The Official 'Who are we kidding, we are sellers' trade dealine thread

[johnfree63]

Ya, we missed the boat on that I am afraid. I read somewhere few weeks back about how we had a chance to trade Kuma foe Cespedes and turned it down. Can't remember if it was with A's or Tigers. He has been on borrowed time for awhile now.

It was in the off season before the Red Sox traded him to Detroit for Rick Porcello. Looking back, it would be hard to trade your #2 pitcher for a career .260/.310/.450 hitter.....I guess??

 

[NWinAZ]

It was in the off season before the Red Sox traded him to Detroit for Rick Porcello. Looking back, it would be hard to trade your #2 pitcher for a career .260/.310/.450 hitter.....I guess??

Stats lie that is wy you use scouts. Cespedes was better than any OF we had and Kuma has major injury issues and his ball was not sinking for 3 months which together is a huge red flag and the guy in his 30's should be dumped and fast. He was a #2 SP in 2013. Now he is a back end rotation guy who you hope survives every pitch he throws.

 

[johnfree63]

Stats lie that is wy you use scouts. Cespedes was better than any OF we had and Kuma has major injury issues and his ball was not sinking for 3 months which together is a huge red flag and the guy in his 30's should be dumped and fast. He was a #2 SP in 2013. Now he is a back end rotation guy who you hope survives every pitch he throws.

I agree, I was just trying to remember the reasoning. That slash line would make him the 2nd or 3rd best hitter on the team, not to mention his defense.

 

[NWinAZ]

I agree, I was just trying to remember the reasoning. That slash line would make him the 2nd or 3rd best hitter on the team, not to mention his defense.

Ya but we both know he would be hitting .212 with 10 homers and 80 K's if on M's...lol

 

[wazzu31]

Ya but we both know he would be hitting .212 with 10 homers and 80 K's if on M's...lol

So sad that for this organization that is good offensive production.

 

[Podunkparte]

Seriously though, people want to blame Jack Z, Lloyd, multiple hitting coaches...

The reality is that this team is made up of players who are not even close to performing like they should based on the majority of their careers.

Cano?
Trumbo?
Jackson? (up to the lest 10 games or so)
Smith?

After these guys you have Miller, Seager, Zunino, etc who have always been up and down but like the vets are not contributing consistently.

No one in this lineup can be counted on to do anything. Walk, Hit, Sac Bunt, Sac Fly, HR... Nobody can do any of these simple but productive things on a regular basis, yet some of them have solid track records of doing so.

It's frustrating, but I'm not putting ony hopes into this team doing anyting until the actual players can do their jobs. We won't be adding or selling much because we honestly shouldn't need to. This roster should win. The problem is it's not and the blame should be on the shoulders of the players themselves.

 

[NWinAZ]

Buster Olney ‏@Buster_ESPN 39m39 minutes ago

The Angels have been looking for a hitter for weeks, and @ChristinaKahrl writes that they need a thumper: http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/59686/angels-need-help-if-they-want-to-re-win-the-al-west…

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trumbo anyone?

 

[NWinAZ]

Erik Kratz Elects Free Agency
By Steve Adams [June 29, 2015 at 10:54am CDT]
Catcher Erik Kratz has elected free agency after being outrighted off the Red Sox’ 40-man roster, reports Brian Macpherson of the Providence Journal (on Twitter). Kratz was designated for assignment by the Red Sox late last week once Blake Swihart recovered from a minor injury.

A career .217/.270/.400 hitter, the 35-year-old Kratz has proven himself capable of hitting for power but at the cost of questionable batting average and OBP marks. Defensively, Kratz’s 31 percent caught-stealing rate is above average, and he’s received plus ratings in terms of pitch framing.

Kratz and his agents at Metis Sports Management will now have the opportunity to seek a deal with any club in need of depth and/or immediate help behind the plate. The Mariners, according to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter), are one team that could be a possible landing spot.

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Sounds like a Jack guy.

 

[Msfann]

This guys .217 career batting average is a bit high for Jack's standards.

<===Exhibit A
<===Exhibit B

<===Exhibit C

 

[Anointed One]

Who are we foolin? We are sellers...

 

[NWinAZ]

Erik Kratz Elects Free Agency
By Steve Adams [June 29, 2015 at 10:54am CDT]
Catcher Erik Kratz has elected free agency after being outrighted off the Red Sox’ 40-man roster, reports Brian Macpherson of the Providence Journal (on Twitter). Kratz was designated for assignment by the Red Sox late last week once Blake Swihart recovered from a minor injury.

A career .217/.270/.400 hitter, the 35-year-old Kratz has proven himself capable of hitting for power but at the cost of questionable batting average and OBP marks. Defensively, Kratz’s 31 percent caught-stealing rate is above average, and he’s received plus ratings in terms of pitch framing.

Kratz and his agents at Metis Sports Management will now have the opportunity to seek a deal with any club in need of depth and/or immediate help behind the plate. The Mariners, according to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter), are one team that could be a possible landing spot.

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Sounds like a Jack guy.

Robert Murray of BaseballEssential.com reports that the Braves and Mariners are the "frontrunners" to sign Erik Kratz.

Kratz elected free agency on Monday after clearing waivers. His defense isn't great, but the 35-year-old has some pop and wouldn't be a bad backup catcher for someone.
Related: Braves, Mariners

Source: Robert Murray on Twitter
Jun 30 - 6:07 PM

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I told you...a jack guy

 

[wazzu31]

Anything to be able to get Zunino from playing all the games. Though, I'm not sure why they would elect to sign a guy with bad defensive skills yet they keep Montero down in AAA.

 

[NWinAZ]

3 words; The Mariner Way

 

[unlvmariners]

Anything to be able to get Zunino from playing all the games. Though, I'm not sure why they would elect to sign a guy with bad defensive skills yet they keep Montero down in AAA.

That is a good point. If they want a shitty catcher they already have one in Montero and Montero's bat seems to lively lately.

I still don't think Montero will ever catch a game again though.

 

[EVille3]

Montero will never catch another game in his career...He is strictly 1B/DH

 

[wazzu31]

I know his role is 1B/Dh but its not like he can't play there and he is just rotting in AAA. I'm not saying he is the answer but why sign a guy who is supposedly a crappy defender and have to make a roster move when they can just call him up and have him spell catcher and 1B

 

[Msfann]

I think its more about his (Montero's)knees than anything, he hasn't caught for a long time now and it would take forever to get his knees into shape. I think If they asked him to catch now he would get hurt

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

The fact this team is still running out some catcher who is sub .175 instead of doing ANYTHING at the catcher position is why this team sucks ass.

 

[NWinAZ]

Pair of frequent trade partners could help Mariners solve hitting woes
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By Brent Stecker, 710 ESPN Seattle | July 3, 2015 @ 11:41 am
The Mariners could look to acquire second-year Toronto outfielder Kevin Pillar for a starting pitcher. (AP)
With less than a month before the July 31 MLB trade deadline, the Seattle Mariners will almost assuredly be active as they look to climb out of the bottom half of the American League and re-enter the playoff conversation.

The Mariners will be targeting help for an offense that enters the weekend with baseball's worst batting average (.229) and second-least runs scored (267). Luckily for them, they should have the means to acquire a run-scorer or producer thanks to a surplus in starting pitching that will look awfully attractive to several teams in the postseason chase, and two in particular: the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs.

Related: Analyst says M's could trade from pitching strength to help offense

The Blue Jays have been a frequent trade partner with Seattle in recent years, including last offseason when the M's shipped oft-injured outfielder Michael Saunders to Toronto for left-handed pitcher J.A. Happ, who has been a solid contributor to a starting rotation that ranks eighth in the MLB with a 3.71 ERA. Whereas the Mariners have been succeeding much better in preventing runs than scoring them, the Blue Jays have been the exact opposite, leading baseball in runs and total bases but ranking 25th with a 4.16 team ERA.

Toronto is in fourth place in the AL East – even with a 42-39 record as of Friday – so it will certainly be looking for improvements on the mound. Second-year outfielder Kevin Pillar, who is hitting .285 with a .315 on-base percentage, six home runs and 35 RBI, could be someone to catch Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik's eye. A cheaper option would be catcher/designated hitter Dioner Navarro, who could give struggling catcher Mike Zunino more frequent days off in a role that was originally planned for Welington Castillo before he was flipped to Arizona for Mark Trumbo early last month.

The team the Mariners initially acquired Castillo from, the Cubs, have much more success in the starting pitching department than Toronto, but that doesn't mean they're any less in need of another starter. They've had trouble finding a solid No. 5 option, with Travis Wood's issues resulting in him being sent to the bullpen and Tsuyoshi Wada recently landing on the 15-day disabled list. Chicago has been employing an interesting rebuilding strategy in recent years, stockpiling highly-touted hitting prospects, and they've been bearing the fruits of that effort with Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Junior Lake, Jorge Soler, Addison Russell and Starlin Castro all under 26 and occupying roster spots. It would make a lot of sense for Seattle, who have developed pitching prospects much better than they have young hitters, to see who the Cubs would be willing to part with.

The question for the Mariners, though, is who they consider available.

Taijuan Walker has long been the subject of trade talks – he actually was as good as gone in 2013 to Atlanta before Justin Upton exercised his no-trade clause with the Braves – but he's looked like the picture of his potential since May 29, boasting a 1.67 ERA and 49 strikeouts in seven starts and 48 1/3 innings over that stretch. He's certainly showed that he belongs in the Mariners rotation, but his trade value may also be at its highest yet.

The same could be said for Mike Montgomery, who has thrown back-to-back shutouts and owns a minuscule 1.62 ERA in six starts since making his MLB debut on June 2. The 26 year old has looked every bit the first-round draft pick that Kansas City made him in 2008 and not at all like the potential bust that was traded by both the Royals and Rays.

Another young starter, Roenis Elias, could find himself in a new uniform by August, though he might not bring back as much talent as Walker or Montgomery.

Significant risk is involved in trading any of those young hurlers, but they're not the only trade chips the Mariners own. Both Happ and Hisashi Iwakuma, who is set to return soon from injury, are in the final year of their contracts, and Seattle could get a decent return for either of those proven veteran arms before they hit the free-agent market.

Whatever the case may be, it only makes sense for the M's to turn their depth at starting pitching into something that will help them put more runs on the board. When Iwakuma returns, they'll have to either move one well-performing pitcher to the bullpen or Triple-A, and James Paxton (finger tendon strain) will eventually be back from his own injury to further crowd the rotation.

Too much starting pitching is a nice problem to have, but the Mariners should soon have an opportunity to turn that conundrum into a much-needed solution for an offense in desperate need of a consistent bat.

 

[unlvmariners]

I would take Kevin Pillar in a heart beat!!!