With the MLB All-Star break providing teams with a full four days off, you can expect GM’s to be on the phone trying to get trades done before the August 1st non-waiver deadline. While the Wild Card has caused teams to hold on to some players longer, there are still teams that have a dilemma of whether as to buy or sell. Nothing will change a team’s record until tomorrow, Friday the 15th. That leaves 16+ days for a team to get closer to a division or wild card race, or fall further back from a playoff spot. With that in mind, here are 5 trades that should get done:
1 – Aroldis Chapman from the Yankees to the Cubs or Rangers. If it’s the Cubs, select from Catcher/OF Kyle Schwarber, outfielder Jorge Soler, and infielder Javier Báez. So far, the Cubs aren’t willing to part with Schwarber. How about a blockbuster deal of Chapman, Brian McCann, and cash for catcher Wilson Contreras, pitcher Oscar De La Cruz, and Soler or Báez, who has played three infield positions and has seen time in the outfield this season?
Contreras made a quick splash upon his call up on June 17. He has produced 5 HR, 16 RBI, and a .948 OPS in 82 at-bats. De La Cruz is in the low minors, but was dominant at Low-A last season. Due to minor injuries, he has yet to pitch beyond extended Spring Training this season.
Among the prospects the Rangers have to offer are: Joey Gallo, Jurickson Profar, Lewis Brinson, and Luis Ortiz. The Rangers started their season with Shawn Tolleson as their closer, until he fell apart. The job went to Sam Dyson, who has been solid, but the move weakened the Rangers’ pen. Bringing Chapman in to be the closer and moving Dyson back to the set-up role makes the pen stronger. Gallo, an outfielder/3B/DH with a propensity to hit the ball out of the park or strike out (a potential 35/40 HR 150/175 K guy), and the versatile Profar are Major League ready. Due to injuries, Profar’s potential has barely been tapped.
The Rangers are less likely to part with Brinson, their 2012 first round pick. The center fielder was named the 16th best prospect in MLB this year, by both Baseball American and MLB.com. Ortiz, a right-handed starter, has shown a good strikeout-to-walk ratio. Splitting time between High Desert (Advanced-A) and Frisco (Double-A) this season, he’s allowed too many hits. That has led to too many runs and an ERA near 6.00.
The Yankees have the power in their hands to get a huge return for Chapman, and they need to use that power wisely.
2 – A pitcher (your name here) to the Mets. Before the season started, the Mets certainly didn’t expect to be short on pitching at the All-Star break. But they also didn’t count on Matt Harvey having season-ending surgery. Or Zack Wheeler taking longer than they had hoped to come back from Tommy John surgery. Or Noah Syndergaard’s arm to fatigue. The Mets are counting their blessings that they held on to Bartolo Colon.
A’s trade-maker Billy Beane has been fielding many calls for starter Sonny Gray. If he deals Gray, it means that some team is going to part with many prospects. Considering that the team that gets Gray would have him under control through 2019 (2020 is his first year of free agent eligibility), it makes perfect sense. The Mets could use some of their outfield depth to land Gray and free-agent-to-be outfielder Josh Reddick. Sandy Alderson would send outfielder Michael Conforto (Don’t be surprised if Beane wants outfielder Brandon Nimmo), Wheeler, and catcher Ali Sanchez, or pitcher Seth Lugo to Oakland.
There have been rumors that Texas and Tampa Bay were discussing a bat-for-a-pitcher deal. The Rays’ Odorizzi was the pitcher in question, and the Rangers’ prospects most talked about were Gallo and Profar. The Rays could send Odorizzi to the Mets for outfielder Conforto and a pitching prospect (Marcos Molina or Gabriel Ynoa?).
3 – Outfielder Jay Bruce and Pitcher Dan Straily from Cincinnati to the LA Dodgers for Yasiel Puig and cash. Bruce has a limited no-trade clause, (unless he waives it, he won’t go to the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Twins, Indians, A’s, Diamondbacks, and Marlins), and wants to play for a contender. The Dodgers are a borderline contender right now. At the All-Star break, they trailed the NL West-leading Giants by 6.5 games (seven back in the loss column. The Dodgers lead the first Wild Card spot by 2.5 games over the Mets and Marlins, and have other teams right behind the two NL East squads.
The enigmatic and extremely talented Puig has been driving current (Dave Roberts) and former (Don Mattingly) managers nuts, not to mention the front office and the fans. Puig needs a change of scenery, and a move to a town that’s not a big, flashy city could help. Bruce would give them a steady, dedicated player that they can just put in the lineup and not worry about. Straily could either start or pitch from the pen for the Dodgers.
4 – Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran and cash to the Royals for outfielder Brett Eibner and highly-touted pitching prospect, Kyle Zimmer. It would be back to where it all started for Beltran. The Royals signed the native of Puerto Rico in 1995, and he made his Major League debut three years later. Beltran played in KC for parts of six-plus seasons before a deadline deal sent him to Houston. With injuries to veterans Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas, and Alex Gordon‘s poor performance, Beltran’s bat is needed. He can play right field and spell Kendrys Morales at DH.
Eibner, a 27-year old rookie, has looked good (.932 OPS in 56 at-bats) in his limited time with the big club this year. A 2010 second round pick, Eibner began to blossom offensively at Triple-A Omaha last year, and his good at-bats continued this season. He got his opportunity with the Royals when Gordon went down earlier this year and then was called up again when Cain was injured.
Zimmer may be considered untouchable by the Royals. But either way, Zimmer is a gamble at this point. He has a tremendous upside, but has struggled with shoulder injuries for the last few years. Once thought of as a starter, his future might be as a reliever. If the Royals balk at including Zimmer in a deal, the Yankees might turn to left-handed starter Matt Strahm. The Royals took Strahm from Neosho County Community College (KS) in the 21st round of the 2012 draft. He’s blossomed in the minor leagues, averaging better than 10K/9 IP and has shown excellent control.
5 – Milwaukee catcher Jonathan Lucroy, reliever Will Smith, and cash to the Cleveland Indians for prospects Francisco Mejia and Bobby Bradley. The Indians’ current catching duo of Yan Gomes and Chris Gimenez are both hitting under .200. To make matters worse, Gomes, who gets the majority of the playing time, has a .516 OPS. The 28-year old had a breakout season in 2013, when he hit .294 and slugged .491. A year later, he played in over 100 games (135) for the first time in his career, and produced 21 HR and 74 RBI. It’s been downhill since.
Gomes’ OPS dropped off to .659 last year, and the slide continued this season. He entered the All-Star break with an embarrassing slash line of .166/.201/.315. Gomes is a solid defensive backstop, but Lucroy would get the majority of the playing time. He could also move from behind the plate to spell Mike Napoli (first base) and Carlos Santana (DH) now and then.
Smith would give the Indians something they are in dire need of, a left-handed pitcher. Smith missed the first two months of the season with a torn ligament in his right knee, but has been superb since his return. He has a marvelous .0882 WHIP and 15 strikeouts in 17 innings. He would help set up closer Cody Allen and could see a save opportunity or two when Allen isn’t available.
Smith earned close to $1.5MM this season, but is under control by the Brewers through 2019. Lucroy will make $4MM this season and his contract has a team option for next season that will pay him $5.25MM. He can also be bought out for a mere $25K.
Mejia is ranked (by Baseball America) as the top catching prospect in the Indians’ system. The 20-year old earned a promotion to Advanced-A Lynchburg (Carolina League) after he hit .347/.384/,531 at Low-A Lake County (Midwest League). Mejia has thrown out 42% of would-be base-stealers and has gotten solid marks for his overall play behind the plate.
Bradley is the very model of a modern Major Leaguer – great power and very high strikeout totals. A third round, high school draft pick in 2012, Bradley hit 27 HR and drove in 92 runs for Lake County last season. He’s already belted 16 home runs for Lynchburg this year and could see a promotion to Double-A Akron. As for the downside, Bradley struck out 150 times in just 401 at-bats (1 K/2.67 AB’s) last season. He’s shown some improvement this year, with 65 K’s in 287 at-bats (1 K/4.4 AB’s). Despite the strikeout totals, Bradley has shown a good approach at the plate. He will need to improve at first base or he may be relegated to the American League as a DH.
All right General Managers, start your engines.
