What are the trades you'd like to see happen? Drayton and Tim are unwilling to break the team apart and rebuild, but I think that's what would be best for us in the future. Personally, I'd like to see a trade between either the Dodgers, Mariners, or the Redsox. Boston has Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, and Jacoby Ellsbury. If we could land Buchholz and Ellsbury for Jennings and Qualls/Lidge, I'd be pretty happy. Both are close to major league ready and could help next year. Dodgers have the deepest pool of prospects out of any team. I'd do Jennings for Billingsley straight up, but they probably wouldn't do that. They have several guys who could help us. 3B Andy Laroche, SS Chin Lung Hu, RP Jon Meloan (played at Katy Taylor High School)...it's a long list. A realistic deal would be Jennings and Lorretta for Andre Ethier, Chin Lung Hu, and Jon Meloan. They have a stacked bullpen so Meloan is expendable. They just signed Rafael Furcal for big bucks, so Hu is also expendable. Matt Kemp is a big time prospect and has a better upside than Ethier. However, Luis Gonzalez is getting old and they may be reluctant to give up Ethier. The Mariners have 3 guys I really like. C Jeff Clement, CF/SS Adam Jones, and RF Wladimir Balentien. They have Kenji Johjima and Ichiro at C and CF, and their starting pitching could use some help. Jennings for Clement would give us a power hitting catcher, but we just spent a 1st and 2nd rounder on catchers and we also have JR Towles. I just hope we deal for someone honestly.
its not entirely certain the Red Sox would give up either Ellsbury or Buchholz for Qualls/Lidge and Jennings much less both of them. Ellsbury is a top 30 prospect whose being compared to a young Johnny Damon and Buchholz is one of the 10 best pitching prospects in baseball. If we got one of those two and a lower level prospect, it'd be a coup.
I agree we'd probably have to add another guy, maybe Bogusevic, who has really made strides this year. The Sox really need some pitching, with Schilling on the DL and Julian Taveras in the rotation. They could use a guy like Mike Lamb as well since Big Papi has a bum leg. The Indians have been asking about Lidge, but I really don't like any of their prospects except for Adam Miller.
Here's a different approach. There are several young pitchers that have had multiple good years that have really stunk it up this year. The most notable among them is Dontrelle Willis, but two local guys, John Patterson and Clay Hensley also fit that mold. There's others, but I can't remember any off the top of my head. I'd certainly rather have one of those guys than a 2nd tier prospect. I don't know how to get them, but they'd be targets of mine. The odds of them bouncing back is pretty high.
I've heard from different media sources that Buchholz is pretty much untouchable. I doubt that the astros could get that highly regarded a prospect for jennings, lidge,and/or lamb. What about detroit? they need bullpen help. They won't give up maybin, but is there anyone else worthwhile in the system? Think LAA would be willing to part with Brandon Wood after his "struggles" this year? Maybe steward from colorado?
i dont think colorado wants jennings back. they probably wont make the playoffs anyway. detroit doesnt have many prospects either. i think brandon wood is terribly overrated. strikes out a TON. angels have erik aybar and joe saunders. saunders doesnt have a high upside, and he allows alot of hits, but hes got a pretty good track record. if it was erik aybar and joe saunders for jennings, id have to think hard about that.
anyone think the yankees would part with Phil Hughes? probably not, but one deal they may be willing to do would be with Joba Chamberlain. the big guy from nebraska has some wicked stuff. id think really hard about Lidge for Chamberlain.
they won't trade hughes. chamberlain maybe... like a lot of angels prospects, i think wood's reputation is inflated by high offense parks he's played in. However, he bat plays very well if he's moved back to shortstop
The Yanks are not going to trade prospects for anyone we have. They are 8 games outta the wild card and have sorta used up their farm system. Last year Clemens for Robinson Cano would have been awesome.
im not so sure. if andy, roger, and wang are right, the yankees have a chance. if hughes comes back healthy, theyre even more dangerous. theyve been playing well lately, and getting over .500 may have put them in the hunt. on the other hand, their bullpen is a mess. theyve been overused throughout the season. mariano is falling apart and probably doesnt have much left in the tank and is a FA after the year i think. if they offer chamberlain for lidge, id do it. call up paul estrada to gain some experience in the bigs and start the rebuilding. a dream deal would be lamb, lidge, and loretta for chamberlain and cano. then trade jennings, burke, and a mid level prospect to the dodgers for laroche, meloan, and ethier/kemp. bring up patton, promote chamberlain to AAA, and by 2008, we have Oswalt, Sampson, Wandy, Patton, and Chamberlain. Woody is somewhere in there. thats really unlikely to happen, and probably a little lopsided on my part, but hey...somebody's gotta come up with the creative stuff if timmy p is doing nothing
Roger and Andy dont have anything left in the tank. Wang aint pitching too bad, and he is pretty good when he is on his game. But the two lovers arnt gonna help the yanks out at all. They need a lot more pitching help
Trades I'd like to see: Trade #1: Brad Lidge (RP) to the Red Sox for Jacoby Ellsbury (OF) and Chad Spann (3B/1B). Comment: I know Ellsbury is one of their elite prospects, but we know that Lidge is capable of being an elite closer when his head is screwed on straight. Ellsbury could roam CF and form a great tandem at the top of the lineup with Pence. Spann is a 23 year old third baseman at AAA and has been getting work at 1B. I would easily switch out Ellsbury for Clay Buchholz (SP), but IMHO he is untouchable as they have big plans for him. I would not take Coco Crisp as an alternative, as I think he is too inconsistent and we already have enough of that on the team. Trade #2: Jason Jennings (SP) and Mike Lamb (1B/3B) to the Braves for Yunel Escobar (SS) and Dan Smith (SP) Comment: Escobar is a really good prospect and it seems a little much to ask for him in return for Jennings, but the Braves have Elvis Andrus a class below Escobar and believe he has more upside. With hardly any starting pitching on the trade market, teams are going to have to overpay for it, this is a good example. With Smoltz on the DL the Braves are looking hard for a starter. Smith is one of many lefties in their system, he had a little trouble when he reached AAA, but he dominated in AA and probably needs a little seasoning to figure it out. Trade #3: Mark Loretta (1B/2B/3B/SS) to the Cubs for Clay Rapada (RP) Comment: I am a big proponent of not trading within your own division, but if we're going to rebuild we have to listen to all suitors. The Cubs are looking for a stick off the bench and could use Loretta, if we want him back, we can always sign him in the offseason. Rapada is a lefty who would work well coming out of the bullpen and could be effective. Alternate Trade: Brad Lidge (RP) to the Tigers for Curtis Granderson (OF) or Cameron Maybin (OF) Comment: Aside from Maybin the Tigers only really have pitching prospects and we already have quite a few of those, plus we need position players. I've heard all the talk about Maybin being untouchable, well again just like in the Trade #1 Scenario with Beantown, if teams want my closer they are going to have to pay to get him. If the Tigers don't budge on Maybin, I would gladly take Granderson who is a slick fielding and hitting CF who would allow us to move Pence to RF. Either Granderson or Maybin (who still might be a year away) would give the team what we are sorely lacking - speed. Granderson or Maybin at the top of the lineup would be fun to watch. I highly doubt that this trade could be consumated because the Tigers would pay too steep a price. Flame away.
is chad spann even a prospect? he's hitting .222 at AAA who's dan smith? his K rates and ERA are good, but he walks alot of guys. escobar isnt that good of a SS IMO. he's pretty average in all facets. i think we can hold out for someone better unless we are adament at picking someone up who is already in the majors. chin lung hu is a better prospect IMO and fits our team better. escobar has average range, hu is a friggan wizard with the glove. adam everett with a track record for hitting. we dont have strikeout pitchers, and we need to put an emphasis on infield defense. never heard of rapada, but he's a big lefty with a good track record. kind of a late bloomer though at 26 already. i think maybin is september 2009. he's still pretty raw. we need guys who can step in right away. granderson is overrated IMO. at least offensively. strikes out wayyy too much for a leadoff guy, and doesnt walk enough to offset the strikeouts. he does have good range and some pop though. anyways, i think if we dont plan on having lamb start at 3B next year, we need to trade for someone like ian stewert, garrett atkins, andy laroche, or something. jeff clement or jarrod saltalamacchia would be a really good pickup. we could get by with lamb as our everyday 3B, and platoon him with ensberg in late innings as a defensive replacement. or we could trade for a guy like andy laroche. SS like escobar or hu would really be a luxory. everett is too good defensively, and he really isnt the reason why we're losing. anyways, our biggest trade chips: Lidge, Jennings, Lamb, Loretta. Let's see what we can get for them
Spann has had success in the minors and could be a good pickup IMO, obviously Ellsbury is the jewel in that trade. Escobar is a pretty good SS prospect that is still young and learning, his defense isn't where Everett's is, but he comes with offense. Dan Smith does indeed have good breaking pitches and gets guys out, he is still in the minors learning to not walk batters, again another youngin' learning the game. Rapada is a big lefty who could easily be had and would do well to rebuild the bullpen. It doesn't hurt to get a guy like Maybin (if you can get him) and have him waiting in the wings. Granderson IMO isn't overrated, if he learns a little more plate discipline. What makes you think Ian Stewart and Garrett Atkins are available? What do we have that the Rockies want? Saltalamacchia and Clement are only going to be had if we trade Oswalt, both the Braves and the Mariners want maximum return on those prospects. Schuerholz is on record as saying that he wants a young pitcher that they can control for years in exchange for Salty. If we had an Ian Snell-type pitcher he could get us Salty, but then why would we trade a good young pitcher? Its easy to want every team's best prospect, but you have to have something that they want. I would love to trade for guys who are ready to come in right away at the major league level, but its very apparent that the "rebuilding" or "reloading" is going to take more than one season, so getting a Maybin and having to wait until 2009 is okay in my book.
I've heard this mentioned both here and in the news, but why would the Red Sox be so interested in Lidge? I understand it as an extra guy in the bullpen, but they aren't going to pay much for that. They've already got Papelbon and Okajima as their top two relievers, making Lidge the 7th inning guy. That's valuable, but isn't worth top prospects to them, I wouldn't think.
Unless, and hear me out, unless they give up Matsuzaka AND Beckett for Lidge. If they won't trade top prospects, perhaps they will trade top-tier starting pitching? no?
