MLB Teams Looking to the Future at the 2016 Trade Deadline
We don't need Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Velma or Daphne to help us sniff out clues as to which MLB teams are looking to the future at this year's non-waiver trade deadline. With Aug. 1 fast approaching, we've got a good idea of who they'll be.
That said, looking to the future doesn't necessarily mean a team will be sellers. Buyers can be forward-looking as well. In fact, at least one last-place team with no chance of contending this season could be looking to buy—and buy big.
Of course, there are still clubs unsure of what they'll do in the days ahead.
The Los Angeles Dodgers would be wise to heed the advice of Bleacher Report's Jacob Shafer. That is, they should avoid mortgaging the future in an attempt to make a deep playoff run without staff ace Clayton Kershaw, who is dealing with a herniated disc in his back.
Ain't that the truth.
In New York, the truth seems to be lost. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and team president Randy Levine stand in the way of general manager Brian Cashman's desire to sell off as many veteran pieces as possible, with an eye toward fielding a younger, more athletic and cheaper club in 2017, per ESPN.com's Wallace Matthews.
While those teams (and a handful of others) continue to vacillate between playing for the present or looking to the future, the following clubs are firmly set on following the latter path.
Atlanta Braves
1 of 9
With president of baseball operations John Hart and general manager John Coppolella running the show, Atlanta has spent more than a year making moves with the future in mind. As a result, the team has amassed an impressive array of young talent down on the farm.
As ESPN.com's Keith Law wrote earlier this year, those moves "[have] stocked the system with pitching depth that is the envy of the industry." That depth would be reason enough to trade staff ace Julio Teheran, who would be one of, if not, the most sought-after arm on the market.
But Coppolella shot that idea down last week, telling Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "No. We aren't trading Julio." With the team set to move into SunTrust Park next season, you can be reasonably sure the team doesn't envision anyone but Teheran starting the home opener.
Still, the Braves could move some expendable pieces at this year's trade deadline—a list that includes Nick Markakis, A.J. Pierzynski and Arodys Vizcaino, who Jon Heyman of TodaysKnuckleball.com reports the team is still getting calls on despite being sidelined by a strained oblique.
Atlanta could also flip the script on what we expect from a last-place club at the deadline. They could be buyers.
Milwaukee's Jonathan Lucroy may come back onto the team's radar now that he's shown he's past his injuries from last year, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman. Coppolella could look to package some of that pitching depth in a deal for the 30-year-old catcher, temporarily plugging the hole behind the plate.
Whether it's Lucroy, who'll likely be under contract next year on a $5.25 million team option, or another controllable bat at a position of need, the Braves have the pieces to make waves as both buyers and sellers over the next few weeks.
Chicago White Sox
2 of 9
"Mired in mediocrity." That's the phrase Chicago GM Rick Hahn used when informing reporters, including Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune, that the White Sox were shifting gears and willing to listen to offers on most of their players.
According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, only the team's starting rotation—including youngsters Carson Fulmer and Carlos Rodon—and shortstop prospect Tim Anderson are off-limits.
"We're mired in mediocrity," Hahn said, per Kane. "That's not the goal. That's not acceptable. … The goal was to put ourselves in a situation to win a championship, and (being) stuck at .500 or around .500 doesn't do that. We may well have to adjust and take a longer-term view and take a different approach going forward."
None of this guarantees that the White Sox actually will sell at the deadline. Dumping salary isn't the goal, and giving away in-their-prime talents like Jose Abreu, Adam Eaton and Brett Lawrie—or established veterans such as Melky Cabrera and Todd Frazier—makes no sense if the return isn't worthwhile.
That said, if Hahn's asking prices are reasonable, he could wind up as one of, if not the busiest GM in baseball over the next week.
Cincinnati Reds
3 of 9
Cincinnati has been making moves with the future in mind for nearly a year. The Reds swapped starters Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake for prospects at 2015's trade deadline. They then did the same with third baseman Todd Frazier and closer Aroldis Chapman during the offseason.
The Reds likely would have received a better return for Chapman and Frazier had they traded them at last year's deadline—especially in Chapman's case. Reds GM Dick Williams won't make the same mistake this time and will ship All-Star outfielder Jay Bruce elsewhere before Aug. 1.
Arguably the top available bat, Bruce has been linked to a number of teams recently. Baltimore, Cleveland, Los Angeles (NL), San Francisco, Texas and Washington all have "varying degrees of interest" in Bruce, according to Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan.
That he comes with a reasonable $13 million team option for next season adds to his value.
Bruce isn't the only member of the Reds who could be on the move, as both journeyman starter Dan Straily and shortstop Zack Cozart would be of interest to contending teams. That said, Cozart seems less likely of the two to be dealt as the Reds don't have an immediate replacement.
.png?w=256)
Milwaukee Brewers
4 of 9
While the decision to deal Mike Fiers and Carlos Gomez at last year's trade deadline wasn't Milwaukee GM David Stearns'—as he'd yet to be hired—baseball's youngest general manager has been trying to rebuild the Brewers the only way he knows how.
"We recognize that for us to remain consistently competitive—whether that’s now or in the future—our overarching organizational philosophy is always going to be to acquire, develop and retain the best talent that we can," Stearns told Bleacher Report's Seth Gruen earlier this month. "At this stage of where we are, we’re doing our best to accelerate that process."
Nothing would do that more than trading All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy.
Players like Lucroy don't become available often. He's in the prime of his career, puts up excellent offensive numbers, is elite defensively and comes with a team-friendly contract that pays him only $5.25 million in 2017.
MLB Network's Jon Morosi tweeted that the Brewers are discussing deals involving Lucroy with multiple teams, including the Cleveland Indians, who recently lost their starting catcher, Yan Gomes. He will miss the next six to eight weeks with a separated shoulder.
The Indians could also have interest in Milwaukee relievers Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith. Both have been mentioned on the rumor mill in recent weeks, as ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick noted on July 10 that "lots of scouts [were] bearing down on" the pair.
Minnesota Twins
5 of 9
Nothing says "looking to the future" quite like parting ways with your GM only weeks before the trade deadline. And that's exactly what happened in Minnesota.
Granted, it was Terry Ryan's decision to step down. He'd been told more than a month ago that this would be his last year on the job and was allowed to decide when he'd take his leave. But it's now on Ryan's longtime assistant, Rob Antony, to try to position the Twins for greater success in 2017 and beyond.
“I think communication is important,” Antony told the Star Tribune's La Velle E. Neal III about his relationship with manager Paul Molitor and how the team will be handling the upcoming deadline. “ ... Especially now because I let him know if there is something that might be coming around the bend or some players who might be moving so he can be prepared mentally and I can explain to him, ‘If we do something with this guy, here’s who we would bring up or we would be getting this back.’”
Per Neal, owner Jim Pohlad has given Antony the autonomy to make whatever moves he believes will improve the club. While the Twins are short on veterans with expiring deals, Antony is sure to be fielding offers for All-Star shortstop Eduardo Nunez, reliever Fernando Abad and starter Ervin Santana, among others.
Oakland Athletics
6 of 9
Trades involving starter Rich Hill, outfielder Josh Reddick, third baseman Danny Valencia and any number of Oakland relievers (John Axford, Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson) would fetch decent returns for the A's. Some or all of those players could be dealt before the deadline.
But there's one move that would truly signal the A's are looking to the future—and it's one the team would be wise to wait on making: trading Sonny Gray.
Despite some terrible numbers (5.12 ERA, 1.48 WHIP), Gray would immediately become the most sought-after pitcher on the market were the A's to make him available. But clubs are going to use those numbers as rationale for not paying top dollar for a 26-year-old who finished third in the American League Cy Young Award voting a year ago.
Selling low on Gray is not the way to go. And so far, the A's have been "unwilling to engage in substantive discussion [about a potential deal]," executives from other teams told Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan. There's no reason to expect that to change.
Oakland's best chance of adding substantial pieces for the future is to wait until the offseason—or even this time next year—to seriously consider moving its ace.
Philadelphia Phillies
7 of 9
Without a Cole Hamels to trade, Philadelphia isn't in a position look for a massive haul for the players they might move. That's not to say the likes of Freddy Galvis, Jeanmar Gomez, Jeremy Hellickson and Carlos Ruiz have no value—they do—but the returns will be minimal.
So why trade any of them, you ask? Because it's about clearing room for some of the team's top prospects, who could get some invaluable big league experience down the stretch, better preparing them to help Philadelphia in 2017 and beyond.
Ben Lively or Jake Thompson could replace Hellickson in the rotation. Andrew Knapp could split time with Cameron Rupp behind the plate. The J.P. Crawford era at shortstop could finally begin. You get the idea.
Much of Philadelphia's future is already in the organization. The time has come for GM Matt Klentak to clear a path so we can all see what that future looks like.
San Diego Padres
8 of 9
Say what you will about San Diego GM A.J. Preller, but after gutting much of the Padres farm system upon his arrival, he's made some shrewd moves that find the club with the game's second-best minor league system at midseason, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law.
"I don't think any team added as much talent to its system as the Padres have in the past 12 months, between the [Craig] Kimbrel and [Drew] Pomeranz trades, the draft and their extravagant spree in the July 2 market," Law wrote.
And while Preller is without two of his biggest trade chips as the deadline approaches—right-hander Tyson Ross (ankle, shoulder) and outfielder Jon Jay (forearm), who are both injured—the Padres still have righty Andrew Cashner, catcher Derek Norris and a handful of lesser pieces that could bring more young talent into the system.
Tampa Bay Rays
9 of 9
With limited finances, Tampa Bay always has one eye on the future and the other on fielding a contender. That formula has worked for quite some time, but with the Rays on the outside of the playoff picture this season, some deep introspection is in order.
That Chris Archer and Evan Longoria, the faces of the franchise, are even popping up in trade rumors (per MLB.com's Ken Gurnick and Jon Morosi, respectively) is all the proof we need that GM Matt Silverman is thinking about 2017 and beyond.
While it's unlikely that either Archer or Longoria will be dealt this summer, the same can't be said for much of the team's remaining roster, especially its rotation. Matt Moore, Jake Odorizzi and Drew Smyly have been the subject of speculation for weeks. One or more of them could be moved for a bat (or two) at the deadline.
.png?w=480)
