolish.”
In a follow-up tweet, Passan says the minor league performance of Stephen Lombardozzi, who Rizzo loves, is one reason Desmond could be available.
The 22-year-old has flat out raked this season, hitting .322/.372/.461 in 437 plate appearances this year in Double-A and Triple-A. Desmond, meanwhile, has played well defensively for the Nats, but has seen his OPS slip to .589, down over 100 points from 2010.
