Uh-oh: Braves Being Left Out in Trade Discussions?
A crazy sequence of rumors last night. Let’s review the timelines as reported via MLB Trade Rumors:
- 4:44pm: The Mariners are closing in on a deal to acquire another bat, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). It’s unclear at this time what hitter they’re targeting in this deal, but the Mariners have been linked to several names.
- 4:56pm: The Padres and Rays are in discussion on a significant trade that would send Wil Myers to San Diego in exchange for some of the Padres’ better young prospects, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Rosenthal notes that it’s not certain whether a trade is particularly close at this time, but an acquisition of Myers would likely take the Padres out of the running for Atlanta’s Justin Upton.
- The next hour: various reports on prospects that could be asked for by Tampa Bay.
- 6:45pm: The Rays and Padres have discussed a number of possibilities, but nothing is close enough regarding Myers for a deal to get done tonight, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Bowden tweets that the Padres are not yet out on Upton either.
- 7:12pm: Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets that there is “significant optimism” that a trade sending Myers to San Diego will be completed. A deal is said to be very close, according to Passan.
- 7:29pm: Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets that he thinks the Mariners will announce a trade within the next two to three days. Crasnick tweets that his sense is that it’s a right-handed hitter who hasn’t been mentioned in much previous speculation, which would rule out Upton.
- 8:40pm: Passan tweets that there’s a chance that the players acquired in a potential Myers deal could be flipped to another club.
- 10:38pm: A deal involving [Ian] Desmond is still a possibility, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. It remains the case, however, that no reports have directly linked the Mariners to any particular player in this round of rumors.
- 12:02am: A big deal is in the works between San Diego and Tampa, but it will not go through until the morning at the earliest, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com tweets.
- DECEMBER 17, 7:33am: It appears that the Nationals have wedged themselves into the deal and would receive “one of the pieces” involved in the trade, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets.
- 9:04am: Jerry Crasnick tweets that if the Mariners are about to trade for a RH hitter, it’s likely not Marlon Byrd, for Seattle is on Byrd’s no-trade list and he hasn’t been approached about waiving that clause. Crasnick later said the same about Red Sox infielder/outfielder Allen Craig.
Complicating matters – at least for San Diego – is this report (regrettably unable to find the source at this time): Matt Kemp took his physical in San Diego yesterday. It was known that this was not going to be a ‘slam dunk’ procedure. Moreover, there was a late rumor that Padres officials were going to have a meeting to discuss the results of the physical. If that’s truly the case, then (a) he probably didn’t pass, and (b) the Padres will have to figure out just how badly he didn’t pass and assess their options.
But in all of that newsieness above, did you notice something missing? Right: not a single mention of the Braves actually being involved.
Sorting this out
Live Feed
Reviewing the Brew
The center of this particular trade universe involves San Diego and Tampa Bay – that much is certain. Whether the involvement of Washington and Seattle is a separate deal or part of a bigger 3- or 4-team (!) deal is a lot less certain (
Crasnick seems to think ‘separate’
).
One thing pointed out along the way: neither of the trades from last week of Jimmy Rollins to the Dodgers or Matt Kemp to the Padres are official. Kemp’s, for the reasons noted above (the physical). The Rollins trade… no idea, though speculation has involved flipping other players to other places, the roster, Rollins’ formal approval or perhaps compensation for giving that approval – something the players’ union would demand. Regardless, the baseball world is getting a bit tangled, thanks to these Southern California teams and their new General Managers, who seem to be trading players like kids with packs of Topps cards.
WHAT WERE THEIR GOALS? The goals for both Seattle and San Diego seem to be “getting an outfield bat” – preferably right-handed. So far, the principals we’ve heard about in that mess of rumors are these names:
Myers could make sense for both clubs. He’s been inconsistent, but clearly still has great potential and he’s under team control through the 2019 season. It is interesting that Tampa Bay would entertain the offer to sell him at this nadir of performance in 2014 that he exhibited, but maybe San Diego is making it worth teir while.
Desmond is a bit more of a head-scratcher – at least from the Mariners’ perspective. First off, he’s not an outfielder; and second, Seattle already has a good shortstop. Desmond is due $11 million in 2015, then is a free agent: one and done. Meanwhile, Chris Taylor is available directly to Seattle, under control through 2020, and is a top prospect – though a light-hitting one.
Presumably such a deal would either kick Taylor to Washington or back to AAA for the year. It is possible that Washington wants to do a salary dump to clear room for a run at Max Scherzer – or perhaps to retain Jordan Zimmermann – but that’s my own speculation.
But for whatever might be in play to get Desmond, you would think the Mariners could put forth the a similar deal to obtain Justin Upton – and Upton’s a better hitter.
Unless of course Atlanta rejected that offer.
The Upshot
When I take all of this together, I’m starting to get the picture on exactly why the price for Justin Upton may have dropped over the past day or two: it’s because John Hart was getting the sense that both primary suitors – the Padres and the Mariners – didn’t like the price quotes they were getting and were preparing to move on to Plan B. That seems to be playing out in the drama from last night.
If something like this ultimately goes through, then that leaves Atlanta with perhaps 4 options for Upton:
- Trade with the Giants (who have interest, but higher priorities elsewhere)
- Trade with the Orioles (who have clear needs, but have shown no interest)
- Re-engage with a significant sweetener (lower prices, add money, add players)
- Keep him
Unfortunately, while option 4 keeps some semblance of an offense for 2015, it does nothing to help re-build the farm system. Option 3 would be tantamount to a panic move – which could end up being worse than doing nothing.
Your move, John. But bring a jacket, for it seems you’re being left out in the cold.