Cruz Trade Fallout, Padres, Mets, Yankees conspiracy theories, more



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The 2021 MLB trade deadline is one week from today! Put your loins on.

The fallout from Nelson Cruz

And it really started when MLB 19th top hitter Nelson Cruz (142 wRC +) was traded to the Rays last night. In exchange, the Twins got two Triple-A right-handed players (both in the top 15 of a loaded Rays system), a comeback that has been described both nationally and locally as a very solid comeback for Minnesota:

The price was high, as the Rays have given up on two promising forward pitching prospects in Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman, and will take the remaining roughly $ 5 million of Cruz’s one-year $ 13 million deal for a hire. of several months.

It is indeed a seller’s market, and that is great news for the Cubs. But that’s not where the story ends.

The Rays weren’t the only teams to try Cruz. Jon Heyman reports that the Blue jays recorded (although they still focus on pitching). Lindsey Adler heard that the Yankees had touched the base on Cruz. And Ken Rosenthal even said that the PARENTS – a National League team with just five more tie-ups this season – has played for DH full-man Nelson Cruz.

Ken Rosenthal reports that the Padres had inquired about how often Cruz takes goals in first and second (he hasn’t played in a defensive position since 2018), but otherwise would have used him “almost exclusively as a hitter of nip “and reportedly saw it as a” major improvement to his bench. Nelson Cruz. On the bench. As a pinch hitter. Fernando Tatis Jr. is the Padres’ only best hitter and they would have put Cruz on the bench. Very strange. If it wasn’t from Ken Rosenthal, I wouldn’t believe it. And even in light of this, you must be wondering if there are any other motivation (from the Padres, Twins, Rays… anyone else?) to let it be known that the Padres are considering all kinds of creative alternatives to improve their offense? Yes. It’s probably more than that something else.

As for the Rays, it was a pretty aggressive deal (especially since they took all of the remaining $ 5 million from Cruz +, which is almost 10% of their opening salary!), C ‘ maybe that’s why Rosenthal wonders if they might try to turn around. and gift Rich Hill to the Dodgers or the Mets. What an interesting franchise. Even after losing Andrew Friedman (Dodgers) and Chaim Bloom (Red Sox) in the big markets, they continue to make big unsuspecting moves.

I mean, they were in the World Series last year, but then traded Blake Snell before the season, and yet they’re a game out of the first place in the AL East and just made a huge push adding the best hitter on the market. Smart team.

What’s next, the twins?

Like the Diamondbacks, Rangers, and Cubs, the Twins are one of the clearest sellers around, with plenty of useful parts to deal with. According to Jon Heyman, other potentially available players include infielder Andrelton Simmons, outfielder Byron Buxton, relievers Taylor Rogers, Hansel Robles and Alex Colome, and starters Michael Pineda, JA Happ and, of course, arguably the best starter available on the market. : José Berrios, whose asking price remains very high.

Your rooting interest continues to be HUGE high prices for sellers, even those who are in direct competition with Cubs Commercial Chips. So it’s a good start.

The Yankees also provided history update

Before I get to the Padres thing, let me add that in addition to checking Nelson Cruz’s availability, the Yankees have also asked about Trevor Story.

The idea would be to fend off Gleyber Torres to second and DJ LeMahieu to first base, but I tend to doubt the Yankees at 8.0 games are really as serious as rumors sound. Maybe they’re doing their best to push up the prices of the Red Sox and Rays.

Back to Padres

As if the reported interest in Nelson Cruz weren’t enough signal, multiple reports (Kevin Acee) (Dennis Lin) from San Diego point to an aggressive Padres team on the deadline. Specifically, Acee hears that the Padres “should add a starting pitcher and maybe an outfield bat,” which hopefully doesn’t have much to explain the overlap with the Cubs there (Zach Davies, Kris Bryant), but there you go.

And yet, maybe I do. In listing potential options for San Diego, Acee and Lin went to great lengths to identify Kenta Maeda (who was not in the rumor mill at all, from what I saw), Danny Duffy (who is injured and might not be traded), Jon Gray (who knows what the Rockies are going to do (do they even have a manager in charge right now?)), Jordan Lyles (who is no good), Merrill Kelly (a realistic multi-year option), and Kyle Gibson (which is probably the most attractive and realistic option). Do you notice that someone is missing? Yeah, that would be ex-Padre – and clearly healthy and available – Zach Davies. It’s odd, especially given his substantial success with the Padres.

I hate putting on my tin foil hat, but it does seem like both authors chose to make it VERY clear that there is totally other options in the starting pitcher market. And that’s especially noteworthy, considering the Nelson Cruz rumor and their reported additional interest in Joey Gallo (who also remains unlikely to be traded at this point, despite being technically “available”).

I know, I know … I look like this right now:

But if you’re going to mention ALL of the starting pitchers available besides the one guy who was on your team * and * also suggest, with a straight face, that Nelson Cruz is someone you really expect to outbid on AL teams because , well… I take note.

Mets challenges

According to Joel Sherman, the Mets, Padres, Dodgers (and maybe a few others) are the most aggressive buyers in the market, but he sees a tough road to a successful trade this week for three reasons:

1. The absence of impact-pitch. All the usual suspects are mentioned, but if Berrios isn’t traded then Gibson is the best starter available … and he wouldn’t even start a playoff game for them, if everyone were back and healthy (Jacob deGrom , Carlos Carrasco, Noah Syndgergaard, Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker could all be available and that’s already too much). Davies is verified, but he’s no better than Gibson, so listen to the hint.

2. Lack of depth of leads – you should read this for the full background, but they have lost some leads in Lindor business, other leads are injured and other leads are far away. Add it all up and a REALLY splashy trade can be just too hard to realistically achieve.

3. Cohen can’t even use his financial might because there aren’t huge pay cuts to take advantage of. This is the section in which Javy Baez and Kris bryant are mentioned, but Baez is called in for leading the majors in strikeouts / second among shortstops in errors (like he’s not a good shortstop) and Kris Bryant, well, read this by yourself, because OOF:

Kris Bryant has what the Cubs call hamstring fatigue. But there could be industry fatigue with the player. The Cubs have been open for trading since 2019 and their price has not been met, suggesting that its name is greater than its value in the game.

Again… this is a signal. It’s not entirely unfair, but it’s also a huge “IT’S NOT EVEN THAT GOOD.” No matter. The teams want certain messages to be broadcast at this time of year.

Tips:

• While previous reports have suggested Max Scherzer would seek an extension before approving a trade to a team, that no longer appears to be the case. Scott Boras told the Washington Post that other non-extension contract benefits could do the trick. Nationals plan to take things until the deadline before deciding to buy or sell.

• The Dodgers look to Rangers closer Ian Kennedy, but I don’t care about any other closing candidate in the market as a competitor to Craig Kimbrel. He is the best option and no one else will surpass him at this point in the absence of an injury (jinx, double-jinx, ABC-black-out). That said, those other closings could impact the market for guys like Andrew Chafin and Ryan Tepera, but both are great options nonetheless.



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