Watching Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, I saw the new Yankee Stadium probably around two-thirds of the way full, maybe not even that packed. It was a view I could not have imagined seeing as a positive for the team when the stadium replaced old Yankee Stadium back in 2009 and was the home field for the 2009 World Series champion New York Yankees. It's not as if the Yankees are out of the playoff hunt or anything, as can be seen in the AL East standings posted below, but there is still no reason for the most historically successful team in the sport's existence to attract so few bodies to seats in the middle of the Bronx.
This seems to be a reflection of how baseball has become this weird niche sport that everybody still loves but a lesser and lesser population feels like sitting through and watching for an entire three-hour period (and that's not even mentioning the possibility of a rain delay or extra innings). Are the attention spans of Americans that much shorter or is it just sports fans? Granted, the prices of everything at the new Yankee Stadium are insanely high but when the St. Louis Cardinals are doing a noticeably better job at filling seats while in a similar not-quite-out-but-not-quite-contending situation, something is up. I realize that nobody's crying crocodile tears at the Steinbrenner family experiencing repeated disappointment over the last 7 seasons of baseball but, I miss the intensity that the crowd at the old Yankee Stadium used to have. I miss "
Who's Your Daddy?". I don't miss the team winning every year but, there's something about the obnoxiousness of the same people that have the endure the Knicks and Jets all offseason long that I would rather see than the 35,000 millionaires/billionaires and Marlins Man every time they're on television.
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YES Network/MLB.com
Home plate seats are supposed to be expensive but, how empty is too empty? |
Here are the Major League Baseball Standings as of the morning of July 18th.
Green = Buyers
Blue = Undecided as of the 18th
Red = Sellers
AL East
Baltimore Orioles 53-37
Boston Red Sox 51-39
Toronto Blue Jays 52-42
New York Yankees 45-46
Tampa Bay Rays 35-56
AL Central
Cleveland Indians 54-37
Detroit Tigers 48-44
Kansas City Royals 46-45
Chicago White Sox 45-46
Minnesota Twins 33-58
AL West
Texas Rangers 55-38
Houston Astros 50-42
Seattle Mariners 46-46
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 40-52
Oakland Athletics 40-52
NL East
Washington Nationals 56-37
Miami Marlins 49-42
New York Mets 49-42
Philadelphia Phillies 43-50
Atlanta Braves 32-60
NL Central
Chicago Cubs 55-36
St. Louis Cardinals 47-44
Pittsburgh Pirates 47-45
Milwaukee Brewers 39-51
Cincinnati Reds 34-58
NL West
San Francisco Giants 57-36
Los Angeles Dodgers 52-42
Colorado Rockies 42-49
San Diego Padres 41-51
Arizona Diamondbacks 40-53
Same rules as last season
, I'm here to simplify it by explaining what to expect from your team or any other team's point of view on what they should do before August 1st's non-waiver trade deadline or August 30th's waiver deadline (the one where lesser players are dealt but, there is a larger quantity of deals). Let's go team-by-team and figure out who every GM has a realistic shot at acquiring and shopping away.
Baltimore Orioles: With the most home runs in baseball, the Baltimore Orioles are relying on a good old fashioned power hitting game and very little else at the moment as they sit atop the AL East. Yes, Zach Britton has been the best closer in baseball this season and yes, Chris Tillman is 13-2 but this team's pitching staff has to be one of the weakest to lead a division this far into the season in recent memory. Yovani Gallardo has been a travesty, Ubaldo Jimenez just got re-promoted to the rotation for what can only be assumed as blackmail reasons and besides Kevin Gausman's minimal successes, the only other name that I have yet to mention in the rotation is apparently Dylan Bundy (who should not be in a starting rotation after all of the endurance issues he's had). Everybody in the Orioles lineup is tearing the covers off of baseballs and like many teams in the American League, this team desperately needs pitching to even things out at least a tiny bit.
Positional Targets: Starting Pitcher, Relievers
Specific Targets: Juan Nicasio, Jeremy Hellickson, Ricky Nolasco, Drew Smyly, Carlos Villanueva, Daniel Hudson, Randall Delgado, Jeremy Jeffress, Will Smith, Ryan Madson, Fernando Abad
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: 1B Trey Mancini, RHP Jason Garcia, 1B Christian Walker, C Jonah Heim, RHP Parker Bridwell, OF Jason Heinrich
Boston Red Sox: David Price has not been as unstoppable as expected and Boston has still managed to compete despite their flimsy rotation thanks to building the hottest offense in the American League. When things were best for this team and Jackie Bradley Jr. was on a 29-game hitting streak, it was widely believed that everyone would eventually cool off. That still has not happened to anyone besides Travis Shaw. Making up for Price's average showing has been a Cy Young-worthy first half from 31-year old knuckleballer Steven Wright. Boston is all in and that should be no surprise to anyone considering this is the last season for future hall of famer (once we stop caring about PEDs) David Ortiz. They've needed depth all over the roster and have already acquired veteran reliever Brad Ziegler from Arizona, All-Star lefty starter Drew Pomeranz from San Diego and utility infielder Aaron Hill from Milwaukee. They probably won't be as explosively active as other contenders considering the amount of moves they have already made but, I'm sure there's at least one deal in President of baseball operations' Dave Dombrowski's back pocket.
Positional Targets: Catcher, Outfield depth, Starting Pitcher?, one more Reliever?
Specific Targets: Jonathan Lucroy, Nick Hundley, Derek Norris, Jay Bruce, Melvin Upton Jr., Josh Reddick, Zack Greinke?, Julio Teheran?, Arodys Vizcaino?, Tyler Clippard?, Andrew Cashner?
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: With Dombrowski in charge, anything is possible. The only name that might be off-limits is Yoan Moncada and if offered Zack Greinke + Clippard, even that seems like something they might do.
Toronto Blue Jays: Toronto was supposed to be better, the pitching staff was supposed to be stronger and the offense was advertised as the best in the league. Alas, injuries took down Troy Tulowitzki and Jose Bautista, Marcus Stroman has looked severely overwhelmed in appearances and Drew Storen is having his worst season of his career. With all of that said, Canada's lone team is STILL just three games behind Baltimore and they are hopeful that they'll get Bautista back before the deadline. The immediate future is still bright for the Blue Jays, they just need to smooth out some of the edges of their bench and bullpen right now (For instance, they already acquired reliever Jason Grilli back in May).
Positional Targets: Relievers, Any Bench Help
Specific Targets: Daniel Hudson, Jim Johnson, Jeanmar Gomez, Jeremy Jeffress, Erick Aybar, Danny Santana, Jay Bruce, Ender Inciarte, Chris Carter
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: RHP Justin Maese, OF Reggie Pruitt, OF Roemon Fields, LHP Chad Girodo, 3B Carl Wise, 3B Andy Burns
New York Yankees: As of this weekend, the Yankees' front office is just waiting to see how the next two weeks affect their win-loss record. If they are buying at the deadline, then the front office is making a mistake but, their starting rotation does not show any signs of hopeful improvement until 2018 at the earliest if they are unable to attract free agents and that would be target #1 on their board. If they become sellers, then they might finally get to promote the long-hyped outfielder Aaron Judge and the long-hyped catcher Gary Sanchez might finally see some at-bats. Brian Cashman & the Steinbrenners are either selling hitters or buying pitchers and there are still more needs on this team than there are building blocks for the future so, it's time for the Bronx Bummers to look at the future instead of being in the same scenario again for the next few years.
On The Market: Carlos Beltran, Nathan Eovaldi, C.C. Sabathia, Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, Chase Headley, Austin Romine, Aaron Hicks
Who gets a bigger post-deadline role?: OF Aaron Judge, IF Ronald Torreyes, IF Rob Refsnyder, RP Dellin Betances (possibly becomes the closer), SP Luis Severino, SP Chad Green
Tampa Bay Rays: Something is up with the Rays' pitching rotation and either manager Kevin Cash or pitching coach Jim Hickey (who has held the role in Tampa since 2006) has to take the blame for it. Every pitcher from Chris Archer to occasional spot-starter Erasmo Ramirez seems to have their full "stuff" and yet, nobody has an ERA under 4.00 besides rookie Blake Snell and he's only six starts into his major league career. Evan Longoria is finally putting together a fully-healthy season of great play and Tampa has nothing to show for it. They will be selling and they better sell some of these pitchers whose careers are headed down a disappointing path in front of the team's handful of fans.
On The Market: Drew Smyly, Jake Odorizzi, Matt Moore, Xavier Cedeno, Alex Colome, Erasmo Ramirez, Logan Morrison, Corey Dickerson, Brandon Guyer, Steve Pearce
Who gets a bigger post-deadline role?: RP Danny Farquhar, RP Steve Geltz, SP Austin Pruitt, IF Richie Shaffer
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Cliff McBride/Getty Images North America
Kevin Cash has seen some rough times in his second year as Rays' manager. |
Cleveland Indians: 2015's most hyped team has finally fulfilled their potential as Terry Francona's Cleveland Indians and their awesome rotation have made it 90 games into the 2016 season and are sitting way ahead in the AL Central. Cody Allen has been unstoppable post-April and the power hitters (Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana) have stepped up in a major way since Marlon Byrd's 162-game suspension. The team seemed doomed when Michael Brantley aggravated his right shoulder injury after just eleven games in the outfield and in stepped sudden rookie of the year candidate Tyler Naquin. Nothing has gone terribly wrong for this team yet and with the Cavaliers crowned NBA Champions, the pressure to win and save the city is sort of off this team's shoulders. Either way, they are buying at the deadline and their bullpen has some mileage on it and needs an upgrade in one or two spots.
Positional Targets: Catcher, Offensive depth, Relievers
Specific Targets: Nick Hundley, Jonathan Lucroy, Geovany Soto, Ivan Dejesus Jr., Jay Bruce, Cody Asche, Tony Cingrani, Will Smith, Ian Krol, Randall Delgado
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: Everybody not named Brady Aiken. Might as well go for it and make everyone available while every member of the rotation is at the height of their games.
Detroit Tigers: The Tigers are stuck between a rock (barely contending) and a hard place (giving up on a talented team with returning players too soon). Ultimately, they will decide to go after one of the wildcard spots as they spent more money on their team this past offseason than the city has generated all year (I made this up, it is a ridiculous statement and I apologize to Detroit for "going there"). Jordan Zimmermann, Daniel Norris and J.D. Martinez are on the DL and the postseason hopes for this team are minimal but, they still have a winning record and it's not as if they will need to rely on Anibal Sanchez, Mike Pelfrey and Tyler "Middle Finger" Collins forever. Until Zim and Norris return, this pitching staff is in dire need of some hope.
Positional Targets: Pitchers, Outfield depth, more Pitchers
Specific Targets: Julio Teheran, Rich Hill, Matt Garza, Andrew Cashner, Will Smith, Jeremy Jeffress, Ryan Madson, Adam Ottavino, Tyler Clippard, Nick Markakis, Ender Inciarte, Corey Dickerson
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: LHP Jairo Labourt, SS Dixon Machado, RHP Drew Smith, OF Wynton Bernard, RHP Myles Jaye
Kansas City Royals: Maybe, just maybe some of that Ned Yost-voodoo magic has finally worn off. The defending World Champions have two and a half months of catching up to do and they might need all of the remaining games to fill the 8 game gap that separates them from division-leading Cleveland. There are no Johnny Cuetos on the market and Ben Zobrist is busy trying to revive an NL team this season so the field of trade options that might put this team back in the World Series has never been thinner in their three years of trying to do so. If all of that wasn't bad enough, Mike Moustakas is out for the season, Whit Merrifield is cooling off and Alex Gordon has yet to exceed a .220 batting average. The Royals are used to trouble finding them but, in a year where they have a winning record and are coming off their first win in thirty years? It's impossible to imagine them not going all in to at least secure a wildcard berth.
Positional Targets: Starting Pitching, Bullpen help (preferably someone to replace Joakim Soria), A trusty veteran bat
Specific Targets: Drew Smyly, Matt Garza, Jeremy Hellickson, Jorge de la Rosa, Tyler Clippard, David Hernandez, Brett Oberholtzer, Jim Johnson, Nick Markakis, Carlos Beltran, Scooter Gennett
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: RHP Miguel Almonte, OF Bubba Starling, RHP Alec Mills, OF Brandon Downes, RHP Brooks Pounders, RHP Yunior Marte
Chicago White Sox: Rarely does a collapse become apparent as suddenly as the White Sox' epic fall from early-season grace. After beginning the season at a solid 23-10 record, Robin Ventura's team has taken a nosedive as veteran space-fillers on the roster like Mat Latos, Jimmy Rollins and Austin Jackson have all disappeared for one reason or another and the team has gone 22-37 since. The front office was clearly in win-now mode when they made the moves to acquire James Shields and promote shortstop Tim Anderson. The recent move to sign Justin Morneau seemed like a win-now move when really, they just needed a DH more reliable than the platoon of Avisail Garcia and J.B. Schuck. Will the White Sox even have enough talent to be serious sellers at the deadline or will they just throw a bunch of old guys on the field again, hoping that they can recreate their April magic for two more months?
On The Market: Matt Albers, Zach Duke, Dan Jennings, Nate Jones, Dioner Navarro, Jose Quintana?
Who gets a bigger post-deadline role?: RP Tommy Kahnle, C Omar Narvaez, IF Carlos Sanchez
Minnesota Twins: Even if Byron Buxton were playing at his full potential, this team would still be a disaster. The 33-58 Twins are 21 games out of first place in the AL Central and the only players that are playing at 100% of their potential are Eduardo Nunez and (maybe) Max Kepler. Every other hitter (Trevor Plouffe, Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer, Byung Ho Park, etc.) has fallen flat at some point or is just a plain old dud this year. I'm not even going to touch on their pitching because that is a 100% failed product and that's on every single one of them. With Terry Ryan out as GM, this team should be much more active at the deadline than any previous season.
On The Market: Ervin Santana, Ricky Nolasco, Fernando Abad, Brandon Kintzler, Ryan Pressly, Michael Tonkin, Kurt Suzuki, Eduardo Nunez?, Trevor Plouffe, Danny Santana, Eduardo Escobar
Who gets a bigger post-deadline role?: SP Jose Berrios, RP J.T. Chargois, SP Alex Meyer, C John Ryan Murphy, IF Jorge Polanco, OF Adam Brett Walker II
Texas Rangers: Moving Ian Desmond from shortstop to center field might be the most drastic change I've ever seen to a 31-year old's value. Desmond, once the most error-prone shortstop in all of baseball, is now a gold glove contender and is right behind Jose Altuve in the race for AL MVP. Another reason Texas has hung onto their division lead even with Houston's incredible post-April recovery effort is the flexibility of Jurickson Profar's game. Profar has played every infield position so far and has become the everyday first baseman with Elvis Andrus, Rougned Odor and Adrian Beltre manning the rest of the infield and Mitch Moreland regressing at the plate. It isn't all good news for Texas though, as the team has had to turn to Kyle Lohse as the team's #5 starter and, due to injuries, Bobby Wilson, Bryan Holaday and Brett Nicholas have had to play large portions of the season thanks to Robinson Chirinos' inability to stay healthy.
Positional Targets: Starting Pitcher, Reliever, Catcher
Specific Targets: Dan Straily, Chase Anderson, Andrew Cashner, Matt Moore, Aroldis Chapman, Jeremy Jeffress, Randall Delgado, Andrew Miller, Jonathan Lucroy, Kurt Suzuki, Derek Norris, Carlos Ruiz
Any big-name prospects they might deal? Everyone is available.
Houston Astros: Speaking of the Astros' meteoric rise, here they are, just 4.5 games back and the hottest team in baseball. If this team makes any deals at the deadline, those would likely involve a prospect like A.J. Reed or some other first baseman like Jon Singleton or Matt Duffy considering this team is very deep at that position and would rather deal players with no playoff experience for a veteran if they seriously want to hoist the World Series trophy in late October. Besides, Marwin Gonzalez and Luis Valbuena could already play the position if called upon. Outside of going hard after a Carlos Gomez-tier name, there are no obvious needs for this current wildcard team. Expect them to get greedy and make a huge deal if they do anything.
Positional Targets: Depth
Specific Targets: Julio Teheran, Sonny Gray, Jose Quintana, Carlos Villanueva, Tyler Clippard, Trevor Plouffe, Danny Valencia, Josh Reddick
Any big-name prospects they might deal? Everybody besides maybe last year's first-rounder, OF Kyle Tucker, is available.
Seattle Mariners: With Felix Hernandez coming off the Disabled List this week, Seattle's odds at landing a wildcard spot have greatly improved and therefor, they will be looking to add some necessary parts in order to reach the postseason. Chris Iannetta has never been the starting catcher on a true World Series contender before so, it's safe to assume that Seattle will be looking at improving at that position, especially given the lack of needs elsewhere on offense. The Mariners also have six relievers on the 60-day DL and while their current bullpen looks fine, they could always use another arm. Hernandez is back, Taijuan Walker will be back at some point and even if he isn't, Wade LeBlanc has done a nice job as a temporary fill-in so, this rotation is likely some form of the rotation they'll be using in late-September.
Positional Targets: Catcher, Relievers?
Specific Targets: Ryan Pressly, Tony Cingrani, Jim Johnson, Jonathan Lucroy, Kurt Suzuki, A.J. Pierzynski, Nick Hundley
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: IF D.J. Peterson, OF Boog Powell, OF Braden Bishop, RHP Dylan Thompson, OF Luis Liberato, OF Gareth Morgan, RHP Cody Mobley, SS Ryder Ascanio
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Barring a jaw-dropping Mike Trout deal, the Angels are not going to find another core piece of the future at this year's deadline since no one else on this squad is worth much to anybody else (Kole Calhoun and Andrelton Simmons would be if they were on the trading block. Alas, they are not on the block). The offensive depth on this team is lame and the pitching staff is even lamer. No front office seems to hate their superstar more than the Angels and they can at least try to help him out by getting some prospects in a dry organization for young talent.
On The Market: Hector Santiago, Matt Shoemaker, Fernando Salas, Joe Smith, Huston Street, Yunel Escobar, Daniel Nava, Geovany Soto
Who gets a bigger post-deadline role?: OF Ji-man Choi, C Juan Graterol, 3B Kaleb Cowart, SP Tyler Skaggs, RP Jose Valdez, RP Al Alburquerque
Oakland Athletics: Gee, I wonder if Oakland regrets trading Josh Donaldson yet. In what has turned into a second consecutive season of using veterans as bait while fishing for prospects, The A's are actually competing for fourth in the AL West. They may have to wait until the non-waiver deadline to deal their most valuable asset in 36-year old reclamation project Rich Hill after Hill aggravated a blister on his throwing hand. Now, this injury is not that big of a deal but, it will scare off teams for a few days and with Hill recently coming off a 15-day stint on the DL, teams will wonder how much more juice Hill has in him for a potential playoff run. Otherwise, Oakland will still get some nice value for still-just-29 Josh Reddick and his .296/.370/.438 line.
On The Market: Rich Hill, Josh Reddick, Jed Lowrie, Liam Hendriks, Marc Rzepczynski, Ryan Madson, Coco Crisp, Billy Butler, Jake Smolinski, Yonder Alonso?, Danny Valencia?, Sonny Gray?
Who gets a bigger post-deadline role?: IF/OF Arismendy Alcantara, 1B Max Muncy, 2B/SS Tyler Ladendorf, SP Dillon Overton, RP John Axford (likely the new closer)
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AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Leaving a start after five pitches is never a good business strategy. |
Washington Nationals: I was wrong about Dusty Baker destroying the promise of this Nationals team. Just because I was dead wrong about this, that does not mean I won't entirely ignore everything Baker has done and give credit to the real genius in the clubhouse, pitching coach Mike Maddux. Maddux was a part of C.C. Sabathia's greatest season, restructuring the careers of C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis and now he's made Joe Ross reach his ceiling all while Tanner Roark and Stephen Strasburg have the best years of their career. Speaking of career years, Wilson Ramos only needed eye surgery and Daniel Murphy a change of scene in order for both to become legitimate MVP candidates out of nowhere. This team is talented enough that they might not even need to make a single acquisition the rest of the season but, it's better to be safe than sorry and with Chris Heisey still on your 25-man roster, things could end poorly.
Positional Targets: Outfield depth, Reliever or two
Specific Targets: Corey Dickerson, Jay Bruce, Josh Reddick, Brandon Maurer, Adam Ottavino, Fernando Abad, Alex Colome
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: RHP Erick Fedde, RHP A.J. Cole, RHP Austin Voth, C Pedro Severino, OF Blake Perkins, RHP Koda Glover, C Spencer Kieboom, LHP Nick Lee
Miami Marlins: It's going to take more than a first-half slump out of Giancarlo Stanton (Previously the Marlins' MVP) to knock this year's Marlins out of contention. Miami is tied with Mets at the time I am writing this and it's clear that the "momentum" is swinging in opposite directions for the two franchises. While everyone on the Mets is dropping like flies, Miami is seeing the resurrection of Stanton this month as he is hitting bombs in games and in the home run derby. If that wasn't enough optimism for this team, they are about to get back defending batting champion Dee Gordon back from an 80-game PED suspension and first baseman Justin Bour should be back in the next month. The team is still looking for a #5 starter and outside of Ichiro, they have one of the weaker playoff benches around so, look for them to make many more small moves like their acquisition of Fernando Rodney from San Diego.
Positional Targets: Starting Pitcher, Hitting depth, Reliever?
Specific Targets: Jed Lowrie, Yunel Escobar, Erick Aybar, Hector Santiago, Jake Odorizzi, Matt Moore, Nate Jones?, Andrew Miller?, Aroldis Chapman?
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: LHP Justin Nicolino, OF Austin Dean, OF Isaiah White, IF/OF Anfernee Seymour, C Tomas Telis, LHP Raudel Lazo, 1B Josh Naylor
New York Mets: PANIC! PANIIIIIC! PANIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII... -arm falls off-
Positional Targets: Starting Pitching, Backup Catcher, Outfielder, Infielder, Reliever
Specific Targets: Rich Hill, Jake Odorizi, Matt Moore, Matt Garza, Chase Anderson, Xavier Cedeno, Matt Thornton, Nate Jones, Marc Rzepczynski, Nick Hundley, Dioner Navarro, Geovany Soto, Carlos Beltran, Daniel Nava, Jay Bruce, Ivan Dejesus Jr., Chris Carter, Trevor Plouffe, Jed Lowrie
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: OF Wuilmer Becerra, RHP Marcos Molina, SS Milton Ramos, RHP Robert Gsellman, RHP Gabriel Ynoa, 3B Eudor Garcia, C/1B Patrick Mazeika
Philadelphia Phillies: Much like the Chicago White Sox, the Phillies began the season with surprising success and were quickly pulled back down to reality around May 15th. Now, the team will go through it's fourth consecutive losing season and third year in a row attempting a fire-sale. The mammoth contracts of Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley no longer exist for them but, the stench of the money burnt on Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz remains. The only way they'll part with Howard is by a cold-hearted yet, totally necessary release. It's unlikely Ruiz has too much value anymore with his durability issues but, there are plenty of teams in need of catching depth. They did sign players like Jeremy Hellickson, Andrew Bailey and David Hernandez in hopes that they might be able to sell them off for prospects now and the return might not be beautiful or exciting but, it will still be something to aid their future.
On The Market: Jeremy Hellickson, Andrew Bailey, David Hernandez, Brett Oberholtzer, Jeanmar Gomez, Carlos Ruiz, Cameron Rupp, Ryan Howard, Darin Ruf, Cody Asche, Peter Bourjos
Who gets a bigger post-deadline role?: SP Jake Thompson, RP Phil Klein, RP Michael Mariot, RP Edubray Ramos, IF Taylor Featherston, OF Nick Williams, C Andrew Knapp
Atlanta Braves: Unlike many other sellers at the deadline, Atlanta already has a visibly bright future thanks to the off-season robbery known as the Shelby Miller trade. After dealing away many players thought to be future stars like Jason Heyward, Craig Kimbrel, Shelby Miller, Andrelton Simmons and Alex Wood, the Braves have stocked up on prospects in their minor league system and are only a few pieces away from being a couple of years away (a very complicated way of saying that the future is bright). Luckily for them, they hung on to Julio Teheran and signed valuable hitters like Nick Markakis and Erick Aybar so that they might have another fruitful return at this trade deadline.
On The Market: Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino, Jim Johnson, Ian Krol, Eric O'Flaherty, A.J. Pierzynski, Erick Aybar, Gordon Beckham, Jeff Francoeur, Ender Inciarte, Nick Markakis
Who gets a bigger post-deadline role?: P Tyrell Jenkins, RP Matt Marksberry, C Anthony Recker, 2B Daniel Castro, OF Ronnier Mustelier, P Ryan Weber
Chicago Cubs: Are they screwing it up yet? Kind of? Not quite? Oh well, give it time. Jake Arrieta hasn't quite been Cy Young worthy in his last handful of starts, Jorge Soler is still on the DL and All-Star Dexter Fowler is still dinged up also. Actually, that doesn't seem too terrible considering the endeavors that the Mets, Pirates and Royals are enduring this season. As long as the Cubs continue trying not to suck and get the bullpen arm that they've been searching for since May, this team is going to be in the NLCS again and maybe this time they win some games in that series. There are rumors floating about that maybe the Cubs are willing to deal Kyle Schwarber, who is one of the surest superstars offensively I have seen since I started following the sport, and if they do trade Schwarber, they better be getting an All-Star in return.
Positional Targets: Reliever, Outfielder?
Specific Targets: Jeanmar Gomez, David Hernandez, Ryan Pressly, Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, Brandon Guyer?, Ender Inciarte?, Carlos Beltran?
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: 3B Jeimer Candelario, RHP Dylan Cease, RHP Pierce Johnson, OF Mark Zagunis, 1B Dan Vogelbach, LHP Carson Sands, RHP Corey Black
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CSN Chicago
The National League favorites don't suck but, they aren't as dominant as we all thought. |
St. Louis Cardinals: St. Louis is eight games behind the Cubs and with the history of these two teams, there has to be something great and unexpected yet to come from the Cardinals much like the imminent collapse of the Cubs. I don't actually believe they have any chance at winning the division but come on, how much more proof does America need that the Cardinals have some evil magic on their side at all times. Randal Grichuk and Kolten Wong are both back in the majors after short punishments in AAA where they worked on their games and returned to the Cards as their 2015 selves. The starting rotation has been inconsistent and most are performing semi-reliably as of July 18th. On the other hand, St. Louis's bullpen has been a trainwreck at moments thanks to the implosion of Trevor Rosenthal, Seth Maness and somewhat Jonathan Broxton. Not working in St. Louis's favor is Matt Carpenter and Brandon Moss being on the DL for an undetermined amount of time. They have some work to do, it's just not clear what they need to work on that would exactly catapult them into October.
Positional Targets: Reliever, Infield depth?, Starting Pitcher?
Specific Targets: Ryan Madson, Matt Albers, Aroldis Chapman, Huston Street?, Joe Smith?, Alexei Ramirez?, Yunel Escobar?, Jurickson Profar?, Matt Moore?, Jake Odorizzi?, Drew Smyly?
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: RHP Jack Flaherty, 3B Bryce Denton, IF Jacob Wilson, RHP Ronnie Williams, LHP Corey Littrell, OF Anthony Garcia, SS Oscar Mercado
Pittsburgh Pirates: It did not seem like we would be discussing Pittsburgh as a contender three weeks ago. Three weeks ago writers and fans alike were trying to figure out how to send Andrew McCutchen out of Pittsburgh so that AAA star OF Austin Meadows could get the call and show everyone what he has. Alas, they're on a hot streak now and even though it might still be a good idea to give McCutchen up for a ton of prospects, this is still a fairly solid farm system right now and it's not like the Pirates are doomed in 2020 if they keep McCutchen for one more year at least. The Ray Searage magic has not rubbed off on the starting rotation yet and the team is in desperate need of a #2 or #3 starter for THIS season as Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow might be major-league ready but, are probably not ready for the pressures of leading a team in the postseason for another year. Don't be shocked if they do ship out other veterans like Juan Nicasio or Jeff Locke if they can get a guy who's overachieving this year in a fluky manner.
Positional Targets: Starting Pitcher, First Baseman?
Specific Targets: Drew Smyly, Matt Garza, Rich Hill, Jhoulys Chacin, Austin Romine?, Chris Carter?, Mark Reynolds?
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: C Elias Diaz, OF Harold Ramirez, OF Willy Garcia, RHP Yeudy Garcia, OF Barrett Barnes, RHP Trevor Williams, 3B Jordan Luplow, RHP Dario Agrazal
Milwaukee Brewers: David Stearns has done a very good job in his short tenure as the Brewers' GM and everything seems to have gone exactly to plan so far except the Doug Melvin starting pitcher picks, Wily Peralta and Taylor Jungmann, flamed out in a major way to kick off the 2016 season. The team hasn't been any good but, they also have been entertaining and not a disastrous show of hopelessness like the 2000-2004 era Brewers were. They've already dumped Aaron Hill for two prospects and now, they get to dump more 1-for-2 or 2-for-5 deals on us these next two weeks. Get ready for an UGLY second-half.
On The Market: Jonathan Lucroy, Martin Maldonado, Matt Garza, Chase Anderson, Chris Carter, Scooter Gennett, Ryan Braun, Kirk Nieuwenheis, Will Smith, Jeremy Jeffress, Blaine Boyer, Tyler Thornburg, Hernan Perez?, Michael Blazek?
Who gets a bigger post-deadline role?: 3B Will Middlebrooks, IF Yadiel Rivera, OF Shane Peterson, OF Michael Reed, RP Damien Magnifico, RP David Goforth, C Manuel Pina, SS Orlando Arcia
Cincinnati Reds: The Reds' front office has only built one of the worst pitching staffs of all-time and kept Bryan Price as the team's manager two years too long. Other than that, everything is fine. Brandon Phillips still has value to someone so, this should be the year he gets dealt but, we said that last year also. Jay Bruce is desired by many teams but, we also said that last year. Billy Hamilton is finally showing his full value on a night-by-night basis so now would be a good time to sell-high on him but, what about anything the Reds have done the past two years would convince you that they would do something beneficial for the team's outlook?
On The Market: Jumbo Diaz, Ross Ohlendorf, Tony Cingrani, Blake Wood, Ivan Dejesus Jr., Zack Cozart, Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce, Adam Duvall?
Who gets a bigger post-deadline role?: P Raisel Iglesias (Starter or closer?), P Michael Lorenzen (Starter or closer?), IF Jose Peraza, OF Kyle Waldrop, OF Scott Schebler
San Francisco Giants: Even year voodoo magic is real and it is striking again. Matt Cain and Jake Peavy were supposed to be what anchored this team into the wildcard race or worse and that didn't stop them. Sergio Romo missed two months on the DL and some thought that might slow the Giants down a bit... nope. Matt Duffy, Joe Panik and Hunter Pence have now all spent fifteen or more games on the Disabled List and NONE OF IT EVEN MATTERS. Bruce Bochy is defying the odds again as he has resurrected the careers of Connor Gillaspie and Grant Green. We've all seen the movie where some infielder gets hurt on the Giants and Kelby Tomlinson sweeps in to miraculously save the day to no applause and he's in the minors again! This team will be buying at the deadline and again, they might not even need to as they have had a dead farm system for five years now yet, still they develop infielders and okay starters out of nowhere. They are the lovable Cardinals.
Positional Targets: Starting Pitcher, Reliever, Outfielder/Offensive depth
Specific Targets: Hector Santiago, Jake Odorizzi, Jose Quintana, Fernando Abad, Fernando Salas, Marc Rzepczynski, Jay Bruce, Jeff Francoeur?, Adam Duvall? again?
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: SS Christian Arroyo, C Aramis Garcia, RHP Clayton Blackburn, SS Jalen Miller, RHP Jordan Johnson, RHP Kyle Crick, 2B Austin Slater, 1B Chris Shaw?
Los Angeles Dodgers: Another team that has dodged (pun intended) disaster despite many obstacles in their way is the 2016 Los Angeles Dodgers. Even with Alex Wood and Brett Anderson missing pretty much the entire season, the team managed to glue together a rotation and hold it still about eighty games into the season. Unfortunately, Hyun-Jin Ryu's return was short-lived and Clayton Kershaw's return has been delayed leaving their current rotation as Scott Kazmir-Kenta Maeda-Brandon McCarthy (who also just came off the DL)-Bud Norris and one spot open for interpretation. Now, the team is in a very scary place where they are actually, for real this time, floating Yasiel Puig's name on the trade market because their outfield is deeper than ever before in the Puig-era (not saying much) and they need other pieces in return right now, basically making him an older prospect with experience. This team is in the wildcard game right now but, things could get dark quickly for LA's premiere franchise.
Positional Targets: Starting Pitcher, Multiple Relievers, Outfielder
Specific Targets: C.C. Sabathia, Jose Quintana, Julio Teheran, Rich Hill, Ryan Madson, Juan Nicasio, Jeremy Jeffress, Will Smith, Tony Cingrani, David Robertson, Huston Street, Nick Markakis, Ryan Braun?, Josh Reddick, Corey Dickerson
Any big-name prospects they might deal?: RHP Grant Holmes, RHP Jharel Cotton, C Austin Barnes, 2B Micah Johnson, RHP Chase De Jong, RHP Jacob Rhame, OF Johan Mieses, RHP Brock Stewart
Colorado Rockies: I hate talking about the Rockies because baseball is forever stuck in the 1990's at Coors Field. No pitcher leaves the field smiling and every batter with a toothpick for a pat hits one over an outfielder's head. The Rockies are still bad, though not quite as bad as I was expecting them to be and could attempt to turn talented hitters into powerful pitchers but, it might not even matter because no pitchers outside of that one Ubaldo Jimenez season have any success in Denver.
On The Market: Jorge de la Rosa, Boone Logan, Jordan Lyles, Jake McGee, Jason Motte, Adam Ottavino, Chad Qualls, Nick Hundley, Brandon Barnes, Daniel Descalso?, Ryan Raburn?
Who gets a bigger post-deadline role?: C Tom Murphy, IF Rafael Ynoa, OF David Dahl, RP Scott Oberg
San Diego Padres: Hosting the All-Star Game is the highlight of the season for San Diego and the #2 storyline in Petco Park is the redemption of Melvin "Bossman Junior" Upton Jr.. Drew Pomeranz was great fun to watch and as a result, they sold high and acquired super-prospect Anderson Espinoza who might anchor the rotation for years to come beginning in 2019/2020. They have also already parted with 2015 pickup James Shields for two lesser prospects and have made the statement that they are in sell-now mode loud and clear.
On The Market: Andrew Cashner, Brad Hand, Matt Thornton, Carlos Villanueva, Brandon Maurer, Derek Norris, Alexei Ramirez, Alexi Amarista, Adam Rosales, Matt Kemp, Melvin Upton Jr., Tyson Ross
Who gets a bigger post-deadline role?: SP Paul Clemens, RP Jose Dominguez, RP Derek Eitel, C Austin Hedges, C Hector Sanchez, 2B Nick Noonan, OF Manuel Margot, OF Hunter Renfroe
Arizona Diamondbacks: After destroying their farm system over the last twelve months, the Diamondbacks are now stuck with the contracts of veterans like Zack Greinke, Shelby Miller, Tyler Clippard, Jean Segura and Michael Bourn with Dansby Swanson, Touki Toussaint and Aaron Blair all on another team (congratulations, Atlanta). With a bad response to both their moves and their new jerseys (
psst... I like them), these are dark times for the D-Backs. Unlike the Angels, at least this team has taken their star player to the postseason. The one problem with that is now they have a second star player in their midst, third baseman Jake Lamb. How can they possibly explain a last-place finish with this much star-power and good fortune in the cases of Jean Segura, Michael Bourn and Robbie Ray?
On The Market: Tyler Clippard, Josh Collmenter, Randall Delgado, Daniel Hudson, Michael Bourn, Rickie Weeks Jr., Jean Segura?, Yasmany Tomas?, Zack Greinke?, Shelby Miller?
Who gets a bigger post-deadline role?: SP Zack Godley, SP Tyler Wagner, RP Dominic Leone, RP Steve Hathaway, RP Matt Capps
5 Deals I want to see happen (Not necessarily going for realistic here)
1. Derek Norris to the Cleveland Indians for C Francisco Mejia and one other Minor Leaguer.
2. Jonathan Lucroy & Will Smith to Boston for OF Andrew Benintendi and one or two lesser prospects.
3. Yasiel Puig & Grant Holmes to the Yankees for Aroldis Chapman, Carlos Beltran & a Minor Leaguer.
4. Jay Bruce to the Blue Jays for RHP Justin Maese, LHP Chad Girodo & 3B Carl Wise.
5. Matt Moore, a low-level prospect and Jake Odorizzi to Texas for 3B/OF Joey Gallo, RHP Ariel Jurado, RHP Nick Martinez & 2B Travis Demeritte.
It's a good thing I'm not a GM.
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Rick Scuteri, USA TODAY Sports
Joey Gallo needs a change of scenery in order to get any playing time in 2016. |
Good luck to all of your teams and may your futures (immediate or further) be ultimately brighter!
