The trading date of Major League Baseball, scheduled for August 31, is now less than 10 days away. We spent the early part of this week marking 25 players who could be on the road, as well as determining which teams are the best to buy and which are the chances to sell.
This deadline is different from the norm. You will probably not see blockbuster deals, as trades where significant amounts of money change hands due to the financial uncertainty that clubs have in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Teams likewise have no access to how prospects perform on the alternate sites, which will complicate matters. However, it is a trading date and some deals will be made before it continues.
Part of the fun of the deadline is pretending to be a general manager. That means thinking strategically and identifying potential goals and returns. Because we could all use a distraction, we decided to propose four false actions that we would like to see go down.
Keep in mind that this exercise is only for entertainment purposes and nothing more (though possibly less). Well, to the fake trade.
USATSI
The Cubs buy RHP Ken Giles from the Blue Jays
The rotation of the Cubs has been dominant in the early days, and has given rise to its hot start. The Chicago bullpen, on the other hand, has been ineffective. Sure, of course, Jed Hoyer and the crew will tackle the bull one way or another. Here’s a suggestion that is completely too sensible for your own good: take a gamble on Ken Giles.
Giles, who is a free agent at the end of the season, is limited this season by a strained forearm to two appearances. He is said to be making progress toward a comeback, but it is noteworthy that his speed was a few ticks (from 96.9 mph to 94.5 mph) below in these outings. In other words, there’s a chance he’s not as good as he used to be, even if he’s hearty and whole.
The Cubs could take advantage of the opportunity by structuring a deal for Giles around its availability. When Giles makes a certain number of appearances, the Blue Jays get a player to be named later; if he is restricted, the Blue Jays will receive monetary amounts.
There is precedent for conditional deals on the deadline. Diehards may remember the Rays trade for Jesse Crain, only for Crain to never make a big league again. More recently, Cleveland traded days for Josh Donaldson after he began a rehabilitation phase.
The Cubs would probably prefer a certain thing, but if the cost is not prohibitive, why not get both?
2. Athletics gets RHP Kevin Gausman of the Giants
Oakland has an off-10 offense and the second-best-performing bullpen, but David Forst might want to add another starter if he is serious about keeping the Astros for the division title. Mike Fiers has shown cause for concern over six starts, and it would not hurt to have another option in case Chris Bassitt, Frankie Montas, Jesus Luzardo, or Sean Manaea get hurt.
Gausman is off to a quality start this season, recording seven strikeouts per walk over his first 31 innings, due in part to changing mechanics. Is he going to keep that pace? Probably not. However, he has a history of being a nice mid-to-back-end starter, however, it is not out of the question that he could regress and still be considered worthy of a place in a playoff rotation.
3. Cleveland buys OR Alex Dickerson from the Giants
Cleveland needs to get more offense from his outside field. Next Wednesday, Domingo Santana had the highest OPS + (73) among the three primary outfielders; the other two (Jordan Luplow and the defunct Oscar Mercado) were at 0 and -22, respectively. Reserves Bradley Zimmer (68) and Tyler Naquin (72) have also not been much better. It’s a small sample, but if you’re playing a season of 60, you have to accept that everything is a small sample and still go on.
Cleveland would prefer to be able to sort through other internal options. Delino DeShields is back, and Daniel Johnson and Jake Bauers are a call away. If the front office goes external, then adding someone like Dickerson would make sense.
Dickerson’s 80 OPS + seems worth the effort to negotiate in these early times, yet his history and underlying metrics suggest he will come in the coming weeks for better topline results. Knowing that, he hits the ball hard enough to rank in the 88th percentile in offensive speed, and he does so with an increased launch angle that is good for his power output.
Assuming Dickerson gets his OPS + closer to his career mark (108), he would be a nice addition as an offensive-minded platoon outfielder whose team control runs through the 2022 season.
4. The Rays buy RHP Richard Rodriguez from The Pirates
In an ideal world, the Rays could find a backstop to rent. Unfortunately, the Rays were able to stand up to reinforce a pitching staff that has recently been hit with injuries. Charlie Morton and Oliver Drake are working their way back, but Jose Alvarado will miss some time and both prospect Brendan McKay and righty Yonnny Chirinos are out for the season.
Rodriguez would give the Rays another reliable late incoming arm, and one that is under team control during the 2023 season. He does not have the pure game of a Nick Anderson or a Pete Fairbanks, but he does have an up-and-coming fastball and a move that hesitates and misses. Rodriguez also has a bit of funk with his delivery, which makes him perhaps more appealing for a front office that seems to be experimenting with vertical and horizontal approach angles.
