Offseason Rumors & Transactions Thread

[Guest]

If we're still looking for a pitcher, what would you guys think of a straight up swap of Valbuena for Fister?

 

The Nats could use a second baseman, so the needs match up here. I don't really want to trade Valbuena, but if he isn't in the long term plans anyway, his value will never be higher than it is now (probably). Luis is under control for two more years compared to Fister's one, but that's evened out by Fister being the better player over the past 2-3 seasons.

 

For me, the biggest downside is likely having to put Bryant on the opening day roster after trading Valbuena. Theo/Jed could use the reason of sending him to Iowa to work on outfield defense if we still had Valbuena (still BS, but more believable), but if third base is WIDE open, no excuse will fly.

 

Thoughts?

 

Fister as an example/mentor to Hendricks would be pretty cool too. Really wish we had a better handle on what the Nats want to do, there's some interesting matchups to be had there.

 

For another maybe less likely option, I wonder how the Blue Jays rank their rotation depth? They have a gaping hole at 2B and we know from the Samardzija talks that our FO likes Hutchison. Wonder if they think his peripherals are a mirage or not(or that he's simply behind other options like Norris/Sanchez) and he could be had in trade. Probably not(especially for Valbuena, who they had and waived), but interesting to think about.

 

Other potential Valbuena for pitching destinations: Tampa, Kansas City, San Diego

[UMFan83]

If we're still looking for a pitcher, what would you guys think of a straight up swap of Valbuena for Fister?

 

The Nats could use a second baseman, so the needs match up here. I don't really want to trade Valbuena, but if he isn't in the long term plans anyway, his value will never be higher than it is now (probably). Luis is under control for two more years compared to Fister's one, but that's evened out by Fister being the better player over the past 2-3 seasons.

 

For me, the biggest downside is likely having to put Bryant on the opening day roster after trading Valbuena. Theo/Jed could use the reason of sending him to Iowa to work on outfield defense if we still had Valbuena (still BS, but more believable), but if third base is WIDE open, no excuse will fly.

 

Thoughts?

 

How in the world is Valbuena valuable enough to be traded for Fister straight up? Wasn't Fister worth like 5 wins last year in ~25 starts?

 

No, he was under 2 last year. Steamer projects them to be very similar next year, and Valbuena would fit perfectly with the Nats.

 

WTF, I've never seen this much of a discrepancy between Fangraphs, who has Fister at 1.3 WAR last year and Baseball Reference who has him at 4.5

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

isn't bWAR/rWAR whatever they call it stupid and dumb

[Guest]

Fister had a pretty mediocre year last year peripherally, by his standards. K's were down, HR were up, and he stranded more guys than usual and got an NL bump to further widen the ERA/FIP gap.

[Guest]

If we're still looking for a pitcher, what would you guys think of a straight up swap of Valbuena for Fister?

 

The Nats could use a second baseman, so the needs match up here. I don't really want to trade Valbuena, but if he isn't in the long term plans anyway, his value will never be higher than it is now (probably). Luis is under control for two more years compared to Fister's one, but that's evened out by Fister being the better player over the past 2-3 seasons.

 

For me, the biggest downside is likely having to put Bryant on the opening day roster after trading Valbuena. Theo/Jed could use the reason of sending him to Iowa to work on outfield defense if we still had Valbuena (still BS, but more believable), but if third base is WIDE open, no excuse will fly.

 

Thoughts?

 

How in the world is Valbuena valuable enough to be traded for Fister straight up? Wasn't Fister worth like 5 wins last year in ~25 starts?

 

No, he was under 2 last year. Steamer projects them to be very similar next year, and Valbuena would fit perfectly with the Nats.

 

WTF, I've never seen this much of a discrepancy between Fangraphs, who has Fister at 1.3 WAR last year and Baseball Reference who has him at 4.5

 

Really? It's par for the course for guys like him who over (or under) perform what their peripherals suggest.

 

Same thing but backwards for Jackson. I'm pretty sure his bWAR and fWAR the last couple years would be really different.

[SouthSideRyan]

isn't bWAR/rWAR whatever they call it stupid and dumb

 

Only for position players.

[Guest]

isn't bWAR/rWAR whatever they call it stupid and dumb

 

Only for position players.

 

Nah, for pitchers.

[sneakypower]

RA9-WAR

[Guest]

Fister isn't a Matt Cain type guy though, he normally has very good peripherals. They're just a bit different proportions than you expect for a consistently very good pitcher(lower Ks, much lower BB, more GB).

[Backtobanks]

I suggested a few pages ago: How about a package starting with Baez & Alcantara to the Nationals for Zimmerman and Span?

 

 

It's not as sexy as Zimmerman and Harper, but it's a lot cheaper than giving up Russell, Soler, or Bryant.

[Cubswin11]

I suggested a few pages ago: How about a package starting with Baez & Alcantara to the Nationals for Zimmerman and Span?

 

 

It's not as sexy as Zimmerman and Harper, but it's a lot cheaper than giving up Russell, Soler, or Bryant.

I would probably do that, if they felt reasonably sure they could extend Zimmerman

[Cubswin11]

With the acquisition of Kemp, I wonder if Seth Smith would be available? There's been talk they want more OBP, 13% walk rate last year and 10% for his career.

[Guest]

I don't see any way they send multiple long term guys like Baez and Alcantara and only get back a rental for each. In an extreme case I could maybe see a Baez for Zimmermann deal that had some other minor pieces(e.g. a Nats reliever), but Alcantara for Span is a non-starter for me value-wise, especially on top of Baez/Zimmermann

[Guest]

Other potential Valbuena for pitching destinations: Tampa, Kansas City, San Diego

 

Another Valbuena destination: San Francisco. If they don't end up with Headley they'll be in bad shape at 3B. Gregor Blanco isn't a sexy name, but he'd match up pretty well with what the Cubs need in the OF. SF would be opening one hole to fill another, but then again they'd probably find it easier to find a league average LF on the market than they would at 3B.

[RammyFanny]

Bystro says the Cubs aren't going to be trading any of their hitting prospects (Baez) and made it sound like there won't be much more to talk about. Mentioned Gomes. Said no Hamels (not that anyone was expecting it).

 

I still think something halfway intersting could happen via trade (re: Welly), but it's starting to sound like there won't be much more.

[Guest]

Bystro says the Cubs aren't going to be trading any of their hitting prospects (Baez) and made it sound like there won't be much more to talk about. Mentioned Gomes. Said no Hamels (not that anyone was expecting it).

 

I still think something halfway intersting could happen via trade (re: Welly), but it's starting to sound like there won't be much more.

 

 

Didn't say anything about another SP signing, unless I missed it.

 

Would be silly not to look to add a few more wins as we currently sit in the mid 80's projection-wise. At least Anderson.

[RammyFanny]

Bystro says the Cubs aren't going to be trading any of their hitting prospects (Baez) and made it sound like there won't be much more to talk about. Mentioned Gomes. Said no Hamels (not that anyone was expecting it).

 

I still think something halfway intersting could happen via trade (re: Welly), but it's starting to sound like there won't be much more.

 

 

Didn't say anything about another SP signing, unless I missed it.

 

Would be silly not to look to add a few more wins as we currently sit in the mid 80's projection-wise. At least Anderson.

Yeah, Hoyer made it sound like we do have a little more payroll flexibility left and I can't imagine it's all going to Gomes.

[Guest]

It's not that I don't think that a decent 5th starter can turn up out of the Wood, Doubront, Jackson, Wada, Turner, etc. mix, it's that there's no good way to figure out which one it would be and you'd probably have to put up with a lot of crap to even try to figure it out.

[Guest]

It's not that I don't think that a decent 5th starter can turn up out of the Wood, Doubront, Jackson, Wada, Turner, etc. mix, it's that there's no good way to figure out which one it would be and you'd probably have to put up with a lot of crap to even try to figure it out.

 

I think that's part of why you have the coaching staff you do, to minimize the amount of MLB starts wasted finding the best option. Remember when Arrieta wasn't guaranteed a rotation spot heading into last year? I think they've earned the benefit of the doubt that they have a good idea of what they have, or will by Opening Day.

 

Because of that, I'm not super jazzed about adding another SP that doesn't fit pretty clearly as 'better than Hendricks'. Anderson, Peavy, Masterson before he was signed, no interest after Lester and Hammel were on board. If they have and want to spend money I'd still be all about Maeda, otherwise if they want to trade for a good SP that would be my preference to Shields and the low-end FA.

[Guest]

It's not that I don't think that a decent 5th starter can turn up out of the Wood, Doubront, Jackson, Wada, Turner, etc. mix, it's that there's no good way to figure out which one it would be and you'd probably have to put up with a lot of crap to even try to figure it out.

 

I think that's part of why you have the coaching staff you do, to minimize the amount of MLB starts wasted finding the best option. Remember when Arrieta wasn't guaranteed a rotation spot heading into last year? I think they've earned the benefit of the doubt that they have a good idea of what they have, or will by Opening Day.

 

Because of that, I'm not super jazzed about adding another SP that doesn't fit pretty clearly as 'better than Hendricks'. Anderson, Peavy, Masterson before he was signed, no interest after Lester and Hammel were on board. If they have and want to spend money I'd still be all about Maeda, otherwise if they want to trade for a good SP that would be my preference to Shields and the low-end FA.

I'm down to Anderson and Maeda of the potential FA's. Well, them and an injury flyer on Beachy, Medlen, etc.

 

I just don't trust Scherzer to hold it together. I wouldn't complain about Shields on a shorter (3-4yr) deal, but he has so much mileage on that arm.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I remember when we sent down Travis Wood because we thought Chris Volstad was better.

[davell]

I can see Anderson on a one year deal because there is upside there. I can see non elite prospects/vets that have value thrown in together to add a guy. Even a rental. But there's no doubt in my mind they're looking at next year and figuring they'll get better value out of the SP market than this one.

 

Cueto

Greinke(likely)

Porcello

Price

Samardzija

Zimmermann

 

2nd Tier

Fister

Gallardo

Norris

Leake

Latos

Iwakuma

Kennedy

Lincecum

 

Old Bastards

Buehrle

Lackey

Lohse

 

Too much out there next year. Money is a concern for us for a little bit longer, we'll get a better buy on one of that top tier next year than spending 100 mill on Shields now.

[RammyFanny]

What are we expecting Anderson to get out of curiousity?

 

1 yr at 5 million with a few more million in incentives?

[gscool89]

RT @Sullivan_Ranger: Rangers working to sign reliever Kyuji Fujikawa. Deal is pending a physical as he had elbow surgery this past season

[DiamondMind]

Fujikawa was such a massive disappointment. Bleh.