Zrebiec: Bartlett and LaRoche are top targets

[waroriole]

Uggghhh, don't trade Reimold for Bartlett. That's stupid.

[Going Underground]

I don't know how tuned in grimed1 is but he intimated that Nolan's off field issues are significant.

Can"t confirm or deny. But I don't think he endeared himself to Oriole management.Probably good for a change of scenery.

[DrungoHazewood]

Pelzer will not be on Orioles by Friday IMO. He'll get grabbed in Rule 5 with Adams and Beato.

Unlikely, but even if that happens the odds are most or all of them will be back come spring.

[Can_of_corn]

Can"t confirm or deny. But I don't think he endeared himself to Oriole management.Probably good for a change of scenery.

Be that as it may, at least get something more for him then just Bartlett. Bartlett is a salary dump in decline on a one year contract and everyone knows it.

[lordbrook]

Be that as it may, at least get something more for him then just Bartlett. Bartlett is a salary dump in decline on a one year contract and everyone knows it.

Agreed. Nolan has enough talent that we shouldn't just give him away.

[DrungoHazewood]

Uggghhh, don't trade Reimold for Bartlett. That's stupid.

I don't like their relative upsides, but look at it from the Rays' perspective. They're trading their regular shortstop, a guy who got MVP votes a couple years ago and really isn't that old, for a player whose issues got so bad in 2010 that he put up a .738 OPS in AAA as a 26-year-old.

Maybe he can be fixed, maybe not, but he put up the same batting line as Brandon Snyder last year at Norfolk. Reimold is three years older than Snyder and everyone is pretty close to giving up on Snyder.

This would be a trade of a couple guys with some serious question marks.

[Dannyboy]

Maybe they are opening outfield space so they will have a place for Crawford to play?:scratchchinhmm:, Well, one can only hope anyway.

[Gofannon]

Good Lord, Jason Bartlett got six votes for AL MVP two years ago?

Were those 6 of the 7 people who voted for Robin Ventura to make the Hall of Fame back in January?

[waroriole]

I don't like their relative upsides, but look at it from the Rays' perspective. They're trading their regular shortstop, a guy who got MVP votes a couple years ago and really isn't that old, for a player whose issues got so bad in 2010 that he put up a .738 OPS in AAA as a 26-year-old.

Maybe he can be fixed, maybe not, but he put up the same batting line as Brandon Snyder last year at Norfolk. Reimold is three years older than Snyder and everyone is pretty close to giving up on Snyder.

This would be a trade of a couple guys with some serious question marks.

Yeah, I understand your point, but there is a solid upside to Reimold that isn't there with Bartlett. If Bartlett does come close to his '09 season, then we either lose him to FA, or sign him to a stupid contract. Reimold is still under control for 5 years, so if he has a good turn around the Rays make out like bandits.

Also, I don't know about Bartlett's ability to play SS any more.

[hoosiers]

I don't like their relative upsides, but look at it from the Rays' perspective. They're trading their regular shortstop, a guy who got MVP votes a couple years ago and really isn't that old, for a player whose issues got so bad in 2010 that he put up a .738 OPS in AAA as a 26-year-old.

Maybe he can be fixed, maybe not, but he put up the same batting line as Brandon Snyder last year at Norfolk. Reimold is three years older than Snyder and everyone is pretty close to giving up on Snyder.

This would be a trade of a couple guys with some serious question marks.

I like Reimold as much as most here, but this is a pretty good summary.

It's a massive improvement at SS for the Os and NR has not been so productive overall the past two years - save for the first two or so months of 2009. We are giving away the upside of a not-so-young Reimold (though he could pan out into a Luke Scott type) while opening up LF for Pie/Jones, Scott or perhaps another option while we have Avery and Hoes starting next year in AA. It will be interesting to see what we do in LF if we deal NR.

[DrungoHazewood]

Good Lord, Jason Bartlett got six votes for AL MVP two years ago?

He was the designated vote-getter for all those folks who needed to give credit for the Rays' defensive performance. There's a long precedent for that type of thing. Rabbit Maranville finished 12th in the 1933 MVP race in a season where he was a 41-year-old second baseman with a .539 OPS.

Were those 6 of the 7 people who voted for Robin Ventura to make the Hall of Fame back in January?

Robin Ventura's career was significantly better than the lowest tier of Hall of Famers, including the recently elected Jim Rice. Ventura was about on par with Andre Dawson, Bill Dickey, Enos Slaughter, Bill Terry, Joe Kelley, Elmer Flick, and Joe Medwick.

[Sports Guy]

Be that as it may, at least get something more for him then just Bartlett. Bartlett is a salary dump in decline on a one year contract and everyone knows it.

But what if you can't? What if this is the best you can do?

At least with Bartlett, if he can put up a semi-decent year, he should be worth a pick or 2.

Maybe we can get lucky and he has a bounce back year and gets overrated at the deadline like Alex Gonzalez did this past year?

I don't like the trade because I have a very high opinion of Reimold and how he plays the game. But I can see a lot of reasons why you make this trade and if AM does make this trade, i think it speaks volumes of how the organization perceives Reimold.

One thing we can all agree on is that AM has been pretty good in the trade department.

[TiredofLosing20]

I like Reimold as much as most here, but this is a pretty good summary.

It's a massive improvement at SS for the Os and NR has not been so productive overall the past two years - save for the first two or so months of 2009. We are giving away the upside of a not-so-young Reimold (though he could pan out into a Luke Scott type) while opening up LF for Pie/Jones, Scott or perhaps another option while we have Avery and Hoes starting next year in AA. It will be interesting to see what we do in LF if we deal NR.

And if he is their everyday LF it will be a pretty significant downgrade the Rays outfield with the loss of Crawford.

[TiredofLosing20]

He was the designated vote-getter for all those folks who needed to give credit for the Rays' defensive performance. There's a long precedent for that type of thing. Rabbit Maranville finished 12th in the 1933 MVP race in a season where he was a 41-year-old second baseman with a .539 OPS

Rabbit Maranville... really.. You are a sick sick man...:laughlol:

[waroriole]

But what if you can't? What if this is the best you can do?

At least with Bartlett, if he can put up a semi-decent year, he should be worth a pick or 2.

The picks are a big draw in favor of the trade. Right now, he is very comfortably a Type A (though that factors in his '09) and will almost certainly be at least a Type B next year. So, there is one pick with the possibility of 2 if he has a nice season. That is probably worth more than Reimold at this point.