OnlyBucs

Josh Donaldson would be a great pick up, but what would it take to get him?

434641474F455C41485B5D50290 wrote: Josh Donaldson would be a great pick  up, but what would it take to get him? 


Well, given that it took two of our top ten AND Liriano to "get" Drew Hutchison, my guess would be...a lot.

5259515D5859420701764F575E5959185559360 wrote:

What about Zach Britton of the Orioles?  He has to be on the market, just got back from an injury.  The Orioles need major league ready pitching and the Pirates have a ton of it in Williams, Brault, Kingham, Cumpton, and Hutchison. 


Do you honestly think the Orioles would trade one of the best closers in the game for AAAA arms?


I think they would want major league ready starting pitching. The Pirates have plenty. I wasn't assuming it would be a one- for-one deal. Others would have to be included, but the center pice would be a starting pitcher.


I'd imagine you'd be looking at giving up Keller, not guys like Brault.

565E5D6A7C597E711F0 wrote: Josh Donaldson would be a great pick  up, but what would it take to get him? 


Well, given that it took two of our top ten AND Liriano to "get" Drew Hutchison, my guess would be...a lot.


Do you think Toronto fans are on their GM for that trade? You are over ranking the prospects. Liriano is even worse now. Pirates are "winning" that trade right now.



Donaldson would be great. He has been hurt a lot this year, so maybe that would lower his price tag.

2A2F382B7D0C0F4E0 wrote:

What about Zach Britton of the Orioles?  He has to be on the market, just got back from an injury.  The Orioles need major league ready pitching and the Pirates have a ton of it in Williams, Brault, Kingham, Cumpton, and Hutchison. 


Do you honestly think the Orioles would trade one of the best closers in the game for AAAA arms?


I think they would want major league ready starting pitching. The Pirates have plenty. I wasn't assuming it would be a one- for-one deal. Others would have to be included, but the center pice would be a starting pitcher.


I'd imagine you'd be looking at giving up Keller, not guys like Brault.


You might be right. A quantity return of a bunch of arms might work too. Britton is arbitration eligible next year and makes $11 million now. His price tag going forward will be high, which could lower his value now.

505B535F5A5B400503744D555C5B5B1A575B340 wrote:

What about Zach Britton of the Orioles?  He has to be on the market, just got back from an injury.  The Orioles need major league ready pitching and the Pirates have a ton of it in Williams, Brault, Kingham, Cumpton, and Hutchison. 


This seems realistic.



Why wouldn't the Orioles give up one of the best left handed relievers in the game for a couple of scrub minor league pitchers that no one has ever heard of?



Trevor Williams has had a much better season than I could have ever expected, so big credit to him and NH for acquiring him.



But seriously. The Orioles wouldn't trade Britton for all five of these guys, even if you threw in an actual prospect with them.

He kinda sucks these days, but I could see a reunion with old friend Rajai Davis in late August if we think we might go to the POs too. At least he still steals some and is a real life outfielder. It's hard for me to gauge OF need and how much we should give up for that.

1131223F3E500 wrote:

What about Zach Britton of the Orioles?  He has to be on the market, just got back from an injury.  The Orioles need major league ready pitching and the Pirates have a ton of it in Williams, Brault, Kingham, Cumpton, and Hutchison. 


This seems realistic.



Why wouldn't the Orioles give up one of the best left handed relievers in the game for a couple of scrub minor league pitchers that no one has ever heard of?



Trevor Williams has had a much better season than I could have ever expected, so big credit to him and NH for acquiring him.



But seriously. The Orioles wouldn't trade Britton for all five of these guys, even if you threw in an actual prospect with them.


You are probably right. My opinion of those guys mentioned are different than yours.



The Orioles did trade Arietta for Feldman and Clevenger. They traded Zach Davies for Gerardo Parra. In my opinion, their GM isn't a very good trader. Britton might be his best talent to dangle out there in years.



Britton's contract and injuries (his elbow) might not make him as great of a candidate for a big return as some might think. I guess we will find out. The Orioles might not even move him at all.

182F391B343E1F3F285A0 wrote: The more I think about it, I wonder if the Pirates have enough in the system (and enough stones in their tighty-whities) to try to pry Josh Donaldson loose.



You want a really bold move? That might be it. Donaldson is in the final year of his deal and is making $17 million this year. That'd cost the Pirates a shade over $5 million -- right in that sweet spot of savings from the Marte-Kang deals. Freese himself has said his struggles are largely because he's playing every day -- this takes care of that, and puts him in the bench/backup role that might better suit him. It gives the Pirates a rental power bat. And as we all know, the Pirates and Jays have been trading partners before.



Does it sound silly and pie-in-the-sky? Of course. But as I sit here thinking idly at midnight, maybe it's worth at least thinking about.
Problem is Donaldson is arb eligible in 2018 and a free agent in 2019. Toronto would be trading a player with 1.5 years of control and would want adequate compensation for that. It's not their problem if the team acquiring him non tenders him after this year because they won't pay over 17 million at arbitration. Of course, the Pirates don't pay that kind of money so they would only have his services for half of 2017. They would have to give up too much for the limited time they would have him.

4A41494540415A1F196E574F464141004D412E0 wrote: Josh Donaldson would be a great pick  up, but what would it take to get him? 


Well, given that it took two of our top ten AND Liriano to "get" Drew Hutchison, my guess would be...a lot.


Do you think Toronto fans are on their GM for that trade?  You are over ranking the prospects.  Liriano is even worse now.  Pirates are "winning" that trade right now.



Donaldson would be great.  He has been hurt a lot this year, so maybe that would lower his price tag.


Nice to know the Pirates are "winning" that trade. By that I guess you mean they got money off the books and shed a problematic pitcher. It's hard to see the acquisition of a pitcher who failed in the majors with over 400 innings and is back in AAA this year as a win. Hutchison was doing well for awhile but 2 of his last 3 starts have been bad and his ERA is an unimpressive 3.70. For the past 5 years, Toronto has maintained a payroll in the top 10 so they probably aren't fretting Liriano's salary as much as they are his poor pitching. But Ramirez and McGuire are both 22. McGuire still isn't hitting but is a good defensive catcher and could at least be a capable backup. Chris Stewart made a career of that. Ramirez, after hitting .306 in AA last year, got off to a terrible start but hit .262 in May, .261 in June and is currently hitting .313 for July. So he's starting to look more like the guy who batted .306 for Altoona last year. Liriano's contract is up after this year and if Toronto ends up with a backup catcher and a 4th outfielder in a couple years and all they gave up was Hutchison, they come out ahead. If you want to say the Pirates are "winning" that trade because the only guy out of it currently in the majors is the ineffective Liriano, that seems rather short-sighed. Looking ahead, I'd rather have Ramirez and McGuire in the system than Hutchison.