Dodgers Actively Looking for CF to Replace Bellinger…..Would you trade Mullins?

[owknows]

6 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Depends on how much defense or offense you are willing to give up if you go inhouse options. I think Elias would probably go outside of the org to fill that hole because I don't think Cowser is ready and even if you did, range wise Cowser is going to be step down from Mullins. 

McKenna is the best option defensively of current options, but you know the limitations on the bat. this is where you trade from your infield prospect depth.

Agree those are the best choices right now. Cowser will ultimately end up a corner guy. I keep rooting for McKenna to hit... he's slowly improving.. but he needs to take a step up to stick.

A year from now, I'm hoping we're saying Haskins. I think he's under-rated and gonna surprise some people.

These are relevant questions though.. I hear Mullins being mentioned in a lot of trade possibilities. And I'm guessing he's gonna be traded somewhere in the ARB years. Don't see him as a big contract piece here.

 

[Tony-OH]

1 minute ago, owknows said:

Agree those are the best choices right now. Cowser will ultimately end up a corner guy. I keep rooting for McKenna to hit... he's slowly improving.. but he needs to take a step up to stick.

A year from now, I'm hoping we're saying Haskins. I think he's under-rated and gonna surprise some people.

The best defensive center fielder in the system right now is Jud Fabian and if he continues hit at all he could be fast tracked. Obviously I'm not high on Haskins but it could be an upgrade over McKenna bat wise.

[owknows]

8 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

The best defensive center fielder in the system right now is Jud Fabian and if he continues hit at all he could be fast tracked. Obviously I'm not high on Haskins but it could be an upgrade over McKenna bat wise.

I was looking at the new crop as two years out...

As for Haskins... his OPS went (by month) from pretty much .600, to .700 to 800 to 900 (May-June-July-Aug)

I think his broken thumb from late the prior year was a big setback.

Holding out hope that he's a beast this year... guess we'll see.

[Tony-OH]

52 minutes ago, owknows said:

I was looking at the new crop as two years out...

As for Haskins... his OPS went (by month) from pretty much .600, to .700 to 800 to 900 (May-June-July-Aug)

I think his broken thumb from late the prior year was a big setback.

Holding out hope that he's a beast this year... guess we'll see.

First seven games of the season .560/.593/1.160/1.753 

Rest of year .243/.353/.406/.759 over 439 PAs. 

Ended the year : .211/.356/.338/.694 over last 89 PAs

.328 OBP when you take away the 24 HBP. 

Below average arm. Ok side to side but not the quickness you really want in CF. 

Orioles think so much of him in CF they started him there 8 times in his last 37 games while they gave playing time to Zach Watson and others.

He's a 4th outfielder type at best, but even if his bat suddenly gets better, he's better suited in LF at Camden Yards.

 

[OriolesMagic83]

9 hours ago, owknows said:

I'd go Mullins and Mateo for May and Bauer.

I'm not a fan of Bauer's off field behavior and I'll just leave it at that.  Would definitely do Mullins and Mateo for May and one of the Dodger's pitching prospects.  Probably have to add one of the O's hitting prospects.

[Paul in Virginia]

Didn't see this posted elsewhere.  Wasn't sure it deserved its own thread, but it IS eye-opening:

 

Connolly: Cedric Mullins’ value just soared thanks to one lucrative deal in New York - The Athletic

 

Nimmo is probably the best comp available for Mullins given that they are nearly the same age, play the same position, both hit leadoff, et cetera.

And that’s terrible news for the Orioles. Because an argument can be made that Mullins is better than Nimmo and should cost more to retain — especially with basic inflation over the next three years, assuming Mullins continues the path he has forged in the last two seasons.......

Most important, the Orioles want Mullins around to patrol center field. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the club hasn’t shopped Mullins this winter and appears highly unlikely to trade him because he embodies the team’s current blueprint for success: High-quality and high-character homegrown players.

There also isn’t anyone in the system who can play as strong of a center field as Mullins, and that’s key to Elias’ and manager Brandon Hyde’s up-the-middle defensive strategy.

Certainly, the Orioles could get a significant return for Mullins in the trade market. And, if the Orioles are still in rebuilding mode, perhaps a 28-year-old isn’t a perfect fit for the future of the organization.

Yet Nimmo’s deal proves just how valuable Mullins could be and how much it would cost to try to find a similar player on the open market.

[Frobby]

7 minutes ago, Paul in Virginia said:

Didn't see this posted elsewhere.  Wasn't sure it deserved its own thread, but it IS eye-opening:

 

Connolly: Cedric Mullins’ value just soared thanks to one lucrative deal in New York - The Athletic

 

Nimmo is probably the best comp available for Mullins given that they are nearly the same age, play the same position, both hit leadoff, et cetera.

And that’s terrible news for the Orioles. Because an argument can be made that Mullins is better than Nimmo and should cost more to retain — especially with basic inflation over the next three years, assuming Mullins continues the path he has forged in the last two seasons.......

Most important, the Orioles want Mullins around to patrol center field. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the club hasn’t shopped Mullins this winter and appears highly unlikely to trade him because he embodies the team’s current blueprint for success: High-quality and high-character homegrown players.

There also isn’t anyone in the system who can play as strong of a center field as Mullins, and that’s key to Elias’ and manager Brandon Hyde’s up-the-middle defensive strategy.

Certainly, the Orioles could get a significant return for Mullins in the trade market. And, if the Orioles are still in rebuilding mode, perhaps a 28-year-old isn’t a perfect fit for the future of the organization.

Yet Nimmo’s deal proves just how valuable Mullins could be and how much it would cost to try to find a similar player on the open market.

It’s stuff like this that makes Connolly worthless as an analyst.  Nimmo is a much better, more consistent hitter than Mullins.   And, just because the Mets overpaid for him does not mean that Mullins is going to get some king’s ransom when he’s a free agent.  Yes, Mullins is the better defender, but when it comes to getting paid, the bat is king.   

In short, Mullins is a valuable player but the Nimmo contract is irrelevant to his value.  
 

[Sports Guy]

May for Mullins would be really nice.

[RZNJ]

14 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

First seven games of the season .560/.593/1.160/1.753 

Rest of year .243/.353/.406/.759 over 439 PAs. 

Ended the year : .211/.356/.338/.694 over last 89 PAs

.328 OBP when you take away the 24 HBP. 

Below average arm. Ok side to side but not the quickness you really want in CF. 

Orioles think so much of him in CF they started him there 8 times in his last 37 games while they gave playing time to Zach Watson and others.

He's a 4th outfielder type at best, but even if his bat suddenly gets better, he's better suited in LF at Camden Yards.

 

I’m not a big Haskins believer.  He was up and down. It’s curious he only played over 20 games in two months.  One of those was August and it was a very strong month with a .926 OPS.   He did finish poorly in September.  It looks like he opened up his stance so still making adjustments searching for success.  I’d call last year progress but he needs to take a big step to be considered a future regular.

[MarCakes21]

15 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

May for Mullins would be really nice.

This is the deal you make, but if there's one for two of their top 3 MiL SPs, you do that too.

I doubt either are on the table.

[Sports Guy]

32 minutes ago, MarCakes21 said:

This is the deal you make, but if there's one for two of their top 3 MiL SPs, you do that too.

I doubt either are on the table.

I doubt it too but Mullins is a real player and they do have 6 or 7 starter options plus what’s in the minors and they can still go buy someone too. 

[banks703]

25 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I doubt it too but Mullins is a real player and they do have 6 or 7 starter options plus what’s in the minors and they can still go buy someone too. 

Affirmative .. The controversial idea of them throwing in Bauer was only that if the Dodgers really valued Mullins, throw in another guy from their side to sweeten the deal (though I argue Mullins for May straight up is favorable to the O's). Given that they are going to cut ties with Bauer anyway and once he is reinstated he will recoup salary from LAD, they will more than likely want to get something for him. Braddish? Kremer? Mateo?

 

LAD have two holes at SS and CF. The Orioles have holes in the rotation. Controversial thought aside, whether or not Bauer is an option for Baltimore is irrelevant if in a deal with them there are two starters coming back to Baltimore. May + for Mullins and Mateo makes a lot of sense from and for both teams. 

 

Is it realistic? Probably not but if you could pair Dustin May with Grayson Rodriguez to anchor your rotation for the next three to five years, without giving up any of your top rated young talent, I think you have to do it. 

 

 

[Aristotelian]

5 minutes ago, banks703 said:

LAD have two holes at SS and CF. The Orioles have holes in the rotation. Controversial thought aside, whether or not Bauer is an option for Baltimore is irrelevant if in a deal with them there are two starters coming back to Baltimore. May + for Mullins and Mateo makes a lot of sense from and for both teams. 

 

Is it realistic? Probably not but if you could pair Dustin May with Grayson Rodriguez to anchor your rotation for the next three to five years, without giving up any of your top rated young talent, I think you have to do it. 

 

 

Dodgers will be looking to trade prospects, not core members of their starting rotation. Makes more sense for them to go after Reynolds and offer prospects until Pittsburgh says yes. 

[banks703]

33 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Dodgers will be looking to trade prospects, not core members of their starting rotation. Makes more sense for them to go after Reynolds and offer prospects until Pittsburgh says yes. 

They have as many as seven or eight legitimate major league starter options right now. I realize that you can never have too much starting pitching but if they realistically want major league level players to plug into SS and/or CF, they're going to have to deal from their current assets. 

 

I suppose that you could entertain Bobby Miller and Ryan Pepiot for Mullins or Mateo but certainly not both and I doubt that they would deal both of those top 100 pitching prospects for only one of our guys. I suppose they could offer one of them and add in one of their OF prospects but I don't know if that makes sense to the Orioles. Perhaps for Mateo but I don't see LAD doing that. 

 

The Pirates aren't moving Bryan Reynolds. He's the face of their franchise. It would take a haul that the Dodgers simply would not offer as he is the younger, superior player to Mullins by a pretty wide margin. 

Edited December 21, 2022 by banks703

[Aristotelian]

11 minutes ago, banks703 said:

They have as many as seven or eight legitimate major league starter options right now. I realize that you can never have too much starting pitching but if they realistically want major league level players to plug into SS and/or CF, they're going to have to deal from their current assets. 

 

I suppose that you could entertain Bobby Miller and Ryan Pepiot for Mullins or Mateo but certainly not both and I doubt that they would deal both of those top 100 pitching prospects for only one of our guys. I suppose they could offer one of them and add in one of their OF prospects but I don't know if that makes sense to the Orioles. Perhaps for Mateo but I don't see LAD doing that. 

 

The Pirates aren't moving Bryan Reynolds. He's the face of their franchise. It would take a haul that the Dodgers simply would not offer as he is the younger, superior player to Mullins by a pretty wide margin. 

It is crazy how deep they are that May could be expendable. Hate to lose Mullins but I'd be interested. A sneaky move might be something like Mateo for Buehler. Who says no to that one? 

As for the Pirates, the face of their franchise has publicly said he wants to play for another team. We'll see.