Author Topic: Hot Stove 2011  (Read 5666 times)

brjones

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 25868
Re: Hot Stove 2011
« on: November 01, 2011, 04:26:08 pm »
Ok, first crazy trade proposal…I think it makes sense on paper, but would have about a one in a million chance of happening in real life because it includes too many moving parts (3 teams and 4 bad contracts).  But it’s pre-hot stove season, so speculation is fun…

To Cubs: Alex Rios
To Mariners: Adam Dunn + a lot of money
To White Sox: Alfonso Soriano & Chone Figgins

I think all teams could benefit from the switching out of players:

Cubs: Rios hasn’t been as good a hitter as Soriano, but has similar tools at the plate.  More importantly, he’s more athletic on defense and the bases, so a rebound anywhere close to his career stats would give him real value in the NL.

Mariners: They dump a player who they badly want gone.  If Dunn can rebound partially back to his pre-2011 form (something like .325 OBP, 20-25 HR), he really helps the Mariners with their lack of power.

White Sox: Soriano was clearly the best hitter of these four in 2011—it wasn’t even close.  So they get the best hitter, and can hide his defense as a DH.  Figgins is just a thrown-in to even out the deal, but maybe he still has something left as a supersub in a more hitter-friendly ballpark.

The biggest problem is the money.  The Cubs save $6 million each year 2012-2014.  The White Sox come out roughly even in the first two years, but save $9 million the third year.  But the Mariners would owe $6 million more in each of the first two years, and $15 million more in the third year.  To make this work, the Cubs and White Sox would probably have to send most (if not all) of their savings to the Mariners (meaning the Mariners would essentially get Dunn for free in 2014).  I doubt the teams would be willing to do that, even though a change of scenery could benefit all players & teams.