Let’s make a deal as trading deadline approaches and every single team desperate for starters

By Jeff Freedman

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 7/4/08 — No team is running away with its division this year, not the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees or newest kid on the block, the Tampa Bay Rays. Not the Chicago White Sox or Minnesota Twins, or the Detroit Tigers, nor the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or Oakland A’s all in the American League. And the same situation exists in the National League as well, where the Philadelphia Phillies are battling the Florida Marlins and hopeful contenders New York Mets and Atlanta Braves, the Chicago Cubs have the St Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers hot on their heels, and in the West there is nary a team much above .500 as the Arizona Diamondbacks have squandered a strong start to come back to the pack.

What this means is that each team is flawed and each team can make a case that this could be their year, if only…if only they get the right player or two to plug in and give them a boost carrying them to a Division Championship, and hopefully beyond to the Pennant and a World Series berth and Championship.

Furthermore, if recent history is to be our guide, the Phillies came back from long odds and a 7 ½ game deficit to win on the last day of the season last year while the Colorado Rockies put together a fantastic winning streak to capture the NL West in a playoff. So if hope is to be the word as the trading deadline approaches, who is really out there that can be this year’s Doyle Alexander (at the cost of Jeff Bagwell), or Cesar Cedeno (who insured the St Louis Cardinals would get to the World Series), or Fred McGriff (who put the Braves over the top), or David Cone (the ultimate arm for hire)?

Let’s take a look: With pitching being the most valuable commodity in baseball, then at the top of the list has to be 2007 Cy Young Award-winner C.C. Sabathia of the Cleveland Indians. He is a free agent at the end of the season and it seems doubtful that his current team will provide him with the Johan Santana-like contract that he is seeking. He might be a rental, or he might be a long-term solution for the team that takes him on and it will not be cheap to get him.

While the Yankees can be expected to be in on the discussion when any such premium talent hits the market, you only need look to this past winter when the New York team refused to part with the necessary talent to obtain Santana. Same for the Red Sox. But there is one team out there that has both the talent and the resources needed to get a deal done: the Brewers. Given their powerful young lineup featuring Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, Sabathia would give them a significant rotation upgrade and an ace to go along with Ben Sheets, who is himself a free agent (and who will probably sign elsewhere during the winter).

For the Brewers to best benefit from this marquee acquisition it is best they strike sooner rather than later, maximizing the starts that Sabathia can make. Look for this deal to get done shortly after the All Star Break (if, of course, it is going to get done at all).

The other teams that need starters, the Phillies, Braves, Cardinals, Yankees and to a lesser extent the Mets, Rays, Marlins and Cubs can have their pick of anyone from Rich Harden (A’s), Joe Blanton (A’s), Vincente Padilla (Texas Rangers), A.J. Burnett (Toronto Blue Jays), Paul Byrd (Indians), Kevin Millwood (also the Rangers), Bronson Arroyo (Cincinnati Reds), Erik Bedard (Seattle Mariners), Jarrod Washburn (Mariners), Randy Wolf (Padres), Brad Penny (Los Angeles Dodgers). Also coming back before Aug 1st should be a rehabbing Freddie Garcia. Keep in mind that it will not be easy to obtain any of these It may not even be worth it. The young players it may take to get one of these inning eaters may not be justified by their performance. Remember, if they were really good they wouldn’t be on the trade block in the first place (Rich Harden excepted, of course, as Billy Beane has traded away Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Dan Haren in the past and would not hesitate to let Harden go for the right bounty of players).

The market for relief pitchers is equally murky. Brian Fuentes (Rockies) is most certainly available, but he’s had mixed success in the past and is not a perfect solution. The Mets may make Aaron Heilman available. Pittsburgh can offer left handers Damaso Marte and/or Josh Grabow. Perhaps the Washington Nationals would make Jon Rauch available. David Weathers of the Cincinnati Reds anyone? If you pitch for the Houston Astros you can be had. Same for the Baltimore Orioles. Not an All Star in the bunch, yet teams will overpay and take a chance in an effort to catch lightning in a bottle and win that extra game or two that may make a difference. Or it could go the other way, and the player you obtain will blow the lead in a big game and you’d have mortgaged your future for a loss.

On the offensive side, some talented outfielders may be switching uniforms, led by All Star Matt Holliday of the Rockies. On a team going nowhere fast, a team with a surplus at his position, Holliday could bring quite a bounty. He’s still in his prime and can be a most productive player. He will not come cheap. Nor will first baseman Mark Teixiera of the Braves, who may decide to ship out their slugger if they find themselves too far behind to catch up. A free agent at the end of the year, it may be better to reap the rewards of the trade market instead of settling for two draft picks that might never pan out. Creative General Managers might seek to pluck Rocco Baldelli (Rays), Jason Bay, Xavier Nady and/or a mending Chris Duffy (Pirates), Raul Ibanez (Mariners), Milton Bradley (Rangers), Adam Dunn (Reds), Brian Giles (Padres), Kevin Kouzmanoff (Padres) from the respective teams. Name a player on the A’s and you can have him, but again, buyer beware. Need a grizzled veteran, try the San Francisco Giants: Randy Winn, Omar Vizquel, Rich Aurelia are yours for the asking.

Other infielders who may be given plane tickets to a new destination are Mark Loretta (Astros), anyone from the Kansas City Royals, Adrian Beltre (Mariners), Jack Wilson (Pirates), Felipe Lopez (Nationals), Julio Lugo (Red Sox), Juan Uribe (White Sox) and your Los Angeles Dodger of choice (James Loney and Russell Martin, excepted).

What it all adds up to remains to be seen. If a deal works out, the General Manager is hailed a genius and can have his job security extended another season. But for those that don’t, well, they can always follow in the footsteps of ex-Met General Manager Steve Phillips and do their prospective dealing on tv, making fantasy deal after fantasy deal and analyzing the moves that other make from the safety and comfort of the broadcast studio.