MLB Trade Ideas: 5 Teams Who Wandy Rodriguez Makes Sense for If Astros Sell
If the Astros continue to struggle, they could start to move some of their valuable pieces like Brett Myers and Wandy Rodriguez. I see Myers being the most likely of the two to be traded but Wandy could bring back more prospects.
Wandy is off to a slow start in 2011, but that should not alarm many people because he has done this almost every year of his career. The past three years, Wandy has had an ERA of 3.86 before the All-Star break and drops it more than a run to 2.80 after the All-Star break.
I believe these are five teams that would be interested in Wandy Rodriguez if the Astros decide to make him available later this year. These teams would be looking more long term than just a half year rental as Wandy is under contract for the next four years.
Seattle Mariners
1 of 5
The Seattle Mariners have not done much to help King Felix in that pitching rotation other than trading for Erik Bedard, which has not worked out well. Right now, the Mariners have Jason Vargas, Doug Fister, Bedard and Michael Pineda as the rest of their rotation.
Adding Wandy as the No. 2 could make a big difference for the Mariners and really strengthen the top of that rotation for the future. You could also expect Wandy to most likely improve on his numbers as he moves from the hitter friendly Minute Maid Park to the spacious Safeco Field.
New York Mets
2 of 5
The Mets pitching rotation is an absolutely mess right now and there may be some Triple-A teams with better rotations. With Johan Santana still recovering from shoulder surgery, they have had to go with Mike Pelfrey as their "ace," who currently has an ERA of 9.72.
There are still questions about when Johan will come back and if he can be the same dominating pitcher he once was. If not, then the Mets will need to completely retool the rotation and Wandy Rodriguez isn't a bad starting block. Again, this move could benefit Wandy as he moves to the bigger Citi Field.
St. Louis Cardinals
3 of 5
This is a very big long shot as this would mean the Astros trading Wandy within their own division, but it makes sense for the Cardinals to be on the look out for another top arm with Adam Wainwright lost for the season with Tommy John surgery. This was a severe blow to the Cardinals rotation and now it stands as Chris Carpenter with a group of average pitchers.
Adding Wandy Rodriguez could be a boost for the Cardinals this year and create a pretty good Big Three of Carpenter, Wainwright and Rodriguez in the future. Again, this would be an extremely long shot for the Astros to send Wandy to St. Louis and the Cardinals would have to offer a king's ransom to get Wandy, which I don't see happening either.
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Washington Nationals
4 of 5
Once Stephen Strausburg returns from his Tommy John surgery, the Nationals will be looking to provide their ace with some support in the rotation and Wandy could be the No. 2 that Washington is looking for. Wandy is 32-years-old but only has six years experience in the majors and is signed to a reasonable contract.
The Nationals do have some young players like Jordan Zimmerman and John Lannan but Wandy would be much better suited at the top with Strasburg. Wandy could also provide some veteran leadership for the other pitchers on the team.
New York Yankees
5 of 5
The New York Yankees will most likely be mentioned when anybody mentions a pitcher on the trading block this season. They lost Andy Pettitte this offseason and replaced him with Freddy Garcia. Now with Phil Hughes on the DL, the weakest part of the team just got weaker.
The Yankees have Freddy Garcia, Ivan Nova and Bartolo Colon as the bottom half of their rotation and during the playoffs that just won't cut it for the Bronx Bombers. Wandy Rodriguez could be an asset come playoff time for this team as it will allow them to have a three man rotation of CC, A.J. Burnett and Wandy.
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