Be Like Tike

Monday, July 23rd, 2007 by Adam Wagner

Dealing With the Pirate Trade Rumors

As the trade deadline nears, the inevitable rumors have begun hopping about. Experts are predicting that this year’s trade deadline is going to be one of the most boring ever, but the Pirates still seem to have four or five commodities that could be traded, like usual. It seems almost as if Dave Littlefield has become so used to being a seller at the deadline that he can’t help but attempt to sell the farm as soon as it seems as if his team is out of contention, not to mention that he seems to keep getting AAAA right-handed relief pitchers in return for his major league players. With that said, though, this is a Pirate team that does have the type of players that contenders are looking for, with the very good relief pitchers and solid middle infielders.

With that said, the rumors that Littlefield is asking for Troy Glaus and (potentially) Alex Rios for SS Jack Wilson are absurd. If Littlefield actually did ask for either one of those two players, he is simply pipe-dreaming. Granted, Glaus has a huge contract, but would the Blue Jays either have the $6 million that they would save by trading Jack or a power hitting third baseman? The idea of over-asking in the first offer makes sense, maybe someone will say yes eventually, but asking for a Troy Glaus for a mediocre shortstop is insane. That’s the way to alienate other teams, not to convince someone to give more for your talent. The Pirates would be smarter to wait on trading Wilson until the off season, when they can probably receive more value for the shortstop. Right now, not very many teams are willing to give up very much for Wilson simply because they see no need to. This off season, however, more teams will feel a need for a shortstop and Littlefield will be able to receive more in market value in return for the Pirate mainstay.

The other middle infielder who has been mentioned in trade rumors recently is 2B/3B/potential SS Jose Castillo, who seems as if he desperately needs a change of scenery. Castillo is certainly a slick fielder, but he has no place on the Pirates and simply does not hit when given the opportunity. A team like the Mets would be the ideal situation for him, but they recently shot down the trade rumors, stating that they were happy with Ruben Gotay at second base. Castillo should be gone before the deadline, probably for not very much value in return. He will be one of those players who we are whining about in the middle of next season when it looks like he’s about to become an all-star second baseman. It would not, however, be a bad idea to get rid of him (see Perez, Oliver).

One player who looks almost certain to be traded is Salomon Torres, who has recently been rumored to be desired by Boston in return for Wily Mo Pena. This trade would be interesting, as Pena has definitely shown flashes of talent in his career and could eventually develop into a very good power hitter. Chris Duffy is certainly a worse potential stopgap option in CF than Pena in the Wait for McCutchen. If Littlefield pulls off that move and Tracy is willing to sacrifice defense in CF (meaning playing Pena there and Nady/Doumit in RF), Littlefield will have made a potentially very good trade, as Torres isn’t going to get any better, while Pena’s ceiling is very high.

If the Pirates do receive Pena, however, it would probably be in a trade for Damaso Marte, the lights-out lefty. This would still be a solid trade, as the Pirates would still be receiving a potentially very good hitter for a relief pitcher, which is always a good deal. Marte is by far the most valuable of the Pirates’ chips this season, though, at least ones likely to be trade. They should be trying to get a major league player for him, and Pena fits the bill.

Other rumored pitchers include Shawn Chacon, who will have some value but is still a pending free agent. They will receive another Jesse Chavez for him.

In one of the more interesting trade rumors, apparently Littlefield is willing to trade Ian Snell for either catcher/first baseman Jarrod Saltalamacchia or outfielder Matt Kemp. Neither trade would be a bad idea, as Salty is one of the all-star catchers of the future and Kemp is a budding superstar who has simply not gotten a chance yet. With that said, if teams are asking for one of the young aces, Littlefield should be trying to give up Gorzelanny. Gorzo has a much better chance at experiencing Zach Duke Syndrome (granted, he has better stuff) and Snell also has this way of simply getting better. For anyone who is hesitant to trade young pitching, look at Mark Prior, Brien Taylor, Kerry Wood, Kris Benson, Oliver Perez, and Dontrelle Willis (whose value is beginning to drop). Young pitchers have to be traded while they are still young and still very good simply because the odds of them continuing that success are minimal. Position players have a much lower chance of total failure than pitchers do. I, for one, wouldn’t mind seeing Littlefield break this team up and start completely over again, as long as he kept them entertaining while doing it.