“I found a way to get Judge AND Ohtani, and it wouldn’t even cost that much!”

Oh boy you know it’s deadline season when the Costanza-esque trade proposals start popping up. So before my brain explodes let’s take a minute to discuss the realities of our deadline options.

We don’t have a lot to work with, at least not without trading players who are playing important roles on the major league club already. People here love to say our farm system is underrated and while yes we’re excellent at developing productive major leaguers out of unranked prospects, prospect rankings prioritize ceiling over floor. Rebuilding teams aren’t trying to hoard solid back-of-the-rotation starters, platoon bats and defensive specialists. They want guys with the potential to be frontline starters and top of the order bats, and we currently don’t have anyone who projects that way in our system. But the most frustrating thing about some of these proposals I see is how much some of you overvalue our spare parts. So time for some brutal honesty about some of your favorite “trade chips.”

Chas McCormick. He’s 30, hasn’t hit since August of 2023, and he’s a non-tender candidate heading towards his final year of arbitration. He has NO VALUE WHATSOEVER to a rebuilding team. The only value he has is to another contender whom he fills a specific need for. The most we’re possibly getting for him is a low-minors lottery ticket prospect or a similar change-of-scenery candidate.

Pedro Leon. While his physical tools are quite tantalizing, he’s a 27 year old AAAA hitter with poor defensive instincts. He’s basically Jose Siri without the defense. He’s too old to even be a lottery ticket anymore. We could get a bag of balls and a jug of Gatorade for him, if we aren’t picky about which flavor.

Shay Whitcomb. Another older, AAAA hitter with no real major league upside. His power numbers in the minors are heavily inflated by the extremely hitter-friendly stadiums of the PCL circuit. Maybe he’d have a chance as a big leaguer if he was a strong defender. But while he plays a lot of positions, he’s a defensive liability at almost all of them. He’s a fun story but the reality is that he’s just a depth body. Every organization has a Shay Whitcomb somewhere in their system. He adds no value to any trade package.

Our best trade chips are going to be Zach Dezenzo, Bryce Matthews, Jacob Melton, Miguel Ullola, Ryan Gusto, and Colton Gordon. I think some combination of those guys could get us a good rental player but all those players together won’t get us any kind of all-star player with remaining years of control. And I would be extremely hesitant to deal any starting pitchers, no matter how many guys are set to return from injury. Dezenzo would be my first choice to trade as he has no clear path to a starting role in the near term, if the lineup returns to health.

Remember everyone, it takes two teams to make a trade. The other team has to want what we’re offering. Our spare parts are spare parts for a reason. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.