Trade Deadline/Team improvement thread

[Podunkparte]

I know it's early for this, but what kinds of moves or tweaks would you like to see if we're still playing good baseball in the next month plus?

I think a dominant back of the bullpen arm like a Betances, Wade Davis, or a guy like Matt Thornton back in 2010 could really help. Someone with some attitude and heat to lock down the 8th. I'm not a Joel Peralta fan at all and sooner or later the Steve Johnson's of this team are going to regress back to their mean. I don't think this team has that guy in the pen right now. That rare arm who you can count on to shorten a game. The Royals made that game plan extremely effective over the last few years and the Yankees with Betances and Chapman... if you're behind in the 7th inning, good luck.

I could also see a veteran utility guy brought in if Sardinas and O'Malley don't show a lot going forward.

 

[NWinAZ]

I think a dominant back of the bullpen arm like a Betances, Wade Davis, or a guy like Matt Thornton back in 2010 could really help. Someone with some attitude and heat to lock down the 8th. I'm not a Joel Peralta fan at all and sooner or later the Steve Johnson's of this team are going to regress back to their mean. I don't think this team has that guy in the pen right now. That rare arm who you can count on to shorten a game. The Royals made that game plan extremely effective over the last few years and the Yankees with Betances and Chapman... if you're behind in the 7th inning, good luck.

My #1 thought exactly. A Rob Dibble/Norm Charlton Nasty Boys remade type arm/attitude. I mentioned last week that Andrew Miller from Yanks could become available per articles and he has nasty stuff and is a lefty which are two things we could really use. The guy also needs to be closer material just in case Cishek goes all Rodney on us. I don't think we currently have a closer-in-waiting guy unless Diaz is that guy.

I would also like one real everyday bat in the OF (RH) if possible or we may have to use Cruz out there more to get Lee in the lineup.

 

[Banned 10x]

i think a bullpen arm is the way to go as well and probably the most realistic with what we have to trade, but if there is a way to grab a starter, somehow, that might be my first choice.

 

[mcnabb7542]

My #1 thought exactly. A Rob Dibble/Norm Charlton Nasty Boys remade type arm/attitude. I mentioned last week that Andrew Miller from Yanks could become available per articles and he has nasty stuff and is a lefty which are two things we could really use. The guy also needs to be closer material just in case Cishek goes all Rodney on us. I don't think we currently have a closer-in-waiting guy unless Diaz is that guy.

I would also like one real everyday bat in the OF (RH) if possible or we may have to use Cruz out there more to get Lee in the lineup.

I think he's already started that.... Seattle fans been sweating since 2001 when a closer enters the field for them.

 

[JMR]

I think outside of Martin, Marte & Aoki, we lack speed on the basepath so I wouldn't mind seeing a guy added to the bench who could come in and be a threat as a pinch runner in a tight game. To me the pen looks pretty fine once Furbush and Zych are back in the mix, and hard to see an upgrade to the rotation with the way it's going right now unless we are willing to pay a king's ransom (and not even sure we have that coin down on the farm).

 

[unlvmariners]

Right now I would be looking at bullpen and OF. The bullpen is overachieving right now and having a legit bullpen that can shorten games is huge especially if you plan on being playoff caliber.

The OF is interesting because each of our outfielders seem to have specific strengths and weakness. None of them do everything really well. It would be nice to have a complete outfielder that can hit as well as defend.

Also the available trade options can somewhat dictate what you should and shouldn't pursue. When the deadline gets closer the available players becomes more clear.

 

[PolarVortex]

Power arm in the bullpen. Even with Zych healthy, I'd still want another one who has more experience than Zych.
Starting pitcher. Iwakuma isn't going to last all season and we can't count on Paxton.
Outfielder. Smith is hitting .236. Aoki is hitting .234. Gutierrez is hitting .200 and Martin was hitting .231 prior to yesterday's game. We need an outfielder who can hit.

 

[PolarVortex]

Yankees looked like candidates to unload Miller or Chapman, but a recent surge by the team has delayed any notions they may have about trading off team assets.

There are only 6 legitimate sellers right now: Twins, A's, Braves, Reds, Brewers and Padres.

A couple guys who come immediately to mind:
Jay Bruce
Ervin Santana

 

[NWinAZ]

I think he's already started that.... Seattle fans been sweating since 2001 when a closer enters the field for them.

He only lost the two games so he isn't full Rodney mode just yet.

 

[NWinAZ]

A couple guys who come immediately to mind:
Jay Bruce
Ervin Santana

I would pass on both.

 

[Anointed One]

LF who can hit w/ RISP is a priority imo... I was willing to give Aoki time but he's simply not playing up to expectations... Not even close... Seems like he's a rally killer and can't get on base like he did w/ his previous teams - his OBS is awful... He's being thrown out stealing at an alarming rate of 75% of the time (thrown out 6 out of 8 times)... His defense is respectable but nothing more out there in LF... If he doesn't improve in that spot, we need to find another option imo...

I think we're ok with the bullpen... Seems like it's only a matter of time before Iwa goes to the DL... He's already looking like a shell of his former self... Who knows if Walker will continue his downward spiral and how long before Miley becomes the 5+ era starter in this league, which does seem to be the way he's been trending the past 3 seasons... I'd rather look at SP options at the deadline...

We've been fortunate to have our offense bail out our pitching for the most part this season... In the past, it's been the other way around...

In summary, I think our two biggest opportunities will be LF and SP at the TD

 

[Anointed One]

I wonder what the Reds would want in return for Billy Hamilton...

 

[Anointed One]

I would also like one real everyday bat in the OF (RH) if possible or we may have to use Cruz out there more to get Lee in the lineup.

I'm not a fan of Cruz being out there more than he needs to be due to him being 35 years of age... We only need his bat, not his defense... I think keeping him fresh offensively is key... Cruz is a proven commodity, Lee is not...

 

[NWinAZ]

I'm not a fan of Cruz being out there more than he needs to be due to him being 35 years of age... We only need his bat, not his defense... I think keeping him fresh offensively is key... Cruz is a proven commodity, Lee is not...

No disrespect, but man I hate that argument. Anybody ever hear of a guy from NJ a few years back playing CF for Angels minors? Of course not and he was far from proven. If we use that argument, no non-veteran would ever get a chance to play.

And it isn't about Cruz vs Lee, but Lee vs Smith, Guti, or Aoki. I don't want Cruz out there everyday either, but he isn't gawd awful defender either. I would replace him late in games to lower the screw-up rate a bit.

 

[Anointed One]

No disrespect, but man I hate that argument. Anybody ever hear of a guy from NJ a few years back playing CF for Angels minors? Of course not and he was far from proven. If we use that argument, no non-veteran would ever get a chance to play.

And it isn't about Cruz vs Lee, but Lee vs Smith, Guti, or Aoki. I don't want Cruz out there everyday either, but he isn't gawd awful defender either. I would replace him late in games to lower the screw-up rate a bit.

All good... No disrespect taken...

I gotchya... I'd definitely like to see Lee get a few more AB's than Guti... However, I do like the way Smith works a pitcher but Lee definitely deserves a few more AB's...

It's not necessarily his "screw-up rate" rather than the wear and tear on his legs/body as the season progresses... I'd like to limit his time out in the field if it means it would give him a few extra quality at bats towards the end of the season, especially if we're in the postseason...

 

[unlvmariners]

It's not necessarily his "screw-up rate" rather than the wear and tear on his legs/body as the season progresses... I'd like to limit his time out in the field if it means it would give him a few extra quality at bats towards the end of the season, especially if we're in the postseason...

I agree gotta keep him as healthy as possible. And as we have seen they are going to run Cruz in RF pretty regularly anyway but they try and stay away from doing it over and over again or back to back.

 

[NWinAZ]

All good... No disrespect taken...

Glad you took it with respect because I enjoy your opinions.

I gotchya... I'd definitely like to see Lee get a few more AB's than Guti... However, I do like the way Smith works a pitcher but Lee definitely deserves a few more AB's...

Agree there. Would love to see Guti repeat last years performance. I am on the fence with Smith. I agree he is what I call a professional hitter (works counts like you said), but need better results in the end.

It's not necessarily his "screw-up rate" rather than the wear and tear on his legs/body as the season progresses... I'd like to limit his time out in the field if it means it would give him a few extra quality at bats towards the end of the season, especially if we're in the postseason...

I get it, but my issue with that goes way back to the Griffey days. He had great speed, but they wouldn't let him steal bases as often because they wanted to save wear and tear on his legs but in the end he was long gone before that ever became an issue. I don't mean to be cold, but I kind of like getting every pennies worth out of players before they diminish or leave. Plus, he is in as good of shape as anyone on the team. I worry more about Cano breaking down because he reminds me of having the Griffey off season workout program.

 

[NWinAZ]

Rotoworld Baseball ‏@Rotoworld_BB 8m8 minutes ago


Braves designate LHP Brian Matusz for assignment http://SportsHoopla.com/z55q96u

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Here is a lefty bullpen arm I would take a flyer on. He has struggled this year, but has been good in the past. Former first round pick and only 29.

 

[Anointed One]

I worry more about Cano breaking down because he reminds me of having the Griffey off season workout program.

Interesting, I was just talking w/ a friend about that the other day... Definitely in the back of my mind... At least Cano doesn't play CF so we have that going for us...

 

[Anointed One]

Shane Victorino released from the Cubs and is available... He's an old 35 year old though... RH that could play LF... Just a thought if we're looking at buying on the cheap...