Jake

I'm with Dave Cameron. You get a really good young starting pitcher as well as an undervalued middle infielder who has already been okay in the major leagues, and you get out from under ~$25M of salary commitments

Walker not involved. Nothing else involving SEA beyond Franklin and Jackson. There are surely MiLB guys involved, even if not of great consequence. David Cameron ‏@DCameronFG 5m David Price is very good. David Price, at $20 million next year? No one was giving up the farm for that. David Cameron ‏@DCameronFG 5m If your argument is that “David Price is awesome and Drew Smyly is not”, you need to factor in contracts. Price’s isn’t great.

There are surely minor league players involved in this. Murmurs that Taijuan Walker going to TB

You want every team trying to be good. It's no fun to watch a league where half the teams are disappointed when they win

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 02:35 PM) However, Danks makes it for 2 1/2 more years, Rios makes it for the rest of this year and then a buyout. Oh yeah. So he's Adam Dunn.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 02:31 PM) Leury hitting .186/.222/.246. Meanwhile Rios is wanted by 4 or 5 teams. Rios is the John Danks of batters. He makes $15 million to be average - and he's been worse than average this year, like Danks.

Trout has outhit Abreu and is a similar value defensively compared to average at their respective positions. The difference is that Trout plays center field, where the average offensive player is far worse. That's meaningful. Abreu would be a lower value if he played center field because he can't do it. That's why Trout is valuable. Because Trout is so good and doesn't play first base, the Angels can also have Albert Pujols on their team. Also, Trout is a positive value on the basepaths. Abreu is very good for his speed and position as a baserunner, but he's no Trout.

I'm happy with the lineup as constructed. I'd prefer Dunn behind Abreu and I don't like putting Gillaspie in a position (after Eaton) where he is bound to see more LHP. Where he is, his non-power hits can drive in the runners ahead of him.

Starting pitchers are inconsistent year over year. Danks has dealt with injuries. Sox have no payroll commitments. I'll roll with Danks to see if he can increase his value to us and on the trade market.

The franchise is not low on money. Danks is earning too much for now, but the money he would get from us wouldn't be allocated differently. What difference does it make if our payroll is $40M, $55M, or $70M next year?

We're not hurting for money. Might as well wait and see if he ever puts things back together

QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 11:54 AM) Jeff Passan: Yankees looking for incremental upgrades, not big pieces. John Danks is the definition of an incremental upgrade, come on down New York!

I think both major trades today make sense for both sides and we'll need time to figure out who won. Buying low on Craig makes a lot of sense and I think Kelly could be a back-end starter for years to come.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 11:34 AM) IMO, if there was anything really close, Danks would not start today. It wouldn't be worth it. Something has to change significantly or John Danks will be a White Sox at the deadline. I love it as a hardball tactic, honestly. Also, if you scratch him, you make a very loud statement to your team and fanbase about your intentions. If you don't ultimately trade him, everyone feels like that was the sole strategy anyway. If we don't manage any trades and Danks goes out and starts, Hahn can act like he was trying to add to the team or something.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 11:27 AM) So leave and come back at 3. Well, I suppose I should say you can believe a report when it comes, but it's probably unwise to read too many tea leaves #hugwatch

Just let the deadline come and don't come to any conclusions until the deadline has passed.

Too bad about Fuentes. Seemed like he might have been on the fast track to Chicago

With the amount of starters they have, OAK didn't see any need for Millone this year. They may not think highly of him in general. Fuld, as we've heard Wimpy say a million times, can contribute meaningfully in the right role for a good team. Beane must have wanted him at that strong defense/fast runner/LH bat role.

Just give us JR Murphy and I'll be pretty happy.

This is a good trade. Both teams have a decent chance of walking away from it as the "winner." Cespedes being a big name is kind of a red herring

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 09:23 AM) I wonder if it's a given that Rienzo will start if Danks goes. Maybe we go to Rienzo for 4, Thompson for 2, mentally check out somewhere in the 3rd inning and head out to lunch, leave Leury back in case there are more innings needed later, etc. There could also be a MiLB player standing by

I scrub with brush, rinse with aid of a rag and running water.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 09:08 AM) I'm not sure how arbitration works for international free agents, but B-R says he's Arb eligible in 2016 and won't be a FA till 2018. Perhaps I'm wrong in thinking that's true. There is a clause in his contract that makes him ineligible for arbitration. It's why he chose OAK over more lucrative offers

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 09:04 AM) s***'s going to get really busy in the next two hours, I'll post if I get another text but it appears the lawyers and finance are huddling. Is that standard operating procedure or indicative of something serious being considered?

FWIW, I consider it impossible that Semien would not obviously out-produce Beckham in the MLB if he was called up today