Yainer Diaz is a no touch trade piece unless it's an all-star player with team control for 1.5 years minimum
The thing is, of course Diaz and Gilbert are the players coming up. Any team that Brown is talking to has no pressure to trade now so they would only do so for the very best return. It's why Brown hasn't made a deal yet. As it gets closer to the deadline teams will be willing to talk about other players but right now it's, " give me your best player Or I'll just wait "
This is only true if you ignore all of his starts where they lose. Like the last 3 times he started at catcher prior to yesterday. And basically all of May.
Yup - although I would add that trading talent already on the roster extends to teams not in the playoff hunt as well.
Diaz should be off the table. He has alot of control and is doing very well for himself. McCormick, Meyers and Julks should all be on the table but the player in return has to be legitimate
Not sure why so many in here are surprised about this news regarding Diaz, etc 1. Crane wants to win 2. Dana Brown isn't dumb and certainly took notice with what happened to Click when the owner thought he wasn't aggressive enough 3. The farm system is bad and doesn't have the top prospects that are needed to make big moves 4. The market is VERY thin and the prices are high You wanna play you gotta pay
Well, my educated guess is that they are not sure they want him behind the plate full time going forward, and if he is a DH - he is still good but not as good. The Astros could trade him to a team that wants him to start 150 times a year. I can think of players I would consider giving up Diaz for - assuming I have concluded he cannot be a 150 game a year catcher and leader of the staff. However, I don't know what they internally think of Diaz the last 6 weeks or so. You look at someone like Luis Robert. Great talent, under-rated talent capable of winning an MVP - he is under contract for 23, 24 and 25 at a low number. There are team options for 26 and 27 but they are at 20 million a year. Still a great contract, but those 26-27 options still are substantial numbers. Even if he is hitting great, it is real money. Would you give up Diaz right now and someone else for Luis Robert? Would the White Sox even go through with it? They have in the past teased teams. Dylan Cease isn't worth as much as Luis Robert, but he has 2.5 years of control and is starting to pitch like he did before. Would you give up Diaz for having Valdez/Cease/Javier/Brown/France all under team control for the next 2.5 years? How good a rotation is that? That also allows you to trade some other arms.
The farm system isn't really bad. It is soft in AAA talent, but there are plenty of guys in AA and below, and a lot of talent in A level. Yeah - Brown is doing what Crane wants, and what he did with the Braves - he is exploring all avenues, and he is willing to pull the trigger if he can get a deal like he got with Olson and Murphy while with the Braves. You sometimes give up young upside talent when you can lock in a star for more than a year or two. The market is VERY thin in the middle - solid relievers and hitters are hard to find. There are some rental starters and there are some very good players under team control that may be available - but those guys don't cost like what the Astros paid for Mancini. You want someone like Cease or others, it is and should, cost you.
They don't have the top 100 guys that teams and fans want to see as a focal point in a trade when their team trades away a star or really good player with multiple years of control.... like when you trade a player like Robert or Cease, etc. So you need a Diaz to help headline the deal. Now I don't put a ton into the farm system rankings... but other than the Braves the Astros have the worst rated system among likely buyers at the deadline. You have to get creative to make a splash. Teams aren't just going to take a bunch of 18-19 year old kids from the complex league for a really good player with multiple years of control. They have to sell it to their fans at least a little bit.
Here’s the full list of players I would trade Yainer Diaz for straight up: Ronald Acuna Corbin Carroll Jose Ramirez Adley Ruschmann Sean Murphy Michael Harris Steven Kwan Cal Raleigh Randy Arozarena Brendan Donovan William Contreras Wander Franco Bobby Witt Jr Geraldo Perdomo Gunnar Henderson Elly De La Cruz Jackson Holliday Jordan Walker Brooks Lee Josh Jung Brett Baty Jordan Lawler Spencer Strider Shane McClanahan Logan Gilbert George Kirby Sandy Alcantara Eury Perez Henry Davis Termarr Johnson Matt McClain Spencer Steer Colton Cowser Jordan Westburg
Thank goodness. I can totally envision McCormick going to the Yankees, being used properly, becoming a fan favorite, and tormenting us every time we match up with them, including in the playoffs.
After the last week I am not convinced that offense is a problem but I would happily trade one of Meyers or McCormick along with Julks for a two or three starting pitcher. Toss in Dirden or Leon and you could fill out someones entire outfield for a top of the rotation starter. I would not send out France, he and Urq are both solid #4s by the time we get to the end of the year.
A lot of whether you trade Diaz depends on (1) whether they think he's truly a catcher and (2) what they think of Lee and his potential to be the catcher of the future.
Diaz is a rookie. His bat is his best tool and it will take some time for it to fully mature. Eventually I believe he winds up as a solid versatile bench player who can be a DH/1st base/bench catcher who plays 85-90% of games and is a core player on this team. In my opinion trading him now would be a travesty even if he never plays starters innings behind the dish.
