Bullpen help that won't cost an arm and a leg in prospects

[LouisEly]

One of the things that will make it difficult to trade for bullpen help is that there are not a lot of teams that are out of the race, and many of the teams with the worst records (COL, SD, SF) are in the weakest division (NL West). Another issue is that a lot of these teams have young guys in the bullpen (SEA, ATL, KC) and if they are rebuilding they may not want to part with them (or they would cost too much). That being said, it appears that the Brewers don't really need a closer so much as they need set up men that won't implode a la Mota and Gagne. The first thing they need to do is jettison Mota and bring up Pena, but they need one more reliever so we don't need to see Gagne.

 

Some middle relief guys who shouldn't require a top-5 or top-10 prospect in return:

1) Matt Herges, COL - old (38) but consistent - very little difference between home/road and day/night, so you know what you are getting. Good numbers (high-3's/low 4's ERA) the last two years considering he's pitching half his games in Coors.

 

2) Jason Grilli, COL - not young but not old (31), not sure why DET gave up on him since he has been a decent reliever for them the last two years; putting up good numbers in COL; has experience with DET in the playoffs

 

3) Saul Rivera, WAS - pitched in a lot of games last year (85!) - might be concerned about the wear on his arm, but not young (30) and pretty consistent the last three years. He may be due for a big raise, so WAS might want to part with him. Probably would cost the most of the group in return.

 

4) Keiichi Yabu, SF - old (39), good numbers in SF

 

5) Jack Taschner, SF - already discussed ad nauseum in other threads; not young (30) but with the Cubs and Cardinals being heavily right-handed bats I'd prefer a RH reliever

 

6) Chad Bradford, BAL - more of a ROOGY as he has routinely pitched more games than innings

 

Of these, my preference would be 1) Rivera (but would cost the most) and 2) Herges. Lots of other LH relievers out there (Ron Mahay, Arthur Rhodes) but I would prefer a righty. The other rightys out there (Heath Bell, etc.) would probably cost as much or more than Linebrink last year; the one exception that I might explore would be Jon Rausch of WAS. Their 5th starters have been abysmal, so a couple of starter prospects (Narron, Hammond, Periard) might get them to listen.

[brewjihad]

I nominate Eddie Guardado, pitching for the Rangers. He has a 2.70 ERA and pretty equal splits.

[piccione88]

If we trade for Durham, I like the idea of Yabu being thrown in, he would definatley be an upgrade over Mota. My favorite player to get though, would be Brian Tallet from the Blue Jays, who have incredible depth in the pitching department. Tallet is a left hander who has very even splits against both left and right handed hitters. Tallet has a 7.6 K/9, walks 3.6/9, 40.9 GB%, and allows .72 homeruns per game. Jason Frasor from the Blue Jays, and Chad Bradford are two others that I like.

[rousieboy]

Interesting call on Tallet...I remember him from his LSU days when I lived in Baton Rouge...I always liked what he brought to that team...

[brettac1]

I like Yabu, sort of. I was kind of disappointed when Beane got rid of him a few years ago. I would rather he be thrown in on the Durham deal than Taschner.

[igor67]

I just want to voice some skepticism in terms of actual benefits of these trades. There's about 70 games left in the season. As painful as Gagne and Mota have been to watch at times relievers as a group have large variances in their performance, so these middle of the road guys have a better shot then we'd like to admit of being perfectly mediocre. I agree with the not giving up an arm and a leg approach. I'm skeptical I'd give up much of anything truthfully. And what is Ray Durham supposed to give us that we don't have already? He's terribly limited defensively, and subpar at second to boot. He's what maybe a notch above Dillion offensively? We could get more positional flexibility and the OBP skills calling up Nelson. My price at this point is to let them pick over the triple A guys after Nelson, Rottino, and Hernan. And that ain't much.

[eanelson4]

4) Keiichi Yabu, SF - old (39), good numbers in SF

 

I would LOVE to see him come to Milwaukee, simply for his name. Did anybody else listen to Uecker pronounce his name earlier in the year when the Dodgers were in town. I couldn't stop laughing.

[Oldcity]

I agree that most of these guys would only be marginal improvements if any. I know there's a different thread for him, but I'd like to target Damaso Marte.

[piccione88]

These types of players will not have a huge affect, but they will not cost much either, I am thinking along the lines of a low minors guy, or a guy like Nelson who probably does not have a very high ceiling. I do not think that guys like John Rauch, Brian Fuentes, and Damaso Marte are going to give you more than maybe 1 extra win over the middle relief type pitchers. Yet their price tag will be much higher, with at least 10 teams in on Fuentes, and probably close to that many on Marte and Rauch.

[Samurai Bucky]

It might be tough to get Zumaya from Detroit. He'd be a nice get.