MLB Fastball 07.26.08: The Trade Market Heading Into Deadline

Posted by Neil Borenstein on 07.26.2008

Plenty of big moves have already been made, specifically in the department of starting pitching. But with the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline fast approaching, there are still some rumblings about what could go down between now and that day just under a week away. In this week’s MLB Fastball, Neil Borenstein takes a look at some of the top players reported to be on the block and the teams believed to be interested in acquiring their services.

Writer's Note: Late Friday evening, the Pirates and Yankees a pending agreement that will send Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to the Bronx in exchange for four prospects. The top name going to Pittsburgh is outfielder Jose Tabata. In addition, pitchers Russ Ohlendorf, George Kontos and Phil Coke were sent to the Pirates. Due to the timing, however, the following column will remain as is. Just note, Marte and Nady appear to be off the block!

Trade Deadline Approaching

Teams have just under one week to make any final decisions about the roster they want to take into the remaining two months of the Major League Baseball season as the non-waiver trade deadline fast approaches on July 31. With the exception of the American League West, each division is still pretty open between the top two or three teams. There should be some activity in the coming days as a result.

Many of the blockbuster names are already off the market. With C.C. Sabathia moved to Milwaukee (and doing a damn fine job with the Brewers, I might add), Rich Harden dealt to Chicago and the Phillies recently acquiring Joe Blanton, several of the big prizes from this year's potential trade class have already been dealt.

That doesn't mean it's all dried up, though. There are still rumblings around the league with players of any variety potentially being available for the right price. Whether a team needs to add a mid-to-late rotation starter, late inning reliever or decent bat for the lineup, teams looking to fill some holes have options.

In this week's MLB Fastball, lets take a gander at some of the top names that appear to be the focus of talk between general managers looking to unload for an early offseason or stacking up for a push toward the postseason.

Brian Fuentes

Looking to remain a closer wherever he goes

Brian Fuentes is a very popular names that's been thrown out a lot for the past few months. The current closer for the Colorado Rockies, Fuentes has proven to be a very reliable late-inning arm whether he takes the mound in the ninth or eighth inning. He's not perfect and definitely not in the elite class containing the likes of Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Papelbon and Francisco Rodriguez, among others. But for a team that needs late relief help for their bullpen, Fuentes would make a tremendous pickup.

According to The Denver Post, Fuentes would like to remain a closer wherever he goes. But many of the teams with a strong interest in acquiring the soon-to-be 33 year old already have that position locked up. The Yankees appear to top the list of intrigued teams, and there's no chance he's getting the ball in the ninth with Rivera in town unless it's to give Mo a break after a few consecutive closing opportunities. The Boston Red Sox are never far behind, and Jonathan Papelbon isn't being replaced, at least not until the Red Sox have their annual debate about whether to move him to the starting rotation. The Philadelphia Phillies would like to add him, but Brad Lidge is playing real well and earned himself a contract extension as a result. The New York Mets are also in the mix, but Billy Wagner is that team's closer, for better or worse. The Tampa Bay Rays don't want to fool around this season and will look to grab any player that can help their organization make the playoffs after years of being a laughing stock. But Troy Percival is back and I wouldn't move him out of the closing role with the success this franchise has had this season. I don't necessarily think the Florida Marlins would be opposed to moving Kevin Gregg out of the closing spot, as he can blow his fair share of games. But Gregg hasn't been terrible and appears a very reasonable long-term closing option for the Marlins for the next few years.

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean Fuentes is going to be agitated if moved to any of those teams. It just means he'll be little more than a rental for the next two or three months until he can become a free agent at the end of the season. I'm sure, however, that he'd rather remain a closer for the rest of this season, as well, if at all possible.

It appears such an option exists. The St. Louis Cardinals are interested and I can't imagine demoting Ryan Frankin from the closing spot would create any kind of controversy. And with the disappointment the Cardinals' bullpen has been this year, Fuentes' addition would make a real impact. Plus, St. Louis could even be a good landing spot for Fuentes on a long-term basis. Jason Isringhausen's days as the team's primary closer are definitely over and the Cardinals need to grab a caliber arm to replace him, otherwise they'll be staring down quite a few more seasons of bullpen woes. Fuentes would be a good choice.

The problem for any team looking to land Fuentes is that the Rockies' asking price is apparently pretty ridiculous. The Denver Post reports that Colorado is looking for good young starting pitching. And specifically, they've asked for players like Clay Buchholz out of Boston, Ian Kennedy of the Yankees, Jon Niese from the Mets and Wade Davis from Florida. That's a pretty price to pay for a rental player.

As a result, The Denver Post notes that these teams are looking more heavily at relievers like Huston Street of the Oakland Athletics and both Damaso Marte and John Grabow from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately, I doubt the market it going to be any kinder to teams interested in those arms. According to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, the Pirates have placed pretty high price tags on their chips. For Marte, Starks says that teams will need to part with a player worth more than "the first-round pick and sandwich pick they'd get if he walks" as a Type A free agent. The same holds true for Grabow. And while Billy Beane is never hesitant to trade pitching, he also demands a lot of youth in return. So, any team looking to grab Street better be willing to trade a top prospect or two.

Back to the Rockies' camp, Matt Holliday's name has been rumored as on the block for months. I wouldn't remain too optimistic for teams looking to make that kind of splash, though. At this point, I figure Colorado is going to do everything in its power to hold onto Holliday for the long haul. The organization loves him and is very reluctant to part ways. If the Rockies do concede to letting him go, I'm sure the asking price is going to too astronomical for many teams. And even then, I don't think the Rockies will bite. Holliday's fate will be interesting to track over the next few days. But when the smoke clears, he'll still be sporting the purple and gray.

Mark Teixeira

The 49-53 Braves may part with their top power bat

A big bat that could very well land on another squad by July 31 is Atlanta Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira. Still just 6.5 games behind the now National League East leading Mets, the possibility most definitely exists for the Braves to remain very much in the thick of things. However, with the Mets, Phillies and Marlins all ahead of them, a plethora of injuries and a great deal to gain from what would undoubtedly be a huge return for Teixeira, there are more than enough reasons to pursue a trade involving the free agent eligible 28-year old.

According to Stark, the Arizona Diamondbacks are at the forefront of teams in the running for Teixeira if the Braves decide to bite the bullet and become sellers. Conor Jackson appears to be a player of interest in Atlanta. But Arizona isn't going to deal Jackson. So, if they can get the Braves off that train of thought, Teixeira to the Diamondbacks sounds very reasonable. He would provide an instant upgrade over Chad Tracy and make the National League West favorites all that much more, well … favored.

Also in the running are the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Yankees, Red Sox and Rays.

The Yankees are pretty interesting in this equation. While I'm sure there have been talks and the team is never hesitant to make a big move, I doubt the Yankees will really invest that much of their time into going after Teixeira. They were previously believed to be limping a bit in the lineup thanks to injuries to Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada. But the latter could remain with the team and delay surgery while playing as a designated hitter and first baseman. Add in the fact that the Yankees just picked up Richie Sexson and seem to be the only team even remotely intrigued at the prospect of grabbing Barry Bonds for what would just be cash – and very little at that, I don't really see the benefit in the Yankees picking up Teixeira. Even if they want to snag him as a free agent this offseason, they can still do that. I'm sure no matter where he lands, he'll be listening to offers this winter. He is a Boras client, after all.

The Red Sox seem to be in pretty good shape, too, especially with David Ortiz back in the lineup. In the essence of competition and to add another impactful bat, they could take a run. But it's not a necessary move and I don't think Theo Epstein is going to want to part with the important pieces necessary to snag him just to add a potential rental that isn't at all needed.

First base is pretty clogged with the Angels and it wouldn't be wise at this point to screw around with removing Casey Kotchman. He's having a great year, leading the team in batting average (.289) and ranking second in RBIs (48). But Teixeira could step in as the team's top DH and grab some spot starts at first base so the Angels can rest Kotchman a bit. Or, they could just say screw it and make Kotchman's year-to-date irrelevant by making Teixeira the everyday first baseman and have Kotchman take a backseat. It would be an unfair move and one I doubt the Angels are even remotely considering. But that is the business of sports sometimes, so who knows. Regardless, if the Angels did decide to go after Teixeira, they definitely have intriguing and prospects they could send in the return and might even be a good long-term destination for Teixeira if they're willing to cough up the reported $20 million per season being pursued by the switch hitter.

The Dodgers are pretty much in the same situation, sans the designated hitter option. James Loney is having a nice year at first for the Dodgers and it would be a shame for his accomplishments to date to be for naught if Teixeira were to just come in and take over. However, Los Angeles could use another big bat and at least with the Dodgers, Loney could split some time in the outfield.

The Rays could use a player the caliber of Teixeira to give them that extra push, especially with the struggling Carlos Pena occupying first base. However, I just don't see the Rays as a team being able to land a player of this caliber. Plus, I also don't see the Rays forking over what it would take to get him, especially since he will undoubtedly be a rental. Teixeira isn't going to be a Ray for the next seven years.

For anybody not in the market to part with the big pieces necessary to land Teixeira, there are some other, lesser options. Xavier Nady and Jason Bay of the Pirates are getting interest. However, as previously established, Pittsburgh is asking for a lot to land their players. Stark says that teams looking into Bay need to give back two sure-thing players, a good prospect and a lower end prospect with potential. The asking price for Nady is the same minus one sure-thing player. If the Pirates really want to unload these players for anything, they'll need to come down in price.

Hank Blalock of the Texas Rangers, Matt Stairs of the Toronto Blue Jays, Casey Blake of the Cleveland Indians, Jose Guillen of the Kansas City Royals and Raul Ilbanez of the Seattle Mariners are also rumored to be on the block. None of these players are of blockbuster stature, but can make solid additions to teams that need some extra offense to get them over the hump, such as the Phillies, Dodgers and Rays.

A.J. Burnett

Won't be dealt within the AL East

As previously mentioned, the starting pitching department is a lot slimmer thanks to the deals placed over the last few weeks that sent Sabathia to Milwaukee, Harden to Chicago and Blanton to Oakland. There aren't any more pitchers available of that caliber. However, the likes of A.J. Burnett, Kevin Millwood, Vincente Padilla, Jarrod Washburn and Bronson Arroyo appear to be the main attractions at the position.

More so than the asking price for these pitchers (since I don't think any of them will cost all that much), the contracts that come along with them will sway some teams away from looking to acquire them. Of course, when it comes to available starting pitching and large contracts, the Yankees tend to get thrown in the mix. And I'm sure they're interested in snapping somebody up. Burnett isn't going to happen because the Blue Jays won't deal him to a division opponent. But Washburn and Padilla have at times come up as players of interest to the Bronx Bombers. I think Arroyo is probably the best option out of this lot.

Also in the mix for these players should be the Detroit Tigers, Cardinals and the Phillies. I think the Mets and Marlins will also show some sort of interest. They can all use starting pitching, even (or especially) of the mid-to-late rotation variety that all of these options provide. They just need to be willing to fork over the cash remaining on the contracts, which should also lead to a lesser asking price for the trade.

All this said, I don't anticipate any tremendously remarkable trades going down between now and July 31. It's possible we'll see a big name or two moved. But I doubt we're going to get anything earth-shattering that will drastically change a team's fortunes. Any moves will fill some holes and tie up loose ends.

All photos courtesy of Yahoo! Sports

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Until next time!

~ Neil Borenstein