Sheets for Crawford rumor

[yoyomayoma]

Mods, you can put this in the pitching trade thread if you like. I thought it deserved its own thread though. MLBtraderumors has a link to a rumor about the Brewers wanting Crawford and willing to give up either Sheets or Capuano. Here's the link: http://gothambaseballmagazine.com/forums/index.php?topic=431.0

 

Basically it says we'd give up either one but both would be too pricey for the D-Rays. Both teams are trying to involve the Yankees to do a 3 way to make it work. If it involves Sheets, would you want Crawford back or would you want the stud pitching prospect? Personally if it's Hughes, Chamberlain or Kennedy, I'd prefer to just trade with NY and get the pitcher. Any one of them next to Yo would be a solid 1-2 for a long time. I don't see how we'd land Crawford with a package starting with Cappy. Any ideas?

(more explicit subject -TC)

[trwi7]

Hmm link for me isn't working. Depends on the finer details but I'm not sure how much I'd like giving up Sheets for Crawford.

[brewers255]

The Brewers are trying to acquire TB's Carl Crawford, who sources say the club thinks is the final "piece to their puzzle", but the Rays don't want pricey ace Ben Sheets of Chris Capuano in return. Instead they want to see if they can get the Yankees (who like both of those guys) involved.

 

The Yankees are interested in the Brewers' duo because they believe the Brewers' asking price is rair. However, the Brewers, who want a speedy, leadoff-type LF for 2008 and beyond, don't want Johny Damon in the deal. So, there are efforts being made to get the three teams together before the Winter Meetings.

 

We'll keep an eye on that.

 

thats from the link.

[sbrylski]

Rumor states it'd be something like this:

 

MIL Gets: Crawford

TB Gets: NYY Prospects/Youth

NYY Gets: Sheets/Capuano package

 

If we can do it using Capuano, I'm THERE. If Sheets, I'm very very iffy about it. There would have to be something else to the deal or a second move in place to someone rectify his loss.

[sbrylski]

I'll also add that I think this is a longshot. It does tell you what players the Brewers are willing to move though.

[brewers255]

This site also seems to be very credable. So who knows.

[trwi7]

So is this place a reputable source or do they usually blow smoke? I'm not familiar at all with the site and since I can't access it for some reason I have no way of looking myself.

[brewers255]

MLB Trade rumors also has the same article.

[strawbossisevil]

Adding Crawford would give us a fun lineup to watch, especially with all the speed that Crawford, Weeks and Hart would provide.

 

Crawford

Weeks

Braun

Fielder

Hart

Hall

Hardy

Estrada

 

That said, are we really planning on being competitive with a pitching rotation of:

 

Gallardo

Villenueva

Suppan

Parra

Bush

 

And what about our relievers? Getting rid of both Sheets and Capuano, leaves only Vargas expendable to bring in a reliever. A trade like this would have to be the start of a sequence of moves. (Perhaps signing a guy like Rogers, signing a few moderately priced RPs). I suppose getting rid of Sheets and Cappy would provide us with a little financial wiggle room to work with, on top of the wiggle room we already have, so we could make a few midlevel signings.

[dadofandrew]

The Crew would have to pick up a rotation ready pitcher in that deal...for Sheets alone. Add Cappy in, the Crew needs back a reliever and an SP.

 

Crawford is not short-term either...seems strange.

[splitterpfj]

I have no idea how credible that site is, or what their source for this is, but it's interesting. Personally, I think Crawford is overrated to this point, but I also think he has a chance to step up from where he's been, given his skills and his age.

 

No idea what parts would be needed to make it work, but if the Rays are holding out for one of New York's top young arms, my guess is, this is dead already.

[Milltownhooker]

I'd just go to the Yanks & try to add Hughes or Kennedy plus Melky Caberra

[splitterpfj]

The Yankees keep saying they won't move Hughes or Chamberlain - either this thing would get absolutely enormous, or it has no chance.

[dadofandrew]

I could see Crawford for Sheets, but that does not make sense for TB. A 3rd team would complicate things a great deal, and I agree, it makes no sense for the Yankees to give up Hughes for 30 starts of Sheets.

[TooLiveBrew]

If it involves Sheets, would you want Crawford back or would you want the stud pitching prospect? Personally if it's Hughes, Chamberlain or Kennedy, I'd prefer to just trade with NY and get the pitcher.

 

Ditto, yoyomayoma. From my few perusals of Gotham Baseball, it's a well-done site, and doesn't blow smoke. It sucks to hear that Crawford is the 'final piece of the puzzle', as we need more OBP, something he doesn't really bring. There is no way you deal Sheets for Crawford straight up. Just thinking of that made me throw up in my mouth a little.

[dadofandrew]

Crawford has good OBP, as this is a case where career numbers are misleading, being as the Rays, a horribly run organization, rushed him and had him learn in the bigs, so he's now too rich for them just as he's getting good. He's a .360/.500 guy, not sure what you'd want.

[strawbossisevil]

Although I'm sure a trade to the Yankees would be under the condition that Sheets signs a long term deal with them. So it would most likely be more than 30 starts. And Sheets is a proven top of the rotation starter, whereas Hughes has shown flashes but isn't there yet. Add Capuano into the deal, and it makes even more sense for the Yankees.

 

I could see the Yankees giving up Hughes to Tampa Bay in a three way deal.

 

Crawford to the Brewers would also make sense, if Melvin thinks that the young group of Parra, Gallardo, and Villenueva are all going to be solid contributers to the rotation, or if he is planning on signing a average to above average pitcher. It would hurt the Brewers long term tremendously to lose Sheets for nothing but draft picks. The truth our timeframe for being very competitive is over the next 4 or 5 years. Adding Crawford for Sheets and Capuano may hurt our team in the short term, but having a player like Crawford for the next three? years would definitely be nice.

 

Our offense would definitely be one of the best in the league, with above average contributors at potentially 8 of the 9 positions (with the exception of Catcher where we'd be pretty average).

[Oldcity]

So where did this originate then?

 

I have to think the Brewers would not give up Sheets for Crawford, and the Devil Rays wouldn't give up Crawford for Capuano... Doesn't really make sense to me.

[brosto1]

I would trade Sheets for Crawford in a nanosecond. His contract alone makes it a good deal, allowing for more money to be used elsewhere. I will take three years of Crawford for one more year of wondering how many starts Sheets will make. It would definitely require some more pitching to be brought in, but that would not be enough of a concern that I would not do that trade. There would be more money available and there are teams out there that have pitching on the market.

[joshjs]

I also agree that the Yankees would be giving up a lot for one year of Sheets. And I'm not sure how well he'd fit as a Yankee. I sort of like the deal, though. It's ballsy. Not so hot in terms of what our rotation would look like, but we'd have a heck of an offense. Maybe make the playoffs and then get eliminated in the first round. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

 

Also: I'd bat Weeks first, then Crawford. More OBP from the leadoff spot.

[TooLiveBrew]

Doa, he's not an OBP guy. If you call a guy whose OBP is near .360 when his BA is near .320, then sure - he's your guy. His BB rates are not good, and that's not a product of being rushed - though he was undeniably rushed. He doesn't sustain high OBP without BA. That's not the kind of player that's the 'last key to our puzzle.'

[joshjs]

You know, looking over Crawford's stats, I have to agree that giving up Sheets+ for him isn't a good idea.

 

My first thought was that it doesn't matter if most of his OBP comes from batting average, as long as he's consistently hitting for average, and I stand by that thought, but the OBP just isn't high enough. I still think Crawford is good. But he's not good enough.

 

Man, it's so easy to get excited about good fantasy players, and it's so often a bad idea.

 

However, Crawford's SPO (steals plus on-base) last year was pretty good (50.355). http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[joshjs]

By the way, SPO is a stat I originated, so when it catches on, I expect some props. I'm looking at you, Joe Morgan.

[TooLiveBrew]

Joe Morgan hates your stat, because it's not 8,574 years old. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

 

The reason OBP generated mostly by BA matters is that when the guy hits .275 in the near future, his OBP is only going to be around .320

[joshjs]

You're absolutely right. But the question, then, is whether you expect him to hit .275. I don't, especially moving from the AL East to the NL Central. By the time he'd be hitting .275, he'd be off with another team.

 

I doubt I've won you over, but I think we can agree that his OBP won't be all that great, even if he is hitting .320. He's an .800 OPS guy, optimistically.