Comments on: Trade Target – All of the A’s, apparently

By: Matthew Spicer

Matthew Spicer — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:16:00 +0000

signing players is quite important if you want to win.

By: Brandon Richards

Brandon Richards — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 04:37:00 +0000

Cutch would be loved anywhere, but once again, is that trade really going to improve Oakland who’s trying to trim payroll? Or is it going to have them moving him to someone else for more parts and a better trade then we made with them? This isn’t fantasy baseball folks, there’s real money involved and all those parts have to move correctly.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 15:26:00 +0000

WHERE is Starling Marte going to play? The optimum position for him is CF. Therefore, I would trade…..

Andrew McCutcheon for Gonzalez, Cahill and Suzuki, along with a highly rated prospect. I KNOW the Bay Area; Cutch would be a fan fave out here.

By: Ian Rothermund

Ian Rothermund — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Well, Walker had one of the highest fielding percentages combined with leading most second basemen is plenty of offensive categories in just his second full season, when most consider he hasn’t hit his ceiling. So if you were to trade him, you better be getting something more than just Suzuki in return. Meek would have to show me he has his fastball back next year. I don’t know that you can call Owens a bust after one bad year when he was minor league pitcher of the year in their system two years in a row. He just doesn’t have overwhelming stuff, which lowers trade value in the short term. Next year will be crucial in his development to see if he can rebound, he may not, but now is too soon to label him a bust. Hernandez, still pretty young, but yeah, doesn’t have the skills or tools to make him great trade bait. I see him as more of an acceptable throw in player in a good trade. Jaramillo, yeah, loser. Bryan Morris, once again, not quite a loser, but not a guy that could be traded on his own. Justin Wilson’s interesting as a reliever, who doesn’t want a guy that could be a “potential” Matt Thorton, power lefty.

I understand people overvaluing their own homegrown players, but you can’t undervalue your own players either. The key to any trades from the Pirates, or any potential impact trades, is going to be what guys from the 25-man roster. If you mix and match some of the minor league names with a Joel Hanrahan, let’s say, I think that drastically changes the likelihood of a trade going through. I’ll trade a top notch closer/reliever for a #2 lefty starter with a high upside every single time.

By: Lee Young

Lee Young — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:49:00 +0000

Brandon……….you beat me to it. I used to be in APBA mail leagues. I always had to chuckle at some of the trade offers. “If I give you enough junk, will you give me your star”?

These trade ‘talks’ that bloggers post are hilarious.

By: Ian Rothermund

Ian Rothermund — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:29:00 +0000

Well, we can’t trade Cole until June this year anyhow, so I doubt he’ll factor into the equation regardless.

By: Ian Rothermund

Ian Rothermund — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:29:00 +0000

Winning is more important though…

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:19:00 +0000

I agree it will take three prospects. I’m not sure I agree with those three though. They will want Grossman for the reasons pointed out in the article. I’m not sure that McPherson and Rojas are enough. Gonzalez has the stuff to be an elite pitcher. It might take Taillon and Grossman to get him.

By: JustinG

JustinG — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 04:04:00 +0000

I agree that Tabata is probably the best trade chip (quality-wise and because it makes sense to do so), but trading someone right after they signed a contract is just kind of an jerk move. But i totally agree that he is a good chip with the marte and grossman coming up.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 02:31:00 +0000

Beane seems to learn from mistakes. He was burned when he thought defense was undervalued. He isn’t going to give up anything close to Cahill or Gonzalez for a deal that includes Hernandez. He might give up Suzuki.

Another thing that needs to be understood about Oakland, how much that ball park benefits pitchers. Cahill’s BABIP at home was .289 (lots of fouls balls caught) but on the road, it rose to .317. Gonzalez, who has natural talent and stuff saw a smaller rise in his road BABIP (.297) compared to his home BABIP (.280). A guy with good stuff may continue high levels of performance in another home park, but Cahill may turnout like Zito in a less pitcher friendly park.

I like Grossman, Hernandez not so much, but Beane isn’t giving up either Cahill or Gonzalez for both Pirate prospects. If he does, he’s trying to get fired.