TheFutureIsNear

Pedro Alvarez Cody Asche Franklin Gutierrez Adam Lind Brandon Moss Colby Rasmus Michael Saunders Luis Valbuena I'd take a gamble on any 1 of those guys. Only need to catch lightning in a bottle for 3 1/2 months to turn them into something useful long term.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 27, 2016 -> 11:18 AM) I feel like i"ve said this a thousand times, but the Ken Giles and Kimbrel trades both happened in offseason and both were prospect heavy toward seller. I don't think Deadline helps that much. When you go back and look at that Giles trade was it REALLY that great of a haul? Once you take out the name factor and realize Mark Appel had already lost a ton of his value (looking like a huge bust) there isn't really a ton left. Don't get me wrong Velasquez is a really nice get for a reliever on a bad team, but the Phillies might have actually given up the 2nd best prospect in that deal (SS Arauz). Plus Giles threw 100+ innings of dominant ball the 2 years before being traded, Robertson has simply been above average. Maybe? Robertson is a either a salary dump for 1 or 2 B level prospects now, or you cross your fingers and hope he improves and has more value later. Really don't see any in-between.

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Dec 27, 2016 -> 11:01 AM) A solid haul, but it is missing the marquee headliner to get a deal done If the Yankees do not make Torres and/or Frazier available I don't see a deal happening. Quintana + Robertson should net both of them Mateo's stock has slipped after a mediocre 2016, I no longer view him as a top 50 mlb prospect. Judge's stock is down a bit too after striking out at an alarming rate in 2016. Robertson will have good value at the deadline, I don't love the idea of including him in a potential deal unless it lands us both Torres and Frazier as headliners Why are you acting like Robertson has a lot of value? Robertson adds a couple of B level prospects to the end of the deal. His name shouldn't even be mentioned with Frazier and Torres. Getting both is indeed crazy talk

Clint Frazier, Jorge Mateo, Miguel Andujar, Albert Abreu, Ian Clarkin That's my guess of what I think Cashman would offer for both Q and Robertson.

QUOTE (staxx @ Dec 25, 2016 -> 10:17 PM) I would take Severino for Robertson for sure Don't understand the love for this guy around here. If he can't maintain a .700 OPS in the minors what do you think he's going to do with extended MLB time? At best he's a backup and I really hope we're targeting something with higher potential than that.

But really Lunhow and the Astros just really need to make a New Year's resolution to stop being freaking cheap. Such an obvious deal that benefits both teams that it should be done already. Hahn has been shopping Q among other teams, not he just needs to go back to Lunhow with the price and make him beat it. Kyle Tucker + AJ Reed + 1 of Musgrove/Whitley/Paulino/Perez + 1 of Teosccar Hernandez/Daz Cameron/Laureno/Stubbs....Astros can pick whichever 1 they want out of the last 2 grouping for all I care. Would anybody really be upset if we ended up getting Tucker, Reed, Perez, and Laureno? I sure wouldn't. I know it lacks the shiny prospect at the top, but I honestly don't hate the odds of us getting 4 regulars out of that deal. Obviously there is a good amount of risk as with any prospects, but we need an influx of position player talent and the Astros represent a good way to do that.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Dec 25, 2016 -> 04:23 PM) MLB's eight potential trades has three Sox deals. I think the only deal I MIGHT take would be the 3 way with the Dodgers and Pirates. De Leon, Bell, Calhoun, and Diaz would be a decent haul I suppose. Don't love that both Calhoun and Bell are limited defensively though. Meadows, Frazier, and Clay Holmes isn't enough. It's a prospect light for me. Add in Newman, Hayes, or at least Craig and we might have a deal. I'd rather take the chance and wait it out that Robertson has more value at the deadline if Severino is the best deal now. I think we should be able to get more than a defensive backup catcher for Robertson honestly.

The Mets are another team with a ridiculous amount of depth of talent. I would also take Nimmo for Robertson. I'd be interested in seeing what Wilmer Flores can do in a full season of AB's. He's still only 25 and put up a .788 OPS in part time duties last year. TJ Rivera is also pretty interesting. Old for a prospect at this point (28), but has done nothing but hit his entire career thus far. Career .324/.371/.434 slash in over 2,400 minor league AB's. Finally got a small cup of coffee in the majors last year and hit .333/.345/.476 in 105 AB's. Position flexibility being able to play 4 IF spots too. I think he has the ceiling of an above average starting 2B and the floor of a quality UTL IF. Couple of interesting catching prospects they could afford to lose in Tomas Nido and Patrick Mazeika too.

QUOTE (Fantl916 @ Dec 24, 2016 -> 09:41 AM) The cool part I take from this is that we should be getting a big package of quality for Quintana. That should be a positive for everyone. That rumored package from that 3way was massive and would be 100% worth dealing Quintana. The idea that we can get Glasnow + a couple more sweet guys (per Rabbit) is awesome. I would think everyone would be pumped for something like Glasnow + Keller + Newman +'Diaz or something of the like. This is really exciting I've been pretty firmly in the "you can't have too much pitching" camp when some complained about not enough hitting prospects after the Sale and Eaton trades, BUT we NEED to get at least 1 premium (top 50 minimum) hitting prospect back for Q. And that's not Newman or Diaz even though they are both fine prospects in their own right. We are brimming with pitching talent, but the hitting talent in the minors is still pretty lacking. I think we still need at least 1 more all-star potential piece to count on in the everyday lineup to truly feel confident in a reasonably timed rebuild.

Yankees get: McCutchen Pirates get: Q and Nate Jones White Sox get: Tyler Glasnow, Josh Bell, Jorge Mateo, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Chance Adams, and Dustin Fowler Ehh?? Pirates improve their pitching all around at a very reasonable cost controlled price without completely gutting their system while also shedding Cutch's salary. Pirates shuffle the Mateo, Adams, and Fowler package they get from the Yankees for Cutch over to us to supplement keeping most of their own prospects. Yankees make a splash move that makes them a lot better without giving up any of their main pieces in the minors. And the White Sox get a haul.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 22, 2016 -> 08:56 PM) Still don't believe they deal Bregman and without him, I'm not big on their prospect depth. Sticking with my prediction that Astros go with internal options and add around June/July if they have to. Don't like the Astros prospect depth?? They have 5 current top 100 prospects + Musgrove and Reed + Teoscar Hernandez, Daz Cameron, Franklin Perez, and Garrett Stubbs. That's 11 prospects we should be very interested in. Id listen to the argument that they don't have the 1 marquee name at the top without Bregman (although I think Tucker will be soon), but you won't find many teams in baseball with more overall depth of talent through out then them.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 22, 2016 -> 02:01 PM) I don't think a pirates team that depends heavily on the farm system due to a limited budget is going to trade anyone for Abreu and Gonzalez. One will get expensive soon, then other can be found cheaply without giving any players up. Abreu won't be expensive (relatively of course) until he's a free agent. Don't let the word arbitration scare you, he's not going to make much more than his original 6 year contract called for even he goes through arb 2 more times.

11-12, 190 IP, 210 K, 3.45 ERA, 1.25 WHIP

QUOTE (Al Lopez's Ghost @ Dec 22, 2016 -> 10:45 AM) I think this makes a lot of sense, and Hahn has a history of 3 way trades. Mets are currently looking to shed salary...they aren't taking on both McCutchen and Robertson in a deal.

It seems to me that people are overrating what Bell really is...Bell, Glasnow, and Newman does nothing for me honestly. Bell is a below average 1B/DH who doesn't have even close to elite game power. I know he's a big strong guy and the power is supposed to be there...but it's not. Don't get me wrong, he's a nice prospect and should be a productive player. I just question how productive he's going to be for him being a defensive liability. I see him as a Brandon Belt type with bad defense. Again, nice player, but not the #1 position player we get back for Q. Has to be more.

If Meadows really is "untouchable" is there a package that would work. Would the Pirates do Bell, Glasnow, Keller, and Newman? Would/Should we do that?

IF Pit were to trade for Q (don't think they will) id say they have to include Meadows. Bell is a nice prospect, but he'd have to a seriously elite bat to warrant trading Q for a 1B/DH type. And as others have pointed out Bell very well be their opening day 1B while Meadows has no where to play unless they sell low on Cutch, and seems pretty obvious now that that isn't happening. My official guess would be Meadows, Keller, Hayes and Agrazal...last name is extremely interchangeable obviously, but I can definitely see the 1st 3 names being the main pieces in a Q trade. Really not far off from the Sale trade, just not quite as good because Moncada/Kopech is nearly impossible to replicate.

Interesting rumor...anybody think the Pirates would try to trade Polanco and just bring up Meadows/Bell for RF? For a team always worried about the bottom line I would think they'd be more inclined to trade a guy who's service time has already started... Would anybody do something along the line of Q for Polanco, Glasnow, Keller, and Ke'Bryan Hayes (or something close)?

.265/.300/.410 14 HR's and 22 steals with above average D at SS.

I"ll say something like 100 IP with a 5+ ERA before he is DFA'd effectively ending his career. Seems like a nice guy and he was once very good, but unless some miracle happens I can't see him bouncing back. He was throwing BP fastballs up there last year.

I live in the Philly market so I've had the misfortune of watching a good amount of Howard's AB's the past few years....there's nothing left. He might have the worst pitch recognition of anyone I've ever seen. 3 breaking balls in the dirt and the AB is over most of the time. Combine that with Father Time catching up to his bat speed and really honestly can't see him having kind of sustained success in the big league anymore. I get the idea, but I think Howard's time is up. Take that gamble on someone who actually has a shot

Anybody who was worried about Abreu's contract doesn't really understand arbitration. The amount of $ he will make over what his contract called for will be pretty minimal even if he gets through arb. the next 2 years without being traded or extended.

We saw how well a hot start worked out for us this past year.... The rebuild has started and there's no going back. Best to just accept it.

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Dec 16, 2016 -> 06:14 PM) Pittsburgh could be a sleeper team, or the Yankees Mets could gut their system with a: Rosario, Smith, Dunn and Nimmo package? Toronto could totally gut their system? Rockies? Astros? Do the Mets really need pitching? Can't see them gutting their system for a #3 (possibly 4 depending on health of Harvey) starter. And Q certainly isn't expensive, but there are a lot of reports saying the Mets already have to shed salary before the season as is. Toronto doesn't have a prospect inside the top 70 so I would go ahead and rule them out. The market is seriously thin on Q as unbelievable as it is. It only takes 1 other team to make a serious offer to pressure the Astros though. Rockies, Braves, Cardinals, Rangers, Yankees...I can't see many other logical fits, hopefully someone steps up with a real offer soon.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Dec 16, 2016 -> 09:10 AM) This is what Keith Law said: Nick: If you were Lunhow, would you trade Musgrove + Martes + Tucker for Quintana, and why or why not? I go back and forth as an Astros fan but think I’d be happy with him pulling the trigger. Klaw: If I’m Luhnow I do it. If I’m Hahn I’m not even countering because it’s so low. FWIW, I don’t know that that was ever discussed by the clubs. Hmm...interesting. I guess he's using the Sale deal as a template and because there's no marquee name like Moncada coming back it's not close? I mean, if he doesn't think that deal is even remotely close then he must think a deal is impossible with the Astros unless Bregman is involved. I get that point of view, but the demand for Q just doesn't seem high enough right now honestly. I think we were only able to leverage Moncada from Boston because Washington was so heavily involved. As of right now the media haven't reported of a serious 2nd bidder....of course that doesn't mean there isn't 1.