Offseason MLB Trade Ideas Based on Latest Week 22 News, Rumors and Speculation
Don't be fooled.
Just because baseball's second trade deadline has passed, and swaps between clubs can no longer be consummated, don't think for a second that general managers aren't constantly working the phones. Some of these conversations are new, while others were started months ago and only now are being revisited.
Trade talk goes on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year—and we never hear about most of it.
While there's still plenty of baseball left to be played and the playoffs still to come, there are a number of teams that have their eye on the 2016 season and beyond. Sure, many teams will focus on free agency at first, especially those in the market for a starting pitcher. But trades will be made—you can count on that.
From current and former All-Stars to young talent that's just getting their professional careers started, a lot of pieces will be moving around this offseason. We'll touch on all of them on the pages that follow.
Keep in mind that these proposed deals are only ideas and pure speculation. Unless otherwise noted, there's no indication that any of them have actually been discussed.
Jay Bruce Gets Traded to the Orioles
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Baltimore Orioles Get: OF Jay Bruce
Cincinnati Reds Get: RHPs Parker Bridwell and Tyler Wilson and OF Mike Yastrzemski
Faced with the possibility of another mass exodus from its lineup this offseason, with Chris Davis, Gerardo Parra and Matt Wieters all set to hit the open market, Baltimore has to bring in another bat from outside the organization.
While Jay Bruce hasn't been quite the offensive force he was before undergoing knee surgery last year, the 28-year-old would certainly help to replace some of the production the Orioles are almost assured of losing this winter.
Due $12.5 million in the final year of his deal, Bruce is a one-year rental, as he's unlikely to be amenable to an extension so close to free agency. That makes him slightly less valuable than he was at this year's deadline, when the Reds talked about a swap with the New York Mets for injured starter Zack Wheeler, per CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.
The Reds land a three-player package for Bruce, featuring two arms that could factor into their 2016 pitching staff, Parker Bridwell and Tyler Wilson. Bridwell, 24, has pitched to a 3.99 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 18 starts in his first taste of Double-A, fanning 93 in 97 innings of work.
Wilson, 25, is a consistent strike-thrower that doesn't miss many bats but has already shown an ability to handle multiple roles in the majors, allowing six earned runs over 24.2 major league innings as both a starter and reliever for the Orioles as various times this season.
Neither one projects to be a front-line starter, but the pair could very easily become solid, reliable, innings-eaters at the back of the rotation.
Yastrzemski, 25, hasn't lived up to the hype brought on by his bloodlines or last name and seems to have taken a step backward in his development at Double-A, as his numbers are down across the board—substantially—from a season ago.
At this point, a change of scenery—some new voices and ideas—may be what it takes for him to get his career back on track. Cincinnati, which has organizational outfield depth, including top prospect Jesse Winker, can afford to be patient with Yastrzemski, who may ultimately be nothing more than added depth.
Carlos Gonzalez Gets Traded to the Mariners
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Colorado Rockies Get: 1B/OF Patrick Kivlehan and RHPs Dan Altavilla, Edwin Diaz and Pedro Vasquez
Seattle Mariners Get: OF Carlos Gonzalez
While speculation mounted that Carlos Gonzalez would be traded before the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31, sources told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick that Colorado was more likely to move the two-time All-Star over the winter.
Seattle, which is unlikely to allow its new general manager to spend freely in free agency, needs to bolster its outfield. If the Mariners aren't going to be players for the biggest bats available in free agency, trading for a player like CarGo makes a lot of sense.
Sure, he'll be 30 years old heading into 2016, his numbers aren't nearly as good away from Coors Field and there will always be concerns over his lengthy history of injury. But compared to the prices that free agent bats will be commanding, the $37 million he's due through 2017 is a relative bargain.
It'll cost the Mariners to land him, as other teams will be in the hunt for his services as well, but Seattle has the pieces to get a deal done.
Colorado lands a four-player package in exchange for CarGo, one that includes two of Seattle's 10 best prospects, per MLB.com: 21-year-old starter Edwin Diaz (No. 5) and 25-year-old first baseman/outfielder Patrick Kivlehan (No. 6). Both are nearly major league ready.
The other two players heading to Colorado, 22-year-old Dan Altavilla and 19-year-old Pedro Vasquez, are still works in progress and a few years away from potentially making an impact. But they've got upside, and Colorado needs as many live arms in development as it can get.
Starlin Castro Gets Traded to the Angels
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Chicago Cubs Get: LHP Greg Mahle and RHP Nick Tropeano
Los Angeles Angels Get: IF Starlin Castro
One way or another, Los Angeles is going to land an infielder that can play second base this winter. There are worse decisions the Angels (and their new, yet-to-be named general manager) could make than taking a chance on the embattled Starlin Castro.
It's true that Chicago tried to move Castro earlier this season to no avail and that the Cubs aren't a team that likes to sell low. It's also true that Castro's value can't get much lower. He's hitting .246 with a .600 OPS, has lost his shortstop job to Addison Russell and is now part of a second base platoon with Tommy La Stella.
While it seems like Castro has been around forever, he'll be entering his age-26 season next year. He's still got upside, and that makes the four years and $38 million left on his deal (not including a $16 million team option in 2020) a reasonable risk for the Angels to take.
The Cubs pick up a pair of solid arms that can contribute right away in 22-year-old Greg Mahle and 25-year-old Nick Tropeano.
Mahle doesn't have elite velocity but still misses bats regularly thanks to a four-pitch mix and his ability to use multiple arm angles that keep the opposition guessing. A reliever, he's moved quickly through Los Angeles' farm system, reaching Double-A in his first full season and could thrive in a setup role.
Tropeano has struggled this season, both at Triple-A and in three major league starts, but he's an aggressive strike-thrower with a terrific makeup that still projects to be a No. 3/No. 4 starter in a big league rotation.
A chance to work with Joe Maddon and his staff in Chicago might be just what he needs to finally realize his full potential, giving the Cubs another young, quality arm to plug into the rotation.
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Aroldis Chapman Gets Traded to the Diamondbacks
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Arizona Diamondbacks Get: LHP Aroldis Chapman
Cincinnati Reds Get: RHP Aaron Blair, 2B/SS Isan Diaz and OF Mitch Haniger
Arizona general manager Dave Stewart didn't hide his interest in Cincinnati closer Aroldis Chapman leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline, and while no deal was struck back then, there's no reason to believe that Stewart won't revisit those discussions this winter.
Back then, sources told ESPN's Jayson Stark that the Reds were looking for "three higher-level prospects" in return for their closer, who at that point had a year-and-a-half of control left. With only one year left on his deal, it's fair to assume that asking price might have dropped slightly.
He's still going to cost quite a bit to obtain, however, so don't think for a second that the D-backs are landing him at a discounted rate here.
Cincinnati walks away with three quality prospects, the best of which is 23-year-old Aaron Blair. An impressive physical specimen (6'5", 230 pounds) that works fast, Blair uses three plus offerings, including a mid-90s fastball, to make batters swing and miss while doing a tremendous job of limiting his walks.
Mitch Haniger, 24, has battled injuries since Milwaukee took him 38th overall in the 2012 draft, but has hit for both power and average when healthy and still has enough upside to be a regular in a corner spot, with the arm strength to stick in right field.
Both he and Blair are just about ready to contribute in the big leagues, something that can't be said about 19-year-old infielder Isan Diaz, who is more of a long-term project. But he's shown awesome power to begin his career with 39 extra-base hits (12 home runs) over 62 games in Rookie ball this season.
And of course, the D-backs get Chapman, the best closer in baseball, to solidify the ninth inning, allowing Brad Ziegler to slide back into a setup role.
James Shields Gets Traded to the Tigers
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Detroit Tigers Get: RHP James Shields and $30 million
San Diego Padres Get: SS Dixon Machado and LHP Josh Turley
Detroit figures to be active on both the free-agent and trade markets this winter, and bolstering the starting rotation has to be at (or near) the top of general manager Al Avila's list of things to do.
While James Shields hasn't been outstanding in San Diego, he hasn't been nearly as bad as some have made him out to be, pitching to a 3.78 ERA (4.17 Fielding Independent Pitching) and 1.31 WHIP while averaging more than a strikeout per inning.
Shields, who spent the bulk of his career in the American League, has put up surprisingly solid numbers at Comerica Park over the course of his career, pitching to a 2.28 ERA and 0.92 WHIP over eight starts, spanning 51.1 innings of work.
Nobody disputes that his back-loaded contract, which pays him $63 million over the next three years (not including a $16 million team option in 2019), is an issue. That's one of the reasons that the Padres include $30 million in the deal, essentially putting him on a two-year, $33 million pact with Detroit.
The other reason is to ensure that they get the shortstop they need in 23-year-old Dixon Machado, a defensive whiz with a bat that has "enough pop to keep pitchers somewhat honest," as Baseball America notes in its midseason ranking of Detroit's top-10 prospects (Machado came in at No. 4).
Josh Turley, 25, could be a back-of-the-rotation starter or an additional bullpen piece. While he has five pitches—including a knuckleball—in his arsenal, and he throws them all for strikes, he lacks a truly plus offering, somewhat limiting his upside.
Still, he could prove to be a useful arm, even if its as nothing more than organizational depth.
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs and are current through games of August 31. All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts (via Baseball Prospectus).
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