The market for starters

[Chrispy]

With the Cliff Lee sweepstakes over, what do the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox do if they want a starting pitcher?

The Cleveland Indians may have two right-handers available this month in Jake Westbrook and Fausto Carmona, though the club said this week they are not simply looking to dump salary. Carmona could be a fit for clubs not willing to rent a player, since he’s signed at a reasonable rate through 2011.

The Chicago Cubs are probably going to field calls on left-hander Ted Lilly, if they haven’t already, and they might be looking to find a taker for right-hander Carlos Zambrano — good luck, Jim Hendry.

The Mets, however, specifically desire a front line arm, which means if they can’t land Lee, they have to turn to Roy Oswalt and Dan Haren, both of whom are guaranteed money after this season. Haren might cost more in trade than the Mets are willing to give up, however, especially considering their farm system isn’t considered deep.

Houston’s Brett Myers and Baltimore’s Jeremy Guthrie may be two right-handers that end up elsewhere this month, and may be more realistic for clubs such as the Dodgers and White Sox, while the Phillies are also scouting Oakland’s Ben Sheets

http://www.bandwagonerbuzz.com/2010/07/19/the-market-for-starters/

I hope the Yanks get another starter, Andy is hurt for 4-5 weeks, Burnett has been awful and u don't know what Javy is going to do.

 

[FedEx227]

Oswalt got hurt too, doesn't look too terrible but it's still early.

 

[Senser81]

I don't understand the mentality in baseball that its ok to unload a good starting pitcher just because you are having a bad season. Like the Cubs with Lilly...why would they want to get rid of the guy? He is a good pitcher and very reliable. Just hold on to him and maybe the team will do better next year.

 

[FedEx227]

I guess the idea is in say the Astros case, the reward of keeping Oswalt is minimal as the team doesn't look like it will compete for the next few years. So you attempt to trade them at peak value for something in the future.

The Cubs it's tough to say, I don't think they'll be quite as bad next year, but if you can get a decent package for Lilly, guys that can potential help you out down the line it may be worth it to kinda fold on this year and possibly next and worry about 2-3 years down the line.

 

[Chrispy]

I don't understand the mentality in baseball that its ok to unload a good starting pitcher just because you are having a bad season. Like the Cubs with Lilly...why would they want to get rid of the guy? He is a good pitcher and very reliable. Just hold on to him and maybe the team will do better next year.

For Lilly, im pretty sure he is in his last year of his contract so the Cubs want to get something for him in case he would leave during the offseason. The cubs are pretty much out of it this year also.

 

[FedEx227]

That's true, I thought Lilly had one more year, he's done after this.

So yeah, basically no reason not to explore every potential avenue to get value for him.

 

[LC AAU]

Yeah Lilly is in the last year of his deal so if we don't win both series against the Astros and Cardinals this week he's gone.

 

[Senser81]

For Lilly, im pretty sure he is in his last year of his contract so the Cubs want to get something for him in case he would leave during the offseason. The cubs are pretty much out of it this year also.

But why not try to re-sign Lilly?

 

[Chrispy]

But why not try to re-sign Lilly?

I guess they just want to get something for him, rather than have him leave in the offseason and get nothing.

 

[Senser81]

I guess they just want to get something for him, rather than have him leave in the offseason and get nothing.

I would guess they aren't going to get much for him, and if they get "prospects" in exchange for Lilly they are basically getting nothing.