2017 MLB Trade Deadline: Five Players Who Could Be on the Move
It’s never too early too speculate about the 2017 MLB Trade Deadline. Here are five players who could be on the move.
Sure, it’s May 3. The MLB trade deadline is a long ways away. A lot can happen between now and then. There’s plenty of time for that. There’s also plenty of time to speculate about which players may be on the move come deadline time.
A new wrinkle to watch is how the new CBA impacts the deadline. Teams can no longer hold their guys in hopes of recouping a first round pick if those guys sign somewhere else. Those days are officially over. Now, it’s a second or a third round pick, so it may behoove these teams to move their pending free agents for prospects rather than hoping they decline a qualifying offer and sign somewhere else.
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While the 2018 free agent class has the potential to be a game changer, the free agent class after this season should be better than the one we just had. Both free agent classes could have an impact on this year’s trade market as well as rebuilding teams who may not have traded all of their chips quite yet.
Like every trade deadline, this should have some interesting rumors and some unexpected moves. You just never know who could be on the move come deadline time. So who are five players who could potentially be switching teams by July 31? Let’s take a look.
The Atlanta Braves have a ton of pitching prospects on the way. Their AA rotation is downright filthy. Their priority this off-season was to upgrade their starting pitching at the major league level to get some guys who can eat some innings and help be the club be competitive as they open their new ballpark.
Bartolo Colon was brought in for exactly those reasons. He’s a guy who can take the ball every fifth day, give you six to seven innings of work and keep your team in the game.
His contract expires after the season, and while the Braves may not got a ton for him in a deal, they can pick up some additional depth and then give Colon’s spot to Aaron Blair or Matt Wisler as the continue to evaluate what prospects will be a part of their future plans.
Every contending team can probably use a guy like Colon in their rotation, and while he’s not an ace, depth helps. He even pitched for the Mets out of the bullpen during the 2015 playoffs, so once you get there, you can use Colon in middle relief if you have to. He’s the perfect piece for a team looking for some depth for a playoff run.
3B- Mike Moustakas
The Kansas City Royals have not gotten off to the best of starts which is something they really couldn’t afford to do because of all of their pending free agents. They haven’t executed in any of the phases of the game and their offense has been the worst in baseball.
One player who has hit well thus far is third baseman Mike Moustakas, who leads the team in homers and OPS thus far. He, like so many others is a pending free agent.
The Royals aren’t going to be able to keep everyone and in order to keep the machine going, they have to cash in an asset or two for a younger, cheaper player to give you some more depth.
While there may be other bats available, if Moustakas keeps this up, he good be very well sought after. Teams like the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox, if contending, could use an upgrade at the hot corner without the commitment of long term money years at this time.
Moustakas has shown he can perform in the playoffs and has a ring, so a playoff push won’t phase him.
If teams don’t want to spend the prospect collateral on a guy like Jose Quintana, who will certainly be available, and probably already is, they could look north of the boarder for an arm on an expiring deal who was an All-Star last season.
As the Toronto Blue Jays continue to struggle and fall further behind in the AL East, they have to think about trading some of their older players and embark on a bit of a transition, due to a farm system that is lacking some impact due to trades as they became a playoff contender.
The Jays have Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez to build around in the rotation, they can use the expiring contract of Marco Estrada to get some prospects and accelerate the Jays retooling.
Estrada has led the AL in hits per nine over the past two seasons and has continued his success this season. Through six starts, he’s posted a 2.43 ERA and has over a strikeout per inning.
He doesn’t throw the ball the hardest, but he’s effective nonetheless and could be a difference maker for a contender in the rotation.
Jose Quintana
Quintana has been available for a long time and will continue to be until the White Sox get the package that they want for him. Quintana has a contract that’s very team friendly. He’s young and he’s left-handed.
He’s also a guy who can be a number one or number two on a staff.
He could slide in very nicely into the number two spot in the Houston Astros rotation behind Dallas Keuchel. How about in the St. Louis Cardinals rotation with Carlos Martinez or the New York Yankees rotation with Masahiro Tanaka?
The Chicago White Sox have some top pitching prospects in AAA who are almost ready. Quintana is that last big trade chip they have, so they can wait as long as they want to before they deal him in order to get the right deal for their franchise.
The top pending free agents in Jake Arrieta and Yu Darvish more than likely won’t be on the trade block, so Quintana is the next best thing. Look for a bidding war this summer.
OF- Ryan Braun
Speaking of teams who are rebuilding with another big trade chip left say hello to Ryan Braun, who has a few more days until his 10/5 rights kick in.
The 33 year old outfielder is off to another solid start for the Brewers this season as they are right near the top of the NL Central right now.
However, when the Brewers are really ready to be contenders again, I’m not sure Braun is going to be at the top of his game and a part of that club.
The Dodgers make a ton of sense since they are a club with both money and prospects in order to pay the price for Braun’s contract and to acquire him. Two of the Brewers top 10 prospects are outfielders in Lewis Brinson and Brett Phillips. Both are on the 40 man roster and in AAA, knocking on the door to get to the show. They can bring one of those two up and get even more prospects to help an already impressive farm system.
The 2017 MLB trade deadline is a while away, but any and all of those five guys could be on the move and make an impact on who will make the 2017 postseason.