To Trade or Not to Trade

Here is Chris Saunders discussing the trade rumors surrounding Miami Marlins star pitcher Jose Fernandez. 

Article by Chris Saunders

The MLB offseason is always something of a spectacle when it comes to rumors, trades, signings etc. One such rumor has been gaining some traction, and in a lot of ways might have possibly become more than just here say. The Miami Marlins have “listened” in on trade possibilities involving their young star pitcher Jose Fernandez. Fernandez, 23, has three more years on his contract before he becomes a free agent at the rip ole age of 26. A Scott Boras client, the marlins have a better chance of striking gold than Fernandez signing a long term deal before he can test the market. This isn’t the first time Miami has dealt with “Star” players close to their free agent years. Before the Miami Marlins became said team, they were originally known as the Florida Marlins until 2012. Either way you look at it, the marlins have traded away numerous young pitchers from Josh Beckett in 2005, to the mega deal when they first became the Miami Marlins in 2012 and traded away Josh Johnson/Mark Buehrle plus others for numerous prospects. With that being said, and the possibly growing more and more likely that the marlins won’t keep Jose past his age 26 season, why not trade him now while he’s a hot commodity. Here are the two teams that have the most in terms of prospects and “Starting Pitching” needs to acquire Fernandez services.

1. Dodgers

The Dodgers almost undoubtedly would have to build a deal around the 19-year-old pitching prospect Julio Urias. But they aren't going to trade Corey Seager, their Opening Day shortstop. And as much as Yasiel Puig might feel like a natural fit for Miami, doing that to Don Mattingly, who was pretty much exasperated with Puig by the end of his L.A. tenure, would be cruel. Urias, who has already advanced to Triple-A, would give the Marlins an attractive arm that can help them as soon as this season. He'd be the centerpiece. And the Dodgers have a slew of other pieces to consider for such a swap, right-hander Jose De Leon (a former 24th-round pick who now has scouts salivating) to right-hander Grant Holmes (a 2014 first-rounder) to catcher Austin Barnes (who has shown a high OBP and speed at Triple-A) to outfielder Alex Verdugo (a 19-year-old with power potential). But where this discussion could get intriguing is if the Marlins were to make it a package deal involving both Fernandez and Marcell Ozuna, the 25-year-old center fielder they're known to be open to moving. In that scenario, you could probably talk about a blockbuster based around Urias and Joc Pederson. But asking for both of those players and Seager and two more pieces for just Fernandez? That only makes sense if Fernandez comes with the ability to grant three wishes.

2. Red Sox

Dave Dombrowski swung the trade for the mighty Miggy. What would it take to form an equitable swap for Fernandez? Yoan Moncada could be a starting point, particularly if the Red Sox will pick up most of what remains of Moncada's initial $31.5 million signing bonus. The Marlins would almost certainly ask for Eduardo Rodriquez as an emerging top-end option who is cost-controlled through 2021 -- exactly the sort of option Miami would need in a Fernandez-less rotation. Catcher Blake Swihart obviously has tremendous trade value at a difficult position to fill, though the Marlins do have high hopes that J.T Realmuto will be their guy behind the plate for the foreseeable future. Major League-ready rotation pieces like Henry Owens or Brian Johnson could add depth to any offer. Third baseman Rafael Devers is only 19 years old, but he is a valuable trade chip for Boston because of his developing power bat at the hot corner. But the Red Sox appear satisfied with their David Price-led rotation, so this one is a long shot among long shots.

Whatever the case may be, one thing is for certain. Miami has three years to either do one of two things…do everything in their power to get the team better before Fernandez’s contract is up, or trade him now and get max value for him. In the words of the great horror movie Saw “The choice is yours Miami, make your choice.”  

Odell Beckham Jr. Suspended One Game

Here is our own Patrick Higgins giving his insight into the Odell Beckham Jr. suspension.

Article by Patrick Higgins.

Hello everyone, the NFL announced today that OBJ, (aka Odell Beckham Jr.), will be suspended one game for his on the field actions against the Carolina Panthers Sunday.Beckham has decided to appeal the decision, and his case will be heard by either James Thrash or Derrick Brooks, the hearing officers jointly appointed by the NFL and the players' union. Beckham was flagged three times for personal fouls Sunday, as he grappled with Panthers cornerbacks Josh Norman and Cortland Finnegan. One of these penalties for OBJ, was when he ran by Norman after attempting to block the corner on a running game, reversed himself, and then went on to deliver a helmet-to-helmet hit on Norman, which could've been a dangerous situation.

Though here is my point on everything, I'm not saying that what Beckham did was ok, it wasn't, someone could've been seriously hurt. There are reports though that the Panthers defensive backs were taunting Beckham during pregame with derogatory comments and anti-gay slurs. Reports also stated that a practice player brought a baseball bat onto the field during pregame, and make threatening remarks toward Beckham with it. The Panthers responded by saying that that the bat is a motivational symbol they bring onto the field before every game.

All I have to say everyone is, are you kidding me? There is no way that I believe that they didn't say anything threatening to Beckham with the bat. They are trying to get into his head, because he is an explosive player and one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Though threatening someone with a baseball bat is just RIDICULOUS. That could've been an action that got into Beckham's head, and may have taunted him to go out there and act the way he did. Then the defensive backs were reportedly saying anti-gay slurs to Beckham, which is just despicable. In a league that is trying to eliminate domestic violence and harsh criticism of your sexuality, I CANNOT BELIEVE that the NFL isn't looking at this as well.

Then the fact of the matter also is, where is Josh Norman's punishment too? No one wants to remember that Norman threw down Beckham early in the game, and was smack talking Beckham to get into his head. He was called for TWO personal foul penalties, should be also be getting some punishment for his actions?

The point I want to make everyone, is that maybe if these actions weren't performed towards Beckham during pre-game and the beginning of the game, then all these fights and unsportsmanlike actions wouldn't have taken pace. All the blame shouldn't be just put on OBJ, thats the point that I would like everyone to see throughout this story.

Can the Real Bronx Bombers Please Stand Up

Here is Chris Saunders giving his insight about if the Yankees can get back to their championship ways. 

Article by Chris Saunders

                 

The 2015 Season for the New York Yankees was anything but pleasant, when on July 31^st Yankees lead the A. L. East Division by six games over the then second place Baltimore Orioles.   The Blue Jays were seven back in the loss column. Toronto went all in at the trade deadline though, adding David Price, Troy Tulowitzki, Ben Revere, Mark Lowe and LaTroy Hawkins. The Yankees added Dustin Ackley. That's all! What happened next was not just an astronomical collapse of the Yankees losing first place by Mid- Aug, but also letting the Blue Jays overcome said Yankees and eventually winning the A. L. East before it was all said and done. Where does that leave us with the Yankees? What will they do to overcome this collapse? Can the Real Bronx Bombers ever regain their glory that led to so many parades down New York Streets?

Revolving Door?

One of the key faults for the collapse was the inconsistency of the Yankee Rotation. New York Ranked 19^th in MLB Rotation’s with a 62-56 W/L Record, 4.24 ERA is lead by 4 of the five rotation pieces (C.C, Pineda, Eovaldi, Nova) having above 4.00 ERA’s. Only Tanaka( 3.51) and Servino( 2.89) had the lowest ERA’s on the team. Mind you Severino was called up on Aug 5^th and Tanaka missed time due to injury. One would imagine that Brian Cashman (GM) would go spend tons of money and forfeit draft picks to get the Cueto’s, Greinke’s, Prices’s of the world, but he didn’t. Cashman stood by his plan, which has always been “Protect the prospects and build from within.” Some will say Cashman should have given any of the prized pitchers what they wanted, but in truth long term contracts haven’t worked out for many clubs. Look at the Mike Hamptons of the world, Barry Zito, C.C. Sabathia, Justin Verlander, just to name a few. Pitchers arm’s slow down as they get older, innings and pitches begin to add up, and with Tommy John becoming quiet the epidemic some teams question giving their young pitchers long term deals. Futhermore, Cashman will also have to figure out what to do with almost 4/5^th’s of his rotation after next season. Tanaka can opt out after 2017 season, C.C has a 5 million dollar buyout after 2016 season, Nova/Eovaldi are free agents after 2016 season, leaving only Severino under contract past 2020 the only future rotation piece Cashman has. Another issue, the entire rotation is filled with uncertainty; Sabathia hasn’t had an All-Star season since 2012, Pineda was inconsistent throughout the entire year, Severino is heading into his sophomore year as a Yankee, Tanaka still has a tear in his elbow and Nova was terrible coming back from Tommy John Surgery. Eovaldi was the only starter who showed some consistency throughout the year, but when reading between the lines of Brian Cashman’s comments at the end of the year, it sounds like the Yankees are going to try to piece together their rotation internally.

                                    

Options for Cashman?

Free Agents- SP- Henderson Alvarez( Has pitched in the A.L. East with Toronto), Tim Lincecum(Former 2 time CY and 3 time World Champion), to Relievers (Joel Peralta), (Craig Stammen) as long relief cogs that can help this Yankees bullpen with the trade of Warren to the cubs along with Brendan Ryan INF for SS/2^nd baseman Starlin Castro.

Offensive Woes 

The Yankees also need to rely on their offense having a bounce back 2016 campaign. Brian McCann, Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury were awful during the second half of the season, Mark Teixeira missed majority of the second half with a broken leg and Alex Rodriguez began to wear down as the season went on. One of the bright spots from 2015 was Didi Gregorius, and while he started off poorly, he emerged as the perfect candidate to replace the recently retired Derek Jeter. The Yankees still have a hole at second base that hasn’t been filled since Robinson Cano signed with the Seattle Mariners, and the Yankees are trying their third attempt in filling the hole, this time using Dustin Ackley and Rob Refsnyder as a platoon to begin the 2016 season. The Yankees recently tried Brian Roberts and Stephen Drew, but neither panned out the way the Yankees were expecting. The Yankees did say they liked Martin Prado and Ben Zobrist, but they would rather try to fix the problem internally before going into the free agent and trade market.

Along with the veterans, the Yankees also have a lot of the young kids hoping to make a contribution to the team. Greg Bird, Slade Heathcott, Refsnyder, Severino and Jacob Lindgren were a few to make their debuts last season, and the Yankees are anticipating the Major League debut of Aaron Judge which could be either in the second half of the season or in September. 2016 seems to be a promising year for the Bronx Bombers, especially if they could once again exceed expectations like they did during the first half of the 2015 season. Only time will tell if the moves, or lack of moves, will pay off.