MLB Trade Ideas Based on Latest Spring Training News, Rumors and Speculation
With each passing day, baseball's rumor mill begins to gain a bit more speed. Opening Day looms large on the horizon, and with its steady approach, teams are beginning to look at potential deals involving players that are out of minor league options.
Being out of options doesn't automatically put a player on the trade block, mind you. But having too many out-of-options players on a roster can limit a team's flexibility as needs arise during the regular season.
In most cases, teams peddling such talent are at a disadvantage in trade talks. Other general managers know that in a week or so, they'll have a chance to claim said player off the waiver wire. But a chance doesn't guarantee that they'd be able to get a player they've got their eyes on, so trades are discussed.
Of course, that doesn't apply to every player that's out of minor league options, as we'll examine on the pages that follow. Keep in mind that these deals are pure speculation—there's no indication that any of them have actually been discussed.
Eric Surkamp Gets Traded to New York (NL)
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Mets Get: LHP Eric Surkamp
White Sox Get: Player to be named later
The numbers game has Chicago looking to unload 27-year-old starter-turned-reliever Eric Surkamp, an American League source tells CSN Chicago's Dan Hayes, and chances are there's a team out there willing to take a flier on him.
Once a top-10 prospect in San Francisco's system, Surkamp was mediocre in his first full year as a reliever, pitching to a 4.81 ERA and 1.44 WHIP over 35 games for the White Sox in 2014. But he's put up solid numbers across six minor league seasons (3.10 ERA, 1.17 WHIP), and despite getting hit hard this spring (seven earned runs and 10 hits over 5.2 innings of work), he knows how to miss bats, fanning nine.
The Mets have been in search of another southpaw in the bullpen ever since losing Josh Edgin for the year to Tommy John surgery. But a team source tells Mike Puma of the New York Post that it's "unlikely" they'll make a move, pointing to high asking prices and mediocre options available as reasons why.
Translation: The club hasn't been able to convince Baltimore to eat all the money left on Brian Matusz's deal, so they'll just go into the season with what they've got.
Surkamp isn't going to cost the club anything substantial to bring in, and he's got minor league options left, which would allow the Mets to try and work out whatever kinks they find in his mechanics to try and get him on track.
He's exactly the kind of low-cost, high-upside player that the Mets need to consider. They've got nothing to lose—and lots to gain—by taking a chance on him.
Austin Romine Gets Traded To...
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Out of minor league options and trailing J.R. Murphy in the battle to back up Brian McCann, Austin Romine's time in New York could soon be coming to an end.
Once considered the heir apparent to Jorge Posada in the Bronx, the 26-year-old has drawn interest from Philadelphia and San Diego, who see Romine as an upgrade over their current backup catcher, according to George A. King III of the New York Post.
Romine, who has built a reputation as a solid defender, has struggled to produce at the plate, hitting .204 with a .529 OPS over parts of three major league seasons.
While his trade value is somewhat limited and could very well bring the Yankees a player to be named-later in a swap, let's take a look at what a Romine deal could look like with each interested party.
Romine Gets Traded to Philadelphia
Phillies Get: C Austin Romine
Yankees Get: RHP Seth Rosin
Romine is more valuable to the Phillies than he is to the Yankees, especially given the team's lack of a viable option behind the aging Carlos Ruiz. Not only could Romine serve as his primary backup, but he could wind up as his eventual replacement—at least until a prospect like Deivi Grullon is ready for the majors.
Seth Rosin was never considered a top prospect like Romine once was, but the 26-year-old is a hard-thrower who knows how to miss bats (career 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings over five minor league seasons). He relies primarily on his heater, which sits in the mid-90s and has good sink.
Romine Gets Traded to San Diego
Padres Get: C Austin Romine
Yankees Get: LHP Chris Rearick
Romine would replace 37-year-old Wil Nieves as the primary backup to Derek Norris in San Diego, though with prospect Austin Hedges getting closer to the big leagues, his stay with the Padres could be relatively short.
Named the "Best Relief Pitcher" in Tampa Bay's minor league system in both 2011 and 2012, the 27-year-old Rearick has yet to make his MLB debut.
But he owns a 2.60 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over parts of five minor league seasons, earning more than a strikeout per inning while keeping the ball in the park, allowing only 12 home runs over 273 innings pitched.
The Yankees already have a number of talented left-handed relievers down on the farm (Jacob Lindgren, James Pazos and Tyler Webb), but there's no harm in adding another southpaw to the minor league mix.
Erasmo Ramirez Gets Traded to Arizona
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Diamondbacks Get: RHP Erasmo Ramirez
Mariners Get: IF/OF Danny Worth
Buried on the depth chart and out of minor league options, Erasmo Ramirez knows that his time in Seattle may be coming to an end.
“I know the only way to stay with the Mariners is to clear waivers,” Ramirez told The (Tacoma) News Tribune's Bob Dutton. “But I can’t worry about that. I’m just worried about staying healthy and doing what I need to do: Just keep the ball down and throw strikes…and wait for news.”
While his numbers over parts of three major league seasons aren't great (4.65 ERA, 1.36 WHIP), and he's prone to the long ball (31 HR over 206.2 innings), he's entering his age-25 season and would surely be claimed by another team on waivers.
That's why MLB.com's Greg Johns says the team will try and trade him before Opening Day.
Ramirez isn't a perfect fit at Chase Field in Arizona, which is one of the game's more hitter-friendly venues, but he's the kind of young arm that a team in a transitional year like the D-Backs are can afford to take a flier on.
He'd replace Allen Webster, who has been shelled this spring (7.71 ERA, 2.04 WHIP) and still has minor league options remaining, at the back of Arizona's rotation. In exchange, the D-Backs would send utility man Danny Worth to Seattle.
A career .230 hitter over parts of five seasons in Detroit, the 29-year-old Worth wouldn't be a major addition for a contending club like Seattle.
But he's a capable fielder at multiple positions, has minor league options remaining and would provide insurance for the Mariners should aging veterans Willie Bloomquist and Rickie Weeks be lost to injury or become totally ineffective in reserve roles.
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Dioner Navarro Gets Traded...Somewhere
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It wouldn't at all be surprising to find Dionar Navarro sitting in a corner somewhere, candles lit, lights off and the veteran backstop in the midst of some sort of ritual involving the baseball gods. Due $5 million in the final year of his deal in Toronto, all he wants to do is catch.
“I want to play every day. I don’t want to be a back-up," he told the Toronto Sun's Bob Elliott earlier this month. He's been saying the same thing since the Blue Jays blindsided him with the Russell Martin signing.
Toronto understands where Navarro is coming from and is willing to move him in the right deal if it meant he'd get a chance to start somewhere else. Navarro told Elliott that his agent says both Arizona and Detroit have interest, so let's see if we can't construct a deal that works with both clubs.
Navarro Gets Traded to Arizona
Blue Jays Get: RHP Brad Ziegler
Diamondbacks Get: C Dioner Navarro
I really didn't want to include this deal, which I've proposed before, but Arizona GM Dave Stewart left me no choice.
The more he shoots down rumors of a Navarro swap—something he's been doing for months—the less believable his denials become. For this latest round of rumors, Stewart's says that Navarro's $5 million salary is too much to fit into the budget, according to the The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro.
There's an easy fix to that problem, Dave. Trade away a player that's making the same amount—like Brad Ziegler.
Perhaps the deal makes too much sense: Arizona would get a veteran backstop on a one-year deal, leaving the door open for prospect Peter O'Brien to take over in 2016, while the Blue Jays would not only remove an unhappy player from the clubhouse but strengthen the bullpen with a reliable arm.
Navarro Gets Traded to Detroit
Blue Jays Get: RHP Ian Krol and a PTBNL
Tigers Get: C Dioner Navarro
That Detroit has interest in Navarro is a bit surprising. After incumbent Alex Avila, the Tigers have Bryan Holaday and prospect James McCann as options behind the plate. But they do have interest, so here we are.
Navarro would be an upgrade over Avila and allow the Tigers to keep McCann down on the farm for one more year, though what the team would do with Avila and/or Holaday at that point remains to be seen.
In Krol, the Blue Jays get a young, hard-throwing reliever with two above-average offerings, but one who still needs to work on commanding his arsenal. He's far from a sure thing and has had middling results in the majors (4.50 ERA, 1.52 WHIP over 60 innings), but Krol still has substantial upside.
He'd need to start the year down in Triple-A to work out the kinks, but Krol could be on a fast track to Toronto if he's able to do just that.
Tyler Moore Gets Traded to San Francisco
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Giants Get: 1B/OF Tyler Moore
Nationals Get: 2B/SS Matt Duffy, LHP Steven Okert
While Tyler Moore might be out of options, the Washington Nationals don't have to trade him. When you consider how crowded the team's training room has been this spring, dealing him away might be a terrible idea, as Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal notes.
"Moore, 28, would seem unlikely to be traded," Rosenthal writes, "considering that Nationals outfielders Jayson Werth (shoulder), Nate McLouth (shoulder) and Denard Span (abdomen) all could start the season on the disabled list."
Moore's major league numbers aren't great—a .239/.295/.418 slash line over parts of three seasons. But he's hit in the minor leagues, with back-to-back 30-home run campaigns in 2010 and 2011, and his struggles in the majors can be attributed to a lack of consistent playing time more than a lack of talent.
But—and there's always a but—Rosenthal goes on to say that the Nationals would trade him if a deal made sense. In this case, a deal that makes sense is one in which a team is so desperate to acquire Moore that they make the Nationals an offer that Washington simply can't refuse.
Enter the defending champs, the San Francisco Giants, a team that is in dire need of outfield help and, according to MLB Network's Peter Gammons, have been monitoring Moore this spring.
In exchange for Moore, the Giants part with a pair of quality prospects: Matt Duffy and Steven Okert.
Duffy, named the team's ninth-best prospect by Baseball America, is blocked in the big leagues by Brandon Crawford at shortstop and Joe Panik at second base. A utility infielder in the playoffs last year, Duffy profiles as an average defender at short but a plus one at second base.
He won the Eastern League's batting crown, hitting .331 last season, has some pop in his bat and can cause problems with his speed when he gets on base. He'd be the Nationals second baseman of the not-so-distant future, especially if Ian Desmond departs as a free agent after the year, forcing Yunel Escobar back to short.
A fourth-round pick in the 2012 first-year player draft, Okert, 23, reached Double-A in only his second full professional season and owns solid numbers across parts of three minor league seasons (2.45 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 10.2 K/9).
Blocked by Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez in the Giants bullpen, the southpaw would provide the Nationals with some insurance should Jerry Blevins or Matt Thornton falter and could easily slide into the bullpen on a full-time basis in 2016.
Unless otherwise noted, all spring training statistics courtesy of MLB.com and are current through games of March 23. All other statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs.
All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts.
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