Little Slide Rooter

I would like to see him battle it out for that 5th rotation spot.

And they would promptly hang up on you. If offer up: 1 of Theriot, Marmol 1 of Marshall, Gorz, Shark 2 of Fox, Colvin, Hoffpauir, Fuld, Fontenot or Theriot, Marmol,+ 1 of the other above.

The reason I don't want to give up Theriot and Marmol together is that I've never been a big fan of creating one hole to fill another. We already have a MIF hole. Do we want another? Marmol, although the more valuable of the two, is more easily replaced with Guzman. We don't have anyone in the system that is ready to replace Theriot next year, so that would lead to another trade or FA signing. I just don't want this huge MIF hole filled by Baker and Fontenot. If we traded Bradley for Burrell, then flipped Burrell to another AL team for a decent 2B or SS, then I'd say go for it. But I'd have another move lined up first before trading away Theriot or we could really be hurting there come Opening Day. If our lineup started out something like 1. Fukudome 2. Baker 3. Lee 4. Ramirez 5. Granderson 6, Soriano 7. Soto then I could live with Andres Blanco at the 8 spot. If nothing else, his defense is great, and if he was that brutal, we could go out and make a mid season trade. As for Vitters or Castro, I agree I wouldnt want to give up either for Grnderson. Now if Sizemore was on the table, that might be a different story.

So is Nelson Perez someone to get excited about? His numbers in Peoria last year(.251/.288/.391) were nothing to write home about, but hes still fairly young.

It doesnt sound like a god idea, but I could see it happening. With baker and Theriot, we have our starting middle infielders. Andres Blanco is a perfectly adequate backup for both positions, and like it or hate it...OK, hate it or really hate it, Hendry doesnt seem like he'll be admitting his mistake with Miles, and hes probably here to stay. Bobby Scales is also a cheap option as a backup 2B, so I could see Fontenot being non tendered if we dont trade him.

Trading Jackson for "young, inexpensive pieces" doesn't solve very much of their bloated payroll. He only made $2.2 million last year. Its not his current salary, its that they dont think they can sign both him and Verlander, and theyd be idiots to let Verlander go, so I guess they want to get what they can for him while hes at his peak value.

The Tigers may or may not have been interested in Milton Bradley last year. SInce they are trying to save money, it would require us picking up a big chunk of Miltons salary, which was expected anyway, plus a nice prospect package built around Bradley, but Jackson would be well worth it

If the Reds trade Votto, they have no business being a major league team. As for the rest, Id gladly take Phillips, but I doubt theyd send him to a division rival for anything short of a kings ransom in prosopects. Harang would be interesting to see if Rothschild could fix him, but if its afire sale, they likely want someone to pickl up a big chunk of his contract.

It seems that all potentially big free agents express interst in returning to their team, so I dont expect too much of a discount. This being said, expecially with Lilly in question, I would strongly suggest signing Harden to an incentive laden deal, move Bradley for some salary space, sign Cameron and call it an off season.

Which is why a hell of a package would have to have been built around Bradley, probably too much for 1 year of Halladay.

There was talk in another thread of packaging Bradley for Halladay, but if the Jays want no part of Bradley, that would 86 that as well.

Looks like this is about to be shot down anyway, along with and Bradley package for Halladay talk.

Have you ever had a gift card to a particular store, and there was nothing you really wanted, but you still felt like you had to spend the gift card right now rather than wait for something you really wanted?

who are these mythical solid MI's? I count two servicable 2Bs, a couple end of the bench iowa express guys and aaron miles. Baker, Fontenot, Theriot, Blanco.

Does it say that theres some idiot GM out there willing to give you a 3 years deal with a player option for a 4th?

Id be more for Baker/Fontenot platoon, or even Baker full time and get something usefull for Bradley. I dont have an opinion on Castillo either weay, but we have 2 obvious needs, and outfielder, and a starter. We have 4 solid middle infielders+Aaron Miles.

I see no reason either. Pretty much everyone agres that no contending team will have Sam Fuld as a regular starter, but as a 24th man(Aaron Miles is the 25th as far as Im concerned), hes just fine. Between Hoffpauir, Fox, and Brad Snyder, we'll likely have 2 power guys on the bench, so why not have an outfielder there for his defense?

All the Cameron lovers will love this article. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/bay-vs-cameron/ I guess Ill be hopping on the Cameron bandwagon now.

who needs a super sub when we have the great Aaron Miles?

Off to a good start. Assuming we dont trade for or sign a starter, any chance that he'll be in the mix for that 5th starter job?

I agree, guys like Fox and Hoffpauir are cheap alternatives to guys like Cliff Floyd and Daryl Ward. I never see the point in signing free agents to fill those kind of roster spots, when you have "AAAA" type players who at least deserve the chance to earn the job. Otherwise, there will be plenty of FA vets or guys available through trade at the end of spring training if your guys dont work out. If anything, he could be an enticing throw in as part of another trade.

Yes. thats exactly what I meant. Dont try to get Halladay because I dotn want to read about it. Im just saying that if they really think theres a chance of it happening, go for it, and hope for a quick process one way or another.

As much as Id love Halladay, I really dont want to go through the Peavy fiasco all over again, which I could see happening.

It's a daily read for me. A free site that pulls together a ton of rumors from all over the place is a nice thing to have this time of year and around the trade deadline. Same here. I've been going there since it started. I just didn't realize how big the site has gotten. I check it almost hourly at work. Seems like theres always something new. Beter than rotoworld.

Heres another of note. Many have him pegged as the Cubs target but MLBTR has him with the Pads. We all know that the Pads are in desperate need of offense, but I dont see Cameron as a guy who could help them out. You cant take a guy with mediocre offensive stats and put him in one of the worst hitters parks in the game and expect results. Cameron doesn't have mediocre offensive stats. OK, he has decent-good offensive stats, and I am in the early stages of warming up to the idea of him thanks some posters here. However, he'll be 37 by opening day, and the Padres are not in the kind of position where a 37 year old with good offensive stats is going to do anything for them. They need to be either A. building a young team around Adrian or B. trading Adrian for the kind of players that could help them compete in the next 3-5 years. I know the NL West isnt exactly a star studded division, but the Padres are just plain bad. On the other hand, the Cubs are in the position where he could be very helpfull as a number 2 or number 5/6 batter in the lineup. Bottom line is Cameron is the type of player who could help a contender get better, but theres no point in him signing with a rebuilding team whose several years away from anything. From his standpoint, there might not be much point in signing with San Diego, but there are valid reasons why the Padres may want to pursue him. If they can get him on a one or two-year deal for a decent price, he could become a good mid-season trade candidate, which could help them get a prospect or two. Furthermore, when you have a young pitching staff, having a solid defensive team can really help. Cameron would give them a solid glove up the middle. With Peavy gone and Chris Young not looking like he'll ever be what he was in 2007, I dont know how pitching rich they really are anymore.