Let’s Make Some Crazy Trades
The Trade Deadline is in like a week and there have been very few noteworthy trades. The AL East’s big boys have improved on the fringes with Edwin Encarnacion and Andrew Cashner donning new fabric, but little else has happened. This, after an offseason that sputtered and intermittently surprised.
It feels like we will either get a firehouse of pent-up transactional craziness, or a shrug’s worth of an endgame. Many in the industry are rooting hard for the former and in an effort to spur innovation among baseball’s execs, who hold the keys to a blogging frenzy, I have come up with a sample of crazy trades that would shake up the major league baseball landscape.
Maybe these are trades that the annoying guy in your fantasy league sends you, but maybe they’re real trades that real-life GMs send to each other. If GMs send each other 2,000 word text messages, they surely send each other crazier trade ideas than these.
Rockies Send Charlie Blackmon and Daniel Murphy to the Oakland A’s for prospects AJ Puk and Jorge Mateo
The Rockies entered the year with a record-setting $145M payroll and have a last place position in the standings to show for it. The team is made up of veteran pieces, many of whom have disappointed this year. Blackmon and Murphy have not.
They’ve been themselves, which is to say that they’ve been excellent offensively. Blackmon currently sits at 1.2 bWAR, a year after posting a 0.8 WAR season. He’s 33 and owed $21M each of the next two years before a $21M player option for his age 35 season, so he’s not the elite asset you might think despite three straight all-star appearances and a .964 OPS.
Daniel Murphy scuffled to begin the year, but has been his usual self since, posting a .324 average and .884 OPS since May 22. He’s owed just $8M next year and there’s a mutual option for 2021.
For the A’s, they get an offensive IV at the cost of salary and 2 of their top 5 or so prospects. Billy Beane has shown a willingness to do this type of thing in the past, when he bought Yoenis Cespedes.
The A’s may be pushing their payroll a bit too much in this deal, as they already opened the season with their highest payroll ever, but building some momentum heading into the new ballpark could be worthwhile.
The Rockies get an elite pitching prospect on the cusp of the Majors, salary relief, and take a flier on shortstop prospect Jorge Mateo, who has prodigious athletic gifts, but has yet to put it together. Mateo figures to top out as the second coming of Byron Buxton and would probably even shift to center in Colorado. Maybe this trade isn’t so crazy.
Crazy meter: 3 Crazies.
Rockies Trade Jake McGee to the Atlanta Braves for RHP Josh Graham
We’ve established the Rockies’ inclination to sell. The Braves need an impact lefty reliever now that AJ Minter is a question mark; the closer from last year is running a 7.38 ERA this year.
McGee has one of baseball’s best fastballs and has put together solid numbers for the Rockies. He’s a rental. So what do the Rockies get for their troubles? How about a 25 year old AA reliever with big league stuff but a propensity for walks? Maybe this trade isn’t crazy enough either.
Crazy meter: 1 Crazy.
LA Angels of Anaheim send Albert Pujols and Jo Addell to the Orioles for Mychal Givens and Trey Mancini
The Angels owe Albert Pujols $59M over the next two years. He hasn’t been great. It’s dead money. The Orioles are a long way off so they basically buy Jo Addell from the Angels.
A prospect of Addell’s caliber is worth roughly $64M so the Orioles have to send a bit of value back to LA. Mancini would effectively take Pujols’ at bats and could slide in alongside Kole Calhoun. It also frees up money for a restocking in 2020/21. It’s certainly crazy, but it makes some sense all around, unless you remember Albert Pujols’ legacy. But just think about that Albert Pujols and Chris Davis lineup.
Crazy meter: 5 Crazies.
LA Angels of Anaheim acquire David Price and Brock Holt from the Boston Red Sox
Remember that financial flexibility that the Angels just got by moving Pujols? Well – they’re adding David Price in his place. Price fits on the Angels’ roster better, and has been better in recent years. Even as a 3 WAR player, Price’s $30M annual salary represents something of a sunk cost for the Angels, so the Red Sox toss in Brock Holt. Holt is a very useful player, but the Angels are going to want something of a sure bet here to take on the Price money. The return for Boston in this trade is negligible.
Crazy meter: 4.5 Crazies.
White Sox send Jose Abreu to Tampa Bay Rays for Joey Wendle and Taylor Walls
The White Sox are a last place team looking to make the most of their last rebuild year(s). Abreu is a free agent as season’s end. While he will not fix the Rays’ offensive woes singlehandedly, he would be an ideal right-handed bat to slot in with the lefty-hitting Ji-Man Choi and Austin Meadows at the 1B and DH spots.
For their trouble, the White Sox land a versatile and useful Major Leaguer in Joey Wendle that seems to be more of a spare part for the Rays than anything. Wendle is coming off of a nearly 4 WAR season, so it’s a good get for the White Sox for a few months of a slugger. Taylor Walls may eventually fit into the Joey Wendle mold of big leaguer, but he’s currently the Rays’ #16 prospect per Fangraphs, but he would be a top 10 prospect in most systems.
Crazy meter: 1.5 Crazies.
Mariners send Domingo Santana and Mike Leake to the San Francisco Giants for Brandon Belt, Marco Luciano, and Tony Watson
We already covered how Jerry DiPoto was likely to trade his entire team and he surely sent this text to all other 29 GMs: “Anyone looking for a 26-year-old corner outfielder with an .832 OPS and three-and-a-half seasons of team control?” And, surely, the Giants would be interested in Domingo Santana. For better or worse, their recent 17-3 run made the team by the Bay decidedly non-sellers so they’ll look for medium upgrades. First up is their outfield offense, which has been offensive. The Giants outfielders have a 68 wRC+ against lefties on the year, worst in the league. For reference, Diamondbacks pitchers have a 69 wRC+ against lefties on the year. They also add Mike Leake, a strikethrower with a reasonable salary, in this deal.
Giving up both assets requires giving up something significant. Keeping with Jerry DiPoto’s preferred method of getting MLB ready players in return, the Giants send off Belt with his 2 years of team control remaining, but also have to part with Tony Watson, a piece that DiPoto will flip for a player that he likes. The real prize here is the 17 year old Marco Luciano, who has 8 homers in 22 Rookie ballgames while hitting .337 and Fangraphs described as “…a shortstop with 80 bat speed. Luciano is a potential superstar. Much of his profile (the plate discipline, ultimate defensive home) is still not in focus, but this young man has rare physical talent.”
Crazy Meter: 3 Crazies.
Unrelated Bold Predictions with no explanation
- Jesus Aguilar to the Rays
- Zack Greinke to the Yankees
- Marcus Stroman to the Twins
- Will Smith to the Red Sox
- Renato Nunez to the Indians
- Ken Giles to the Braves
- Mike Minor to the Padres
-Sean Morash
