Wild Speculation: Sifting Through the Ashes

↵MANNY RAMIREZ for JASON BAY for 4 PROSPECTS↵
↵The Dodgers have apparently landed Manny Ramirez and $7 million in exchange for Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris. LaRoche was to be the Dodgers's third baseman of the future, but it seems Ned Colletti and Co. have decided to give him up to rent Manny for the rest of the season. In this deal, Bay goes to the Red Sox for Craig Hansen, Brandon Moss, and the cash. As described below, Bay is a decided upgrade on Manny (2008 version, remember). The Pirates, for their part, get all four prospects. Moss might never be a starting outfielder in the bigs, Hansen is a middle relief prospect, Morris is a long way away from the majors, and LaRoche is the one excellent ready-to-start prospect they picked up today.↵

↵In the end, it makes total sense for the Pirates, who are planning for next year and beyond, and the Sox, who make, at worst, a lateral move today, and take a huge leap forward for the future. But the Dodgers are now in the weird position of having three outfielders who deserve to play and two who will feel entitled to play but who suck. We can talk about how Manny can't field at all, but Andruw Jones has had a historically bad year at the plate, and Juan Pierre has never been a good hitter. If L.A. takes the field with any outfield lineup other than Manny, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier, then we know that they're not really interested in putting their best team on the field. If they do that, they've upgraded. They didn't give up anyone they were starting now, and they improved an outfield spot. ↵

↵KEN GRIFFEY, JR for DANNY RICHAR and NICK MASSET
↵The point is not that the White Sox gave up too much; it's that they gave up anything for the corpse of a once-transcendent ballplayer. Ken Griffey, Jr., used to be one of the three best players in baseball, and now that he should be viewed as a guy holding on to his MLB career by a thread... the White Sox traded two potential Major Leaguers for him? I don't care how crappy Richar and Masset may or may not be. Griffey's negative performance is virtually a given. If Richar and Masset give the Reds any value over the next three or four years, then feel free to consider Kenny Williams the fool once again. ↵

↵ARTHUR RHODES for GABY HERNANDEZ
↵The Marlins are, apparently, going for broke, and breaking down in the process. I guess Rhodes will help with the bullpen, but how much of an upgrade is this, really? Is it worth trading away a swingman type who'll be essentially free for the next five years? I don't know. It's like the Fish could do no wrong from 2003-2007, and now they're taking crazy pills. ↵

↵pr0FF3ss0r_F4rnsw0rth for PUDGE RODRIGUEZ
↵Brandon Inge, improbably, has come back to catching and come back reasonably strong. He'll never be an All-Star hitter, but he hasn't been terrible this year, so he made Ivan Rodriguez superfluous, and thus expendable. Detroit's got to improve their pitching if they're going to catch Minny and the Southsiders (note to self: good band name), and Farnsworth is about as valuable a haul as they could expect from any of the contending teams, especially in the context of Todd Jones's complete collapse. For their part, the Yanks get a real, live, Major League catcher to replace the injured Jorge Posada and push Jose Molina back to the bench, where he belongs. ↵

↵MARK TEIXEIRA for CASEY KOTCHMAN and a MINOR LEAGUER
↵Big Tex has hit 30 jacks and produced 100 RBI for the past four seasons running. He's unquestionably a good hitter and no slouch with the glove. Kotchman, on the other hand, has long been a source of unrealized potential. This trade works out perfectly for both teams, as the Braves get a guy they can count on for cheap production the next few years, and the Angels make a small, but significant, upgrade as they coast into the playoffs. The Braves got less than I suggested earlier this week, but now they're a little younger and a lot more cost-controlled without giving up much long-term production. ↵

↵XAVIER NADY and DAMASO MARTE for MINOR LEAGUERS
↵The Yankees cashed in part of their minor league pitching surplus in order to pick up outfielder Xavier Nady and reliever Damaso Marte. Getting Nady was a direct reaction to losing Hideki Matsui to injury. He'll play corner outfield and hit reasonably well, and when the season ends, they can keep him for arbitration-limited salary or, if they find they're in a roster crunch, simply non-tender him. Marte might actually be the more important acquisition. He's been shockingly underrated for a long time now, and getting that shutdown lefty allowed Brian Cashman to dump LaTroy Hawkins on the Astros and make the next trade on this list. ↵

↵CC SABATHIA for MATT LAPORTA and MINOR LEAGUERS
↵In Milwaukee, LaPorta was blocked by Prince Fielder (insert joke about inevitability of getting blocked by Prince), and playing in the outfield wasn't really working out, so, in a certain sense, the Brew Crew got something for a player they weren't going to use anyway. Sabathia is gone as a free agent after this season, so the Brewers are betting that adding last year's AL Cy Young winner will be the push they need to get away from the Cards and Cubs this year, and they'll deal with the consequences later. Twenty-five straight years without the playoffs will do that to people. For the Tribe, LaPorta instantly becomes the first baseman of the future, and if Victor Martinez has to change positions, there's always DH, since Travis Hafner is done for the season and looks like he'll never be vintage Pronk again. ↵

↵RICH HARDEN and CHAD GAUDIN for SEAN GALLAGHER, MATT MURTON and ERIC PATTERSON
↵Harden is the big name, and it made all the sense in the world for the Cubs to gamble that he would stay healthy enough to make an impact down the stretch. Gallagher is a nice young pitcher, but hardly a stud. Murton has been jerked around, and in Oakland might finally have landed in an organization that respects his abilities. Patterson has potential to be a longtime starter, but with Jemile Weeks coming through the minors, it's not likely he'll last long with the Athletics unless they plan on permanently moving him to the outfield. ↵

↵JOE BLANTON for MINOR LEAGUERS
↵It seems the Phillies simply don't understand what a good pitcher is. First, the Brett Myers debacle, when they made their best starter at the time into their closer, the Adam Eaton experience, and now this. I suppose it's fair to say Blanton is serviceable, but Kyle Kendrick was ably filling the back end of the Phils' rotation, and Blanton's been a disaster since coming to Philly. ↵

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.