NEWSLETTER
A couple of item popping up with the potential to dramatically change the buyer/seller dynamic right now.
First, from Will Carroll:
Sounds like both Cleveland and Cincy are now sellers. Could open up the market a little bit, but still seller’s market.
— Will Carroll (@injuryexpert) July 30, 2014
Each has been on the buyer/seller fence for a while now, but the Reds have gone ice cold and the Indians remain far enough back in the AL that selling was always reasonable. If each starts selling off, the market is going to shift quite a bit. Hell, not buying would have been enough to move the needle a little bit.
As just about all teams do, the Reds and Indians have some interesting complementary pieces – bench bats and bullpen arms, primarily – that could compete with any similar pieces the Cubs are trying to move today and tomorrow. If we get stronger signals that they’re aggressively selling, I’ll dig in a little bit more on what they might have to offer other teams, and how it could impact the Cubs.
And, obviously, there are secondary effects for the Cubs of the Reds sell off, given the whole NL Central thing. Candidly, I think the Reds are due for some struggles in the coming years, so a sell-off might not be the worst decision in the world, even if it’s a year or two early.
Second, here’s something from Ken Rosenthal:
Source: “Very good chance” that #RedSox trade Lackey along with Lester.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2014
To be clear: Source not saying #RedSox will move Lester and Lackey in the same deal. Just saying “very good chance” both will be traded.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2014
Lackey has club option at $500K for ’15. Likely will want extension. But appeals to teams looking for SPs under control beyond this year…
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2014
…Those teams include #Indians, #Marlins and others. Lackey also would appeal to clubs interested in Lester. #RedSox
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2014
If you’re wondering how Lackey could leverage an extension out of a trade without a no-trade clause, it’s because that absurdly cheap team option for next year is so cheap that, if he’s traded somewhere he doesn’t want to be, Lackey could simply retire rather than play for $500,000.
That said, if the Red Sox trade Lester AND Lackey, not only does it further add to the available arms right now (and make the Cubs look even smarter for moving when they did), but it also calls into question what the Red Sox are planning to do in the offseason. Yes, they have a ton of near-MLB-ready young arms, but aren’t they going to want some stability in their rotation? Seems like, if the Red Sox do trade both guys, they’re going to be heavy, heavy players in the starting pitching market this offseason.
(Interesting to see the Indians named in there, by the way, given what Carroll reported.)
