posted by Jon
I'm pretty busy today, but I'll pass on some interesting things coming about :
Jason A. Churchill of Prospect Insider posted down in the comments section on his site, "The fact that the only trade the M’s are considering right now is Baek for Ray Durham and cash is what we should be happy about."
I know some of you aren't Churchill fans, but most of his insights prove to be correct, or at least close. Keep in mind that nothing is imminent and the trade could be in any stage.
I am all for this swap. Cha Seung Baek is a spare part whose trade value has increased exponentially this spring, while Ray Durham has been a very productive second baseman for a long time (discounting last season). Durham is in the last year of his contract, so he would be a one year stopgap to a free agent market that holds two interesting names in particular.
There is no reason to be surprised if this trade goes through, as it's not the first time Durham's name has been brought up. Remember the proposed Durham for Richie Sexson salary dump? This seems like a much better deal.
How do you all feel about a Ray Durham acquisition? (And please no "Mike Morse at second base" suggestions. It doesn't work. Morse is 6'6" and will never possess the footwork to play that position.)
Next up, Seattle's roster shakedown. Ken Rosenthal says that Seattle is considering carrying just 11 pitchers and both Mike Morse and Charlton Jimerson on the bench. He also mentions that Jeremy Reed has drawn interest from the San Diego Padres.
I would be okay with Seattle carrying Morse and Jimerson. While Morse has earned a spot, Jimerson is out of options and Seattle wants to save him. If he struggles he can be released and someone else can fill the spot, simple as that. Jimerson gives us another good baserunner to compliment Bloomquist. If these two both end up on the Opening Day roster, I see two possible benches:
Jaime Burke, C
Willie Bloomquist, INF/OF
Mike Morse, CIF/COF
Charlton Jimerson, OF
with either Miguel Cairo (INF/LF) or Greg Norton (1B/PH).
As far as Reed goes, I see no reason to trade him. He has two options left, so the only reason Bavasi would trade him would be to give him a major league job. Bavasi is known to make these deals, the latest when he traded Ben Broussard to the Rangers earlier this offseason.
(Hat tip to Rob T. for passing along all this info; made today's post easy.)
5 comments:
I like this trade...It's pretty low risk...Baek is an expendable spare part...Durham is most likely an upgrade over Lopez and has an expiring contract...
New round of cuts per Geoff Baker:
Jeff Clement
Cesar Jimenez
Sean White
John Huber
I don't mind trading Cha Seung Baek, other than my adopted son is Korean and it would be cool to have a Korean on the team. But he is totally a spare part.
I'd prefer to make it a three-way though and move Lopez for a prospect or something. I don't love us getting older.
No way you move Lopez...He's young enough to bounce out of this funk...And it looks like the bullpen picture just got a lot clearer...
Does Lopez have options? If not, I think you have to move him if you trade for Durham, although I agree it's too soon to give up on him.
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