Starting this a bit early this year, we are past the draft and there is only one deadline this year, July 31.
It's so hard to figure out fair value for players especially as teams move more and more towards younger players who can be optioned, but I have two deals/targets that I have been thinking about a lot, so I wanted to share.
The first is a more obvious one, Matthew Boyd of DET, a 28 year old lefty SP who has blossomed this season (13 Ks against NY in early April in Yankee Stadium). He obviously doesn't have the track record of some of the bigger names mentioned, but he still has three years of arb left and is controllable through 2022. This one is tricky though, since I think for instance SD could easily outbid NY here if they chose and Cashman hates to pay up. I think this deal would need to involve Clint Frazier, Thairo Estrada and a couple of prospect arms, maybe that could work but it seems unlikely.
The second is the one I really can't stop thinking about, and it is Francisco Lindor (controlled through 2021) and Trevor Bauer (controlled through 2020) for Gleyber Torres (controlled through 2024) and some pitching prospects. Lindor/Bauer make a combined $23.5M this year, so NY could fit the remainder under the $246M cap, and CLE would obviously save a lot of money going forward, and it is clear that they almost certainly won't keep either of these players (Bauer has said he will only sign one year deals to the highest bidder once he hits FA and CLE ownership has basically said they will let Lindor go as he has turned down their extension offers). NY would then let Didi go this winter (Lindor is 3 1/2 years younger) and so they'd save money there, Didi could switch to 2B for the remainder of this season.
Anyway, curious what people think of that proposal, I have been thinking about it a lot and I think that 1) it makes sense for both teams, assuming CLE is out of the divisional hunt in mid-July and 2) neither team would actually say yes. Cashman has been really careful about the personalities of guys he brings in the last couple of seasons and Bauer would be tricky there, plus it's hard to imagine trading someone as good and as young and under control for as long as Gleyber, but this would also allow NY to keep guys like Frazier and Estrada, neither of whom have an obvious path to starting but both of whom can be quite helpful if needed as we've seen already this season.
FWIW, this train of thought stems in part from Buster Olney saying the other day that he thinks NY will trade for Lindor in the offseason, so why not now?
https://twitter.com/HammerNation19/status/1138820549122154497
It's so hard to figure out fair value for players especially as teams move more and more towards younger players who can be optioned, but I have two deals/targets that I have been thinking about a lot, so I wanted to share.
The first is a more obvious one, Matthew Boyd of DET, a 28 year old lefty SP who has blossomed this season (13 Ks against NY in early April in Yankee Stadium). He obviously doesn't have the track record of some of the bigger names mentioned, but he still has three years of arb left and is controllable through 2022. This one is tricky though, since I think for instance SD could easily outbid NY here if they chose and Cashman hates to pay up. I think this deal would need to involve Clint Frazier, Thairo Estrada and a couple of prospect arms, maybe that could work but it seems unlikely.
The second is the one I really can't stop thinking about, and it is Francisco Lindor (controlled through 2021) and Trevor Bauer (controlled through 2020) for Gleyber Torres (controlled through 2024) and some pitching prospects. Lindor/Bauer make a combined $23.5M this year, so NY could fit the remainder under the $246M cap, and CLE would obviously save a lot of money going forward, and it is clear that they almost certainly won't keep either of these players (Bauer has said he will only sign one year deals to the highest bidder once he hits FA and CLE ownership has basically said they will let Lindor go as he has turned down their extension offers). NY would then let Didi go this winter (Lindor is 3 1/2 years younger) and so they'd save money there, Didi could switch to 2B for the remainder of this season.
Anyway, curious what people think of that proposal, I have been thinking about it a lot and I think that 1) it makes sense for both teams, assuming CLE is out of the divisional hunt in mid-July and 2) neither team would actually say yes. Cashman has been really careful about the personalities of guys he brings in the last couple of seasons and Bauer would be tricky there, plus it's hard to imagine trading someone as good and as young and under control for as long as Gleyber, but this would also allow NY to keep guys like Frazier and Estrada, neither of whom have an obvious path to starting but both of whom can be quite helpful if needed as we've seen already this season.
FWIW, this train of thought stems in part from Buster Olney saying the other day that he thinks NY will trade for Lindor in the offseason, so why not now?
https://twitter.com/HammerNation19/status/1138820549122154497