Shortstop Search 2.0

[Frayed Knot]

Our pre-season short-stop thread is old and overly large and new interest in seeking to replace Ruben Tejada is taking over the deadline deal thread, so this is a good time to re-launch and update our search, starting off with a list that kicked off the earlier thread - with updates:

JJ Hardy - Balt http://www.baseball-reference.com/playe ... jj01.shtml
-- the pros and cons of him have been discussed elsewhere. although I don�t know if I�ve ever heard that he�s actually available
Basically you�d be getting a good glove plus a big increase in power, but also more of the high-K/low-OBP stuff that�s plauged the rest of the lineup. And he�s one year from FA
2014 -- Same kind of low-OBA hitting as always, but only 2 HRs in 300+ ABs

Stephen Drew - FA http://www.baseball-reference.com/playe ... st01.shtml
-- Also discussed here elsewhere. Coming off a good season but it�s his only full one in the last three or four. Is already 31, wants a multi-year deal and would cost a draft pick on top of the one we�ve already ceded for Granderson.
Finally signed as we all know and so is almost surely out of the picture - hitting just .150 BA thru 75 ABs so far

Didi Gregorius - Ariz http://www.baseball-reference.com/playe ... di01.shtml
-- Mariekson Julius Gregorius, LHB, 23 y/o from Amsterdam in the Netherlands, was originally Reds property before being dealt to the Snakes a year ago in a three-way deal that docked the SS Choo in the river city. But the DBacks have other options at SS (see: Owings, Chris) and may be willing to deal. Hit decently for a rookie though no RoY votes; reportedly a good glove; and although I had thought he had good legs he�s has never been a base-stealer at any level.
Split time in 2014 between AAA (good) and MLB (not so much)

Chris Owings - Arizona http://www.baseball-reference.com/playe ... ch01.shtml
-- A 22 y/o 41st round draft pick out of HS in South Carolina got his ML cuppa late this season.
Minor league numbers are good but mainly in hitting environments (Cal Lg + AAA Reno) and much less so in between at sea-level AA Mobile. It�s his presence that reportedly makes Gregorius available so I�m guessing they like the glove a whole lot. #3 DBacks prospect (and top position player) this winter according to BA. Snakes have been active so far this winter and just dealt their next best prospect, 3B Matt Davidson, to the White Sox for closer Addison Reed.
.277/.313/.458 in 250 ABs

Elvis Andrus - Texas http://www.baseball-reference.com/playe ... el01.shtml
-- Very strange situation. Is probably the one top young player signed to a long-term pre-arb deal that looks shaky in the early going. Toss in the fact that the Rangers have a better/younger one ready to go maybe makes him more available. Still only 23, the catch is that his contract runs through age 33 and for some heavy numbers by the end of the deal.
Got a stay of execution when likely replacement Jurickson Profar was injured for the season - .271/.319/.348

Nick Franklin - Seattle http://www.baseball-reference.com/playe ... ni01.shtml
-- 23 y/o by next spring w/400 ML ABs under his belt. The presence of Brad Miller makes his availability possible but the crew at MLBN questioned his ability to remain at SS.
Hitting well (.297/.394/.486) but at AAA Tacoma and less than half the time at SS

Brad Miller - Seattle http://www.baseball-reference.com/playe ... br02.shtml
-- 24 y/o 2nd round pick in 2011 out of Clemson, apparently is considered the better SS of the two Mariners. REAL GOOD minor lg numbers from his late 2011 debut in A ball right thru to his AA + AAA in 2013 before his mid-year call-up.
Good glove (from what I hear) but just .204/.273/.336



And now we have to toss in the various Chicago candidates

Starlin Castro -- Pretty good stick (.290/.337/.470) but erratic glove (just ask Keith)
Addison Russell -- Main bait in the Samardzija deal, Theo claims he got him to keep him (what else would he say?) but there's always the possibility he was acquired to be flipped - currently at AA
Javier Baez -- Top-10 Prospect in all the pre-season lists, but is having a tough adjustment to AAA and may not be able to hang as a SS

Asdrubal Cabrera -- Rumored to be available from Cleveland; 28 y/o and not hitting as well in 2013-14 as he was in earlier seasons [~ .245/.300/.400 over the last 800 ABs]

Edited July 6, 2014 by Guest

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

If we're spending potential, given that the playoff run's probably at least 10 months away, we probably want some potential back, right? Hardy's a piece to acquire once you've shown on-field ability to finish within shouting distance of first/90 wins.

If there's more than one above-C-grade prospect headed out, I'd expect no less than Gregorius/Miller, and aim for the top shelf Nouveau Beau-glove-ais like Castro or Andrus.

[Frayed Knot]

As to the questions about whether Syndergaard was too high a price to pay for Castro, apparently WFAN's Jody McDonald last night* was talking up the idea of a Wheeler for Castro swap.




* Didn't hear it myself, but heard said proposal being referred to a few hours later

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Worth noting: Starlin Castro and he would have been in the same high-school graduating class. Hell, they'd almost have the same astrological sign.

I like Wheeler-- like, like-like Wheeler-- but I would do that in a half a heartbeat.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Sandy mentioned Matt Reynolds recently. Reynolds is 23 years old and, in 18 games in Las Vegas so far, is hitting .365 /.406/.524. Prior to that he was .355 /.430/.422 in Binghamton in 58 games. He plays most of his games at shortstop but has also appeared at second base. Home runs are rare, doubles have spiked since he got to Vegas. Doesn't steal many bases but he does hit triples, so he apparently has some speed.

[Edgy MD]

You're gonna have to sell me on Castro. Because other than having a cool name with the word "star" at the top of it, I'm not feeling the love.

Here's the case I see: Most similar by age for Starlin Castro is Edgar Renteria. Most similar by age for Zach Wheeler is Brad Bergesen. Obviously, hindsight sez you make that deal every time. Still, I'm reluctant. It's not what Wheeler is so much as the lottery ticket for more that he represents. The notion that if you want two star pitchers, you need five would-be stars like Wheeler to get you there.

I like my lottery tickets!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I ouldn't do Wheeler for Castro. deGrom? Yup. Gee? Yes.

[Edgy MD]

Gee. Exactly. You have a surfeit of pitching, then send Ed Lynch to the Cubs, not Ron Darling.

Then when Gee is done, he can go to law school and become the Cubs' ineffectual GM.

[Ceetar]

These, often baseless, rumors pop up roughly every month so I don't even put much thought into them, but figured I'd mention for the sake of completeness.

Troy Tulowitzki is supposedly possibly could be open to maybe being on the trade block.

[Frayed Knot]

None of these even qualify as rumors. Speculation is more like it.
The Wheeler for Castro thing was nothing more than a talk radio topic starter: Hey Met fans, there's a better SS likely to be available. You want him? Here's what I think it'll take ... Yay or Nay?

I mean it all makes sense -- Cubs have three potential SS at AA or higher with different sets of skills at the same time they're building for the near future and are even more pitching starved than they were three days ago -- but that's as far as the facts go right now.

P.S. the building for the future part is why they'd be less likely to want Gee and more likely to opt for guys with 4-6 controllable years in front of them.

[Edgy MD]

Sure, and I'd rather my team had Addison Russell than Starlin Castro. Make 'em beg, drive a hard bargain, and be willing to walk away.

[Frayed Knot]

Lots of speculation at MinorLeagueBall.com about trades for shortstops, specifically those involving Syndergaard

- Prospect guru John Sickels proposes some mock deals then invites reader comments on ones they like and don't. Over 100 comments and counting at this point, and remember that the crowd there tends to be REALLY into the prospect scene (to the point where I'm not sure many of them even care about ML baseball beyond each player's fantasy value) and tend to have REALLY specific opinions on prospects high, low, and in-between.
The gist of it all is that fans have a tendency to overrate their prospects often to the detriment of others, so that how one looks at a Noah for ________ deal depends on what part of the country you sit.

- And then a separate article on Syndergaard himself reminds us of the phrase among scouts: 'Don't Scout the Stat Line'.
Bottom line on this one is that, despite the lack of eye-popping numbers this year, the age, the stuff, the level, and the results still add up to Syndergaard being a really, really, good prospect right now.

[Theoldmole]

Are we no longer gunning for Tulowitzki?

[Edgy MD]

Tulo is out for the year, so any conversation on him starts in November, and it begins with, "I'm sure not gonna pay what I would have in July."

[Theoldmole]

But this is next year we're talking about, right?

[Frayed Knot]

TheOldMole wrote: Are we no longer gunning for Tulowitzki?

He's certainly an option. Do keep in mind though that he's down for the season (AGAIN!!), will turn 30 before he takes another AB, is expensive, is signed for a long term, etc.

I make no claims that the names speculated about here are in any way the only ones to consider.
Just happened to see these recent articles on a prospect-heavy site speculating about prospect-for-prospect deals.