The “Why Haven’t You Been Traded” Post

With all the needs teams have, and how bad some other teams are, why haven’t more players been traded? We have seen 2 major deals go through, yes, but there is still a championship team out there for the taking. In fact, I’ll make one up right here for you:

C - Bengie Molina: The Giants are terrible, and are working on accumulating even more wealth in the farm system. Molina, on the other hand, has a pretty good bat and can chuck the ball around. He is a much better option than say, Mike Napoli (Angels).

1B - Mark Texeiria: The Braves are out of the race, and their division titles streak isn’t on the line anymore. Tex is a Boras client, and supposedsly wants $23 million per season. A rumor flew around the Red Sox giving up Kevin Youkilis and Chris Hansen, neither of whom are crucial for the Sox. If that is true, why hasn’t somebody ponied up the players for him?

2B - Brian Roberts: The Orioles still stink, the Cubs could still use a second baseman, and they still have their 3 best prospects to trade for him. They already have decided this is the year (see Rich Harden), so why not go out and polish off that lineup?

SS - Christian Guzman: Yeah, he isn’t Jose Reyes, but he is an All-Star this year, batting over .310, on a team that would probably lose 5 out of 10 to the North Carolina Tar Heels. In addition, middle infield is unbelievably shallow, and there are plenty of teams that could use a good SS.

3B - Garret Atkins: It’s about time we get to a Rockie. Atkins was a giant reason the Rockies got to the Series last year, and he still has plenty of talent. Unless you are the Yankees, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t be looking over here.

LF - Matt Holliday: He is hitting .330 with great power to all fields, and he can actually play defense, unlike most left fielders. In fact, you could conceivably move him to right so that a guy like Manny Ramirez can sit in left (hint hint). In addition to that, he is under contract for 1.5 seasons, which means you get 2 shots at the Big Show before he leaves for the Yankees.

CF - Not too much of a big market here actually. One name that should be mentioned, but isn’t, is Ichiro. He is getting older, the Mariners stink, and he can still play ball (a great defender with a .304 average and a career high in stolen bases). The contract isn’t exactly desirable, but either he or Nate McClouth would provide a great asset in center.

RF - Xavier Nady: The asking price is high, but Nady is currently batting over .320 with good power. Add in the fact that he is only 29, and probably resignable, and I can’t understand why the hype hasn’t translated into something more.

Well, there you have it, a lineup that could probably win a World Series with decent pitching around it, all from teams who didn’t want their players anymore…

NL Central Reaction and Buying/Selling

Well, there you have it, if it wasn’t true before, the acquisition of two of the best hurlers in baseball probably clinched it: the NL Central is the best division in baseball. However, we have to question the motives of the teams making the deals for Harden and Sabathia. How much are they willing to give up for 15 starts?

By not trading any of their 3 stud prospects, including Josh Vitters (the former number 3 overall pick who will rock the MLB soon enough) the Cubs managed to steal Rich Harden from the A’s. Yes, the A’s that Billy Beane manages. Maybe he sees something in Sean Gallagher that I don’t, but still. Clearly, if Harden is resigned, the Cubs win this deal, as the only long term prospect involved plays catcher, a position that Geovany Soto has held down quite well this year. In fact, he is the number 3 rated catcher at the plate, and his defense isn’t awful.

How about the Brew-Crew? Not so hot. Matt LaPorta, the former 7th overall pick (who you might recall was considered a reach at the time, but blossomed) was currently rated the 4th best overall prospect by Baseball America, who I trust completely. The kid had 20 home-runs in AA, so, to put it bluntly, the kid is a stud. He would have likely been called up this September, which gives the Brewers 3 years of arbitration-filled goodness before they have to resign the kid. If he plays 150 games a year, that 450 games. How many starts is C.C. Sabathia going to make again? Also intriguing is the “Player to be Named”, most likely Taylor Green, a high-potential 3rd baseman. This kid could be just a name in 10 years, or he could turn into a 30 homerun, 20 steal kind of player.

My question is, is it worth the cost of winning now? We all know Prince Fielder is looking to get out of town with Scott Boras as his agent, as he has already rejected a long-term extension from the Crew. Wouldn’t LaPorta have slid in perfectly at the 1st base spot? Now, the Brewers aren’t exactly starved for prospects, they had 10 AA All-Stars from Huntsville alone, but trading your most valuable blue-chip player for 15 starts and a shot at the playoffs seems a little far-fetched to me.

Just a Few of My Thoughts

Hey guys, before I start writing, (and taking a break from fantasy baseball before I even get started…) I just want to introduce myself. My name is Dan and I will be writing here from time to time, about fantasy baseball and whatever else I see in the world of sports. And no, unlike Matthew Berry, I will try to not use my column as a way to point out pretty actresses…

So, first up, this guy from Baltimore:

Michael Phelps has a chance to do something absolutely unbelieveable: win 8 gold medals in one Olympiad. That’s right: 8. Ocho. More than a handful. He is going in with the best times in the world so far this year in all 5 of his individual events (the 100/200 Butterfly, the 200/400 IM, and the 200 Free) and is practically assured of the gold in the 200 IM, 200 Fly, and 200 Free. The 400 IM and 100 Fly are events where he has rivals, but neither of those rivals has beaten him in the past 4 years of competition. So, let’s just chalk up 5 golds in the individual events.

As for the 3 relays, all of which he will be apart of, the US is favored by an absolutely incredible margain in the 400 Medley and 800 Freestyle, and they won both in Athens. As for the 400 Free Relay, the South African team appears to be nothing more than a fluke, and it would be a relatively major upset if the US lost. That’s 8 golds. But, hold on. Phelps was seeded in the Top 2 in the 100 Back and the Top 3 in the 200 Back going into the Trials, but didn’t swim them because of the schedule of the Games. If the Olympics allowed the athletes a chance to swim every event they could, he would probably win both of those events too. That’s 10 gold medals. Finally, throw in the 400 Free, as he is a distance swimmer at heart with the best 200 Free in history and a weaker field with the loss of Ian Thorpe (retirement). That’s 11. Compare that to Spitz’s 7, and you see who the better athlete is.