Prospective trade deadline targets?

[wntrtxn21]

I could see us being interested in a Ray Durham/Jerry Hairston Jr. type for 1B/3B where when the going gets tough we have someone who has "been there before."

That Jerry Hairston Jr. trade ended up being low-key pretty solid.

 

Closest in-season “veteran presence” position player acquisitions they’ve made during Stearns tenure are Neil Walker and Curtis Granderson. Both of those worked out well, but if they are going to add a veteran hitter to this current roster I think it would need to be someone that maintains positional flexibility because their roster spot would likely replace someone like Daniel Robertson.

 

Asdrubal Cabrera? .241/.343/.400 plays 1B, 2B, 3B and SS. Would be an excellent depth piece and has a ring and over 100 at bats in the post season

 

I'd hold up on Cabrera. Since his IL stay he is hitting .143 (8 for 56) - 3 doubles - no triples - 1 HR - 16 Ks. Escobar I think would be a better choice, but probably more expensive to get. Josh Harrison from the O's would be fine too, but again, more expensive to get.

[SandyTolan]

What about getting a high-end starter rental like Scherzer or even Jon Gray, and moving Houser into the pen where he has been fantastic in the past? This could work especially well in the playoffs. As for hitting, I think Urias and Hiura are going to be enough along with a resurgent (or jut surgent) Jace, though a strong utility guy to replace Robertson would be a great upgrade. Gallo I think would cost too much.

[PeaveyFury]

You think Gallo might cost too much but are interested in trading for Scherzer?

 

I do agree with the concept, though, that one of the best ways to help the bullpen might be to put Houser back in it…

[pacopete4]

As the president of Houser belongs in the pen club, Houser hasn’t warranted any thought of moving him. He’s done a great job as a 4 type arm in a rotation. In the playoffs, I’m sure he’d end up a long man or something but he’s been just fine in the rotation.

[PeaveyFury]

I guess the thought would be as to where they’d be best able to make an acquisition to improve. If they can find a cost-effective SP and move Houser to the pen, that would work. But, I’m relatively certain they’d find more cost- effective options just acquiring a pen arm directly though.

[wntrtxn21]

What about getting a high-end starter rental like Scherzer or even Jon Gray, and moving Houser into the pen where he has been fantastic in the past? This could work especially well in the playoffs. As for hitting, I think Urias and Hiura are going to be enough along with a resurgent (or jut surgent) Jace, though a strong utility guy to replace Robertson would be a great upgrade. Gallo I think would cost too much.

 

What would be the cost to get Scherzer? Unless the Nats ate some money, the remainder of his contract would cost around $15-16M. The more $$ they eat, the more they would want in return. Gray isn't as good, but would be much cheaper to acquire and pay. He would be #4. I wonder if there is a lefty worth having they could get?

[homer]

Interesting home/away split on Garrett Cooper.

 

Home .349 .446 .619 1.065

Away .211 .289 .321 .610

 

Better against lefties as one may assume but respectable vs righties too.

 

 

That seems like a small sample thing. His splits over a full season in 2019 were a bit different:

 

Home 292/355/426/781

Away 267/332/471/803

[sveumrules]

What about getting a high-end starter rental like Scherzer or even Jon Gray, and moving Houser into the pen where he has been fantastic in the past? This could work especially well in the playoffs. As for hitting, I think Urias and Hiura are going to be enough along with a resurgent (or jut surgent) Jace, though a strong utility guy to replace Robertson would be a great upgrade. Gallo I think would cost too much.

 

What would be the cost to get Scherzer? Unless the Nats ate some money, the remainder of his contract would cost around $15-16M. The more $$ they eat, the more they would want in return. Gray isn't as good, but would be much cheaper to acquire and pay. He would be #4. I wonder if there is a lefty worth having they could get?

 

Boras essentially said Max would only waive his NTC if the acquiring team signs him to an extension, so can probably rule the Brewers out on Scherzer.

[igor67]

I have no good idea what the cost of Scherzer would be, but from a playoffs perspective adding that 4th starter of ace quality would be super intimidating along with aggressive use of a slightly smaller pen in the playoffs (no need for 6 starters) does sound very appealing. Honestly if Hiura is starting to hit close to as expected it is a challenge to find obvious big holes on the position player side.

[homer]

I could see us being interested in a Ray Durham/Jerry Hairston Jr. type for 1B/3B where when the going gets tough we have someone who has "been there before."

That Jerry Hairston Jr. trade ended up being low-key pretty solid.

 

Closest in-season “veteran presence” position player acquisitions they’ve made during Stearns tenure are Neil Walker and Curtis Granderson. Both of those worked out well, but if they are going to add a veteran hitter to this current roster I think it would need to be someone that maintains positional flexibility because their roster spot would likely replace someone like Daniel Robertson.

 

Asdrubal Cabrera? .241/.343/.400 plays 1B, 2B, 3B and SS. Would be an excellent depth piece and has a ring and over 100 at bats in the post season

 

I mentioned him earlier.

 

I think they'll also target some mid/late inning relief guys like the move they made with Pomeranz.

[Lathund]

I think even if Urias keeps hitting like he has over the last month+ and Hiura hits well, we'd still want to sign a bat. Injuries will always happen, and Urias is also backing up SS/2B, so having another bat in the infield mix to prevent a drop-off from whenever the starting lineup is out. Probably not a huge need to go all out for a huge bat though.

 

I'm sure they'll add a reliever or two as well; probably not the biggest names out there, but solid upgrades.

 

But there is of course always a chance they'll do something noone was expecting...

[brewmann04]

I think a reliever is the best call but will they look for a lefty or Righty ? I think DS has one more big move up his sleeve.

[SRB]

I'm not sure how much payroll space they've built in for a playoff-caliber team, but if we could work out something for both Josh Donaldson and Taylor Rogers where we could eat some money in return for a lesser prospect return, that would be amazing.

[rickh150]

I'm not sure how much payroll space they've built in for a playoff-caliber team, but if we could work out something for both Josh Donaldson and Taylor Rogers where we could eat some money in return for a lesser prospect return, that would be amazing.

 

Yeah, Donaldson would be intriguing. Playing him at 1B might be the move with him if Urias keeps hitting. He’d also give us some depth at 3B with Shaw out. He could be a #4 or #5 in our lineup daily.

[BruisedCrew]

What about getting a high-end starter rental like Scherzer or even Jon Gray, and moving Houser into the pen where he has been fantastic in the past? This could work especially well in the playoffs. As for hitting, I think Urias and Hiura are going to be enough along with a resurgent (or jut surgent) Jace, though a strong utility guy to replace Robertson would be a great upgrade. Gallo I think would cost too much.

 

What would be the cost to get Scherzer? Unless the Nats ate some money, the remainder of his contract would cost around $15-16M. The more $$ they eat, the more they would want in return. Gray isn't as good, but would be much cheaper to acquire and pay. He would be #4. I wonder if there is a lefty worth having they could get?

 

Boras essentially said Max would only waive his NTC if the acquiring team signs him to an extension, so can probably rule the Brewers out on Scherzer.

 

The Nats are only 2.5 games out in a wide open division race. Why would they be wanting to move Scherzer?

[tigerbrew]

I'm not sure how much payroll space they've built in for a playoff-caliber team, but if we could work out something for both Josh Donaldson and Taylor Rogers where we could eat some money in return for a lesser prospect return, that would be amazing.

 

Yeah, Donaldson would be intriguing. Playing him at 1B might be the move with him if Urias keeps hitting. He’d also give us some depth at 3B with Shaw out. He could be a #4 or #5 in our lineup daily.

 

If the Twins are looking to clear Donaldson's hefty contract, I wouldn't mind trading Urias and Cain for him. Have Donaldson replace Urias at 3B.

[clancyphile]

Kind of interesting that Ray didn't make our latest top 42 prospect list so we can stop throwing him in hypothetical trades now

Sad that Ray never put it together. Lots of loud tools, but the hit tool never showed up.

 

When all is said and done, Ray's a left-handed Keon Broxton.

[Eye Black]

Josh Donaldson left yesterday’s game with a hamstring injury. He seems to carry a high injury risk, and I’m not convinced he’d be a great addition from a clubhouse standpoint. He was also the guy that sort of made fun of Yelich when he had his Twitter exchange with Darvish a couple of years ago, which certainly isn’t that big of a deal, but when the team chemistry appears to be completely rock solid right now I’m not sure I like the Donaldson fit.

 

Jon Gray is a starter I could see them in the mix for if they wanted to add another higher end arm.

[Devinep]

I know his defense and presence are top knot have, but an easy upgrade would be replacing Pina with a righty catcher who doesn’t hit like a pitcher. A cheaper, controllable backup would be Eric Haase from DET. He’s hitting decently, and his last 2 MiLB seasons were solid too. Plus he can play some OF

[adambr2]

I know his defense and presence are top knot have, but an easy upgrade would be replacing Pina with a righty catcher who doesn’t hit like a pitcher. A cheaper, controllable backup would be Eric Haase from DET. He’s hitting decently, and his last 2 MiLB seasons were solid too. Plus he can play some OF

 

To me it's just a little too much potential disruption to team chemistry and the pitching staff to replace the backup catcher in the middle of the season. Narvaez is going to start the vast majority of games anyway, so there is very little to be gained even if things work out.

[Devinep]

I know his defense and presence are top knot have, but an easy upgrade would be replacing Pina with a righty catcher who doesn’t hit like a pitcher. A cheaper, controllable backup would be Eric Haase from DET. He’s hitting decently, and his last 2 MiLB seasons were solid too. Plus he can play some OF

 

To me it's just a little too much potential disruption to team chemistry and the pitching staff to replace the backup catcher in the middle of the season. Narvaez is going to start the vast majority of games anyway, so there is very little to be gained even if things work out.

 

The question is, how anemic of a bat can you allow to exist in the big league roster until you replace him?

[SeaBass]

I know his defense and presence are top knot have, but an easy upgrade would be replacing Pina with a righty catcher who doesn’t hit like a pitcher. A cheaper, controllable backup would be Eric Haase from DET. He’s hitting decently, and his last 2 MiLB seasons were solid too. Plus he can play some OF

 

To me it's just a little too much potential disruption to team chemistry and the pitching staff to replace the backup catcher in the middle of the season. Narvaez is going to start the vast majority of games anyway, so there is very little to be gained even if things work out.

 

The question is, how anemic of a bat can you allow to exist in the big league roster until you replace him?

IMO at catcher you can absorb the deficiency on offense when his chemistry with the staff and his behind the plate defense are top notch and Pina's absolutely is. As the #2 catcher you can't do much better. Pina has hit well enough in the past I think we just hope for the best in that regard, there's still time for him to figure that out and improve.

[endaround]

I know his defense and presence are top knot have, but an easy upgrade would be replacing Pina with a righty catcher who doesn’t hit like a pitcher. A cheaper, controllable backup would be Eric Haase from DET. He’s hitting decently, and his last 2 MiLB seasons were solid too. Plus he can play some OF

 

To me it's just a little too much potential disruption to team chemistry and the pitching staff to replace the backup catcher in the middle of the season. Narvaez is going to start the vast majority of games anyway, so there is very little to be gained even if things work out.

 

The question is, how anemic of a bat can you allow to exist in the big league roster until you replace him?

 

Haase ZIPS projections going forward: 87 wRC+

 

Pina ZIPS projection going forward: 82 wRC+

 

Could Haase keep up his current hitting? Sure, but that is not expected. You can make the case he is one of those players who just never got an opportunity but he based on what he did in AAA 2018 and 2019 not much was expected.

 

Getting a trade done will also be difficult. Haase will be thought of a back up catcher with potential but that doesn't bring a lot in return. But if the Tigers keep him and he keeps hitting they may have a tope hitting catcher on there hands which could return actual value and help a rebuild. So no reason for the Tigers to trade him for a Corey Ray type return.

[LouisEly]

I know his defense and presence are top knot have, but an easy upgrade would be replacing Pina with a righty catcher who doesn’t hit like a pitcher. A cheaper, controllable backup would be Eric Haase from DET. He’s hitting decently, and his last 2 MiLB seasons were solid too. Plus he can play some OF

What about a catcher with an OPS of .744, .724, .702, and .751 over the last four seasons and plus defense?

 

If so, he's already on the team.

[Devinep]

I know his defense and presence are top knot have, but an easy upgrade would be replacing Pina with a righty catcher who doesn’t hit like a pitcher. A cheaper, controllable backup would be Eric Haase from DET. He’s hitting decently, and his last 2 MiLB seasons were solid too. Plus he can play some OF

What about a catcher with an OPS of .744, .724, .702, and .751 over the last four seasons and plus defense?

 

If so, he's already on the team.

 

Oh you mean the guy with one hit in the last month? And an OPS+ of 51 through this season? I’m just not convinced he isn’t starting to fall off. That would be nice if he could get back to being a decent hitter though