By Alex Hale, @ThatCLESportGuy
We’re only a week away from the Trade Deadline and things over the weekend have heated with new teams emerging as potential buyers and sellers. Now with the Trade Deadline a week away, I thought I’d finish up my 3-part series about the trading deadline with 5 deals the fans should be rooting for. With this article I’m going to throw away my Indians bias and put on my MLB fan cap to find deals that will make the ride into October much more interesting. I’ll admit most of these trades probably won’t happen, but in my opinion would make other Divisional and potential Pennant races that much more interesting. So let’s get crazy with this shall we?
Jay Bruce to the Mets- The Mets need offensive help…FAST. But trivia time! Who leads the Mets in Avg., HRs, RBIs, Hits, SLG %, and On Base %? Well there’s one answer…Yoenis Cespedes. The Mets offense has been so pitiful that they’re relying on James Loney and Jose Reyes to fill the void for them. That isn’t going to work. Jay Bruce offers the kind of bat they need in the lineup to protect Cespedes. Bruce is having a career year and most certainly could be the bat the Mets are looking for. We know the Mets have the pitching to get the job done, but they need another big bat in this lineup, Jay Bruce offers that. The Mets could offer up rehabbing SP Zach Wheeler who is young with big league experience that maybe in a year or two could become the pitcher most scouts thought he could become, a potential front of the rotation starter.
Trade Proposal- Mets acquire OF Jay Bruce in exchange Reds acquire SP Zach Wheeler
Chris Archer to the Dodgers- With Clayton Kershaw potentially out for a long time, the Dodgers are left to look at potential options on the market. While Chris Sale would be a great fit in LA, the Dodgers have enough lefty starters. Now remember, current LA Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman was the GM of Tampa Bay when they acquired Chris Archer from the Cubs. We all know the Dodgers have an extremely talented and deep farm system that could easily make a move to get Archer. Without Kershaw, Archer fits perfectly in LA and if Kershaw comes back this year, Kershaw and Archer will be nightmares for teams. With Archer being locked up after signing a long term deal with Tampa Bay in 2015, the price will be steep, but the Dodgers can easily afford it. I could also see Tampa Bay throw in a player to get rid of that might offer Dodgers depth to make another move.
Trade Proposal- Dodgers acquire SP Chris Archer and OF Desmond Jennings in exchange Rays acquire SP Jose De Leon, SP Grant Holmes, OF Starling Heredia
Wade Davis to the Nationals- And just like that…the Nationals get arguably the best closer in baseball. With a good starting rotation and a solid lineup led by Bryce Harper, the Nationals are sitting pretty at the top of the NL East, only really lacking an elite closer. While Jonathan Papelbon has done a good job, Wade Davis puts that bullpen over the top. If the Nationals really want to bring a World Series back to Washington DC for the first time since Walter Johnson pitched them to one in the 1920s, they gotta get that elite closer. Kansas City is being wise to shop him to replenish a farm system that was sold off last year to get Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist for their World Series run. Nationals would really need to give a lot up for a rental, but Washington has to realize, to really have a chance to keep Bryce Harper, you gotta go for it to prove to him he should stay.
Trade Proposal- Nationals acquire CP Wade Davis in exchange Royals acquire SP Erick Fedde, OF Andrew Stevenson, and RP Koda Glover
Carlos Beltran to the Indians- While this isn’t the biggest splash in the world, the Indians could really use another bat to bolster their lineup and Beltran fits the mold perfectly. Having a great season at only 39 years young, Beltran is an experienced veteran who brings a middle of the order presence to the Indians. More importantly Beltran has a great history performing in big spots in the playoffs. With the uncertainty of Michael Brantley’s return, Beltran can provide a more stable option offensively playing in the OF. While he is a downgrade defensively, the Indians need to find another bat as evidenced by the Indians struggles with RISP against the Orioles. While the Indians need to find a reliever, they must find another bat for the middle of the lineup.
Trade Proposal- Indians acquire OF Carlos Beltran in exchange Yankees acquire SP Mike Clevinger and SS Yu-Cheng Chang
Chris Sale to the Astros- First off, how is no National reporter putting Houston in the mix? Only 2.5 games back from the Rangers and starting to catch fire, the Astros are a perfect match for Chris Sale. With 2015 Cy Young winner Dallas Kuechel struggling, they need an ace and Sale gives them that. The Astros were my Preseason World Series pick and with Chris Sale supported by that Astros lineup…good luck everyone. Reports have said that teams might have to pay 5 Top prospects, but after Chris Sale’s jersey fiasco Saturday night, the price might come down if the team doesn’t want to handle him anymore. It will take a lot to get one of the best pitchers in the game and trust me, the Astros have the firepower to get him.
Trade Proposal- Astros acquire SP Chris Sale in exchange White Sox acquire SS Alex Bregman, OF Daz Cameron, SP Francis Martes, OF Derek Fisher, 2B/OF Tony Kemp
Now these trades aren’t predictions, but these are trades every fan should be rooting for to happen. All of these trades would make the next few months of the baseball season very interesting. While I don’t expect half of these to even happen, all I know is that these are very realistic scenarios for these players. That will do it for my Trade Deadline Preview articles, you can bet I’ll have a Post-Trade Deadline article here next week. We’re already seeing the madness of the Trade Deadline pick up and you can bet as teams finally figure out where they stand as buyers and sellers that the trade market will only intensify with trades we might not see coming. Trust me we’ve seen trades come out of nowhere before and you can bet with this trade deadline, one thing is for sure, anything can and will happen at this Trade Deadline.
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