Padres & Rockies top sellers list for MLB trades
Hard to believe that Colorado and San Diego were priming viewers for last year's postseason just nine months ago when they met to decide the NL Wildcard in a one game playoff last October. Nowadays the Rockies and Padres are well out of the playoff picture and targets for contending teams to pluck a player or two as MLB's July 31 trade deadline is fast approaching.
There is no such thing as a summer vacation in sports. Trades and free-agent signings are dominating the sports headlines; the madness will soon spread to the baseball diamond, where teams will either load up for the postseason or blow up their rosters and go back to the drawing board for 2009. The MLB betting odds you see today might look very different before long.
A caveat about MLB trade rumors: They rarely come to fruition. The rumor mill is where ideas about trades get floated. Some of those ideas come from the heads of the sports writers themselves, and while there are some excellent writers out there, most of what passes for sports journalism these days isn’t even good enough to wrap fish in.
Other ideas are given directly to writers by general managers, agents, and players who want to generate some momentum toward making a deal. These should be taken more seriously, but not treated as gospel.
Having said that, here’s what’s making the rumor mill churn these days. The bigger chance they have of taking place down the road, the greater the difference in betting value right now.
The Colorado Rockies are at the top of the seller’s list at 33-51. They’ve dropped from 18-1 to 125-1 to win the World Series, and they’re drowning in a sea of red ink that’s 19.22 units deep. The biggest name being kicked about is Matt Holliday, who is still a monster at the plate at .953 OPS even if his power if down a shade from last year.
Trading Holliday would be a bold move, but the more likely pawn is lefty reliever Brian Fuentes. His 3.94 ERA (4.16 xFIP) makes Fuentes very useful for a contending team in need of a southpaw – of which there are too many to mention.
Next up to pull the ripcord on 2008 are the San Diego Padres at 33-52. They have been the most disappointing team of the season in dollar amounts, losing 22.65 units thus far, and have seen their World Series odds plummet from 22-1 to 125-1. How bad are things in San Diego? The Fathers were just swept by the 31-51 Seattle Mariners. At home.
San Diego is keeping hope alive for a comeback in the National League West; after all, the Padres are “only” 9½ games behind the 42-42 Arizona Diamondbacks for the division lead. But barring a big move up the standings between now and the All-Star Game, the Padres will be sellers. The names on the block: Brian Giles, Greg Maddux and Randy Wolf. Expect Wolf (4.13 ERA, 4.11 xFIP) to go elsewhere if anyone does; he’ll make a great rent-a-pitcher for an NL contender like the Cubs (3-1).
The strangest rumor comes from the aforementioned Mariners, who reports suggest are willing to get rid of Erik Bedard (3.79 ERA, 4.42 xFIP) after half a season. This is an organization that is trying to regain public confidence after the disastrous Bill Bavasi regime, which led the M’s from 28-1 on the World Series futures market to dead last at 1000-1.
Bedard has been criticized up and down in the press for his attitude. Don’t believe the hype. Bedard’s attitude problem is that he doesn’t like to talk to the press, and it’s certainly not his fault that Bavasi gave up too much to get him from the Baltimore Orioles. Bedard’s back spasms should already scare away potential suitors like the Phillies and Yankees.
While we’re at it, let’s defuse the annual Ken Griffey Jr. trade rumors. Especially those that have him going back to Seattle. This is one of those writer-driven stories that are always good for some cheap eyeballs. Besides, Griffey has a .743 OPS and just 10 home runs at the halfway point of the season. Contenders don’t trade for players like that.
Hard to believe that Colorado and San Diego were priming viewers for last year's postseason just nine months ago when they met to decide the NL Wildcard in a one game playoff last October. Nowadays the Rockies and Padres are well out of the playoff picture and targets for contending teams to pluck a player or two as MLB's July 31 trade deadline is fast approaching.
There is no such thing as a summer vacation in sports. Trades and free-agent signings are dominating the sports headlines; the madness will soon spread to the baseball diamond, where teams will either load up for the postseason or blow up their rosters and go back to the drawing board for 2009. The MLB betting odds you see today might look very different before long.
A caveat about MLB trade rumors: They rarely come to fruition. The rumor mill is where ideas about trades get floated. Some of those ideas come from the heads of the sports writers themselves, and while there are some excellent writers out there, most of what passes for sports journalism these days isn’t even good enough to wrap fish in.
Other ideas are given directly to writers by general managers, agents, and players who want to generate some momentum toward making a deal. These should be taken more seriously, but not treated as gospel.
Having said that, here’s what’s making the rumor mill churn these days. The bigger chance they have of taking place down the road, the greater the difference in betting value right now.
The Colorado Rockies are at the top of the seller’s list at 33-51. They’ve dropped from 18-1 to 125-1 to win the World Series, and they’re drowning in a sea of red ink that’s 19.22 units deep. The biggest name being kicked about is Matt Holliday, who is still a monster at the plate at .953 OPS even if his power if down a shade from last year.
Trading Holliday would be a bold move, but the more likely pawn is lefty reliever Brian Fuentes. His 3.94 ERA (4.16 xFIP) makes Fuentes very useful for a contending team in need of a southpaw – of which there are too many to mention.
Next up to pull the ripcord on 2008 are the San Diego Padres at 33-52. They have been the most disappointing team of the season in dollar amounts, losing 22.65 units thus far, and have seen their World Series odds plummet from 22-1 to 125-1. How bad are things in San Diego? The Fathers were just swept by the 31-51 Seattle Mariners. At home.
San Diego is keeping hope alive for a comeback in the National League West; after all, the Padres are “only” 9½ games behind the 42-42 Arizona Diamondbacks for the division lead. But barring a big move up the standings between now and the All-Star Game, the Padres will be sellers. The names on the block: Brian Giles, Greg Maddux and Randy Wolf. Expect Wolf (4.13 ERA, 4.11 xFIP) to go elsewhere if anyone does; he’ll make a great rent-a-pitcher for an NL contender like the Cubs (3-1).
The strangest rumor comes from the aforementioned Mariners, who reports suggest are willing to get rid of Erik Bedard (3.79 ERA, 4.42 xFIP) after half a season. This is an organization that is trying to regain public confidence after the disastrous Bill Bavasi regime, which led the M’s from 28-1 on the World Series futures market to dead last at 1000-1.
Bedard has been criticized up and down in the press for his attitude. Don’t believe the hype. Bedard’s attitude problem is that he doesn’t like to talk to the press, and it’s certainly not his fault that Bavasi gave up too much to get him from the Baltimore Orioles. Bedard’s back spasms should already scare away potential suitors like the Phillies and Yankees.
While we’re at it, let’s defuse the annual Ken Griffey Jr. trade rumors. Especially those that have him going back to Seattle. This is one of those writer-driven stories that are always good for some cheap eyeballs. Besides, Griffey has a .743 OPS and just 10 home runs at the halfway point of the season. Contenders don’t trade for players like that.
