Sunday Rockpile: Dealin' Dan Back for Business

IF Tavares and Atkins could net Kennedy and Carrasco, I’d try to get those deals done as quickly as possible. First of all, that seem to establish a starting point for the Holliday trade talks and the Rocks could use deals like that to actually inflate Holliday’s value. Second, adding two young pitchers of that caliber would leave more flexibility in the Holliday trade talks and a top position player would be a solid option at that point.

I still don’t anticipate geetting that type of value from Taveras, but who knows, maybe Willie T and a mid-level prospect could get it done.

Mets or Nats using this to make a trade that the Rockies wouldn’t. Its not likely that the Rockies would trade either of the players within their division, yet the Mets might want to trade them to the Dodgers, or to SD for Peavy?

I am still hoping Rockies keep at least one of them. It will be easier to trade Atkins since more teams will be interested. Holliday will be testing the free agent market after the 09 season and costs 13.5 million for 09 so none of the small market teams will give up much to obtain a very expensive one-year rental. Atkins has two years left before free agency and his salary will be about 5 million less than Holliday’s in 09 so small market teams won’t be afraid to trade for him.

Jason Donald from the Phils as well? I don’t believe they’d be willing to part with Carrasco for Atkins, but perhaps they’d be open to moving Donald. They really don’t have a spot for him, but I think his offensive potential is equal to that of Atkins’, at a position we could use.

Excellent post by the way, nice piece to fire up the hot stove with.

The Rockies will make Chad Cordero their next closer:

Background: The Nationals elected to non-tender Chad Cordero after a surgery to repair tears in the labrum and biceps. Obviously this is a serious injury, but Cordero expects to be ready for Spring Training. Cordero elected for free agency when he refused an assignment to Triple A

What’s in it for the Rockies?: The Rockies have long been tied to interest for Cordero, and this would be a potential way to acquire him on the cheap. The Rockies have an obvious hole at the closer position, and Cordero is a “proven commodity.” The Rockies love bounceback candidates and Chad certainly fits the bill. There has to be concern over the recovery from injury, but I’m sure Cordero would be willing to write some team protection into his contract if the opportunity is right.

What’s in it for Cordero?: First and foremost, the opportunity to close games again right out of the gate. Considering the way the Rockies operate, Chad would have little competition for the closer’s role, as they seem hesitant to move Buchholz anywhere besides the eighth, and Corpas still hasn’t regained trust. Beyond that, Cordero needs not fear the threat of a young upstart like Weathers this year either. Other interested teams are either trolling for multiple late relievers (Mets), already have established closers (Red Sox), or have young talent that could prove difficult to overtake (Indians, Cubs). Lastly, the clubhouse factor should work in Colorado’s favor, as Chad is a young guy with California ties and a gamers mentality, which would mesh well with fellow West Coast baseball rats Spilborghs, Tulo, Stewart, etc. The Rockies offer Cordero not only the chance to close but the chance to be a veteran leader on a still young team.

Why I approve the move: Closers are overrated. Tampa didn’t need one, and while everyone cares to slober over Lidge, remember he was the goat just a few short years ago. It can actually be somewhat risky to reserve your most effective reliever for the final three outs of an inning. Now, in no categroy do I believe Cordero is a better option than Fuentes, but think about these two numbers for a second:

84.2%
83.3%

Those are the superficial stats of both pitcher in the career save success rate category. Cordero is almost one percent higher. So, while Colorado was trotting out the better late inning reliever, Brian was no more successful than Chad in “doing his job” so to speak.

Here’s what I like best about a Cordero acquisition; it keeps the balance of the bullpen in place. I like Taylor as the go-to ace releiver in the seventh or eighth, and having him, our best arm, able to throw in a high leverage situation is much more resourceful than using him for the final three outs. Everyone else keeps their roles as well, Vizcaino is held out of high leverage spots late, Corpas stays in the seventh, and it allows flexibility in filling out the bullpen without having to change everyone’s role.

For continuity’s sake, the Rockies must acquire a closer, and Cordero may be the best way to do it without spending 30 million dollars or trading valuable assets. I said Cordero would be a cheaper acquisition, but that’s speaking relative to the market. The Rockies will have to overpay Cordero than what he’s actually worth, but a three year 15 million deal may make more sense when you consider that A) The Rockies have already likely budgeted in 10 million for Fuentes this year in case he accepts arbitration. B) The Rockies could likely be moving close to 25 million off next year’s books with the deals of Atkins and Holliday. C) And this could be key in several decisions, the Rockies aren’t likely to incur major arbitration expenses over the next two, possibly three seasons.

How to fix the rotation in 3 simple moves. Most teams are not giving up prospects so we’ll give them up instead.

   First trade:

Willy T and a pitching prospect (Connor Graham or Keith Weiser) to the Yankees for pitcher Ian Kennedy.

    Second trade:

Garrett Atkins and Chris Nelson to the Angels for Ervin Santana.

     The third trade we’ll have fun with:

Matt Holliday, Jeff Francis, Hector Gomez and Aneury Rodriguez to the Blue Jays for Roy Halladay.

Why this trade could happen:

For the same reasons San Diego is looking to trade Peavy, Toronto must now realize that they need to go into a rebuilding mode. The AL East is a monster division with the big bad Red Sox and Yankees… and it has become even tougher now with the emergence of the Rays. They are losing a major part of their rotation with the free agency of AJ Burnett and their one mega-star position player, Vernon Wells, is hardly even that and probably should be dumped ASAP.

They will receive 2 high draft picks for Burnett next June (a type A free agent) and could get 2 more the following year when Holliday leaves, or they could turn-around and trade Matt sometime before the July 31st deadline. Francis, besides the obvious Canadian connection, has a club friendly contract and is still young. Gomez is a stud future infielder in the making while Rodriguez provides high quality depth in the farm system.

Another great thing about this trade is sending Holliday off to a non-contending team for a year. If he wants the big bucks from some eastern team, then play in purgatory first, ya bum.

2009 Colorado Rockies Rotation:

1. Roy Halladay
2. Cookie
3. U-Ball
4. Ervin Santana
5. Ian Kennedy