NEWS/RUMORS/AROUND MLB Thread (Oct 2016 - Feb 2017)

I honestly don't think it would cost as much as you think it would to net Braun, which is why the team is likely still kicking around on him. If there was something centered around McCarthy and Puig before, maybe now they could still pull something off without giving up a Buehler, Alvarez or Bellinger. I've seen a couple reports around that there are a good bit of execs who legit hate Braun for the steroid thing which will always bring down his value. I have a lot of love for Verdugo as it is well stated and I would be really interested to see if they could get a deal done with him being the prospect centerpiece or if they could somehow complete a deal with less. If they asked for Puig, McCarthy AND Bellinger, those talks would never have been revisited this offseason as that would be a ridiculous overpay. That is A TON of upside for a guy who will probably look overpaid at the end of his contract.

 

There was another piece holding up that Puig/McCarthy/Braun deal, IIRC.
There was a report about it earlier this winter.
But yeah, Braun is basically Mark McGwire right now..even w/all the other guys that have done steroids now getting passes, McGwire is still shunned because he looked everybody in the eye and lied about his steroid use while others didn't take center stage and go w/that approach.
Braun's not much different..lied to everyone's faces, got another man fired from his job w/MLB, those things among hanging his teammates out to dry and having them answer for his shit instead of him coming back and putting things to rest.
Wouldn't shock me if there were a pool of teams that are just like " nah ".
There more than likely isn't a ton of demand for this player, which means once again LAD ( if at all still interested) could be bidding against themselves and so the patient game could be played again.
And then maybe we'd have a familiar ending..while LAD waits for MIL's decision on a Braun offer, perhaps Tampa will call in and say " hey, we'll take Puig/Verdugo/McCarthy..you can have Longoria "??

 

I would venture a guess that the Longoria interest was more tied to the team not thinking that they were gonna retain Turner and thought maybe they could move him to 2B the remainder of last season. At this point, with his injury history, the team nabbing Forsythe and bringing back Turner makes it unlikely that they see him as a viable option for LF when he's never played the position and he's not nearly as quick as he used to be. It sounds like they're looking for OF types as they're also rumored to be in on McCutchen, though that has to be VERY unlikely with how much the Pirates are said to want in return for him. Would guess the team is also kicking around JD Martinez, which also seems unlikely as the Tigers are rumored to have switched over to "we think we can compete" mode. Maybe Cain and Frazier are some other names they could be considering, though Frazier too is a long shot based on position flexibility.

 

:daft:

 

Keeping Verdugo as well as the other 3 I mentioned would be huge. That would have to piss off a lot of teams as the Dodgers would likely have one hell of an OF of Braun, Joc and Bellinger for the next probably 1.5 years. The lineup would be top to bottom dangerous with top flight prospects ready to jump right in almost anywhere in the field and then there's the young arms that could start filtering in sometime next season. I'm not going to be mad if they elect to not do anything else, but it would sure be fun for them to say, "let's do this" and they somehow get Braun for a deal around McCarthy, Puig and maybe some prospects out of our top 5.

 

Eibner will be a starting OF... In OKC. He got off to a nice start in KC but nothing good since. Kind of like Jerry Sands, but not even that good

 

Yeah I wasn't talking about any old interest in Longoria.
I was talking from the standpoint of just looking for a big bat to go in the corner..same thing that had us tossing around the idea of Bautista who's basically just a DH now and Trumbo who more than likely needs to just run at 1B/DH from this point on.
When the options ( Braun included) are all terrible defensively, it makes you ponder things like " Longoria/LF " because really what's the difference?
And then of course if Longoria could take LF, he'd also bring position versatility and depth behind JT/Adrian on the corner infield front + he's younger than Braun and hasn't dealt w/as many injuries as the older Braun has recently.
Plus, Longoria's now said to be unhappy w/Tampa's FO, so whatever's going on there could be fresh, a new development altogether.
Even if the 2 teams don't match up spec-wise, as we can see LAD is still out there looking for 3rd party help.
Some sort of 3 team deal between LAD/Seattle/Tampa
Or LAD/Seattle/Milwaukee
Or maybe Atlanta serves as the 3rd team, as they've been highly active as well.
I could just see a scenario where LAD is possibly playing Milwaukee to get the " cleaner " player in Longoria.
Said similar concerning McCutchen yesterday..if PIT plays nice on their offer, but even if they don't and they don't match up..there's possibly that 3-team trade option w/somebody out there stepping in
McCutchen's contract should make him an option

 

One of the options w/Braun going forward would be to move him to 1B after Adrian retires..I'd assume the same option would be applied to a Longoria.
Bellinger takes LF until 1B clears beyond either of those guys and everything is everything.
I wonder what kind of trade value Trayce has after performing the way he did before the back stuff started in on him.
Young players that perform well late in games should hold a decent amount of value, nevermind their prospect status..late bloomers exist, otherwise, there wouldn't even be such a term.
Between Trayce and Toles, on one hand you wanna keep young guys that perform that well, but on the other...
It's gotta be a tough call, maybe even one they're on the fence about.
Maybe a Matt Kemp-like clubhouse tirade by one of them would clear things up?
Funny how Kemp damn near morphed into Jeff Kent by the time his tenure w/LAD was coming to a close

 

Think I'd rather see Calhoun headline a trade, not sure.
Puig would " headline " a trade for the media outlets for sure, but maybe behind the scenes it'd be seen as " the Calhoun trade " or " the Verdugo trade " because of course so many are down on Puig.
Remember, JDL wasn't really the sort of athlete this FO loves.
JDL was chunky and had to do a ton of work to sort of remake himself physically after joining LAD, but he still wasn't the type of athlete they really fall in love with.
This is an FO that feels Puig's physique was causing him to get hurt, so I can imagine them being skeptical about JDL's ability to stay healthy because he's still sorta chunky and unathletic and dealing w/stuff here and there.
So while they valued him and what he could bring, yeah, I can see why they'd make JDL available and/or not really be in love w/him..and I could see a scenario where they'd maybe feel the same about a Calhoun or Verdugo behind the scenes.
Not that they hate either, or that they're gonna rush to put either of them in a deal ( certainly not together), but just moreso that they're not in love w/either and would be willing to move them for the right price because neither is all that solid athletically.
Always felt that way about Verdugo, what w/ the young OF depth LAD already has w/Toles and Trayce, etc.
But now since Forsythe is around and is young enough to conceivably bridge them to a Lux down the line, maybe Calhoun is a lot more attainable..also factor in the Jose Miguel Fernandez signing.
Could probably still re-sign Utley as well, so there's a lot of 2B action.

 

It's worth mentioning that Milwaukee was the team that put a claim in for Puig last August, whereas Braun cleared waivers.

The sticking point isn't what players the Dodgers send (if the Dodgers were willing to trade Puig for Braun straight up, the deal is probably done 6 months ago), the sticking point is offsetting Braun's salary.




Also worth noting, Braun is a douche. So there's that to contend with.

 

Our front office and Dave Roberts have been saying all off season about the Dodger way. Wanting players to be Dodgers, the way the players gel with the fans, the way players gel in the clubhouse, the way they gel together.

If you think Ryan Braun fits this vision, I think you're sadly mistaking.

 

Today, Bob Nightengale of USA Today wrote up a story on Braun, where he says that it is “likely” that Braun will be traded to the Dodgers this offseason. The trade almost went through on August 31, with Braun remaining in the clubhouse for word of trade, and almost all of the particulars ironed out. The Brewers would take on Puig and Brandon McCarthy, and would receive some prospects as well. The prospect return was the last detail to be ironed out, but couldn’t be figured out before the deadline passed.

"I think it would be inappropriate for me to get into any detail about any of that stuff,” Braun told USA TODAY Sports. “Obviously, I live in Los Angeles in the offseason. I grew up a Dodger fan. When those conversations started, I think it was an interesting position for me to be in. “But I love Milwaukee. I’m happy being a Brewer. And if those conversations were to continue (in the offseason), we’ll see where they lead.”



So yeah they had cleared the salary/offsetting hurdle.
What I'm interested in is the spec package accompanying Puig to MIL, which couldn't be figured out before the clock expired.
They claimed Puig, but it seems as though they used the Puig claim to open the door to more possibilities.
And with more time to negotiate, there's no telling what else could be added to the framework if they were still haggling over prospects.
They revisit those talks and I could easily see LAD pulling a 3rd team into the mix and off they go on some 10 player swap, never know what w/ how creative this FO can be.
Ultimately, the market's opened up and more guys are available now, like McCutchen, so I could see LAD maybe trying to play the supply/demand game again.
Perhaps setting the ceiling and seeing what crawls out..these PIT/LAD rumors should be real thanks to McCutchen's meager contract, potential to outplay it, and it's future value in case he doesn't work out the 1st year - there's that 2nd year where maybe someone else out there would have interest in dealing for him down the road when LAD wants to move on to one of the kids in the corner OF.
Make a move for Braun and that's it..he's more than likely a Dodger for good, sort of final.
We'll see.
Personally, I'm open to all these ideas..have to be when you're talking about bats that potentially fit into the 3 and 4 spots in the lineup.

 

Big difference to their douchiness. Puig is high spirited and a bit stubborn by nature whereas Braun is manipulative, narcissistic and petty, by choice.

 

Getting a RH middle of the order bat would be huge. I just don't see Gonzo as a 3-4 hitter anymore. Although he did have a late surge last season after taking a few days off. Adding another bat would afford us the opportunity to give Adrian more rest, which would help him a great deal.