Should we trade Britton in the offseason?

[mcgraw238]

So you solve two holes, by creating a rather large hole?

Sorry, and with the chances of O'Day being gone, no thank you, whatsoever.

What rather large hole? Closer? I knew it was only a matter of time before the whose gonna close question presented itself. What good is a closer on an 80 win team?

[dennis wise]

I really think Britton could bring us back two starting players in a trade. A big series for us to watch will be the Mets vs. Dodgers 1st rd. These are two big market teams that have the right players for a Britton trade. Of course the Dodgers are a fit because they have ton of talent and a huge payroll. Maybe some of these trades would work

Briton and Ubaldo for Ethier and Puig/Wood/Pederson

Britton for Lee and Urias

Britton for Puig and Wood/Pederson

Britton for Wood and Lee and Van slyke.

This team is going to have to make trades. By trading Britton we could fill a hole in our rotation and in our position players. Hopefully leads are blown in the playoffs by big market teams.

You're out of your mind if you think the Dodgers are gonna trade away one of their young cost controlled outfielders for a reliever. I know Britton is elite but you're not getting Puig or Pederson unless the Orioles give up more.

[Redskins Rick]

What rather large hole? Closer? I knew it was only a matter of time before the whose gonna close question presented itself. What good is a closer on an 80 win team?

So you assume, you are going to get two quality starters for one closer?

Sometimes, the closer can make the difference for a playoff contender.

[mcgraw238]

So you assume, you are going to get two quality starters for one closer?

Sometimes, the closer can make the difference for a playoff contender.

The goal should be to get at least two quality pieces when given up an asset such as Britton. I agree closer is a difference maker for a playoff contender and is an integral piece; I don't see a playoff contender by the baseball team that plays 1/2 of its games near Baltimore's inner harbor. Perhaps the club will dazzle us with the moves made with all the payroll flexibility this offseason, but I'm skeptical the moves will be made to position the club to be a playoff contender.

[Redskins Rick]

The goal should be to get at least two quality pieces when given up an asset such as Britton. I agree closer is a difference maker for a playoff contender and is an integral piece; I don't see a playoff contender by the baseball team that plays 1/2 of its games near Baltimore's inner harbor. Perhaps the club will dazzle us with the moves made with all the payroll flexibility this offseason, but I'm skeptical the moves will be made to position the club to be a playoff contender.

Wasn't this team, a playoff contender for the previous 3 seasons?

I agree, they need to make some off-season moves.

But, getting rid of what appears to be an elite closer, isn't the answer.

[wildcard]

I would not trade Britton this off season. He probably makes around 5-6m next year. That is fine for an O's closer.

[mcgraw238]

Wasn't this team, a playoff contender for the previous 3 seasons?

I agree, they need to make some off-season moves.

But, getting rid of what appears to be an elite closer, isn't the answer.

The past 3 seasons have been great, but I'm not living in the past. Britton is being wasted on the 2015 roster and the 2016 roster is going to look drastically different than those clubs. If I can upgrade the quality of the roster by moving an elite closer, that is something I strongly consider. Sure there is risk involved that the acquired assets won't pan out, but that is the mandate that mid-market clubs have to follow to be competitive. There will be funds available to address a late inning role, if necessary, or the club can look to internal options and go next man up, which is how Britton became an elite closer. Let's not forget that there were rumors that DD offered up Britton for Ike Davis before the 2014 season. For now, I don't see the club having an offseason that would justify retaining an elite closer, though I fully expect Britton will be on the club in 2016.

[weams]

I really think Britton could bring us back two starting players in a trade. A big series for us to watch will be the Mets vs. Dodgers 1st rd. These are two big market teams that have the right players for a Britton trade. Of course the Dodgers are a fit because they have ton of talent and a huge payroll. Maybe some of these trades would work

Briton and Ubaldo for Ethier and Puig/Wood/Pederson

Britton for Lee and Urias

Britton for Puig and Wood/Pederson

Britton for Wood and Lee and Van slyke.

This team is going to have to make trades. By trading Britton we could fill a hole in our rotation and in our position players. Hopefully leads are blown in the playoffs by big market teams.

I don't believe that Britton gets those deals with out taking on extreme payroll.

[weams]

You're out of your mind if you think the Dodgers are gonna trade away one of their young cost controlled outfielders for a reliever. I know Britton is elite but you're not getting Puig or Pederson unless the Orioles give up more.

You could get Eithier, if you took on his insane contract.

[mcgraw238]

I would not trade Britton this off season. He probably makes around 5-6m next year. That is fine for an O's closer.

The club can certainly afford the price tag for Britton in 2015. The logic is to market him now to maximize the return in assets while he remains at a reasonable salary. If you think the club will make the moves to compete for a division title, then I suppose your position should be to keep him. I'm not in the camp that feels the organization will sufficiently upgrade the roster to justify keeping an elite closer. The closer position is an area that I would look to sure up once the rest of the roster is ready to compete for a division title.

[weams]

The club can certainly afford the price tag for Britton in 2015. The logic is to market him now to maximize the return in assets while he remains at a reasonable salary. If you think the club will make the moves to compete for a division title, then I suppose your position should be to keep him. I'm not in the camp that feels the organization will sufficiently upgrade the roster to justify keeping an elite closer. The closer position is an area that I would look to sure up once the rest of the roster is ready to compete for a division title.

Billy Beane believed in selling his manufactured closer. Britton and for that matter Miller, were different Beasts.

[Yardball85]

Sure. Trade Manny, Jones, Britton, Schoop, and Gausman. Go full Marlin/Astro.

C'mon Weams, that's silly. Closer has proven time and time again to be a relatively easy position to replace. Heck, Britton was almost cut Spring Training 2014 and he became the dominant closer he is. If you can get a haul for him, sure you trade him. as the OP suggests, Givens/Brach//Roe/Wright/Drake etc. could take over as a fraction of the cost.

That has nothing to do with blowing the whole thing up. It's smart maneuvering.

[mcgraw238]

Billy Beane believed in selling his manufactured closer. Britton and for that matter Miller, were different Beasts.

Sure, DD almost overpaid for one of Beane's manufactured closers only to get bailed out by the club's MD's. Britton is a different beast, which means he should fetch a premium return. Just for the record, I'm a huge Britton fan...he's an incredible player and a better person.

[sportsfan8703]

What rather large hole? Closer? I knew it was only a matter of time before the whose gonna close question presented itself. What good is a closer on an 80 win team?

Exactly. Britton has pitched in 9.2 innings over the last 28 days.

Wasn't this team, a playoff contender for the previous 3 seasons?

I agree, they need to make some off-season moves.

But, getting rid of what appears to be an elite closer, isn't the answer.

Here's the thing. It's not so much getting rid of Britton. I'll be the first to say that Britton is an elite closer, LH, and seems like a really good dude. But it's about reallocating resources. And in this instance it's about a redistribution of talent. We're going into a season with a ton of ?'s. So if you can get a SP and an everyday position player you should do it. Remember you have to have a lead through 8 innings of baseball for Britton to be at his best value. A SP and a LF/RF/1B/DH improves the chances of getting to the 8th with a lead. Right now, Britton is useless to us. He's just throwing innings to get work in.

Ethier's contract doesn't look so bad when you compare it to what Markakis got and what Parra will get. He's now only just a tad overpaid. But I'm not advocating Britton for Ethier. That was more of a high salary-high salary trade with Ubaldo and Ethier. The dodgers have a ton of talent. IF they don't win again the could get desperate. And they have a ton of corner OF types with varied salaries. We could make something work. It's not like we have to or should trade Britton. But if we could solve to holes then you have to really consider it.

[SteveO]

Exactly. Britton has pitched in 9.2 innings over the last 28 days.

Here's the thing. It's not so much getting rid of Britton. I'll be the first to say that Britton is an elite closer, LH, and seems like a really good dude. But it's about reallocating resources. And in this instance it's about a redistribution of talent. We're going into a season with a ton of ?'s. So if you can get a SP and an everyday position player you should do it. Remember you have to have a lead through 8 innings of baseball for Britton to be at his best value. A SP and a LF/RF/1B/DH improves the chances of getting to the 8th with a lead. Right now, Britton is useless to us. He's just throwing innings to get work in.

Ethier's contract doesn't look so bad when you compare it to what Markakis got and what Parra will get. He's now only just a tad overpaid. But I'm not advocating Britton for Ethier. That was more of a high salary-high salary trade with Ubaldo and Ethier. The dodgers have a ton of talent. IF they don't win again the could get desperate. And they have a ton of corner OF types with varied salaries. We could make something work. It's not like we have to or should trade Britton. But if we could solve to holes then you have to really consider it.

Win or lose I doubt they would have a desperate need for Ubaldo.

Britton is an asset that I believe you should not package with Ubaldo in an effort to simply dump Ubaldo's salary.

If your gonna entertain moving Zach, you do for the asset you get back not to dump salary.