The Orioles get these two trades done and we are contenders in the AL East...

[markakis8]

EDIT: I'll keep this original post, but I'm now just sold on landing Zobrist.

None of you are going to agree with these trades and I'm okay with it. But I think if the Orioles make these two trades, we can win the godawful, pathetic AL East.

We need another power bat. Who the hell is out there that is trade bait? Tulo? Doesn't make sense, what do we do with Hardy? Let's go with Ryan Howard. The Phillies have agreed to take on all but $10 mil of his remaining contract. The only way we get him is if the Amaro honors this agreement.

Orioles get:

Ryan Howard at $10 mil next 1 3/4 years.

Phillies get:

Tyler Wilson

Christian Walker

Howard is Chris Davis part deux (or vice versa)...but we are in an era where it is all power and strikeouts with above average pitching (Houston Astros 2015 anyone? How about the Orioles of 2014?) Howard will easily hit 20 HR for us in the DH/occasional 1B role. We won't need Walker. I think the Phillies take 2 quasi-MLB ready players to dump Howard.

I said this in the offseason when the Rays were shopping him, but we NEED Ben Zobrist. I was crucified for offering up Schoop for him (maybe rightfully so) but we now need him and I think now is the best time to get him. The Cubs want him. He can play 2B, fill in at SS, play the corner OF and easily get us OBP (which we desperately need) and has some pop. I'm willing to cough up some decent, yet not top-tier prospects to get him. I don't think it would take much as he would be a 3/4 rental.

Orioles get:

Ben Zobrist

Athletics get:

Adrian Marin

Mychel Givens

We just traded De Aza, got rid of Wilson...so we designate freaking Everth Cabrera...add Zobrist and Howard. Our most frequent lineup:

2B Zobrist

3B Machado

CF Jones

1B Davis

LF Young

DH Howard

RF Pearce/Snider

SS Hardy

C Joseph

And it all gets sweeter when Wieters gets back.

We'll have Flaherty, Lough, Paredes (starting somewhere depending on how hot he is), and Clevenger on the bench.

Either Pearce or Paredes is DFA eventually (let's face it, Paredes is just another David Newhan, don't get attached).

[paulcoates]

Davis and Howard in our lineup? Maybe we can bring Adam Dunn out of retirement.

[Tx Oriole]

None of you are going to agree with these trades and I'm okay with it. But I think if the Orioles make these two trades, we can win the godawful, pathetic AL East.

We need another power bat. Who the hell is out there that is trade bait? Tulo? Doesn't make sense, what do we do with Hardy? Let's go with Ryan Howard. The Phillies have agreed to take on all but $10 mil of his remaining contract. The only way we get him is if the Amaro honors this agreement.

Orioles get:

Ryan Howard at $10 mil next 1 3/4 years.

Phillies get:

Tyler Wilson

Christian Walker

Howard is Chris Davis part deux (or vice versa)...but we are in an era where it is all power and strikeouts with above average pitching (Houston Astros 2015 anyone? How about the Orioles of 2014?) Howard will easily hit 20 HR for us in the DH/occasional 1B role. We won't need Walker. I think the Phillies take 2 quasi-MLB ready players to dump Howard.

I said this in the offseason when the Rays were shopping him, but we NEED Ben Zobrist. I was crucified for offering up Schoop for him (maybe rightfully so) but we now need him and I think now is the best time to get him. The Cubs want him. He can play 2B, fill in at SS, play the corner OF and easily get us OBP (which we desperately need) and has some pop. I'm willing to cough up some decent, yet not top-tier prospects to get him. I don't think it would take much as he would be a 3/4 rental.

Orioles get:

Ben Zobrist

Athletics get:

Adrian Marin

Mychel Givens

We just traded De Aza, got rid of Wilson...so we designate freaking Everth Cabrera...add Zobrist and Howard. Our most frequent lineup:

2B Zobrist

3B Machado

CF Jones

1B Davis

LF Young

DH Howard

RF Pearce/Snider

SS Hardy

C Joseph

And it all gets sweeter when Wieters gets back.

We'll have Flaherty, Lough, Paredes (starting somewhere depending on how hot he is), and Clevenger on the bench.

Either Pearce or Paredes is DFA eventually (let's face it, Paredes is just another David Newhan, don't get attached).

Sorry but I disagree with trades.

[markakis8]

Davis and Howard in our lineup? Maybe we can bring Adam Dunn out of retirement.

It would be foolish at this point for us to turn down paying $5 mil a year to Howard to DH for us. He would have the 4th best OPS on our team (with at least 100 PA's) behind Machado, Davis, and Jones (barely).

Would you rather have Steve Pearce with an OPS of .650 and 6 HR, striking out 31 times or Ryan Howard with an OPS of .780, 10 HR and striking out 50 times? They are essentially the same price and one has potential to hit 30 HR.

It's really an easy choice.

[ArtVanDelay]

I seriously doubt the Athletics won't have much better offers than that for Zobrist.

And why would we give the Phillies Wilson and Walker if they aren't eating the whole contract? They will have to eat the whole contract to get 1 mediocre prospect in return.

[Three Run Homer]

I think the Phillies would go for that trade. I think the A's could get more for Zobrist, however. Adrian Marin doesn't look like a prospect at all, and Givens is a good relief prospect.

[markakis8]

I seriously doubt the Athletics won't have much better offers than that for Zobrist.

And why would we give the Phillies Wilson and Walker if they aren't eating the whole contract? They will have to eat the whole contract to get 1 mediocre prospect in return.

Do you think Wilson and Walker are going to impact our team in the future? They are MLB ready, yet mediocre players, at best. The Phillies eating 80% of Howard's contract easily warrants giving up those two.

[markakis8]

I think the Phillies would go for that trade. I think the A's could get more for Zobrist, however. Adrian Marin doesn't look like a prospect at all, and Givens is a good relief prospect.

I actually agree here. I tried fiddling with 3 prospects, but settled on a young SS with minimal upside and a big SO RP (both of which the A's like). Factoring in Zobrist will most likely leave the Orioles after the 2015 season, the trade seems okay. I do agree the A's will get a better offer. And I would have no problem upping the ante.

I didn't dare post what I would easily offer a 1-on-1 trade for Zobrist, knowing I would get burned at the stakes, but I'm biased towards him.

[ArtVanDelay]

Do you think Wilson and Walker are going to impact our team in the future? They are MLB ready, yet mediocre players, at best. The Phillies eating 80% of Howard's contract easily warrants giving up those two.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/reassessing-ryan-howards-trade-value/

I don’t think Howard, at this point, is completely valueless. But it is close. So close that the Phillies can’t realistically expect anything if they don’t offer to pay everything. And if they do pay everything, then they could return a projectable player in the lower levels, or maybe an intriguing pitcher with injury questions. Maybe even a guy on the level of Ian Thomas, who the Dodgers picked up Wednesday. Not that the Dodgers would want Howard, but Thomas is fresh in my mind.

Given the slight return, you wonder if it’s even worth it. Maybe the Phillies should just keep Howard and ride him out. He’s not exactly blocking the next big thing, not at the moment, and he’s decently productive and a link to a more successful past. The Phillies don’t need to give Howard away to hit for someone else. That’s on them to evaluate. And in the meanwhile, it would be swell if Howard kept on slugging, because more teams are looking to trade in June than in May, and the more of this that happens, the less the recent past is remembered. At this point, it’s just a mediocre player on a hot streak. Streaks that last two months carry more weight than streaks that last one.

In other words, Walker and Wilson would be a MASSIVE overpay.

[sportsfan8703]

Desperate times bring out desperation trades and ideas. No thanks.

Trumbo was the guy to get. I'm still all about getting Josh Reddick. I've seen enough of just throwing a group of guys out there and hoping one sticks. Pearce, Young, Lough, Snider, De Aza this year. We don't have the positional talent to do a quick makeover in the offseason. Reddick can help now and for next year. And has a GG. Overpay. Gotta do something.

[markakis8]

No, we don't. If you show patience in Pearce, he'll start to hit again. Snider probably will too although I'm not as confident there. Davis looks much better lately. Wieters and Joseph should be a decent catching platoon. We need a middle of the order. We need Pearce, Davis, and Jones to hit at the same time.

I don't understand why you guys think Pearce is going to come around. Is he going to have an OPS of .603 (so pathetic) the rest of the year? Probably not. I would put money on it going up. But by how much? What does he REALLY offer us? He's a guess hitter at best.

I would love to have him as a RH bat off the bench but I would be shocked if he gets to .725 OPS this year.

I have to shake my head at how O's fan wouldn't cough up a couple mediocre prospects for an OPS of .750-.800 with 30 HR power and have to only shell out $5 million - the same amount we pay De Aza,. I literally laugh out loud at "massive overpay." We would be getting Chris Davis at 2/5 the price.

[ArtVanDelay]

I don't understand why you guys think Pearce is going to come around. Is he going to have an OPS of .603 (so pathetic) the rest of the year? Probably not. I would put money on it going up. But by how much? What does he REALLY offer us? He's a guess hitter at best.

I would love to have him as a RH bat off the bench but I would be shocked if he gets to .725 OPS this year.

I have to shake my head at how O's fan wouldn't cough up a couple mediocre prospects for an OPS of .750-.800 with 30 HR power and have to only shell out $5 million - the same amount we pay De Aza,. I literally laugh out loud at "massive overpay." We would be getting Chris Davis at 2/5 the price.

The FanGraphs article suggests a 28 year old non-prospect for Howard AND the Phillies eating the entire contract. And you want to give up 2 major league caliber prospects who both have 6 years of team control left.

That makes me laugh of loud - and shows an astounding amount of ignorance on your part.

[Jonesy10]

Or just get Reddick instead of Howard.

DH Zobrist

3B Machado

RF Reddick

CF Jones

1B Davis

LF Pearce/Snider

C Wieters

SS Hardy

2B Schoop

Shuffle Zobrist between LF/2B/SS/DH

[ArtVanDelay]

Or just get Reddick instead of Howard.

DH Zobrist

3B Machado

RF Reddick

CF Jones

1B Davis

LF Pearce/Snider

C Wieters

SS Hardy

2B Schoop

Shuffle Zobrist between LF/2B/SS/DH

Zobrist would be a much better LF option than Pearce/Snider.

[Herman]

Anyone who didn't see something like this coming was wearing the blinders. The front office should have addressed the team needs in the offseason but they were too cheap. It was foolish to count on Chris Davis bouncing back, Steve Pearce not regressing, Travis Snider being an everyday player, Matt Wieters being healthy and not having a reasonable leadoff hitter. The front office could have addressed some of the issues in the offseason but they chose to be cheap. It's a shame