Finding a market for Valencia

[ScGO's]

He has one marketable tool:  hitting lefthanded pitching (.890 OPS on the year).  

Here is a list of the teams with the worst hitting versus Lefties

1. Philladelphia - .674 OPS - 26th in the league

2. Milwaukee  - .680 OPS Worst in the NL Central

3. San Francisco - .693 OPS Worst in NL West

4.  Saint Louis - .698 OPS

5. Oakland - .702 OPS 10th in the AL

6. LA Dodgers - .713 OPS

The one that stands out for me is Oakland as Valencia could DH while he might be used as a pinch hitter primarily.  Seems like a Billy Beene type of player.  Probably won't get much in return, but what do you think his market is?  I'd like to see him traded in July instead of in August he's cluttering up the 3B tryouts.  He's a piece I'd like to see moved quickly for some freed up roster space.  Do any of the other competitive teams need depth at 1B or 3B? (not that a contending team would want to use him at 3B.)

 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

9 minutes ago, ScGO's said:

The one that stands out for me is Oakland as Valencia could DH while he might be used as a pinch hitter primarily.  Seems like a Billy Beene type of player.  Probably won't get much in return, but what do you think his market is?

 

Valencia didn't exactly keep his nose clean during his first A's stint. 

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2016/8/23/12602922/billy-butler-danny-valencia-fight-oakland-athletics

 

[25 Nuggets]

Philly, Milwaukee and LA... how bout that.  All three finalists for Machado.  Not much extra scouting work need be done.

[orioles119]

Valencia to Milwaukee for Jacob Gatewood... how's that?  He was # 17 of 30 on the Brewers list from MLB Pipeline before the season.  Another one to target could possibly be Chris Shaw from the Giants.

[sportsfan8703]

Great work OP. Not a glamourous project but thanks for doing the work. 

I was thinking Oak, but as another poster pointed out, he had that fight. So maybe not there. I think he fits an AL team better because of the DH. 

Steve Pearce just got traded to Boston for a non top 30 prospect, but it was for a relatively young SS who was having a good year. I think that’s a good comp for Valencia. 

Valencia was last traded from in the 2016 offseason and netted SEA’s #16 prospect. I don’t think he gets that much this time. But a reunion with SEA could be possible. We trade with them a lot. 

[DirtyBird]

I don't think a National League team will trade for him.

[weams]

 

[DirtyBird]

1 hour ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Steve Pearce just got traded to Boston for a non top 30 prospect, but it was for a relatively young SS who was having a good year. I think that’s a good comp for Valencia. 

And we traded Jonah Heim for Pearce in '16

[ScGO's]

1 hour ago, sportsfan8703 said:

But a reunion with SEA could be possible. We trade with them a lot. 

Seattle has a .740 OPS vs lefties, which is better than their .730 vs righties.  But Ryon Healy has been hitting only .633 OPS vs lefties at first base and isn't very good in my opinion. Kyle Seager hasn't been all that strong at 3B either. Cruz is a fixture at DH so no ABs for Valencia there, so Valencia might make sense as an upgrade vs lefties at 1B as Heally's OPS is .742 vs righties.

[ScGO's]

9 minutes ago, DirtyBird said:

I don't think a National League team will trade for him.

If they do, it will more likely be in August I think.  He's much more versatile in the AL.  He might only be a PH in the NL

[ScGO's]

A platoon with Cleveland's Yonder Alonso or NY's Greg Bird could make sense too as both have struggled vs lefties.

[atomic]

Valencia is below replacement level.   I don't think he has any trade value.   If the Orioles DFA him I would expect his only chance would be with another team out of the playoff picture. Players like Valencia are why we are the worst team in baseball.   I don't see a team with a chance for the playoffs letting him play for them.  Even for cash considerations.  

[Morgan423]

29 minutes ago, atomic said:

Valencia is below replacement level.  I don't think he has any trade value.

Because he has been used in the field and has played a lot.  But the fact remains that even though he's a one trick pony, he's still been good at his one trick, hitting lefties.  If we can find a team that needs a platoon DH against lefties, then Valencia would have value to them. 

Would I expect a ton back?  Of course not. But we should be able to get something minor back.

[weams]

2 hours ago, atomic said:

Valencia is below replacement level.   I don't think he has any trade value.   If the Orioles DFA him I would expect his only chance would be with another team out of the playoff picture. Players like Valencia are why we are the worst team in baseball.   I don't see a team with a chance for the playoffs letting him play for them.  Even for cash considerations.  

So your unfortunate take is that he would pass through waivers unclaimed? 

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Morgan423 said:

Because he has been used in the field and has played a lot.  But the fact remains that even though he's a one trick pony, he's still been good at his one trick, hitting lefties.  If we can find a team that needs a platoon DH against lefties, then Valencia would have value to them. 

Would I expect a ton back?  Of course not. But we should be able to get something minor back.

Probably the kind of return we got for guys like Aubrey Huff or Steve Trachsel back in the day.    But you might get lucky with one of those guys.