The hot stove season is about making moves, including big trades when the top free agents are outside a team’s budget. With free agent pitchers like David Price and Zack Greinke potentially inking deals upward of $200 million, teams may look to upgrade on the trade market.
Here are five stud pitchers who might just be available for the right price.
Three Reasonably Priced Alternatives To David Price, Zack Greinke
Sonny Gray, Athletics
Gray, 26, made a strong bid for the American League Cy Young in 2015, going 14-7 for a listless A’s team and posting a 2.73 ERA. Gray has thrown 200-plus innings for two years in a row, and won 14 games. 26-year-olds with this kind of resume rarely move, but Oakland isn’t your average team.
The A’s have repeatedly parted with young talent in order to keep their farm well-stocked, especially if they aren’t going to contend. They parted with a fair amount of talent to chase a World Series run last season so Gray can expedite their rebuild very quickly, with MLB-ready prospects.
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Taijuan Walker, Mariners
The Mariners have a young rotation, but star hitters whose windows to play at an elite window are closing. Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz do not have much time to wait for the rotation to mature, and a player with Walker’s upside could nab a major hitter.
The M’s have a need for a big-time outfielder, and can get any club’s attention by dangling Walker, 23, who struck out eight batters per nine and chopped his walk rate in half from 2014.
Zack Wheeler, Mets
Wheeler is the forgotten man in the Mets’ incredible starting rotation. They rode Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz to the World Series, and they’d undoubtedly be more formidable with Wheeler.
The Mets also lost OF Yoenis Cespedes and utility IF Daniel Murphy this offseason, and need to replace that offense. Before Cespedes arrived the Mets were pretenders who couldn’t score enough for their pitchers. Trading a pitcher with Wheeler’s pedigree will net them quality bats to ease the pain of their loss.
James Shields, Padres
Shields, 33, went from pitching in the World Series to toiling on a sub-.500 Pads team that led the league in breaking fans’ hearts. Roster construction did San Diego in though, not Shields. The ex-Royals ace went 13-7 with a 3.91 ERA and a 9.61 K/9, the best mark of his career.
At 33 Shields is not going to draw the types of prospects Gray or Walker would, but if the Padres are willing to eat a significant portion of the remaining $63 million of guaranteed money over the next three years, they have a valuable veteran arm that contenders will be interested in. Shields has thrown more than 200 innings for nine years in a row, durability that can not be ignored.
Stephen Strasburg, Nationals
Trading Strasburg, who posted a sparkling 1.90 ERA over the second half of 2015 after a very bad first half, seems unthinkable for a team in win-now mode. The Nats do have Max Scherzer to lead the rotation though, and soon they will have to cough up major money for both Strasburg and OF Bryce Harper. Factor in the seven-year, $210 million deal Scherzer signed last offseason, and it’s a ton of money for three players.
Strasburg is just 27 years old and would have arguably the biggest return of any pitcher on this list. His 10-plus K/9 is attractive, but durability may depress his value just a bit.
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