MLB Trade Ideas Based on Latest Offseason Week 4 News, Rumors and Speculation
It's only fitting that the trade chatter on baseball's rumor mill has begun to look like the dinner table at Thanksgiving: A veritable smorgasbord of options to choose from for us to fill the empty space in our bellies or, in the case of our favorite teams, the empty spaces on their rosters.
From former Most Valuable Players and All-Star relievers to versatile veterans and still-developing youngsters, there seems to be at least one potential trade chip that could fill any need a team may have on the diamond.
Keep in mind these proposed deals are only ideas and speculation. Unless otherwise noted, there's no indication any of them have actually been discussed.
Logan Forsythe Gets Traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers
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Los Angeles Gets: RHP Brad Boxberger and 2B/3B Logan Forsythe
Tampa Bay Gets: C/IF Austin Barnes, 2B/OF Willie Calhoun and OF Alex Verdugo
Rumor/Speculation
MLB Network's Jon Morosi tweeted that the Los Angeles Dodgers have interest in Tampa Bay's Logan Forsythe, noting that Dodgers general manager Andrew Friedman traded for Forsythe back in 2014 when he was running the show for the Rays.
The Dodgers' interest in Forsythe dates back to the non-waiver trade deadline, when Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal first reported that the two sides had discussed a potential deal.
Why It Makes Sense for the Dodgers
While Logan Forsythe is versatile enough to play multiple positions, Los Angeles trades for him to fill the gaping void the club currently has at second base. Due just $5.75 million in 2017 and with an $8.5 million team option for 2018, he's a relative bargain given his level of production.
Since becoming Tampa Bay's everyday second baseman in 2015, he's hit a combined .271 with 37 home runs, 120 RBI and a .791 OPS. Entering his age-30 season, there's no reason to believe he can't replicate, if not improve upon those numbers as he joins a much deeper Dodgers lineup.
An All-Star closer in 2015, when he led the American League with 41 saves, Brad Boxberger lost his closing job due to an abdominal injury in spring training that required surgery to repair and never seemed to find his groove upon returning to action.
Arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason, the 28-year-old is under team control through the 2019 season. He gives the Dodgers another experienced reliever to plug into its bullpen.
Why It Makes Sense for the Rays
Tampa Bay gets a trio of controllable players that are either ready to contribute or close to it, something that's always imperative for the financially limited club to have in its pipeline.
Austin Barnes, 26, could be Tampa Bay's catcher of the present (and future), but he's versatile enough to fill in at second base on days when he's not behind the plate. He doesn't have great power but is an on-base machine with an excellent approach at the plate.
There are questions as to whether 22-year-old Willie Calhoun has the defensive chops to stick at second base, but he could easily slide into left field, another area of need for the Rays. Calhoun has plenty of pop in his bat and consistently makes hard contact, profiling as a middle-of-the-order threat.
Alex Verdugo has spent most of his professional career in center field, but has the requisite arm strength to settle into right field without much hassle. With an advanced approach at the plate and still-developing power, the 20-year-old might have the most upside of the three prospects the Rays walk away with.
Brett Gardner Gets Traded to the San Francisco Giants
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New York Gets: RHP Reyes Moronta and LHP Andrew Suarez
San Francisco Gets: OF Brett Gardner
Rumor/Speculation
New York has been getting calls on outfielder Brett Gardner and third baseman Chase Headley, general manager Brian Cashman recently told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.
Why It Makes Sense for the Yankees
Whether the Yankees ultimately make a run at free-agent slugger Yoenis Cespedes or not, trading Brett Gardner makes some sense. The Gold Glove Award-winning defender remains a productive player, but at 33, doesn't necessarily fit in with the team's desire to get younger and more athletic.
In exchange for Gardner, the Yankees add two more intriguing arms to a farm system that's suddenly full of them.
Reyes Moronta, 23, is a power reliever with a fastball that sits in the mid-90s, an improving slider and a penchant for missing bats, fanning 93 batters over 59 innings for High-A San Jose in 2016. Still another year or two away from contributing in the majors, he has a chance to become a late-inning weapon.
San Francisco's second-round pick in the 2015 draft, 24-year-old Andrew Suarez has moved quickly through the Giants' farm system, reaching Double-A in his first full professional season. The southpaw has four pitches in his arsenal, all of which he's shown the ability to throw for strikes fairly consistently.
Why It Makes Sense for the Giants
Due $24 million through 2018 and with a $12.5 million team option for 2019 with a $2 million buyout, Gardner plugs a gaping hole in left field for San Francisco and won't eat up a huge chunk of the team's payroll.
He's got the on-base skills and speed that make him a threat at the top of the lineup—slotting him between Denard Span and Buster Posey makes some sense—but has plenty of experience hitting at the bottom of the order as well, giving manager Bruce Bochy options when he fills out his lineup card.
Marcell Ozuna Gets Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals
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Miami Gets: LHP Jaime Garcia and RHP Michael Wacha
St. Louis Gets: OF Marcell Ozuna
Rumor/Speculation
ESPN.com's Mark Saxon suggests Miami and St. Louis match up well on an offseason trade that would fill holes for both clubs, with the Marlins sending center fielder Marcell Ozuna to the Cardinals in exchange for big-league pitching.
Why It Makes Sense for the Marlins
There's no possible way to actually replace the late Jose Fernandez atop the rotation, but Miami is in desperate need of live arms to bolster its rotation. The Marlins wind up with a pair of experienced starters in this deal, albeit two with significant questions.
Jaime Garcia, 30, has bounced back from a litany of arm issues and cemented himself as a solid major league starter who can, on occasion, look brilliant. He's pitched to a combined 3.70 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 301.1 innings since 2015 and is due $12 million in the final year of his contract.
It wasn't that long ago that 25-year-old Michael Wacha looked like a future ace and one of the best young pitchers in baseball. But injuries and ineffectiveness led to a disastrous 2016 (5.09 ERA, 1.48 WHIP) that found him bounced from the Cardinals' rotation.
Under team control through 2019, Wacha is still young and talented enough to realize his potential. A change of scenery could be just what he needs to do that.
Why It Makes Sense for the Cardinals
Between the return of a healthy Lance Lynn and prospects Marco Gonzales (who, like Lynn, missed all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery), Alex Reyes and Luke Weaver nearly ready to contribute to the rotation, St. Louis finds itself with an excess of starting pitching—and a hole in center field.
Marcell Ozuna might not be a Gold Glove-caliber defender, but the 26-year-old would fill a void in the Cardinals' outfield. His power would also help the club replace some of the production it lost with the departures of Matt Holliday and Brandon Moss.
Like Wacha, Ozuna is under team control through 2019, making him more than a short-term rental.
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Zach Britton Gets Traded to the Chicago Cubs
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Baltimore Gets: 3B Jeimer Candelario, RHP Trevor Clifton, 2B/OF Ian Happ and RHP Duane Underwood
Chicago Gets: CL Zach Britton
Rumor/Speculation
While Dan Duquette, Baltimore's executive vice president of baseball operations, recently told MASNSports.com's Roch Kubatko that he'd "rather see Zach Britton on our team than I would to trade him right now,” ESPN.com's Buster Olney believes the Orioles should be shopping their All-Star closer.
Why It Makes Sense for the Orioles
Baltimore adds four intriguing prospects, including a pair of players—Jeimer Candelario and Ian Happ— who cracked MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list and are ready to contribute in 2017.
Obviously, Jeimer Candelario is blocked at third base in Baltimore by Manny Machado, just as he's blocked at the hot corner by Kris Bryant in Chicago. But the 22-year-old is ready for an extended look in the big leagues, and the switch-hitter could fill the designated hitter void the Orioles currently have.
He also provides the Orioles with some insurance should a long-term extension with Machado, who can become a free agent after the 2018 season, fail to materialize.
Another 22-year-old switch-hitter, Ian Happ, isn't going to bounce Jonathan Schoop from second base. But he's capable of playing all three outfield positions and could be the Orioles long-term solution in left field. He's a complete player, with power, speed and the ability to hit for average.
Neither Trevor Clifton nor Duane Underwood is ready to help the Orioles in 2017, but both have a chance to develop into No. 2 starters in the majors.
Why It Makes Sense for the Cubs
Adding baseball's best closer on what amounts to a two-year deal has more appeal than committing four or five years at an average annual value in the $20 million range to one of the game's elite closers, doesn't it?
That's exactly what Chicago does in this deal, replacing Aroldis Chapman with Britton, who comes with two arbitration-eligible seasons remaining.
The 28-year-old has been downright filthy since transitioning from starter to closer, pitching to a combined 1.38 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with 120 saves and 215 strikeouts over his last 209 innings of work.
With C.J. Edwards, Mike Montgomery, Hector Rondon and Pedro Strop among the relievers still under contract, Chicago's bullpen would once again be a strong suit for the defending world champions.
Andrew McCutchen Gets Traded to the Houston Astros
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Houston Gets: OF Andrew McCutchen
Pittsburgh Gets: RHPs Riley Ferrell, David Paulino and Cy Sneed, OF Teoscar Hernandez
Rumor/Speculation
Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle was less than convinced that he'd have Andrew McCutchen in center field next season when asked by Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
“I'll take it one day at a time. I think any general manager that's in a market similar to the one we're in has to explore the possibility of (trading) players who have one or two years left on their contracts. ...That's the way we're going to need to continue to operate. It's the hard part of what we get to do.”
Why It Makes Sense for the Astros
After signing Josh Reddick and trading for Brian McCann, Houston is clearly going all-in this offseason when it comes to bolstering its lineup. Adding Andrew McCutchen to the mix would continue the Astros down that path.
Sure, he's coming off a career-worst season and has lost a step as he enters his age-30 season. The days of McCutchen being a perennial MVP candidate are likely over.
But he finished the 2016 season strong, hitting .284 with 19 extra-base hits (nine home runs), 36 RBI and a .852 OPS over his final 56 games. Rumors of his continued demise may be a bit exaggerated.
Adding McCutchen not only improves Houston's lineup but gives the club options defensively. It could roll with McCutchen in center field, flanked by Reddick and George Springer, or shift McCutchen to left field and Springer to center.
Due $14 million in 2017 and with a $14.5 million team option for 2018 (with a $1 million buyout), McCutchen could be more than a short-term rental for Houston.
Why It Makes Sense for the Pirates
McCutchen's $14 million salary is a burden for a team that has limited financial resources, and he doesn't factor into Pittsburgh's long-term plans, not with top center field prospect Austin Meadows getting closer to the big leagues.
The Bucs add three controllable young arms in this deal, with 22-year-old David Paulino having the highest upside of the group. While he was unimpressive in his first taste of the big leagues in 2016, he's armed with three quality pitches and has the makings of a front-of-the-rotation starter.
You won't find Cy Sneed's name on many top prospects lists, but the 24-year-old uses a trio of pitches to pound the strike zone, has a penchant for making batters swing and miss and could contribute to the back end of Pittsburgh's rotation in 2017.
An aneurysm in his throwing shoulder cut Riley Ferrell's 2016 short, but the 23-year-old has a devastating fastball-slider combination and the makeup to become a dominant closer or late-inning reliever.
Teoscar Hernandez has the combination of power and speed scouts love and is capable of playing all three outfield spots.
He'd be a temporary replacement for McCutchen in center field until Austin Meadows is ready to take over, at which point he'd either become the team's fourth outfielder or a valuable trade chip for the Pirates to play.
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs. All contract information courtesy of Cot's Baseball Contracts (via Baseball Prospectus).
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