Two posts in a day from me? Am I driven by guilt because of my recent globetrotting, er, rather nationtrotting ways that left me (thankfully) miles from my laptop? Perhaps. Is it because I'm leaving Friday for 9 blissful days sans laptop on a trip in which I plan to conquer a fourteener and visit my 13th MLB ballpark? Perhaps. I'll leave all speculation to the readers and just publish this post.
Every year around this time it becomes clear who is serious about winning a championship. Teams become either buyers or sellers. And every year the pressure mounts to mortgage your future to win this year. Two, sometimes three top prospects are typically the asking price for an extra bat or an arm that can be the difference in the playoffs. Sometimes it works out – the Florida Marlins traded Adrian Gonzalez so they could get Ugueth Urbina to bolster their bullpen the last time they won the World Series. Sometimes it doesn’t, such as last year when CC Sabathia failed to lead the Brewers to the World Series. The loss of top prospects, like in the case of Sabathia, is softened a bit by MLB’s compensation (draft picks) for losing top flight free agents. This allows teams to trade top talent for a three month rental.
Well, let’s look at who’s buying and who’s selling in the AL Central.
There are three clear contenders here: the Twins, Tigers, and White Sox being the buyers, and the Royals and the Indians being the sellers. Cleveland has already sent Ryan Garko packing and Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez have been discussed as possible departures as well. There have been no rumblings involving the Royals as they seem intent on maintaining their extremely average nucleus.
The Twins, despite contending late in nearly every season this decade nearly never buy. It’s just not how they do business. But this year may be the year to buy. They’re moving into a new ballpark next year. Joe Mauer is a free agent after next season and they need to do something to let him know they’re serious about winning. They have the top two OPS guys in the league and three of the top six. They are one of those teams that are one bat and one bullpen arm away from contending for a championship. Will they go against their model and make the trade they need to make?
The toughest part about it is the best fit for a trade for the Twins would be the Pittsburgh Pirates. They have Freddy Sanchez and at least a couple decent bullpen arms. But with the Pirates great selloff this year, they really need to receive a high return to make any additional trades more palatable for fans. So, while the need is great, the likelihood of a deal going through is low.
The Tigers pulled off what some observers called the best trade of the offseason by trading outfielder Matt Joyce for Edwin Jackson. Jackson bolstered the Tigers starting rotation giving them a solid 1-2 punch with Jackson and Verlander. But they’re still looking for more consistency out of Porcello and Galarraga so the addition of another solid starting pitcher would definitely help. And the trade of Matt Joyce leaves them with their biggest need of a good corner outfielder. They could conceivably win the division without making a move, but prudence demands that a move be made.
As far as the Sox go, they have a pretty solid lineup from top to bottom. They could use another solid starting pitcher because as one White Sox blog put it, Bartolo Colon is always “one cheeseburger away from the DL”. But they likely won't want to pay the premium price teams are asking for guys like Roy Halladay. With the Jake Peavy trade falling through earlier this year and Cliff Lee pitching within the division, there just isn't top notch talent to be had at starting pitcher. If the Sox are to make a run, they'll have to do so either with what they have internally or by making a minor deal, likely after the non-waiver deadline.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment