Pages

11/17/18

Reese Kaplan -- How About Trading for Bullpen Help?



During the Sandy Alderson era it became apparent that other than salary dumps mid-season, he eschewed the trade as a means of changing the personnel on the roster.  Whether it was an unwillingness or inability to judge talent on other clubs, or a failure to establish trust and communications, the fact is that the Mets pretty much went the free agent route almost exclusively during his tenure.  Sure, there were a few notable exceptions like the Yoenis Cespedes deal, but even the R.A. Dickey and Carlos Beltran deals that became net positives were really salary dumps. 

So with Brodie Van Wagenen now in charge it’s possible the Mets will once again uncover this forgotten avenue and seek to see whether or not favorable deals can be executed with other ballclubs.  As I’ve stated many times, I feel the Mets’ biggest need overall is fortifying the bullpen, so I thought today we’d take a look at some ballplayers under contract to other clubs who might be worth targeting.   For this exercise I looked at people whose ERA of 3.00 or less, and who appeared in more than 50 games.  Surprisingly it was quite a big list with a great many lesser-known players having hit these targets.  I left out the within-division options as it’s unlikely to convince the Braves, Nats or Phillies to help the Mets (and the Marlins don’t have anyone that qualifies).

The Oakland A's improbably run to the post-season was built surprisingly on a rock solid bullpen made up of mostly no-name players.  Five of them met the criteria.  They include:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
L             Ryan Buchter                   31          2.75       1.19       earned $555K; arb eligible
R            Yusmeiro Petit                 33          3.00       1.01       $5.5 million with $5.5 option/$1 million buyout
R            Blake Treinen                  30          0.78       0.83       $2.15 million; 2nd year arb eligible
R            Lou Trivino                       27          2.92       1.14       Rookie in 2018, pre-arbitration

The Los Angeles Angels have one qualifying pitcher:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
L             Jose Alvarez                     29          2.71       1.16       $1.05 million; 2nd year arb eligible

With Lance McCullers, Jr. having just had Tommy John Surgery, it’s highly unlikely the Astros will be looking to deal away relief pitching, but they have one enticing choice:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
R            Ryan Pressly                     29          2.54       1.11       $1.6 million; 3rd year arb eligible

The post-season bound Brewers got a season for the ages out of veteran Jeremy Jeffress and he’s very reasonably priced.  Consequently it would be very difficult to pry him loose:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
R            Jeremy Jeffress                31          1.29       0.99       $3.175 with a 2020 option for $4.3

One could argue that the Chicago Cubs need starting pitching badly and as a result they may be tempted to part with one of their many quality relief arms:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
R            Steve Cishek                                   2.18       1.04       $6.5 million; FA 2020
R            Carl Edwards                   27          2.60       1.31       $5.95 super 2, 1st year arb eligible
R            Pedro Strop                      33          2.26       0.99       $6.25 million; FA 2020

Unlike the xenophobic Mets, the Arizona Diamondbacks ventured across the Pacific to get a veteran arm to help them and got way more than they could have hoped:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
R            Yoshihisa Hirano             34          2.44       1.09       $3 million, second year player

The NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers having lost the World Series might be inclined to make some moves but a couple of the relief pitchers they have that would be desirable make very little money:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
R            Pedro Baez                       30          2.88       1.22       $1.5 million; 2nd year arb eligible
R            Dylan Floro                       27          2.25       1.25       Rookie, pre-arbitration

In addition to the hypothetical Mark Melancon for Jay Bruce deal discussed previously, the San Francisco Giants have four supporting arms worth considering:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
R            Sam Dyson                        30          2.69       1.08       $4.425 million; 2nd year arb eligible
R            Reyes Moronta                25          2.49       1.09       $545K; pre-arbitration
L             Will Smith                         28          2.55       0.98       $2.5 million; 3rd year arb eligible
L             Tony Watson                    33          2.59       1.03       $3.5 million, $2.5 option/$500K buyout

While Edwin Diaz got all of the headlines for the Seattle Mariners in 2018, there was another arm worth considering who just missed the arbitrary limit by a hair:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
R            Alex Colome                     29          3.04       1.18       $5.3 million; 2nd year arb eligible

According to most pundits, the San Diego Padres have one of the richest farm systems in baseball.  I can personally attest to the AAA El Paso Chihuahuas’ dominance over the past several years:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
R            Craig Stammen                34          2.73       1.04       $2.25 million
R            Kirby Yates                       31          2.14       0.92       $1.062 million; 2nd year arb eligible

One of the few teams with whom Sandy Alderson seemingly had a good relationship, the Pittsburgh Pirates have a few young pitchers who would be assets if they could be obtained:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
R            Kyle Crick                          25          2.39       1.13       Rookie, pre-arbitration
R            Richard Rodriguez          28          2.47       1.07       Pre-arbitration

The Texas Rangers suffered a big blow when they lost fireballer Matt Bush to surgery, but a few people stepped up to fill the setup void:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
R            Jose Leclerc                      24         1.56       0.85       Rookie, pre-arbitration
L             James Pazos                     27         2.88       1.24       Pre-arbitration

This year the Tampa Bay Rays employed the controversial “opener”, a relief pitcher used to start the game rather than to come in after the starter tired or was ineffective.  One youngster did yeoman’s work in the pen:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
R            Jose Alvarado                  23          2.39       1.11       Rookie, pre-arbitration

The Cincinnati Reds may not have had much to help them during their dismal season, but they did feature a couple of good arms in the pen that could certainly help the Mets:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
L             David Hernandez            33          2.53       0.98       $2.5 million
R            Jared Hughes                   33          1.94       1.02       $2.125 million, $3 million opt/$250K buyout

This past off-season the Rockies made a splash when they signed one of the big fish, Wade Davis, formerly of the Kansas City Royals.  Then they got a huge year out of Adam Ottavino (which proved to be a lifesaver given Davis’ rude introduction to Coors Field).  There were others who helped:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
R            Scott Oberg                      28          2.45       0.97       $555K, 1st year arb-eligible
R            Seunghwan Oh                36          2.63       1.01       $2.5 million (where was Sandy Alderson?)

Now the Minnesota Twins for many years were competitive with one of the lowest budgets in all of baseball.  With the retirement of Joe Mauer they now have more money to spend and their southpaw is certainly worth asking about in trade talks:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
L             Taylor Rogers                   27          2.63       0.95       $565K; Super Two 1st year arb-eligible

The Mets and Yankees seldom consummate trades, but when they do they usually contain role players rather than stars.  There is one middle reliever who’s done well for the Bronx Bombers worth considering:

L/R        Name                                Age        ERA       WHIP    Salary Notes
R            Chad Green                      27          2.50       1.04       $570K, pre-arbitration

Obviously the guys on expiring contracts will be easier to pry loose than ones who are in pre-arbitration salary suppression, but there are indeed many options that could help address the Mets' biggest need.  Players who are in the final year of their contract or last year before free agency include:

  • Yusmeiro Petit
  • Ryan Pressly
  • Jeremy Jeffress
  • Steve Cishek
  • Pedro Strop
  • Will Smith
  • Tony Watson
  • Craig Stammen
  • David Hernandez
  • Jared Hughes
  • Seunghwan Oh



With two lefties in that circumstance, Smith and Watson, San Francisco might be persuaded to part with one of them.  The Cubs are in a similar situation with righties Cishek and Strop.  For the others, well, it never hurts to ask.  

7 comments:

  1. Very comprehensive, Reese.

    How do you spell relief, BVV? "Checkbook."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very nice.

    Teams will demand front line talent for most of these guys and we continue to be too thin to pull this off.

    No depth equals no trades.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Reese,
    For the Mets to get anything of worth, they have to give up pitching because that is the only thing they have to trade from.

    Is it worth to give up a starter in order to get a reliever? I don't think so.

    You can break down the Mets situation in many different ways and the solution will always end up being "they need to spend money".

    I don't want to hear how the Mets can't afford it because their prices at the gate are not cheap.

    deGrom 12M back loaded to 2020 when Cespedes and Bruce are off the books.

    Wheeler 2 years 20M with 10M team option. Why would Wheeler do this? because of his injury history. He guarantees himself at least 20M.

    Syndergaard and Matz you don't have to do anything until after 2019 season.

    Ramos 2 years 18/20M

    Familia, Miller or Britton, Octtavino (back loaded contracts if possible)

    The Wilpons simply have to spend now knowing that after 2020, Cespedes and Bruce salaries come off the books and the IF will be cheap with Alonzo, McNeil, Gimenez, Rosario. The OF will still be cheap with Conforto, Nimmo +

    Spend money, that's the solution.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's quite a list, as you said Reese.

    It's funny, but a bunch of them look familiar from the last off season or two on free agent lists. I guess other teams
    were a bit more savvy with their pick ups then we were (a disappointing trend under Sandy's guidance).

    I like the idea of upgrading the bullpen by any and all means necessary.......free agency, internal options AND trades.

    With what is on hand, I would like to see at least two, if not three additions to the bullpen. Of that number, I also want to see a couple of options that can close a game out if need be. BVW seems to be an outside the box thinker and the traditional closer role seems to be going away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I touch briefly on this at 11 AM. The team's big 2 flaws in 2018.

      Delete
  5. Without a surplus of valuable trade chips and with so many RPs on the FA market, signing instead of trading is the way to go right now.

    We have a lot of promising players in the lower minors, and in a year or two we may have the surplus that would make trades more realistic.

    ReplyDelete
  6. A team with excess relief pitching at the major league level might want some of the minor league pitching help if the player the Mets are looking to acquire is in the last year of his current deal. An Eric Hanhold and Jacob Rhame and Steve Nogosek combined might net you a Tony Watson where they figure to save money and if they hit on one of the three then it's a fair deal. Basically I'd be looking to reverse the quality for quantity deals Sandy struck out on.

    ReplyDelete