NFT: MLB Winter Meetings Day 4

Many teams leave right after the Rule 5 Draft this morning,so unless teams are very close to a deal,it won't happen today.

The Pirates are scouting the Yankees for a possible Gerrit Cole deal. That's different from what we were hearing earlier in the week, when it was mentioned that Cole wasn't on the market. I have to imagine it will cost the Yanks a few premium prospects, as Cole is decent, young, and has a controllable contract.

We'll see what happens with Cole. Could something like Andujar, Adams, Abreu get it done? Is Frazier a given?

As a fan, I'm still hoping to see Todd Frazier return and I'm not really sold on Andujar at 3B despite his supposed improvements defensively (and while his bat is very good, it's not good enough to offset poor defense if that remains an issue).

My preference would be Fulmer by a wide margin, but if the Yanks can acquire either Fulmer or Cole without dealing Torres or Sheffield (and there seems to be no suggestion that they will) and bring back Todd Frazier, I'd consider the offseason a huge success.

Machado. No prospects dealt/lost, no chance of him bolting next year after giving up prospects, just cold hard cash.

must be thinking buy low and sell at ASB. Def can see Whitesox making this move.

Another to look out for would be Twins

In comment 13739864 Rory said:

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must be thinking buy low and sell at ASB. Def can see Whitesox making this move. Another to look out for would be Twins

Huh?

Hitters generally get more in trades in the off-season. If a team could get more at the deadline, why wouldn't the Orioles just wait until the deadline themselves?

would be to sign Machado to an extension, but they also may consider flipping him to another team (yes, please!).

taken first by Tigers (from d-backs) in rule V draft then a computer glitch stops everything.

interest in trading for Machado. They have turned this around quickly because they have built through the farm system. I was all for the Stanton deal, only cost money basically. But I would not even consider trading a couple of big prospects for Machado when they can sign him next off-season as a free agent. If he signs an extension elsewhere, oh well. The Yankees have put themselves in a nice position here, because they haven't done dumb things like trading away their big prospects for one player and then pay that same players hundreds of millions of dollars.

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Steve Gelbs‏Verified account @SteveGelbs 54s54 seconds ago #Mets select Burch Smith, RHP from TB AAA affiliate

In comment 13739914 pjcas18 said:

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Quote: Steve Gelbs‏Verified account @SteveGelbs 54s54 seconds ago #Mets select Burch Smith, RHP from TB AAA affiliate

Sounds like a 27 year old failed middle reliever. decent k totals.

In comment 13739912 MookGiants said:

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interest in trading for Machado. They have turned this around quickly because they have built through the farm system. I was all for the Stanton deal, only cost money basically. But I would not even consider trading a couple of big prospects for Machado when they can sign him next off-season as a free agent. If he signs an extension elsewhere, oh well. The Yankees have put themselves in a nice position here, because they haven't done dumb things like trading away their big prospects for one player and then pay that same players hundreds of millions of dollars.

Agreed, Yankees need pitching at this point plus you will get a year to see what you have in andujar...

low upside but solid grab, they need P depth. No complaints.

to the Cubs, nice add

is like the yankees letting him know they are interested in him without "tampering".

Now he knows they want him so maybe he wont sign an extension with anyone and wait for the yanks to pay him next year.

They cant be offering their top guys to unless they think they cam sign him for less now then next year

I can't remember any offseason where the free agent activity has been so slow. I imagine it's just because there are bigger names on trade market still in discussion (Machado? Donaldson? Yelich?).

sell Burch Smith

show a little interest in Clay Buchholz.

coming off injury like the rest of the staff maybe wouldn't cost much, isn't ancient, and his 2016 season while up and down in Boston would have been the 3rd best of the Mets starters in 2017.

If there's a reclamation project I'd rather see it be Buchholz than someone with less track record.

certainly need P depth

In comment 13739942 pjcas18 said:

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Quote: Michael Mayer‏ @mikemayerMMO 37s38 seconds ago Mets select INF Andrew Ely in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. The defensive minded infielder hit .259/.356/.355 in AA last year for the Cubs.

Backup minor league IF depth, not a big leaguer. No speed or power. He's worst case on Guillorme.

When was the last time those teams conducted any trade, other than for fringe players?

Yankees lost 4 players in the Rule 5

Anyelo Gomez RH P
Mike Ford Power bat
Jose Mesa RH P
Nestor Cordes LH P

In comment 13739964 YANKEE28 said:

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Yankees lost 4 players in the Rule 5 Anyelo Gomez RH P Mike Ford Power bat Jose Mesa RH P Nestor Cordes LH P

The O's took both Mesa and Cortes.

In comment 13739927 Dankbeerman said:

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is like the yankees letting him know they are interested in him without "tampering". Now he knows they want him so maybe he wont sign an extension with anyone and wait for the yanks to pay him next year. They cant be offering their top guys to unless they think they cam sign him for less now then next year

This

with a rotation that thin can't really trade young cost controlled arms for one-year of a veteran like Kinsler IMO. The Mets need to bring as many of these arms into camp as possible since some of these pitchers are inevitably going to get hurt.

In comment 13739912 MookGiants said:

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interest in trading for Machado. They have turned this around quickly because they have built through the farm system. I was all for the Stanton deal, only cost money basically. But I would not even consider trading a couple of big prospects for Machado when they can sign him next off-season as a free agent. If he signs an extension elsewhere, oh well. The Yankees have put themselves in a nice position here, because they haven't done dumb things like trading away their big prospects for one player and then pay that same players hundreds of millions of dollars.

Agree 100%. Also I want to see Machado this year. His BA/OBP/OPS really tanked this past season. Was it a 1 year aberration or trend? The guy is a young stud and is a great fielder too. Frankly I'd like to try other solutions at 3b right now.

.230/.296/.445 first half, .290/.326/.500 second half. .239 BAbip in the first half, so at least some of it was probably bad luck. Oddly enough, he had a MASSIVE home/road split - didn't hit at all on the road. Wasn't the case in the previous few seasons.

On what it would take for them to give up Fulmer.

From Ryan Blevins (BlessYouBoys.com)...

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If the Tigers want to pick from a top farm system, they won�t do much better than the New York Yankees. The talent is plentiful, and they could put together a very nice package of prospects without gutting their system. The acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton has also made several of their outfield prospects a bit more expendable. Trading Fulmer would be a bold move for the Tigers, and the return would have to be substantial. Fulmer is still a cost-controlled, top tier starter, just 24 years of age. The Yankees would have five years before Fulmer reaches free agency. That�s a very valuable commodity. General manager Al Avila is obliged to listen, as such a deal could propel the Tigers� rebuilding effort in a major way. Gleyber Torres, in particular, would be a huge boost to a farm system still weak in middle infield talent. However, unless the Yankees are committed enough to part with several high end prospects, the Tigers will rightly pass on a deal.

full article--1

From Detroit Free Press (with quotes from Keith Law of ESPN)...

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�I�m asking for two of this group � Torres, Sheffield, Andujar, oh and Florial," (Keith) Law said on what he'd do if he was Avila. "I�m saying I want two of those in exchange, and then you�re asking for two more (prospects). Two really good prospects at the top and then two lesser prospects to round out the deal. And my lesser (prospects), they can be further away or they can be guys that are just not as good.�

full article--2

Fulmer is good, but he's not that good.

Jose Reyes is the Mets 2b this year I am not attending a single game.

In comment 13740121 DanMetroMan said:

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Jose Reyes is the Mets 2b this year I am not attending a single game.

What if they sign Moustakos and Flores/Cabrera both get hurt with minor injuries in spring training?

LOL... just trying to think of a scenario that could happen where we wouldn't be too mad.

In comment 13740134 Metnut said:

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In comment 13740121 DanMetroMan said: Quote: Jose Reyes is the Mets 2b this year I am not attending a single game. What if they sign Moustakos and Flores/Cabrera both get hurt with minor injuries in spring training? LOL... just trying to think of a scenario that could happen where we wouldn't be too mad.

Well Carig's tweet more than implies in this scenario Reyes would "the" starting 2b, not he ended up there through injury.

In comment 13740106 Milton said:

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On what it would take for them to give up Fulmer. From Ryan Blevins (BlessYouBoys.com)... Quote: If the Tigers want to pick from a top farm system, they won�t do much better than the New York Yankees. The talent is plentiful, and they could put together a very nice package of prospects without gutting their system. The acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton has also made several of their outfield prospects a bit more expendable. Trading Fulmer would be a bold move for the Tigers, and the return would have to be substantial. Fulmer is still a cost-controlled, top tier starter, just 24 years of age. The Yankees would have five years before Fulmer reaches free agency. That�s a very valuable commodity. General manager Al Avila is obliged to listen, as such a deal could propel the Tigers� rebuilding effort in a major way. Gleyber Torres, in particular, would be a huge boost to a farm system still weak in middle infield talent. However, unless the Yankees are committed enough to part with several high end prospects, the Tigers will rightly pass on a deal. full article--1 From Detroit Free Press (with quotes from Keith Law of ESPN)... Quote: �I�m asking for two of this group � Torres, Sheffield, Andujar, oh and Florial," (Keith) Law said on what he'd do if he was Avila. "I�m saying I want two of those in exchange, and then you�re asking for two more (prospects). Two really good prospects at the top and then two lesser prospects to round out the deal. And my lesser (prospects), they can be further away or they can be guys that are just not as good.� full article--2

Mentioned it in yesterday's thread, but Clint Frazier is every bit on the same level as the group that Law references, he just has graduated out of prospect status. Frazier and Andujar + two lesser prospects would be just fine by me for Fulmer.

The Yankees make two trades within minutes of each other...
Trade#1: Frazier, Sheffield, Abreu, Estrada for Michael Fulmer.
Trade#2:Adams, Andujar, Acevedo, Wade for Gerrit Cole.

It would still leave the Yankees two of their top four prospects in Torres and Florial and a bunch of good pitching prospects like Medina, Tate, German, Perez, Schmidt, Sauer, etc., etc., etc.

Two questions...
1. Is it actually doable?
2. Would you be happy or sad to see it happen?
And a bonus question...
--What if Torres was part of a trade for Fulmer (with Frazier headlining a trade for Cole)?

think the Tigers do that without thinking twice. Pirates might not. Pirates unlike the Tigers seem like they are going to try and retool on the fly.

in trades for pitchers, they should've done so for a guy like Chris Sale. To turn around and include such guys in trades for Fulmer, Cole, etc., doesn't thrill me too much. I'm OK with Clint Frazier and Chance Adams + lower tier guys - but Torres, Florial and Sheffield should be off limits unless you're getting a Cy Young-winning type of talent.

In comment 13740175 Gatorade Dunk said:

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Mentioned it in yesterday's thread, but Clint Frazier is every bit on the same level as the group that Law references, he just has graduated out of prospect status. Frazier and Andujar + two lesser prospects would be just fine by me for Fulmer.

I suspect they would want a top pitching prospect as one of the main pieces, i.e., Sheffield and Adams . If they could get it done with Frazier, Adams, and two lesser prospects (Acevedo, Tate, Estrada, Solak) that would be great. Crazy to think they would still have enough quality prospects left to swing a trade for Cole without totally gutting their farm system.

They don't need both. One is fine, and Cole isn't particularly good anyway. No way in hell am I trading that much for a guy who's barely more than mediocre in the NL.

Marc Carig
✔
@MarcCarig
Kipnis is still a possibility. Harrison and Hernandez too, though both may prove too costly in talent. Castro and Lowrie are not in the mix.

Kinsler would not accept a trade to the Mets.

Kinsler would not accept a trade to the Mets.

I suppose the doors we were going to kick down were unexpectedly deadbolted. The next time this organization has a plan and executes it will be the first.

Heh - I had a feeling that was the case.

Not surprising. I wouldn't want to play for this shitty franchise either.

Well that's the question, is it overkill to add both given the potential cost? My biggest issue isn't that they don't need both, but that it leaves the starting staff (Severino, Tanaka, Fulmer, Cole, Gray) void of lefties unless they go with a six man rotation that includes Montgomery.

It's just crazy to think that there is the potential to swing both trades without giving up Torres. Of course, I could be wrong about that. The Tigers could insist on Torres.

p.s.--I'm suspicious of the Fulmer situation. He doesn't fit the profile of someone who should be on the trading block regardless of what kind of rebuilding mode the Tigers are in. He's coming off surgery and his second season didn't match the dominance of his rookie year. Sometimes it pays to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Fernando Rodney to MIN - 1yr ~6M

had absolutely zero incentive to join the Mets. His family is in Dallas. The Angels 1. Are better 2. Are in the AL where he knows the pitchers and is in a walk year 3. Better weather 4. Train in Arizona (where he's from).

Good luck with Boras

Hanley destroyed lefties in 2016, if the Sox want to pay the freight to move him (Groome etc) I'd be interested... Too much $$$ for the Mets though (per usual) #Mets