Tigers, Cardinals in on Putz
by Jon ~ December 10th, 2008 at 8:42 am
12:25 PM:
Sure enough, Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Cardinals offered Rick Ankiel and a prospect in return for Putz. Ankiel wouldn’t be a horrible fit, but I am really not a fan of his and would rather Seattle go another route.
8:52 AM:
John Paul Morosi has another article up about the Detroit Tigers’ interest in Seattle closer J.J. Putz. He didn’t report anything new, but reiterated that Seattle is demand both OF Matt Joyce and 1B/3B Jeff Larish, rather than one or the other. He also states that the Tigers’ interest in Putz “appears stronger than ever,” and that their only other realistic closing target besides Putz was Kerry Wood, who just signed with the rival Cleveland Indians.
If the Tigers are truly running out of options and have Putz at the top of their list, it can only mean good things for Seattle. GM Jack Zduriencik has already made it clear that he isn’t giving Putz away, and perhaps he can convince Detroit to overpay for him, even beyond Joyce and Larish. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski doesn’t have the greatest trading track record (which would explain the Tigers’ empty farm system), so anything could happen. I wouldn’t rule out the “untouchable” Rick Porcello.
Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals have Putz near the top of their closer wish list as well, according to Joe Strauss. We already knew this, but who might we get in return?
Some people have suggested OF Rick Ankiel. I’d rather not go that route. Ankiel was a great story as he transitioned from the Rookie of the Year runner up in 2000 as a pitcher to becoming the Cardinals’ Opening Day center fielder in 2008, but I don’t think he’d be a good target for Seattle. He’s 29 already, is among the worst defensive center fielders in baseball and is generally overrated in the box.
I think Seattle should take a run at OF Colby Rasmus, who entered the 2008 season as the number one prospect in the Cardinals organization, and the fifth best in all of baseball, according to Baseball America. Rasmus is the first name Seattle needs to bring up in talks with the Cardinals. The Cards may not want to part with him, but they have the depth to lose him and his stock has fallen slightly this past season, so it seems plausible.
If Rasmus isn’t an option, Seattle would obviously inquire about OF Ryan Ludwick, who came out of nowhere to become one of the best offensive outfielders in the game in 2008 and certainly one of the most underrated. Seattle could definitely use him and Ludwick’s trade value won’t be as high as other .900+ OPS sluggers because he’s a late bloomer and he is no guarantee to repeat his Silver Slugger season, especially without being able to log most of his at bats hitting in front of or behind Albert Pujols. Risk or not, it’s hard not to want a guy capable of posting a .966 OPS (6th best in baseball, ahead of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Matt Holiday, Hanley Ramirez and many other superstars).
Beyond those two players I’m not sure there is anything the Cardinals could offer that would perk my interest besides LHSP Jaime Garcia and perhaps 3B Allen Craig.
Keep aiming high, Jack. Make them come to you!
17 Responses to Tigers, Cardinals in on Putz
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Brandon
December 10th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I really hope we don’t trade for Ankiel. I don’t think he’s a good fit for this team, personally. We either trade Putz for young talent that we can utilize right away, or nothing. I think Ankiel is too old and strikes out too much to be worth consideration.
Dustin Shires
December 10th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I say we wait it out and see if we can get Rasmus.
Brandon
December 10th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Agreed…hopefully we can get the tigers and cards in a bidding war. I wouldn’t mind seeing Joyce/larish/+ one more prospect…at least that’d be way better than Ankiel + one unnamed prospect.
Dustin Shires
December 10th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Let me follow up on this by giving my “I WANT THIS TO HAPPEN” comment…
The Mariners should package J.J. Putz with Yuniesky Betancourt for Colby Rasmus. 2-for-1 deal, a deal that I think the Mariners win.
After that, we go out and sign Rafael Furcal.
That would be perfect!
ernier
December 10th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
I too would prefer they get Rasmus, but it just doesn’t seem realistic. If I’m the Cards I would not give him up for Putz and I don’t think they’d be interested in Yuni because they just traded for Khalil Greene.
I would make this trade if the prospect was a decent prospect. My reasoning for making this trade is because he would be a very good and cheap ($900,000 this season) stopgap until Halman and Saunders are ready, he’s a lefty pull hitter with pop, has a great arm so he could play any of the 3 outfiled positions. This trade would make us more competive next year and help improve our farm system. If he left after next year as free agent he should be at least a type B free agent or possible a Type A, so we’d get more draft picks. We could also trade him at the trading deadline for prospects.
Dustin Shires
December 10th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Yeah strike that. Good call ernier… I can’t believe I 100% forgot about Khalil Greene’s existence.
Jon Shields
December 10th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Ankiel shouldn’t be in center field, though.
pmbaseball7
December 10th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Would it be a good pickup if Ankiel played LF or RF? If I remember correctly he has a freakishly good arm.
Jon Shields
December 10th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
He’s got one year left until he’s a FA. Putz should be traded for someone that has a future with this team. It would be a waste to trade Putz for Ankiel. Ankiel is currently better than Matt Joyce, sure, but I’d take 6 years of Joyce over 1 year of Ankiel.
Dustin Shires
December 10th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Yeah, I agree with Jon on that. 1 year of Ankiel isn’t worth it.
Rasmus, anybody? Yes, I’m still drooling over his potential…
pmbaseball7
December 10th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Yeah I think Ankiel could replace Raul well though considering he hits for more power and plays better D. But I think you’re right 6 years of Joyce could pay off if he develops well.
Slurve
December 10th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
a year of Ankiel plus Rasmus(hey it could had been the prospect) oh *drool*
pmbaseball7
December 10th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
That would be sicknasty.
Jon Shields
December 10th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
See, now you’re onto something!
Mr.Benton
December 10th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
i don’t think Ankiel is a great fit for the M’s. I can’t tell if he is for real or not.
pmbaseball7
December 10th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
He’s pretty good and I think if he was having a good year and we were out of it we could trade him at the deadline.
Jon Shields
December 10th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
In that case, whatever we got back for Ankiel wouldn’t be enough to justify trading Putz. If we’re already talking about trading him, it’s probably not a deal worth making.