Would YOU rent Greinke? 2012 trade deadline thread

The Jays and Astros just made a 10-player deal, so I guess it's, um, on.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8183819/toronto-blue-jays-send-francisco-cordero-houston-astros-10-player-deal

What a strange trade!

Anytime you're in last place and can make a trade for a 37-year old closer with a 5.77 ERA, you have to do it.

jonathan sanchez, back in the nl west

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/07/rockies-royals-swap-guthrie-sanchez.html

hv seen J Broxton to Mets rumor

Sanchez getting DFA'd while Cabrera wins the NL MVP for the All-star game in KC was probably the most "Kansas City Royals" moment of all time, and there's a lot of competition there

Dempster to ATL

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/7/17/3165977/ryan-dempster-trade-rumors

still unclear that it's final, it seems

Hanging on Dempster's approval, it seems.

*UPDATE* According to a MLBNetwork reporter live from PNC park (missed the reporter’s name) Dempster has said “he has some things to think about” but wouldn’t confirm anything else other than “his phone blew up when he awoke from a nap.”

Well the Reds and the Pirates probably won't go or get Greinke, as they really don't need starting pitching.

Reds badly need to find a preferably left handed hitting pinch-hitter bench bat/sub player like Greg Dobbs. They are freakin' hurting with their bench. Dobbs would be perfect as he can play third, first and outfield some.

Willie Harris 5-44 .114
Mike Constanzo 1-18 .056
Miguel Cairo 11-75 .147

Wilson Valdez has been pretty decent by comparison (not reality) and he started just as cold 22-90 .244.

Tigers acquire "Uggla man, why you treat me like" Anibal Sanchez, reacquire Omar Infante.

...for "Jacob Turner plus"...

Huh.

sure looking like a seller's market.. the names in the miami and chicago deals are pretty solid prospects in exchange for rentals..

@pgammo
1st draft pick deal:A Sanchez, Infante and comp balance pick for Jacob Turner, Rob Brantly, , Brian Flynn and Det. comp pick. Fascinating

This is what the Tigers' second basemen have produced: .201/.286/.276

The Yankees have acquired Ichiro Suzuki for RHPs DJ Mitchell and Danny Fahrquar, a source said.

Yeah wow.

‏@JackCurryYES
The Yankees have acquired Ichiro Suzuki for RHPs DJ Mitchell and Danny Fahrquar, a source said. Yanks also get undisclosed cash in deal.

NOW WE ARE ROLLING

Ichiro Suzuki, 2012: .288 OBP .353 SLG
Darnell McDonald, 2012: .297 OBP .352 SLG

@LookoutLanding
wait what

Here is a guy who has "CHANGE OF SCENERY GUY" written all over him.

That was a Harold Reynolds impersonation.

holy balls

noooo

That's a shock. I've almost thrown up a post about Ichiro numerous times this season on the need-to-retire thread.

Wonder if he'll be playing tonight at Safeco.

What???? I figured Ichiro was nearly untradeable (= he didn't want to leave Seattle, and the owners are to loyal to him and their Japanese fans).

Yankees only paying 2.5 mil

And Ichiro requested a trade

@jimcaple
Despite trade to NY, should be familiar scene in Seattle. Ichiro playing baseball and not talking to the Mariners players.

@StoneLarry
Ichiro: "I'm going from a team having the most losses to the team with the most wins. It's hard to maintain my excitement in that regard"

Hitting eighth and presumably clean-shaven tonight.

I'm so glad they traded him. Finally.

Also, first comment from a local fan on sports radio after the announcement

Caller: YEAAAHHH

just saw a Jay Buhner quote in the Sunday NYT about M's re-signing Ichiro for big money at 3 years: "I would vomit."

So yeah, likely washed-up singles hitter.

Guy with an awesome career and awesome skills suddenly on the Yanks when they're contending for a pennant.

more like declining future HOFer

as opposed to washed-up singles hitter

though the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive, i reckon?

good for ichiro! i'm sure he's eager to win a world series before he retires. bad for the yankees, though. .288 OBP, OUCH

though the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive, i reckon?

yeah, he's like Pete Rose w/out the felonies.

Ichiro playing and batting eighth--gotta be a first.

No offense to Ichiro as he has had a great career, Pete even at age 45 never had a .288 OBP. He hit .325 at age 40.

ichiro's value right now is primarily defense and base stealing, and he's pretty superior at both even now which may account for his decent BBR WAR numbers, projecting him to about a 3.0 over the full season iirc.

Singles in first AB.

Stolen base.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBxUOLqr-gA

HA!!

whoa

Ryan Roberts DFA'd

Hanley, Pence being shopped, they say

The Pirates have acquired left-handed starter Wandy Rodriguez from the Astros in exchange for minor leaguers Rudy Owens, Robbie Grossman, and Colton Cain. The Astros will also pay some of the remaining $30MM owed to Rodriguez through 2014, a salary commitment which includes a 2014 option that was triggered by the trade.

not too sure about that, but whatever

astros are really piling up the second-tier pitching prospects

anyway, the pirates needed offense. i guess correia is out of the rotation?

oh snap

Tim Brown ‏@TBrownYahoo
Source: Dodgers have acquired Hanley Ramirez and Choate from Marlins for Eovaldi and a minor leaguer. Game changes in LA. Marlins selling.

jesus

i hope that minor leaguer is.... uh, better than nate eovaldi

hanley trade was way overdue tho

hes not. scott mcgough. hes an a-ball closer. he could be ok but the return for hanley is pretty awful. if eovaldi never develops a solid breaking ball hes just a bad ass closer. and you guys already have heath bell (lol)

well it seems like most people think eovaldi can start.

trading hanley at his lowest possible trade value probably didn't help tho

hanley is still an above average 3B, his defense at SS is not passable tho imo

his at-bats in the past two seasons have really gone downhill... his walk rate is still okay but he swings at a lot of shit. he's seeing tons of breaking stuff and getting himself out and/or behind in counts. he was hitting for a lot of power earlier in the season but that too just disappeared for most of the last two-plus months.

it is possible of course that he just wasn't focusing/trying etc and he'll go full enigmatic dominican and end up with a section of the stadium entitled HANLEYWOOD but i won't miss watching him every day

choate is awesome btw

I think Eo will be a decent starter. His w/l is bad because the dodgers never score runs for his starts. He just needs to work on his breaking pitches and get his ks up and he'll be fine.

@karlravechespn
Baseball star power heavily, very heavily concentrated on both coasts

Miami, just slightly east of Iowa.

(Assuming this was part of Ravech's reaction to Hanle y moving to a West Coast team.)

“We had to do something,” Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria said. “The machine was sputtering. It’s too good a baseball team and for some reason it didn’t seem to be operating on all cylinders from the beginning of the season.”

Of Ramirez, Loria said, “It’s no secret I love the kid. He needs to have a fresh beginning, a new beginning. This is a very painful moment for me. But we had to do something.”

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/hanley-ramirez-los-angeles-dodgers-miami-marlins-nathan-eovaldi-randy-choate-trade-deadline-072412

Hamels and the Phillies just reached a deal, looks like Grienke is the only real impact pitcher left

didn't know McCutchen, Votto, Verlander, Sale etc were "coastal," Ravech, you overaged high-school sports editor.

(xpost) Toronto paper this morning said that Jays are after Josh Johnson--us and three or four teams that might actually get him.

philly has 128 million committed to 7 guys next season.

lol

if you're reading rumours about a possible Blue jays trade - it means it's not happening!

Dempster to ATL dead, yah? Never believe a Heyman-sourced trade.

K.Law likes what the Marlins did, but he's paywalled.

Law:

Turner was consistently up to 97 mph with his fastball in high school, touching 99, but is more 90-94 now. He works with a two-seamer that has some tailing life and generates a few more ground balls than his four-seamer does, but not enough to overcome the fact that he doesn't miss bats like he should.

He has a full starter's repertoire, with a power curveball at 77-82 that used to be sharper, a cutter at 84-86 that probably needs to be closer to his fastball in velocity, and a changeup with pretty good action at 86-87. As much as I understand the idea of making starting pitchers more efficient, I don't get the idea of taking a power pitcher like Turner and turning him into a finesse/ground ball guy; I think he's lost a little arm speed, but that could also be a function of trying to 'pitch' too much instead of just letting it go. He alone makes the deal worthwhile for the Marlins, as he's got enough stuff as is to end up a third or fourth starter but isn't far removed from a time when he looked like a possible star. It's quite possible he was just rushed to the majors and hasn't had time to make the necessary adjustments.

The other prospects headed to Miami are catcher Rob Brantly and lefty Brian Flynn. Brantly, who has struggled a bit since a promotion to Triple-A, is a contact-oriented hitter without much patience and a hook-oriented swing; he has an above-average arm but his receiving has always been a problem, most likely because he doesn't have the hands for it. Flynn, who was just promoted to Double-A, has good stuff but has trouble repeating his delivery, right down to his arm slot, and probably ends up a reliever, although his delivery seems to get worse when he's working from the stretch. The deal largely boils down to Turner, but as I said, I think he's a great pickup in exchange for two months of Sanchez and a season-plus of Infante.

One point of interest in this trade is that, for the first time in MLB history, we have seen draft picks traded, as the two teams exchanged their "competitive balance lottery" picks, with the Tigers sending their pick after to the second round to the Marlins for their pick after the first round. (We'll ignore, for the moment, the absurdity of the Tigers receiving a pick in that process while the Rays received none.) Let's hope teams' interest in using these picks as trade commodities spurs changes in the next CBA to allow teams to trade other draft picks as well.

the Marlins trade is excellent from Miami's perspective. I didn't think they'd get so much for him.

can't find anything he wrote on the hanley deal

don't think he's posted anything yet... may have discussed it on the morning podcast which means he won't write anything

eovaldi was in his top 100 tho

klaw

The Los Angeles Dodgers have received virtually no production from the left side of their infield this year; their shortstops have hit .232/.285/.319, and their third basemen have hit .249/.308/.373, so wherever they play Hanley Ramirez, he's an upgrade, worth a win or more if he can return to shortstop for the rest of this season. It's a good use of the Dodgers' money to see if manager Don Mattingly can rejuvenate Ramirez's career the way he seems to have helped Matt Kemp's, but does carry risk that Ramirez's peak years are just gone.

While this is a solid buy-low move by the Dodgers, using their newfound cash to acquire a player who might otherwise be out of reach, there's also a pretty good chance that Ramirez's tenure as an above-average to star-caliber player is over. He has proven unequal to the task of defense at third base, a position he is more than athletic enough to handle but where he's been well below average, costing the Marlins between four and 10 runs this year depending on your defensive metric of choice. He's also shown less bat speed this year than he did in previous seasons, although he's really young to already see his hands slowing like that.

Ramirez is one of the only major leaguers I have ever seen where his effort level seemed to vary to the point where his performance was affected, and it is possible that a new environment will restore some of his lost production for that reason -- although that's a large gamble for any GM to take. A poor defensive shortstop or third baseman hitting .250/.320/.430 is not a $15 million player. The Dodgers also receive lefty specialist Randy Choate, highly effective against left-handed hitters but nearly useless against right-handed hitters.

For the Miami Marlins, as odious as it is to see the team move a large contract and increase the flow of public money into ownership's pockets, there's a lot of baseball sense in this trade. They clear $31.5 million over the next two years for a player who might only be worth 2-3 wins a year, and clearly wasn't going to be the bargain he appeared to be when he first signed that extension.

They also received a solid starting pitching prospect in the deal in right-hander Nate Eovaldi, even though they didn't have to cover any of Ramirez's salary. Eovaldi's main issue is his lack of an average third pitch, which has led to large platoon splits, with lefties hitting .349/.404/.519 against him in the majors this year; as a starter he's 93-97 and has an above-average slider in the mid- to upper 80s that is very effective against right-handers but not sharp enough to be his out pitch against left-handers. He should be part of the Marlins' 2013 rotation, especially since their farm system doesn't have a significant starting pitching prospect above A-ball, but he's still a work in progress.

Right-hander Scott McGough has a quick arm and an above-average fastball but has struggled throwing strikes this year in the Cal League, and profiles as a middle reliever.

Dempster to ATL dead, yah? Never believe a Heyman-sourced trade.

sounds like it. atlanta has already moved on and l.a. apparently isn't interested. cubs now plan to hang onto his ego and make him a qualifying offer on his way out of town in the off-season.

Doesn't matter if they got quality back in the Ramierez trade, if they go ahead and dump Johnson and some of the other talent it's just the same crap the Marlins have done over the years and next year they are back to playing to 50 people a game. Loria is such a fraud of an owner.

i really have zero interest in defending loria but this dave cameron post outlines precisely why this meme that the marlins are having a "typical marlins fire sale" is basically a myth

this dave cameron post http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/dont-crucify-the-marlins-for-making-smart-moves/

and that's aside from the fact that both trades AND a josh johnson trade are entirely defensible from a baseball standpoint

Yeah I agree.

Me too, it's not a fire sale unless you're trading away the core of the team. It's been clear for a couple of years that they can't build the team around Ramirez anymore, so a trade makes sense.

I'm not sure about trading Johnson though ... if they think they'll be competitive in '13 (and they should, otherwise why spend all that money on free agents?) then they need to bank on him being healthy. It's like the Twins trading Santana a few years ago, in baseball terms it arguably made sense to trade him at the peak of his value, but they would have made the playoffs the next year if they'd kept him (and the players they got in return turned out to be busts).

cameron is the worst

josh johnson is a really good pitcher but with his injury history you can't bank on him to be healthy for an extended period of time and i also have no idea (not sure anyone does) what you would offer him in terms of an extension & it may be better to let another team worry about those two things

cameron is the worst

― sanskrit, Thursday, July 26, 2012 10:02 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Accusing Loria of being disrespectful is definitely comparable to the crucifixion of an entire baseball organization. Let's not do it, folks.

wait u guys are saying John Kruk is wrong?

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/26/brewers-gm-admits-zack-greinke-will-definitely-be-traded/

Nats or Braves, please.

Oh lord, not the Nats, please.

i'm reading White Sox too

the nats need another starter?

I don't think the Brewers want anyone in the White Sox system!

I think Braves make the most sense. Of course as usual I expect the Rangers to come out of nowhere and take him

i think the Nats have plans to shut Strasburg when he hits his innings limit - so ya, i guess they could use another starter.

I'll believe that when I see it

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/7/26/3192062/ryan-dempster-three-way-deal-dodgers-cubs-news

Braves sign Miguel Batista.

now he just needs a stint w/ the phils for the whole nl east (including los expos)

Greinke to Angels for 3 prospects? Rosenthal@Fox

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/zack-greinke-los-angeles-angels-milwaukee-brewers-jean-segura-trade-deadline-072712

zack greinke
jered weaver
cj wilson
dan haren

so the brewers turned alcides escobar, lorenzo cain and jake odorizzi into an NLCS appearance, jean segura and two AA pitchers. can't tell if that's good or bad.

I guess the two pitchers they got in this trade are considered pretty good

greinke, weaver, wilson, haren, pujols, trout, trumbo

&
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Simpsons_MoneyBART_Mike_Scioscia_Promo.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/54/Simpsons_MoneyBART_Mike_Scioscia_Promo.jpg

i was at work all day today and just heard about Zack Greinke to the Angels. WOW, the money the two teams here in Southern California is unbelievable.

<insert> are spending </>

Looking forward to an all-Midwest World Series.

the Padres are in SoCal, too

they are over a 100 miles south of myself. not really called So Cal to many of us, we call it San Diego.

The Giants have acquired infielder Marco Scutaro from the Rockies in exchange for minor league second baseman Charlie Culberson and cash considerations.

Brewers got more than I thought they would. We'll miss you Zack but this is Fierstown now.

scutaro is pretty good but seriously is it every year that the giants pick up a random middle infielder at the trade deadline

they are over a 100 miles south of myself. not really called So Cal to many of us, we call it San Diego.

wtf

Argentina is far too south for many of us to consider it part of South America.

lol

to be fair most San Franciscans don't know anything south of Colma even exists.

i'm not a San Franciscan, i'm from Southern California.

it is like Santa Barbara, yes it's in So Cal but they are not really considered So Cal either.

i guess what i'm trying to say is So Cal is Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside County.

http://www.thehomeplanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/maxwell_smart__confused.gif

geographically you are correct but that is not how us So Cal residence see things.

Um I grew up in Orange County, then San Diego; my mom lived in LA and I spent a lot of time there; now I live in Oakland, and I work in San Francisco. I think I know a think or two about what people in California call things.

Kottaras to the Athletics whee

Also anyone who even says "So Cal" at all is a savage.

GEOGRAPHY.EXE DOES NOT COMPUTE BEEP BOPP BOOP SOCAL SYNTAX ERROR

don't worry i'm DONE

We San Diegans are tired of being an afterthought (even if we sorta deserve it).

Liriano to ChiSox, LOVE the move. Work that magic again, Don Cooper!

Figured the ChiSox would make a move like that after Greinke ended up with the Angels.

Choo on the block? (beware: Heyman)

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/7/29/3200563/shin-soo-choo-indians-trade-rumor-pirates-rangers

probably be a good trade for the indians

pittsburgh seems willing to give prospects up for this year

I guess we'll find out

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/7/30/3201317/mlb-trade-rumors-pittsburgh-pirates-deadline

also Texas may want Cliff Lee back!

i don't think the lee rumors have any legs to them... i can't imagine another team agreeing to take on that salary, and i don't see why the phillies would pay cliff lee to pitch for another team. it's not like he's alfonso soriano or something.

Travis Snider to Pittsburgh for Brad Lincoln ... it's sad that the Jays had to give up on Snider like this, he was supposed to be a sure thing. This looks like a straight up "challenge trade", both of them are first round picks who haven't panned out and could probably use a change of scenery.

Paul Maholm and Reed Johnson to the Braves; Arodys Vizcaino (recovering from TJ surgery) and going-nowhere middle reliever Jaye Chapman to the Cubs.

Dempster still in limbo!

victorino > doyers

man the phillies really gave him away for basically nothing

thats a good haul for victorino if you ask me.. lindblom barely has a year of service time and martin is a former 1st round pick with a big arm but with the usual control issues these kids have

its also funny to me that blogs from every team that has been rumored to acquire victorino have been like 'no thanks, fuck this asshole'

as a dodgers fan Im dont know what to think.. just glad we didnt get soriano.

victorino was one of the best OFs in the NL last year... he hasn't been hitting that well this year but he's still a really good defender & an OF of victorino/kemp/ethier has to be one of the best in the league now

idk... i don't know much about lindblom or martin but lindblom is the only one rated in LA's top 10 prospects prior to the season, and he was in the 8-9 range. seems like most people think martin is already a wash out.

meanwhile LA acquired a guy who has been worth almost 12 wins over the last 2.5 seasons

never forget

http://www.bannedinhollywood.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/shane-victorino-hit-head-catcher-throw.gif

aaaaaaand pence to the giants

there's no way they're getting back what they traded for him

ladies and gentleman, ruben amaro!

do they have any other zach wheelers to give up for an outfielder who wont help them make the playoffs?

thank God, looks like Mets are stayin' outta the cellar

lol reporters be warring on twitter

JIM BOWDEN ‏@JimBowdenESPNxm
Phillies tell me they do NOT have a deal with Giants involving Hunter Pence......YET.......stay tuned

in any event it does seem like pence will be going to SF at some point

Texas, Yankees after Dempster

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/7/31/3206288/ryan-dempster-trade-rumors-rangers-yankees-cubs

I think that rumor has been debunked Morbs. Pretty sure Dempster is using his 10-5 rights to block anywhere except LA.

Dude loves Ted Lilly with the force of a thousand suns.

who knows of any of this is even true but

JIM BOWDEN ‏@JimBowdenESPNxm
Dodgers getting Dempster.....final dotting of i's and crossing of t's being worked on......

also this

JIM BOWDEN ‏@JimBowdenESPNxm
Hunter Pence deal with the Giants does not include Gary Brown, Brandon Belt or Kyle Crick according to Philies source

ruben amaro is a terrible general manager

aaand

JIM BOWDEN ‏@JimBowdenESPNxm
Giants - Phillies Pence deal is completed pending physicals

It had to have sucked huge ass being an SF fan watch Hanley Ramirez hit a fucking rocket out of AT&T on Friday night and all they got to counter was Marco fuckin Scutaro the next day.

DKnobler ‏@DKnobler
Tommy Joseph goes to Phils in Hunter Pence deal

catcher, rated third in SF's system preseason per klaw

cubs also traded geovany soto to the rangers
www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0731-cubs-pirates-chicago--20120731,0,791892,full.story

Joseph was a 2nd round pick in 2009. Currently hitting .705 OPS in the Eastern League.

I like the trade for the Giants. They already have Posey and Sanchez so catching depth is not so important.

enjoy, philly

i like that trade for the phillies, because i want to see them routinely fail

Gah

http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23IndieRockTradeDeadline

OK, here's one:

MICHAEL GIRA TRADED TO WHATEVER BANDS INCLUDE BENJNAMIN GIBBARD IN EXCHANGE FOR GIBBARD'S LIFETIME BAN FROM MUSIC

Joseph was the Giants' No. 2 prospect entering season, per Baseball America.

https://p.twimg.com/AzJa47iCYAAWhZg.jpg:large

ghost of victorinos past

nate schierholtz and a pitcher also going to the phillies, apparently

bruce bochy can finally rest now that he has nate out of his life for good

Schierholtz's play to hold Bay to a single last night was kind of incredible.

¯\(°_o)/¯

@JimBowdenESPNxm

Serious game of chicken between the Dodgers& Cubs on Dempster right now...Cubs believed to have found another team..LA blinks or loses him

the cubs want the dodgers #1 prospect for dempster. they can eat shit.

who would that be, castellanos? zach lee has not had a great year

actually nm, castellanos is 26 in a week anyway

allen webster or zach lee

lee got shelled when he got promoted to double a but hes practically the youngest player in the league, at 20

yeah the dodgers aren't gonna do that. they could find someone reasonably as good.

cardinals flip zack cox for edward mujica. the marlins: doing something smart!

@DKnobler
Marlins still have hopes of moving Carlos Lee by 4 p.m.

*fat joke*

Gaby to Pirates

glad they traded him... year too late tho

@robneyer
Harold Reynolds just said on TV that Gaby Sanchez is "24, 25, at the max." Gaby Sanchez is almost 29.

@robneyer
actually, that was too kind - Harold actually said Sanchez is 23 or 24, max.

Zack Cox was kind of in a tough spot in the Cardinals system (behind Freese for the foreseeable future), so it made sense to offload him, but I was hoping they'd get more than "Edward Mujica" in response. Great trade for the Marlins.

@thekapman
I just spoke with a solid source who told me that Tigers and Cubs are hard at work on Alfonso Soriano. Not sure they can make money work.

Well, that would be weird.

‏@matthewbmowery
The assumption would be Soriano would DH with #Tigers. Almost assuredly would require Cubs to pick up large portion of $36M for '13, '14

Yyyyeahhh.

the pirates traded the no. 33 overall pick in that gaby trade... i think the marlins have now been involved in the first two draft pick trades in mlb history?

gaby's ops+ is actually slightly worse than clint barmes' this year

idgi. gorkys can't hit, but he can at least run.

yeah seems like a guy who could be a defensive replacement/pinch runner, which has some slight value on a winning team

gaby has been horrible for an entire year now

broxton to the reds lol

Span declines trade to Reds, Cincy fans tweet with Pete Rose-level class.

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/7/31/3207142/denard-span-trade-reds-declines-twins

really weird that he has a no trade

@Buster_ESPN

Rangers land Ryan Dempster

dempster to tex?

casey mcghee for chad qualls

pirates with a deadly gaby/garrett jones platoon at first

rosenthal says the cubs got one player/one pitcher, both at class a, for dempster

which doesn't sound like very much tbh

Theo Epstein replaced by replicant

Kevin Goldstein ‏@Kevin_Goldstein
RT @alexspeier: Lars Anderson was traded to the #indians

remember this guy?

Evan Grant ‏@Evan_P_Grant
Sources: Rangers send 3B Christian Villanueva and RHP Kyle Hendricks to Cubs for Dempster.

Lars Anderson can play with Matt La Porta in the AAA all star game for the rest of their lives

this feels like fucking musical chairs

gonna blame it on the second wild card

kinda feelin for Casey McGehee, he's not even gonna get to play over there

the guy the sox got for lars anderson is a knuckleballer

I guess it's a moot point, but how would Soriano have fit into the Tigers' lineup? All of their guys are already 1B/LF/DH-types!

Neftali Feliz gets to have TJ surgery. I thought Nolan Ryan cured all the Rangers pitchers from having arm surgery with his new toughness program? I am confused.

that program has been made obsolete by trevor bauer, apparently

rub some dirt on it

I didn't really think Span was really an upgrade of any great note on what they got with Stubbs considering what they would have had to include. Bigger problem is that Dusty is locked in that the CF and SS have to bat in some combination of 1 and 2, he just re-arranges his lineup, they get on base plenty in front of Votto. Dusty has some ghostbusters don't cross the streams thing with batting two lefties with Votto and Bruce back to back- never mind that Votto hits left handers pretty well.

Thing is with Stubbs and especially Ludwick being on fire since the break along with that Dodger castoff Xavier Paul actually getting some good at bats off the bench, it kind of let off some steam on the whole - we got to get an outfielder. That said, I just don't think the Reds can go into a playoff series with Stubbs and Cozart batting 1/2 and expect much to happen. They can play, but they got to move one or both down the order.

Rumor mill to some that getting Broxton and with Nick Masset on the way back might all be a precursor for the Reds potentially switching over Chapman for the stretch run as a starter. I'll believe that when I see it, but it could be an interesting thought. I think Dusty would swallow his toothpick if the Reds did that too him.

yeah no fuckin way -- and wouldn't dusty theoretically be in charge of that decision anyway?

Maybe... the plan coming out of Spring Training was that for Chapman to convert over after Bill Bray and Masset got back. Thing is that the starters have been really good, still only used 5 to this point and with the holes in the pen, there wasn't pressure to get AC into the rotation.

All that said, I think the real idea might be if Broxton does ok down the stretch, the Reds might sign him and use him as Coco II: the Awakening as the closer as they really do move Chapman to the starting rotation. Quotes from Walt Jocketty seem to indicate some interest in potentially signing him.

I think that JJ Hoover the Reds got from the Braves in spring training and spent about a five weeks with the club earlier this year might be better than Broxton now and he is pitching in Louisville.

haha according to espn, gaby sanchez has managed to post -1.4 war in 10 games with the pirates

(it's actually his season level; he's replacement value in pittsburgh, where he has seven singles in 24 at bats)

casey mcgehee (who hit a bomb in toronto yesterday) could probably have managed that without giving up a sandwich pick

small sample size/there is no such thing as a prospect first-round draft pick, sure, but does gaby sanchez really have an upside?

hmmmm

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/8/24/3265801/adrian-gonzalez-waivers-los-angeles-dodgers-boston-red-sox

What is the implication there? I hate guessing games. Spell it out for me.

if the dodgers go "we'll give you our top 10 prospects for adrian gonzalez and we'll pay his entier contract" the red sox will say yes

otherwise not much is gonna happen

Sean McAdam ‏@Sean_McAdam
Confirmed: It is indeed the Dodgers who have also claimed Beckett. #RedSoxTalk
Retweeted by MLB Trade Rumors

this happened too..

bahahaha

@OldHossRadbourn: This is just as exciting as when the Dodgers claimed Chavez Ravine from the poor.

as the waiver world turns

GordonEdes: Blockbuster: red Sox, Dodgers working on deal that would send AGon, Crawford, Beckett and Punto to LA. Hurdles remain, but closing in

not even sure who the sox would want back besides zach lee

maybe they'll be forced to take loney?

PUNTO

they must be really impressed by "names"

sumthin shd happen so we can rag on j0rdan

but uh, LA couldn't put any of those guys on October roster?

@jonahkeri
I can't see any reason for the Red Sox not to do this deal if it's real. Even if they got absolutely nothing in return.

Imagine Carl Crawford's anticipation.

sumthin shd happen so we can rag on j0rdan

― Pangborn to be Wilde (Dr Morbius), Friday, August 24, 2012 5:39 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark

well taking back josh beckett and carl crawford is the rough equivalent of trading their top 10 prospects in terms of an "offer you can't refuse" scale

not even sure who the sox would want back besides zach lee

― mookieproof, Friday, August 24, 2012 5:30 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark

i don't think the sox are gonna get anything of note back -- being able to dump those three contracts on another team is good enough

A Red Sox source has confirmed that the Red Sox and Dodgers are currently talking about a mega-deal that would send Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to the Dodgers.

In exchange, the Red Sox will receive five players from the Dodgers. It remains unknown what the breakdown is between prospects and major-leaguers.

Medical records are currently being reviewed. If the records pass muster, then the Red Sox still need to have both Beckett and Crawford sign off on a trade since they each have veto power.

I'm having trouble believing this is real.

good god please let this be real

Dodgers: OFFICIAL: @Dodgers today recalled outfielder/infielder Alex Castellanos and optioned right-handed pitcher Rubby De La Rosa to AAA Albq.

De La Rosa is easily the best player the Sox could get.. apparently he was put on waivers but claimed by the Blue Jays.. Now Rubby has to chill in AAA for the rest of the year so he could be a PTBNL in the deal or if no deal, be called up later.

Kevin Goldstein ‏@Kevin_Goldstein
Everything I'm hearing says it's happening. RT @harjitsgill: @Kevin_Goldstein odds that it happens?

Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan
While hurdles remain, can confirm Red Sox and Dodgers have framework for blockbuster including Gonzo, CC, Beckett, as @GordonEdes reported.

Loney Highway scratched

Not Buster Olney ‏@TrippingOlney
YOU KNOW, IT’S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT JAMES LONEY COULD’VE BEEN SCRATCHED FROM THE DODGER LINEUP BECAUSE HE BLOWS.

MikeSilvermanBB: David Ortiz was walking around with a glove a second ago…they wouldn’t, would they?

trading for a guy named rubby, wow

rubby is awesome. SP who throws 100. I will miss him.

well uh, enjoy josh beckett i guess

NL Cy Young 2013

haha. if aj burnett can make a comeback maybe beckett can too?

amazing

yeah this is nuts

heres my dodger nerd breakdown of the players allegedly involved

rubby de la rosa - starter who can throw 100. just got back from tommy john surgery like 2 days ago. if he was still able to be called a prospect hed be 5 star all the way
ivan de jesus - was a stud ss prospect who could defend and hit for average until he broke his leg 2-3 years ago. kinda mediocre now. allegedly has attitude problems
jerry sands - currently raping AAA but apparently management doesnt think he's good enough to replace juan rivera and james loney who are fucking abysmal. would have liked to see him get a shot in LA..
james loney - had one good month in 2006 which he has parlayed into a major league career. had one of the worst seasons in mlb history until august last year when he turned it on in the last two months to finish at .288/.319/.415. decent defender.
mystery prospect - who knows..

@jonmorosi
Source: #Dodgers have agreed to send Allen Webster, James Loney, Jerry Sands, Ivan De Jesus, and Rubby De La Rosa to #RedSox. @MLBONFOX

figures the sox had to take back a rapist in this deal xp

rubby de la rosa - starter who

i'd appreciate it if you didn't make up names, this is a very serious thread

webster - =( sad to see him go.. dominating aa after a crap start.. ground ball pitcher with good control and k rate.

and its pronounced 'roobie' even tho 'rubby' is funnier.

THE DODGERS ARE ABSOLUTELY INSANE

Amazing. How many underperforming vets does that make it for la?

Is this the biggest trade ever in terms of money?

This is great news for Crawford, Gonzo, and Beckett. Boston is fucking poisonous.

http://distilleryimage2.instagram.com/17402d02ee3911e18c23123138106a37_7.jpg

taking down gonzo's pic

‏@Royals_Report
Yes, the #Royals will have a scout tomorrow in Sugar Land, Texas, to watch Roger Clemens. Other notes. http://bit.ly/MRuyj6

heard Boston is making them take Zito and A-Rod just to see how much shit LA will eat.

Amazing. How many underperforming vets does that make it for la?

― omar little, Friday, August 24, 2012 11:59 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

small sample size but in the last month hanley is hitting .300/.346./.500

but if you want to count officially here it is post trade

beckett
crawford
gonzalez (but is he really that bad?)
uribe
victorino
b. league

oh yeah and blanton sucks too

u forgot punto

dodgers are essentially choosing to pay gonzo like he's votto + are trading two of their three best pitching prospects for the right to do so

@Ken_Rosenthal
#Dodgers believed to be on Crawford’s no-trade list. He would need to approve the deal. Not expected to be a problem.

TRADE ME TO SUGAR LAND I DO NOT CARE SOMEBODY ME OFF THIS DEVIL MACHINE

THE DODGERS ARE ABSOLUTELY INSANE

what does this make their payroll now?

also, who all has to pass waivers? what if someone made a bid on punto just to be a dick?

they wouldnt be able to do this if these guys hadn't already been cleared or claimed by lad

J0rdan unreachable

my read on this is that the red sox are kicking in more money than i thought they would in order to get some players back. it's probably a sliding scale in that regard.

everyone says lad is paying 95% of the total $271 mil

this trade is basically beyond comprehension then

when did a trade of this scale last occur, if ever? It sounds like the two Finley A's deals that Kuhn vetoed circa '75.

crawford: five more years at $20.5m each (through age 35)
gonzalez: six more years at $21m each (age 36)
beckett: two more years at $15.7m each (age 34)
NICK PUNTO: one more year at $1.5m (age 35)

this is some herschel walker shit

haha, the Dodgets. they might have, after this deal, the biggest payroll in the NL.

everyone says lad is paying 95% of the total $271 mil

what would a small-market team sell for these days? (besides more than that)

this is actual insanity imo

http://content.usatoday.com/sportsdata/baseball/mlb/salaries/team/2012

according to forbes least valuable team is oakland @ $321 mil

ty

I don't get this trade at all.

It sounds like the two Finley A's deals that Kuhn vetoed circa '75.

My first thought! Where's Bowie to take an a real mess and make it worse?

This reminds me of the ARod/Manny trade that fell through in 2003, except it's way bigger.

This trade still hasn't happened yet you guys, I'll believe it when I see it.

This trade is odd.

craziest shit ever

Verducci:

The trade would represent the nexus of a windfall of television money in Los Angeles and dysfunction and disappointment in Boston. The Dodgers are set to score the biggest regional TV deal in baseball history this winter, a package that according to one high-level baseball official "will allow them to dwarf the Yankees. They've made it clear they want top major league talent and are willing to pay just about anything."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/baseball/mlb/08/24/dodgers-red-sox-gonzalez-beckett-crawford/index.html

"top major league talent"

so where does this trade fit in with that requirement??

Psyduck.jpg

*cherington snap awakes from a cold sweat* - "we forgot to give them lackey!!"

Lackey and Crawford are recovering from Tommy John surgery ... Tommy John played for the Dodgers ... it's starting to make sense!

deal done with $12 million going back to lad over 6 years

He’s still a solid .300 hitter who delivers with men in scoring position, but he’s simply not a winner. With the Padres in 2010 and the Red Sox in 2011, Gonzalez was part of two of the biggest folds in big league history. Now we have the Sox train wreck of 2012. It’s hard to put your finger on it, but watching Gonzalez up close for almost two full seasons, I’m beginning to think there’s a connection.

http://bostonglobe.com/sports/2012/08/25/blockbuster-deal-would-signify-end-failed-era/SeUJKgMWmn7FA39xKTaBBN/story.html

Right the 2011 September where he hit 318/455/518 and the 2010 September where he hit 283/402/446. Can't wait to read the Plaschke analysis.

"simply not a winner" is such bullshit analysis

Well look who is writing it...

In principle the Red Sox would be free to spend again after this trade, but who would sign a long term deal with them after this? Although it's not as if there weren't already enough reasons to avoid Boston -- nearly every big star who played for them over the past twenty years was railroaded out of town in one way or another (except Pedro) (Ortiz is still there so he doesn't count).

players are still going to go to whoever pays them the most 95% of the time

ahaha shaughnessy really brought out the big guns for that one

this trade is so insane from LA's perspective, i can't get over it

i mean, they're actually sending the red sox two top prospects!

i know it's like please take at least 2 fucking millstones from around our necks off our hands.
oh and we'll have a couple of your best prospects too.

i'm sort of happy for crawford but i was also looking forward to lolling at the rest of his career in boston

his time in boston was almost like this disney movie where in his first spring training day with the red sox he accidentally gets hit in the head with a ball and totally forgets how to play baseball. but he doesn't tell anybody and so we see his first season... swinging at every pitch in the dirt, just playing terribly overall but he has to keep this secret inside so everyone wonders about his demeanor. hopefully for LA's sake the part where he gets hit on the head again and everything goes back to normal happens before next season.

hahaha

i would watch that movie btw

ESPN should love this trade, now they will have two LA teams with the best rosters in their divisions to gush about that won't make the playoffs.

me too. i think maybe his first season in LA he's still being affected by his illness but he meets a woman at his first "hollywood party" and he confides in her, thus turning his life and career around

xp

i would nix the woman and go for a little girl with a big heart (and a bigger mouth!). she has a lot of gumption and shows carl how to get his groove back.

Why not both? The girl can be the woman's daughter.

late at night, after a particularly rough outing where crawford forgets to tag up and just runs home on a flyball, ending the game, he roams the misty outfield grass, seemingly alone. but morgan freeman is watching from the stands and he's figured out crawford's secret

But why should a star like Crawford listen to him, you don't know what I'm going through old man. Oh yes I do ... BOY ... and watch who you're talking to because I used to play ball too and if I had a fraction of your talent then I'd be out there busting my ass doing everything humanly possible to make things right.

Sorry, you can't say "ass" in a Disney movie, let's get a mod in here to edit that.

"Why not both? The girl can be the woman's daughter."

I like how you think.

we need to pitch this

official

Now I can say it -- DAAAAMMMNNNN

Pitcher John Lackey already had claimed Beckett's locker

Haha what the ... he's out for the season but is the first one to vulture stuff in the locker room.

and yeah ... DAAAMMMMNNN. I still can't believe this really happened in real life and not in a fantasy baseball league.

http://cantstopthebleeding.com/wordpress/img/2012/08/A1KjQMrCMAA0RSJ.jpg-large.jpeg

@Shredderpunto
Nick Punto

#dodgers doing it first class!

for the dodgers this seems somewhere between okay and catastrophic
meanwhile, can't wait to see who the sox overpay this offseason

I'm guessing that without the two wild card system, the Red Sox don't make this trade, IOW, rebuilding is easier than it used to be because you don't need to win as many games to compete. They were a .500 team for most of the season even with all the injuries and almost nothing from Beckett and Crawford. They could easily add a couple of pieces in the offseason and be a 85-90 win team next year, particularly if Lackey has anything left, De La Rosa contributes, Bard gets straightened out, etc.

was coming here 2 post that pic

we need to pitch this

Morgan Freeman would be good for voiceovers but it needs a Hologram Bernie Mac

bernie negotiating as benjamin cherington, coletti et al is bad santa

bad santa "half" poll

gonzo goes yard in 1st lad ab

for the dodgers this seems somewhere between okay and catastrophic
meanwhile, can't wait to see who the sox overpay this offseason
--frogbs

I can't imagine josh hamilton In boston.. Maybe swisher?

They're probably gonna end up with Delmon Young of all people, it just seems inevitable
I can see them going hard after Grienke though

This was my line of thought too: http://blogs.thescore.com/mlb/2012/08/25/the-financial-fallout-of-the-trade/

Also if Magic & co wins back fans and has a deep postseason drive, could that get them more $$ in the TV contract negotiation?

interesting post! http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/what-were-the-dodgers-alternatives

The Yankees just got the guy from Ratt.

The Dodgers still are looking for another starting pitcher for some reason.

I find it noxious that a big market team like the Dodgers would try to buy themselves a playoff berth.

someone has to be the Stanks of the NL NOW THAT THE pHILTHS ARE IN THE CRAPPER FOR A FEW YEARS

They're perfectly cool with losing the dollars-per-WAR championship.

from the comments of that great fangraphs writeup: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8306109/financial-concern-window-comes-new-dodgers-regime
and i have this bookmarked: http://bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view.bg?articleid=1061155865&position=1

"The Red Sox as the USSR": http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sportingscene/2012/08/the-red-sox-trade-adrian-gonzalez.html

This is fun!

Hank Steinbrenner as Henry Kissinger ... imposing sourface who wields considerable power but has a habit of leaving behind a big mess
Johnny Damon as Yakov Smirnoff ... the wisecracking "idiot" who switched sides
Manny Ramirez as East Germany ... fell apart completely after the fall of the empire, amazing on-field performer but was later revealed to be hopped up on PED's the whole time

Morbs to thread ... are the Mets Canada or the UK in this scenario, I can't decide.

http://i.imgur.com/9jvyM.jpg

erik bedard released by the pirates; newsday thinks he'd be a great fit for the yanquis

orioles pick up randy wolf for why

given their run differential, the whole thing is run by magic -- maybe randy wolf will be similarly magical

oh no doubt. i wish they waited a day and picked up bedard for sake of ~magical nostalgia~/five straight no-hitters