2013 Mock Offseason Thread

[Tryptamine]

How much trade value does someone like Vogelbach hold right now to an AL team?

 

For a team devoid of 1B talent like the Rays, I would think the value would be substantial.

[Clem Fandango]

The Diamondbacks are already involved in "active discussions" about Justin Upton, and now ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that the team will also listen to trade offers for Trevor Bauer (Twitter links). The right-hander has fallen out of favor with some in the organization.

 

Bauer, 21, was the third overall pick in the 2011 draft. He made his MLB debut this season and surrendered 13 runs in 16 1/3 innings across four starts while also battling a groin problem. Bauer pitched to a 2.42 ERA in 130 1/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A this year as well. Between Upton and Bauer, GM Kevin Towers may be in possession of this offseason's two biggest trade chips.

 

Swoon.

[Tryptamine]

The Diamondbacks are already involved in "active discussions" about Justin Upton, and now ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that the team will also listen to trade offers for Trevor Bauer (Twitter links). The right-hander has fallen out of favor with some in the organization.

 

Bauer, 21, was the third overall pick in the 2011 draft. He made his MLB debut this season and surrendered 13 runs in 16 1/3 innings across four starts while also battling a groin problem. Bauer pitched to a 2.42 ERA in 130 1/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A this year as well. Between Upton and Bauer, GM Kevin Towers may be in possession of this offseason's two biggest trade chips.

 

Swoon.

 

Derek Johnson seems like the perfect hire for a guy like Bauer who loves the long toss. I just wonder if Baez alone would get it done. He wasn't ever realistically going to push Starlin off SS and we have other nice 3B options even if they aren't as good.

[Cubswin11]

The Diamondbacks are already involved in "active discussions" about Justin Upton, and now ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that the team will also listen to trade offers for Trevor Bauer (Twitter links). The right-hander has fallen out of favor with some in the organization.

 

Bauer, 21, was the third overall pick in the 2011 draft. He made his MLB debut this season and surrendered 13 runs in 16 1/3 innings across four starts while also battling a groin problem. Bauer pitched to a 2.42 ERA in 130 1/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A this year as well. Between Upton and Bauer, GM Kevin Towers may be in possession of this offseason's two biggest trade chips.

 

Swoon.

 

Derek Johnson seems like the perfect hire for a guy like Bauer who loves the long toss. I just wonder if Baez alone would get it done. He wasn't ever realistically going to push Starlin off SS and we have other nice 3B options even if they aren't as good.

I wonder how the D'Backs would value Garza and Barney. If they believe Barney can move to SS, maybe something like Baez, Garza, Barney, Jackson and a mid teenish prospect (Lake, Szczur, Torreyes, Candelario, Amaya, Ha, etc.) or two could get us both.

[Guest]

I don't know what it would take to add Upton and Bauer, but if it were possible to add them both without giving up Castro, Rizzo, or Samardzija, I'm not sure there's many or any packages I'd say no to. And I'm hesitant to even put Samardzija in that "untouchables" group.

[Tryptamine]

God, a foundation of Castro/Rizzo/Upton/Bauer/Shark sounds really nice. That's 2 or 3 players from feeling like the Cubs are a legitimately good team.

[Cubswin11]

I don't know what it would take to add Upton and Bauer, but if it were possible to add them both without giving up Castro, Rizzo, or Samardzija, I'm not sure there's many or any packages I'd say no to. And I'm hesitant to even put Samardzija in that "untouchables" group.

What would be the rules/restrictions on including Almora/Soler since both have been drafted/signed about 5ish months ago??

 

I agree make everyone available for both of them outside of Rizzo and Castro. If I had to guess I'd think Theo would be more willing to trade Baez over Almora/Soler since he was a holdover from the last regime.

[SABR Gamer]

The Diamondbacks are already involved in "active discussions" about Justin Upton, and now ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that the team will also listen to trade offers for Trevor Bauer (Twitter links). The right-hander has fallen out of favor with some in the organization.

 

Bauer, 21, was the third overall pick in the 2011 draft. He made his MLB debut this season and surrendered 13 runs in 16 1/3 innings across four starts while also battling a groin problem. Bauer pitched to a 2.42 ERA in 130 1/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A this year as well. Between Upton and Bauer, GM Kevin Towers may be in possession of this offseason's two biggest trade chips.

 

Swoon.

 

Derek Johnson seems like the perfect hire for a guy like Bauer who loves the long toss. I just wonder if Baez alone would get it done. He wasn't ever realistically going to push Starlin off SS and we have other nice 3B options even if they aren't as good.

 

Realistically, Baez isn't going anywhere.

[Sammy Sofa]

I don't know what it would take to add Upton and Bauer, but if it were possible to add them both without giving up Castro, Rizzo, or Samardzija, I'm not sure there's many or any packages I'd say no to. And I'm hesitant to even put Samardzija in that "untouchables" group.

 

I wouldn't hesitate for a second; if it means getting Upton and Bauer I'm only holding onto Rizzo and Castro.

[dew1679666265]

I don't know what it would take to add Upton and Bauer, but if it were possible to add them both without giving up Castro, Rizzo, or Samardzija, I'm not sure there's many or any packages I'd say no to. And I'm hesitant to even put Samardzija in that "untouchables" group.

 

I wouldn't hesitate for a second; if it means getting Upton and Bauer I'm only holding onto Rizzo and Castro.

 

Yeah, normally I'd be really hesitant to deal Shark, but I'd definitely do it if I was getting a pitcher like Bauer back.

[sneakypower]

I don't know what it would take to add Upton and Bauer, but if it were possible to add them both without giving up Castro, Rizzo, or Samardzija, I'm not sure there's many or any packages I'd say no to. And I'm hesitant to even put Samardzija in that "untouchables" group.

 

I wouldn't hesitate for a second; if it means getting Upton and Bauer I'm only holding onto Rizzo and Castro.

yeah, pretty much. i'd be like Oprah with our prospects if they're seriously listening on those two guys

[Guest]

During a lunch break, Cubs baseball president Theo Epstein discussed plans for the next few days here, which could set the stage for the rest of the winter.

 

“We’re going to meet with teams and try to identify possible trade fits, but I don’t think it’s the type of offseason where we have a ton of fits with 25 of the 29 other clubs,” Epstein said. “We’ll pursue everything but realistically, our fits might be narrower this year (which would) give us more time to focus on the free-agent market.

 

“I think we’re going to have a fairly well-defined trade market early, because we don’t have unlimited assets to deal and we don’t necessarily have redundancy at positions in the big leagues or upper (minor league) levels.”

 

Asked if that means the Cubs would perhaps go after higher-priced free agents, Epstein said:

 

“You never rule anything out. As a general rule, you pursue good players and see where that ends up. It’s going to be a pretty aggressive (free agent) market and we have to stay disciplined and do things that make sense in the short term and long term.

 

“We’ll be very thorough and very aggressive, but we’ll also try to be disciplined. ... Keep in mind we’re not only trying to build for 2013 but we want to make sure we have a very solid future as well.

 

“There’s are a lot of opportunities to get better because there were a lot of weaknesses on the club. ... When you have a 101-loss team, there are lots of small opportunities to get better every year, so we have to make sure we take advantage of those.”

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/chi-white-soxs-juan-nieves-to-be-named-boston-pitching-coach-20121107,0,1187752.story

[Clem Fandango]

Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports that the Red Sox are expected to pursue a trade for Justin Upton.

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reported earlier Wednesday that, despite previous comments from their owner to the contrary, the D'Backs will shop Upton this offseason. The Red Sox are on the outfielder's no-trade list, but Silverman's source says that will not keep Boston from going after him. The Rangers would also make sense as a trade partner, with Rosenthal speculating that they could deal Elvis Andrus for Upton.

[davell]

The trade comments from Theo are disappointing. I'm hopeful we find a way to bring in some young pitching somehow. Seems like Arizona wants major league talent back for Upton. With the volatility of pitching, I'm hesitant on a Bauer for Baez straight up swap. In the end, I'd do it, but I'd try making it a multiplayer deal first. Maybe Barney/Baez/Szczur for Bauer/Corbin?

[Little Slide Rooter]

I'm actually quite encouraged by Theo's comments. Seems to me as though he's open to a bit of everything, as he should be. More importantly, he seems to be very open to not being horrible in 2013. We don't need to be trade fits for 25 of 29 teams so long as we can get something of real benefit out of the 4 that we have fits with.

[Cubs Fan Dan]

Makes sense, there are probably only a couple of teams with the core players we are looking for.

 

I expect free agents will be short term and the cubs will add one or 2 core pieces via trade.

[rawaction]

Backs need SS/3B help. While Baez and Villanueva would be a nice package for them, there's no way that's better than the Andrus/Olt package Texas can certainly offer without hurting them in the long or short run

[SouthSideRyan]

That read to me like a repeat of last offseason.

 

-Not a lot of redundancy at the minor league levels means some more Ian Stewart trades and hope you get another kickass Rizzo deal.

 

-Being disciplined means not spending much more than what you judge a player to be worth, meaning more 1-2 year deals for averageish SPs

 

-Small opportunities to get better means making a million waiver claims on a million live bullpen arms.

[Cubswin11]

Backs need SS/3B help. While Baez and Villanueva would be a nice package for them, there's no way that's better than the Andrus/Olt package Texas can certainly offer without hurting them in the long or short run

An Andrus/Olt package might be the trump card, but I think we could match it or top it if we offered Baez/Samardzija/Barney for Bauer and Upton. Not that I'd do that trade, but if we were to make nearly everyone available and Theo really wants Upton/Bauer

[Little Slide Rooter]

On the subject of the 3-4 teams that are realistic trade partners for us, I see 3 with an enviable glut of young pitching on their depth chart:

 

Braves:

Medlan

Minor

Beachy

Hanson

Teharan

Delgado

Jurrjens (reclamation)

They also have Maholm and Hudson for 2013, giving them many moveable parts.

 

A's:

Milone

Anderson

Parker

Peacock

Griffin

Straily

Gray

Cole

Ross (low risk, decent reward)

Also have Bartolo back in the fold. Again, plenty of moveable parts

 

D Backs:

Bauer

Skaggs

Bradley

Corbin

Collmenter

Miley

Hudson

Cahill

Kennedy

The top three would obviously be very costly. Corbin, Miley, and Collmenter would be very realistic targets. They have a strong, young big league 1-3 in Kennedy, Hudson, Cahill, giving them no shortage of depth.

Edited November 8, 2012 by Little Slide Rooter

[RynoRules]

Assuming the Uptons aren't acquired, can Jason Bay play center? Bringing him at the league minimum with incentives might be worth a shot, IMO.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Assuming the Uptons aren't acquired, can Jason Bay play center? Bringing him at the league minimum with incentives might be worth a shot, IMO.

 

I'd take him at minimum. The fact that the Mets sent him on his way with nothing to show for it suggests that he's close to done. I'll assume that if anyone thought that there was much left in the tank, the Mets would have been able to get at least a hand full of fringe prospects if they were willing to eat his full salary, as they ended up doing.

[Cubswin11]

Assuming the Uptons aren't acquired, can Jason Bay play center? Bringing him at the league minimum with incentives might be worth a shot, IMO.

http://assets0.ordienetworks.com/images/GifGuide/michael_scott/Michael-What-the-office-10400786-400-226.gif

 

It would be like trying to turn Vogelbach into a CF. I know defensive metrics leave much to be desired, but for his career he's a -7.8 UZR (most of the time in LF). He has played 274 innings in CF (217 in 2005) and is a -14.8 there with his last year he logged any innings there being 2005.

 

He also hasn't had an OPS over .750 since 2009 and he was absolutely awful this past season (70 games)

[KingCubsFan]

Backs need SS/3B help. While Baez and Villanueva would be a nice package for them, there's no way that's better than the Andrus/Olt package Texas can certainly offer without hurting them in the long or short run

An Andrus/Olt package might be the trump card, but I think we could match it or top it if we offered Baez/Samardzija/Barney for Bauer and Upton. Not that I'd do that trade, but if we were to make nearly everyone available and Theo really wants Upton/Bauer

I'd do that trade (assuming Upton doesn't have some sort of degenerative shoulder issue). As much as I like Baez, if they think his plate patience issues may never resolve themselves, it might be worth trading him before he's further exposed. Getting Bauer and Upton would be a perfect example of the type of undervalued assets Theo/Jed are always talking about.

[RynoRules]

Assuming the Uptons aren't acquired, can Jason Bay play center? Bringing him at the league minimum with incentives might be worth a shot, IMO.

http://assets0.ordienetworks.com/images/GifGuide/michael_scott/Michael-What-the-office-10400786-400-226.gif

 

It would be like trying to turn Vogelbach into a CF. I know defensive metrics leave much to be desired, but for his career he's a -7.8 UZR (most of the time in LF). He has played 274 innings in CF (217 in 2005) and is a -14.8 there with his last year he logged any innings there being 2005.

 

He also hasn't had an OPS over .750 since 2009 and he was absolutely awful this past season (70 games)

 

 

Which is why I asked - that info certainly suggests that the answer is "no".