Friday, July 15, 2011

Potential Trade Targets


Buy low and sell high is something you often hear thrown around in fantasy sports, but Alex Anthopoulos has used this technique in his trades since taking over as GM.

He bought low on Brandon Morrow by moving Brandon League and OF Johermyn Chavez after they both had strong seasons. He bought low on Yunel Escobar with an aging shortstop who had an outstanding 1/2 season (Alex Gonzalez). In his best move yet, he moved OF Vernon Wells after a strong bounce back season in January.

Most buy low situations come up in the trade market, but Anthopoulos has also bought low on the free agent market with players like John Buck.

With the MLB trade deadline coming up I thought I would take a look at a few players who could be targets for Anthopoulos to ask about. There is one player in particular that I think could be a good player to go after.

SS Hanley Ramirez
This is a player who is in the line of the Yunel Escobar type. He is an outstanding talent with a track record of success in the past. The Dominican infielder is in a down year by his standards and is not on the best of terms with his front office and fan base. At just 27 years old I think he could be bought for a high price, albeit not the price it would have taken in previous years. Ramirez is currently playing short, but could potentially play second for the Jays in the event that Aaron Hill is not brought back.

CF Colby Rasmus
This is a player that every Jays fan has heard and dreamed about playing for the team. Rasmus is on shaky grounds with the upper management and field management at the moment and it is fair to say that he is not living up to the hype that was created as he was coming up through the Cardinals system. Last year he had a breakout campaign with a .859 OPS and solid defence in CF. The 24 year old is struggling a bit this year with a .742 OPS.

RP Joakim Soria
The Royals closer has had a bit of a rough year (by his standards) with an ERA above four and a reduced K/9 IP. At just 27 years old you would think he would be in the prime of his career and could be had for prospects.

SP Edinson Volquez
Volquez had a great year in 2008, as a 24 year old after being traded for Josh Hamilton, but has failed to replicate that success in recent seasons. He has maintained the strong strikeout rates, but has given up more base runners. A lot of the base runners come via the base on balls and that is something that has been pretty consistent in the last three seasons. If the Jays could get Volquez into their system and work with him they may be able to find success.

These are just a few names that popped into my head when I thought of underachieving talents.
Obviously you have to give up something to get something and some of these teams are still in contention for 2011, but if the right deal can be made for both teams Toronto could benefit both short and long term.

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