Ken Rosenthal’s trade deadline updates: Kwan market, Teams STILL on the fence, Suárez prediction

00:00:05
Speaker 1: In such scoop time.

00:00:06
Speaker 2: It's trade deadline week. It's FT senior insider Ken Rosenthal, who just put out an article on buy sell on the fence teams. Ken, So I haven't read it.

00:00:14
Speaker 1: You know, I read all your articles.

00:00:15
Speaker 2: Haven't read this one because it just came out fresh hot off the press. What do you have for us in there?

00:00:20
Speaker 3: Well, it's four teams that really are still not entirely sure of their direction. It's the Rays, the Giants, the Angels, and the Rangers. The Rangers have the best playoff odds of that group. But if they lose these next two to the Angels after losing last night, who knows if they'll push.

00:00:37
Speaker 1: As hard as they might have otherwise. I believe they will.

00:00:40
Speaker 3: This could be Bruce Bochie's final year. This is a very competitive front office, a team that has played much better in the last six weeks or so, so I would expect that they still proceed on a by course. The Rays we saw yesterday, did kind of a buy sell maneuver with the Catchers bringing in Nick Fordy from the Marlins and trading Danny Jansen.

00:01:02
Speaker 1: To the Brewers.

00:01:03
Speaker 3: The Giants, like the Rays, have not played well of late they're two and ten in their last twelve I think thirteen and twenty two since the Devor's trade and the Angels.

00:01:13
Speaker 1: You never know what the Angels because you never know what owner Ardi Moreno might be thinking.

00:01:17
Speaker 3: So those are the four teams I focused on, and it's really interesting to me, guys. It's almost like the playoffs right now for some of these teams and their positions, their feelings about what they want to do literally changed day by day. It sounds crazy, it is a little crazy, but that's where we are.

00:01:38
Speaker 1: Ken.

00:01:38
Speaker 4: There's no way that the Rangers don't go in and buy somebody. Now the other Angels, like you said, is the wildcard? We don't know, because I just don't think the Angels. They're four and a half out. They got like five teams in front of them to get to the third wildcard. I don't see that one happening. But the Rangers are right there for a wildcard. They're half came out. They're gonna push in, and I bet you the Rangers think that they could probably catch the Astros, much like the Mariners think the same thing. Now the other two teams, the Rays always try to buy and sell and maneuver like whatever, and the Giants we just don't know because this is Buster Posey's first trade deadline. So but the one thing I do know, Chris Young and Bruce Boccie they're gonna make a run out.

00:02:16
Speaker 3: No, aj, I agree with you, And there are some extenuating factors there. The luxury tax threshold might be one, so that might restrain them some. The other thing is they played so poorly in the first two months it kind of haunts them a little bit, and they were that they're going to regress again. Now I totally agree with you. This is, as I said, a very competitive group. And yes, all front offices are competitive, but we're talking about Bruce Bochie and we're talking about Chris Young. Those are two of the more competitive people you'll ever meet. So yes, I expect them to buy. But again, the point of including them was.

00:02:52
Speaker 1: They're kind of in a.

00:02:53
Speaker 3: Position still where the next two days could influence them. If it goes really badly, I don't expect it. I don't expect them to change. They've got the best era in the major leagues. My goodness, you can win with that, but they're still not entirely there. Ken.

00:03:10
Speaker 2: I want to get to potentially the best position player available on the market, and it's not Aohennio Suarez. You put out an article last night about Stephen Kwan of the Guardians. Do you think he'll get del and where could he end up?

00:03:26
Speaker 3: Scott, I'm not sure he'll get DELT.

00:03:28
Speaker 1: I can't predict that.

00:03:29
Speaker 3: And obviously the Guardians are a team that generally set their prices at a high level and do not waiver for them and that frustrates other.

00:03:38
Speaker 1: Clubs at times, but that's their right to do that.

00:03:41
Speaker 3: They're every right to do that, and the way they see it, because they're operating in such difficult circumstances with low revenues, they have to be very disciplined about what they do. Now, Stephen Kuan is a guy that has two more years of control after this. They don't have to trade him. They probably lee shouldn't trade him from a competitive standpoint, But with what has happened losing Luis Ortiz and now Emmanuel Class to non disciplinary paid leave because of the gambling investigation, let's face it, their chances for twenty twenty five are pretty much shot, so they may be at least more open to the conversation than they would be with Kwan. And yes, they will entertain offers, as all teams entertained offers for pretty much all of their players. As far as we know, there have been no progress or has been no progress at any extension talks with Kwan, so this is something they will consider. I would expect the Padres would be in their deep on Kwan, the Dodgers, the Blue Jays, pretty much every team that would want a bat would be in on him. The question is will the Guardians move when they have all these other opportunities to trade him in the offseason. You could even expand the list of teams because it wouldn't necessarily include only contenders. They don't have to do this now, but maybe some team will push them to do it now.

00:05:02
Speaker 4: Ken, stay on the Guardians here for a second. How big of a deal was the Emmanuel Colasse news yesterday and how much Jim Bogen came on so to change their whole trade deadline. Is that true that basically they were gonna move him and now since he's off the table and he's on the restricted list, to change their complete deadline plans.

00:05:20
Speaker 3: Well, certainly they were talking about moving him and it was something that again they were going to consider and they would have to have their price met. Whether it was a certainty that they were going to move him, I don't know that anyone can say that, But what it did do, in my opinion, is really end any chance of them buying, because at this point you're down two significant pitchers.

00:05:42
Speaker 1: They were kind of right in.

00:05:43
Speaker 3: That never never land zone where they weren't quite sure what to do, not playing particularly poorly, not playing particularly well. But now, come on, they know that they're not going to be a playoff team. They know that this season is pretty much shot. So that does change their direction, no question, because there was still some chance that they were going to buy, and it seems now that that chance has been diminished almost to zero.

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00:07:12
Speaker 5: Trade deadline is compelling theater. Even more compelling is the Brewers and the Cubs are playing each other going into this trade deadline. How much are they going to be battling against each other. It's like David Versuk Goliath large markets, small market. We don't have any money, We don't spend any money. How is this battle going to play out or strategically with the organizations? How do you think they'll play it out against each other?

00:07:41
Speaker 3: Eric, I don't think that they're looking at the same kinds of players.

00:07:45
Speaker 1: That's one thing.

00:07:46
Speaker 3: So yes, the Cubs we know are really hungry to put a finishing cap on what they have on their roster. They want to top this team off, They want to get a starting pitcher, help anything they can. Third base has also been an area where they've looked at. Matt Shaw has played a little bit better lately.

00:08:06
Speaker 1: I don't know that you make your decision on that.

00:08:08
Speaker 3: So we know the Cubs are hungry to act.

00:08:11
Speaker 1: The Brewers are the Brewers.

00:08:13
Speaker 3: And I've written about this at length, and they do things in their own way.

00:08:18
Speaker 1: Yes, they acquired Danny Jansen yesterday.

00:08:21
Speaker 3: They also have shown interest in Ryan O'Hearn and other hitters.

00:08:24
Speaker 1: Do I expect them.

00:08:25
Speaker 3: To necessarily do something big. I actually would be surprised if they did something big. It's just not their style.

00:08:31
Speaker 1: But this is a team that we've seen. We saw it again last night.

00:08:35
Speaker 3: They compete no matter who they have, no matter how many pieces you take away. And they've got an extremely talented pitching staff right now that in some respects might be reshaped because you could trade a starting pitcher Nestra Cortes, Jose Cantana to get something else you need. There are all kinds of things that they can do. They would like to reinforce their bullpen as well, because as good as it's been, kind of getting to the point now where you might be running on fumes.

00:09:06
Speaker 4: Wow, all right, I got out speaking of a team that nobody knows. What are they gonna do?

00:09:10
Speaker 5: The Padres?

00:09:11
Speaker 6: Why would they sell?

00:09:12
Speaker 4: People were like, they're gonna trade Seas and they're gonna you said, they might trade Suarez.

00:09:16
Speaker 6: Why they're in the wildcard. They have a two game lead in a wildcard. Why would they sell? Why wouldn't they try? Listen, Preler is the master of trading guys and getting guys and you know, making moves here and there. Why would they sell.

00:09:27
Speaker 4: I don't understand why people are saying, oh, the Padres are gonna sell all these guys.

00:09:30
Speaker 3: Why aj they would only sell if it enabled them to get other pieces that would help them maybe even better compete this season. That's the whole point. They're not pure sellers, and they shouldn't be. As you just mentioned, they're a really good team. They're in good wildcard position as you mentioned, and there's no reason for them to sell. But when you have a farm system that is not as deep as it once was, at least in the eyes of many in the industry. When you have payroll restrictions of some kind, we don't know exactly what they are. At that point, you have to be creative and that is why you think about or talk about moving a Dylan Cease if it can bring you something else of great value to your team. We know what they need. They need a left fielder. They'd like to improve their catching as well, and if you trade Cease, you've got to backfill.

00:10:21
Speaker 1: With another starting pitcher.

00:10:22
Speaker 3: So to describe them as pure sellers would be a misconception.

00:10:28
Speaker 1: That's not right.

00:10:29
Speaker 3: What they are is a team that is looking at all possibilities trying to improve themselves for twenty six. I sound like a GM with the GM speak now, but that's what they're doing.

00:10:39
Speaker 5: You should be a GM. Ken you.

00:10:43
Speaker 4: You don't wear quarter zips, you wear bow ties, so right you and I guess mo Alok did that for a while too.

00:10:48
Speaker 1: That sure.

00:10:48
Speaker 6: But here's my question. We just we talked about Danny Jansen getting traded to the Brewers.

00:10:52
Speaker 4: Why wouldn't the Padres being on a Danny Jansen That seems like the perfect fit for the Padres and the and the Brewers gave up an a one year old kid in a ball.

00:11:01
Speaker 6: He's having a good year.

00:11:02
Speaker 4: But you don't think the Patterreys could have thrown in one of them for Danny Jansen type.

00:11:07
Speaker 3: I don't know the answer to that, and the Padres have a zillion balls in the air, and I just can't tell you exactly, but you're right, Danny Jansen would have been a good fit. What they're looking for out of that position is more offense, and Danny Jansen would give you more offense than Elios Ds who did have the walk off last.

00:11:22
Speaker 1: Night, and Martin Maldonado.

00:11:25
Speaker 5: All right, back to the Rays. We hit on the Rays a little bit, but you had mentioned about possibly if the next few games don't go the Ray's way, Brandon Lal and a Yandi Diaz? Is there is their market more of like a well, there's not a lot position player wise, because you said Steven Kwan might be interesting but it may not happen. Is that just the Rays testing the market or is that a at the point in their contracts or at the point in their careers it's time to move on from those guys.

00:11:56
Speaker 1: Eric, It's not something they want to do. What they would want.

00:11:59
Speaker 3: To do is win the next couple of games and keep going forward and be the team that they were for about six weeks there when they were maybe the best team in baseball.

00:12:08
Speaker 1: They have not been that since.

00:12:09
Speaker 3: They're kind of like the Giants in that way that they were in a good spot at one point and then suddenly they've entered this funk and they haven't really gotten out.

00:12:17
Speaker 1: Of it yet.

00:12:18
Speaker 3: So any idea of trading those guys would only stem from a reality that the playoffs aren't happening and that maybe that would be best given the state of the market, if they are pushed hard enough to move those guys for the returns that they might get. Kind of depends on the next couple of games in New York. And actually their game Thursday is an early start, one o'clock start with the six o'clock deadline, so that game theoretically could figure into this as well. I don't know what they're going to do. We saw yesterday again the buy sell maneuver. That is generally what they like to do, but they could go in any direction based on kind of where they are and where.

00:12:59
Speaker 1: They feel they are. One thing about the Rays that's.

00:13:01
Speaker 3: Interesting, they're Rundal and this isn't everything, but it's something is even better than the team leading the Al East, and that's the Toronto Blue Jays the Razord plus fifty six the Jay's word plus thirty five. So the Rays see themselves as a team that still can be rather competitive, but just has kind of gone bad at the wrong time.

00:13:22
Speaker 2: Ken, I want to ask you quick about the Pirates holding out for the right prospect package, especially for a guy who have under multiple years of team control. Makes total sense, But is there any truth to them still deciding if they want to trade Mitch Keller in general? If so, why because it's not like they've been trying to figure out if they're going to be competitive this year. This is something they should have decided for the last couple of months.

00:13:48
Speaker 1: They have been torn about it.

00:13:50
Speaker 3: And the reason they've been torn about it, and even Bednar to an extent, though I do believe he'll be traded, is these guys are kind of central to who they.

00:13:58
Speaker 1: Are right now. And you might say, well, Ken, they stink right now.

00:14:01
Speaker 3: Very true, but both are perceived as leaders, both are outstanding performers, and Keller, in the eyes of some, is only getting better. So you might look at this and say, wait, we want them to be part of our future and not guys who were trading off for impact offensive players if they're even available. The problem with keeping them is you're not going to spend money. We know they're not going to spend money because they're the Pittsburgh Pirates.

00:14:28
Speaker 1: So if you have.

00:14:28
Speaker 3: Any chance to get impact offensive talent back in return for these guys, Keller in particular, with the years of control he has, in my mind, you have to do it. But they know the value of those players to their own organization. You can envision a world if you were spending money perhaps where you were building around those guys. I just don't see that world existing for the Pirates. It seems to me that they have to move Keller and Bednar, and I understand where they are, and I understand the difficulty of bench Sherrington's position. He's under fire, he has his job in question for next year. But in this situation, gms generally do what is best for the organization. What is best for the organization right now is to trade those guys, both of them, Bednor and Keller, and get.

00:15:17
Speaker 1: As much as you can offensively back.

00:15:21
Speaker 5: Okay, last one, it's quick.

00:15:22
Speaker 6: It's a one team answer. Where does Gino Suarez go?

00:15:27
Speaker 1: Oh, well, let's assume he's healthy, because he didn't get hit in the hand last night. My guess would be Mariners.

00:15:35
Speaker 6: Wow, Reunion.

00:15:38
Speaker 2: I think they'll pay the highest price for him.

00:15:40
Speaker 3: Guys, that's a guess. And again, when we look at all these trades that go down, we pick up our heads on July thirty first, even August first, and.

00:15:49
Speaker 1: Look at everything. Think about how many of those deals we thought.

00:15:52
Speaker 3: Were coming, and how many we had no idea about.

00:15:55
Speaker 1: Come, Well, we're coming.

00:15:56
Speaker 3: It's going to be very much tilted toward we had no idea.

00:16:00
Speaker 1: We love that.

00:16:01
Speaker 2: We want all of the shocking moves. Ken, thank you, appreciate it. We'll catch us soon, Okay. Thanks guys at the senior insider, Ken Rosenthal fair territories back on Thursday after the trade deadline, so they can do all kinds of recapping. Ken can tell you everything that went down, will give you the exact time when we get closer to Thursday,