Brett Gardner trade ideas based off the Adam Eaton trade
Just last
week, the Washington Nationals gave up a boat load of top prospects to acquire
outfielder Adam Eaton from the Chicago White Sox. The Nationals gave up number
one prospect Lucas Giolito, number three prospect Reynaldo Lopez and number six
prospect Dane Dunning. While many around baseball thought that the Nationals
gave up too much, the Yankees and their fans should rejoice because the trade
made Brett Gardner’s value go way up. While Eaton has had a higher WAR than
Gardner over the years, Gardner does have an All-Star nod and a gold glove to
boot, something Eaton doesn’t have. Because the Nationals gave up their number
one, three and six prospects, I decided to do some unrealistic hypotheticals and took the
number one, three and six prospects from teams that might line up for a Gardner
trade. Still, it is important to note that Gardner is not likely to get the same return that Eaton received, but here's what some trades could look like if he did, just for kicks.
(Elsa/Getty)
Baltimore Orioles
- No. 1: Cody Sedlock (RHP)
2016: 9 G, 9 GS, 0-1, 3.00 ERA, 25 K, 27 IP (class-A short) - No. 3: Hunter Harvey (RHP)
2016: 5 G, 5 GS, 0-1, 2.13 ERA, 18 K, 12.2 IP (Rookie-Low A) - No. 6: Ryan Mountcastle (SS)
2016: 115 G, .281 BA, 10 HR, 51 RBI, 5 SB (single-A)
The first
thing I think is that this trade would never happen because the Orioles are in
the same division, even though Brian Cashman said he is willing to trade with
Baltimore. While the return of two starting pitchers would be nice, the Yankees
really don’t need another shortstop prospect. But, since Mountcastle had a
pretty nice season in Single A, you can always stock up on talent where
available.
Detroit Tigers
- No. 1: Matt Manning (RHP)
2016: 10 G, 10 GS, 0-2, 3.99 ERA, 46 K, 29.1 IP (Rookie) - No. 3: Christin Stewart (OF)
2016: 128 G, .255 BA, 30 HR, 87 RBI, 3 SB (single-A & double-A) - No. 6: Kyle Funkhouser (RHP)
2016: 13 G, 13 GS, 0-2, 2.65 ERA, 34 K, 37.1 IP (class-A short)
Now this is
a very good package. This package would include two good pitching prospects and
an outfielder who hit 30 home runs in 128 games between Single A and Double A.
A left handed hitter with that kind of pop in Yankee Stadium is deadly. Manning
is the #66 prospect on MLB.com’s top 100 so this package would be a nice haul.
San
Francisco Giants
- No. 1: Christian Arroyo (INF)
2016: 119 G, .274 BA, 3 HR, 49 RBI, 1 SB (double-A) - No. 3: Chris Shaw (1B)
2016: 132 G, .267 BA, 21 HR, 85 RBI, 0 SB (double-A) - No. 6: Aramis Garcia (C)
2016: 47 G, .253 BA, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 1 SB (Rookie-High A)
Now this
package might be the least logical because it doesn’t include any pitching
which the Yankees desperately need. The Yankees also have (hopefully) the long
term pieces for catcher, first base and the infield and therefore are not a
necessity. Perhaps the Yankees would ask for pitchers such as Tyler Beede and
Sam Coonrod.
Texas
Rangers
- No. 1: Yohander Mendez (LHP)
2016: 24 G, 21 GS, 12-3, 2.19 ERA, 113 K, 111 IP (Minors)
2016: 2 G, 0-0, 18.00 ERA, 0 K, 3 IP (MLB) - No. 3: Leody Taveras (OF)
2016: 73 G, .271 BA, 1 HR, 33 RBI, 18 SB (Rookie, Low A) - No. 6: Ariel Jurado (RHP)
2016: 24 G, 22 GS, 8-6, 3.66 ERA, 106 K, 123 IP (High A-Double A)
This is
also a very good package of prospects. Mendez, who is ranked #56 on MLB.com’s
top 100 prospects, had a very good season in the minors and is the only
prospect on this list to reach the Majors, pitching three innings for the
Rangers in 2016. Taveras doesn’t really stand out to me because he doesn’t have
a stand out tool, but he might be useful as a fourth outfielder and maybe a
pinch runner if he can work on his stolen base ability and at only 17 Taveras
has plenty of room to grow.
Now once
again, these are just blueprints based off of the Nationals-White Sox trade and
both sides would probably offer/ask for different players. The Eaton trade set
the bar high and the Yankees need to cash in on Gardner while his value is sky
high.
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