Five bold MLB trades that can transform a franchise

Five Transformative MLB Trades

Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts has earned the reputation of Mike Trout adjacent in some circles. The 2018 AL MVP can do it all and in true 5-tool fashion he has proven to be perfectly capable of hitting for power and for average, he can steal bags, and is an above-average fielder with a decent arm.

The 2020 season will be Betts’ final year of arbitration eligibility and it’s no secret that Mookie wants Trout money. Because of this, the Red Sox are most certainly unable to meet Mookie’s needs. This is why it is likely that the organization will look to move Betts.

In doing so, they’d be killing two birds with one stone since many teams will be looking to acquire one of baseball’s best players. First, they’d be cutting salary and second, they’d likely acquire a slew of top prospects in return.

So, who would be some suitors for Mookie Betts? To make this determination we need to find (A) a team willing to spend north of $30M AAV for Betts and (B) have multiple top-level prospects in their farm system.

Realistic MLB Trades

• San Diego Padres – Last offseason, the Pads added third baseman Manny Machado to the mix, giving him a 10-year, $300M deal in free agency. Later on, they called up Fernando Tatis Jr., who turned out to be perhaps the best rookie player in baseball. How insane would it be if they follow up a season like that by adding Mookie Betts? They have the money — only $92M committed in salary next season — and the prospects to whet the Red Sox’s appetite, headed by LHP MacKenzie Gore.

• San Francisco Giants – All season the Giants have lacked outfield help. Given that they only have $111M committed in salary next season, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they would make a deal to acquire Betts. The problem is, their farm system lacks depth and the roster, aside for perhaps, closer Will Smith just doesn’t strike any confidence in teams.

Five Transformative MLB Trades

Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets

Noah Syndergaard (aka “Thor”) has made it difficult for the New York Mets to keep him around moving forward, especially after his latest stunt earlier this week. According to The New York Posts’ Joel Sherman and Kevin Kernan, Syndergaard was “livid” with Mets bosses for not appealing to his request not to throw to catcher Wilson Ramos.

This, according to the piece, led to a confrontation with Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen. In fairness, Syndergaard does perform much worse when Ramos is behind the plate. In fact, in 15 starts with Ramos catching Syndergaard has a 5.09 ERA. By comparison, in 10 starts with Tomas Nido catching Thor’s ERA drops to 2.45.

What’s worse, the Mets could have made adjustments to appease Syndergaard considering that they don’t use the same catcher in day games after night games, but the team chose not to. This, paired with the pitcher’s name used in trade rumors throughout the 2019 MLB season could be an indicator that Thor’s time with the Mets could be coming to an end.

Considering that Syndergaard is still arbitration-eligible and won’t be a free agent until the 2022 season, the team might be looking for relief help as well as top prospects.

Realistic MLB Trades

• Houston Astros – Not only can the ‘Stros afford Syndergaard, but they also have $148M committed in payroll next season ($60M below the luxury tax threshold). In return, Houston can return to the New York Mets top-level pitching prospects and potentially even a player like Josh Reddick, who has one year left on his deal at $13M.

• Cincinnati Reds – Currently, the Reds have $63M committed in payroll for 2020. What’s more, they have the 6th ranked farm system in baseball, according to Bleacher Report. Having a better run differential than a team in playoff contention in the Milwaukee Brewers, the Reds have to get better at run prevention. Adding Thor to a rotation that features Luis Castillo and a resurgent Sonny Gray could potentially catapult the Reds to the top of the NL Central in 2020.

Five Transformative MLB Trades

Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies

During the offseason prior to the 2019 MLB season, many speculated that in lieu of signing free agent Manny Machado, teams would be willing to trade for Nolan Arenado. However, Machado got his 10-year, $300M ($30M AAV) and soon after the Colorado Rockies decided to reward their own third baseman instead by giving Arenado his very own monster deal; an eight-year, $260M deal ($32.5M AAV).

Looking back, however, perhaps the Rockies made a mistake in committing to Arenado for such a long time. After making the postseason for two consecutive seasons in 2017 and 2018, the Rockies are out of a playoff race while playing to a .422 W-L%, the worst since 2015.

The 28-year-old third baseman is without a doubt one of the best players in the game. In fact, he is currently riding FIVE consecutive seasons with at least 30 home runs and 100 RBI. In those five years, he’s slashing .300 / .362 / .576 and has made FIVE All-Star game appearances.

What’s more, defensively, there’s nobody better than Arenado in the National League and only Matt Chapman of the Oakland Athletics has a better defensive rating than Arenado.

In floating a trade around, the Colorado Rockies will be looking to drop salary while receiving pitching and top prospects in return.

Realistic MLB Trades

• St. Louis Cardinals – The Cardinals have just $146M committed to next season and are a player or two from being the best team in the NL Central. One such deal that could appeal to the Rockies’ need could be Matt Carpenter and prospects (3B Nolan Gorman?). Carpenter could resurge in Colorado or can be bought out after 2021 and is owed about half of Arenado’s deal per season.

• Philadelphia Phillies – To say that the Phillies have underwhelmed is to downplay the type of season this team has had. After spending stupid money on Bryce Harper and then acquiring pieces around him, the team is struggling to remain in contention. Fortunately, they have a prospect in third baseman Alec Bohm who could be MLB-ready rather soon and can afford to pay Arenado his big money.

Five Transformative MLB Trades

Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs

Ever since the offseason prior to the 2019 MLB season, Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant‘s name has floated around in trades. It’s not so much a lack of talent — Bryant is a 27-year-old former NL MVP award winner — instead, it’s away to capitalize on an injury-prone player in the middle of his prime.

Bryant, like Noah Syndergaard, is arbitration-eligible and will not become an unrestricted free agent until 2022. This makes him an attractive option for teams because he will come relatively cheap compared to his counterparts (i.e. Manny Machado and Nolan Arenado).

Pair this with the fact that the Cubs have the second-highest payroll in baseball and are struggling to maintain hold of a playoff berth and the Cubbies will need to make some adjustments to remain competitive in the future.

In return for Bryant, the Cubs will likely seek to shed payroll while obtaining MLB-ready prospects.

Realistic MLB Trades

• New York Yankees – Given how the Yankees lost their starting third baseman Miguel Andujar for the season, they’ve had to plug in players to fill the role all season and have found that they don’t miss him. Perhaps a deal that includes Andujar, a top-level relief pitcher, and top-prospects Estevan Florial could intrigue the Cubs. It would remedy their bullpen situation, fill-in the third base hole, and provide them with another option in the outfield.

• Kris Bryant would also be a cheaper option for the Phillies and Cardinals as mentioned in the Nolan Arenado portion of this piece.

Five Transformative MLB Trades

Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

Deservedly, Mike Trout is the highest-paid player in American professional sports. He averages a career slash line of .305 / .419 / .581, and two AL MVP awards. Not only that, he’s finished as a top-two finalist for the MVP award FOUR other times.

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That being said, Trout’s deal — 12 years, $426.5M ($35.5 AAV) — has the potential to hamper the Los Angeles Angels from adding pieces to the team to help them compete. Especially considering that they owe an aging Albert Pujols two more years and $59M ($29.5 AAV).

Barring an unexpected retirement by future Hall of Famer Pujols, if the Angels want to compete in the very near future, drastic moves will have to be made. The most logical of which has to be trading Trout like the Texas Rangers traded Alex Rodriguez prior to the 2004 MLB season to save their franchise.

Such a move would shock the baseball world. At the same time, it would make any suitors for arguably the greatest player of all-time real contenders within their divisions. That being said, anyone that trades for Trout will be giving up a ton on top of the money. I’m talking MLB-ready players and top prospects.

Realistic MLB Trades

• The Padres and Giants would be real suitors for Trout for the same reasons explained in the Mookie Betts portion of this piece.

• Los Angeles Dodgers – Somehow, entering the 2019 MLB season, the Dodgers managed to shed enough payroll to stay below the luxury tax. Next season, things look even better as they are only committed to close to $123M. The Dodgers could offer the Angels Joc Pederson, who is arbitration-eligible next season and only made $5M this season, and three top-prospects already in their farm system. Pair that with taking on all of Trout’s salary, and the Angels will have a tough decision to make.

• New York Yankees – The Yankees can never be counted out on a player like this and they’d likely be willing to move heaven and earth for a chance at Trout. Realistically, I can see the Bronx Bombers offering Miguel Andujar, top-prospect Deivi Garcia, Estevan Florial, and more on top of taking on salary for Trout.