http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20185013/will-contenders-bite-bullet-prospect-deals In Luhnow's world, the only thing better than winning a World Series would be winning a World Series without putting a crimp in his pride and joy -- the farm system. Luhnow drew a line in the sand of sorts this week when he said he had no plans to "overpay drastically" for a pitcher before Monday's 4 p.m. ET non-waiver trade deadline. In MLB general manager-speak, that's code for "keep your greedy paws off our prospects." Lots of baseball executives fall in love with their talent pipelines, but Luhnow is known in the industry for having a pine tar-caliber grip on prospects. If an opposing team's trade overture makes reference to Kyle Tucker, Francis Marte, Forrest Whitley, Yordan Alvarez, Derek Fisher and certain other aspiring Astros, it's probably a nonstarter. "Jeff values his prospects very highly," an executive with an American League club said. ... Within baseball circles, the biggest intrigue revolves around the Dodgers and Astros, who've been far and away the two best teams in the game. Any move they make will be tailored toward enhancing their chances in October, because August and September are a mere formality on their way to 100-plus victories. Houston's perceived weakness is starting pitching, but the Astros could be fine in October with a rotation of Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers Jr., and two from the Charlie Morton-Mike Fiers-Collin McHugh-Brad Peacock combo platter. It's not outlandish to think they're all capable of keeping a high-powered Houston team in a playoff game for 5-6 innings. Luhnow could opt for Plan B and look to make an impact bullpen acquisition instead. But if he's resistant to moving a top prospect for a starter, he might be similarly hamstrung in his pursuit of Zach Britton, Justin Wilson or Brad Hand. Negotiations are fluid and value judgments are always subject to change at the trade deadline. But it appears that several contenders are prepared to say no or downsize their expectations rather than pay a price they deem excessive. "At the end of the day, as we get to the deadline, there are always teams that overreach and overreact," an AL executive said. "But I don't think you'll see people giving up players who are close to the majors unless they feel really good about their [postseason] chances. "It's a young man's game now."
I know he's not left handed, but the Mets just got AJ Ramos for a couple of class A lottery tickets. He would have at least added a another quality arm to the bullpen at what looks like low cost.
Has Martes recent success in the pen caused Lunhow to take a step back? Peacock is in the pen now and it saved us last night when we went down early.
With 48 hours to go, most teams on both sides posturing; sellers talking about holding on to controllable assets until the offseason, buyers talking about standing pat. Last stand before everybody starts giving in tomorrow.
Luhnow will get Britton if he wants him. At this point. If we get Britton and another reliever I'm good. Ready to go to war with Morton/McHugh/Fiers. Just go 5 or 6 and hand it over to bullpen.
I am firmly Team This Market Is Garbage So Don't Waste Good Prospects, Luhnow. Having said that, as I try to wrap my mind around what "going for it" would look like--accepting that there are no guarantees in life, especially when it involves Luhnow trading farm talent for MLB "sure things"... So think of this post like OJ Simpson's "If I Did It". If I was Team Go For It, here's what I think I'd want: Yu Darvish and Zach Britton. I can give you all the reasons why they're not worth trading for. Those have all been listed elsewhere in this thread. But if you want to seriously put your balls out there ("That's how you become great", Jerry Cantrell Maguire), these are the two guys who represent the highest risk/reward upside scenario. If Yu Darvish pitches like YU DARVISH, and if Zach Britton pitches like ZACH BRITTON, that's a scenario that I could find enough potential upside in, even if it means giving up a prospect or two I don't want to. The thought of watching Whitley own **** for the Rangers makes my stomach turn. Especially when he's doing it next to Yu Darvish, who they re-sign in the offseason. But if you absolutely must "go for it", this Darvish/Britton combo is the only one that truly intrigues me as far as the highest upside version. Anyway, mostly I just hope we hold on to Whitley, Tucker, Alvarez, Martes, Fisher in what is a trash-ass market. But I thought I'd try on the other side's hat as a thought exercise as we all wait for this interminable Deadline to arrive, so we can move on to arguing about other things than perceived baseball player future/present value. http://www.espn.com/blog/mlb/rumors...ident-theyll-get-quality-trade-for-yu-darvish
At minimum Luhnow needs to hang in there as long as possible to overinflate the prices for other buyers in the market, I.e. LA Washington Cleveland and Boston, our competition.
Agree, with most of what you said above. If we could get those two and not lose too much we should go for it. I think our GM is going to squeeze almost every minute out of the deadline to see if he can get a seller to panic and get us a great deal or deals. It could backfire, but he's clear he's not willing to give up more than he gets back. That's why I think Darvish will never be a Astro.
He won't give up.... and he will do something, it just isn't likely to be the deal that some hope for.
I don't need trust anyone that signed with the Rangers out of free agency. It's a red flag and indicates character concerns.
I don't want to give up Whitley or Tucker but pretty much anything else should be fair game for Gray or Darvish. And I don't want to go giving up Top 5 prospects for relievers. But I don't expect that to be necessary. There's a good chance Houston at worst will be able to add a good reliever without giving up Martes, Fisher, Whitley, Tucker, or F Perez.
Supposedly, the A's tabling talks for Gray. Will wait to trade him. Feels like posturing but maybe they can get more come the Winter Meetings.
I don't believe it. They pushed his start tomorrow back to Monday. He's throwing extremely well and his value has peaked. There are enough bidders that waiting until the offseason when they will be bidding against free agents doesn't make any sense. I'm very confident Gray, Wilson, and Darvish will be traded.
There's more pressure now for teams to make a deal and it's not like he's throwing at an ace level...though he is pitching well. Given a month or 2 after the season, the shine will be off and his value drops, IMO. Like @Snake Diggit said, he's never been more valuable.
