The deals that didn't get done

The Rangers were hot after a pitcher at the trading deadline -- but it wasn't Roy Halladay.

As the minutes ticked away before 4 p.m. EDT, the Rangers and Angels were both pushing hard in an attempt to acquire Heath Bell from the Padres, according to sources. It's not clear who the Rangers would have given up for Bell, but talks with the Angels centered on pitchers Jose Arredondo and Sean O'Sullivan and infielder Sean Rodriguez.

The Padres also discussed what would have been a monster deal with the Dodgers, one that would have sent both Bell and Adrian Gonzalez to Los Angeles. In one form of that deal that was discussed, the Dodgers would have parted with James Loney, Russell Martin, James McDonald, Blake DeWitt and Ivan DeJesus Jr.

The Dodgers apparently backed away from that trade.

As for Halladay, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reported that the right-hander told the Blue Jays that he wouldn't accept a possible trade to the Rangers, thus abruptly ending talks between the two teams. Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi told reporters that he was never close to making a Halladay deal.

The Red Sox talked about Halladay and Gonzalez, but in the end weren't willing to part with the prospects it would take to get a deal done. It wouldn't be shocking if the Padres and Red Sox revisit Gonzalez talks in the offseason.

Maybe he isn't worth 5 players including prospects, I don't know. But he's a much much better player then Loney is by a longshot. Look at his last few seasons prior to this one and then considering how he plays for a lousy team and organization that's going nowhere you have to see how he would be absolutely unreal in LA.

You were also going to get Heath Bell as well who THIS YEAR is one of the top 5 closers in the game. Does he do it again next year? I don't know. This is really the first time he's gotten the ball on a regular basis so it's tough to say either way. But if he continues at this pace for another 3 years matching this years stats, then that trade might have been a steal for the dodgers.

The deals that didn't get done

This trade would have been an absolute NO-BRAINER for the Dodgers to accept, and I'll explain why. First, let's look at what you'd be getting. You'd be getting back two premium players, in Gonzalez and Bell, both of whom would be under team control through the 2011 season. You can forget Adrian's low average this year--teams have figured out that absolutely no one is around him in the Padre lineup and he's getting nothing to hit. The guy's an elite hitter, is young, and actually is absurdly cheap for the next few years (he is only making 3 million this year, 4.75 million next year, and 2011 is a club option for 5.5 million that obviously would be exercised). So you'd have a premium player under control for the next two years after this one at probably 1/3 of what he's actually worth. With Bell, you have a shutdown closer that you could use to form a truly lights-out bullpen if he were on the Dodgers. Broxton-Bell-Sherrill-Troncoso-Kuo would be a wicked bullpen, and the great thing is that all of those players are under team control through at least 2011. And Bell is cheap; his salary this year was just over a million in arbitration, so next year it would probably be about 3-3.5 million, and probably around 5 million in 2011. You'd also be able to move Sherrill or Bell in a trade to help another area, if you absolutely had to, but you could always just go with a ridiculously good 'pen, like the Nasty Boys of the Reds back in the late 80's/early 90's.

What would you be giving up? Well, the best player of those 5 is Loney, who is solid, but replaceable. His RBI numbers are mostly a function of the fact that the hitters in front of him get on base a lot. Loney's OPS is ordinary, especially for a first baseman, and even though he has a great glove, Gonzalez is no slouch with the leather, either. Gonzalez is a true difference-maker in a lineup, and Loney is an average-hitting first baseman. Loney's best value lies in the fact that he's a useful player and is cheap; next year will be his first in arbitration. As far as Russell Martin goes...the guy is living off of reputation. If you actually look at what's he's done since July 1 of last season--more than a year's worth of games--you'll see that he hasn't been good. At all. Martin has hit 7 homers in that span, and his slugging percentage has dipped so low this season (.330) that Ichiro's BATTING AVERAGE is 35 points higher than that. He's regressed considerably (was he a PED guy?), and his defense is merely league-average (I think people assume he's a great catcher because of his youth and athletic ability). Take away his name, and look at what he does, and he's a replaceable player--a guy who's basically become an average major league catcher. You could go with a guy like Jason Varitek or Rod Barajas next year and you really wouldn't be downgrading much, if at all. As for the other 3 guys (McDonald, DeWitt, DeJesus), DeJesus is the only one that has a chance to be really good, and he's so young that you have no idea if he will or not. McDonald's ceiling is as a middle-of-the-rotation starter, and DeWitt would be a complete throw in as far as I'm concerned.

A massive upgrade at first base and achieving a truly one-of-a-kind bullpen would be enough for me to make this deal, considering that McDonald and DeWitt aren't difference-makers and considering that losing Loney wouldn't matter if you got Gonzalez. DeJesus is a good prospect, but I always believe if you can get something great, you should be willing to move a prospect or two as long as you don't gut your system. And as for Martin, well, you'd have to go with Ausmus for the rest of this year, but real Dodger fans will tell you that's not much of a downgrade. And you'd be upgrading so hugely in your bullpen and at first that it would be worth it.

The deals that didn't get done

Dodgers were smart or lucky not to do that trade. Sure, Gonzalez, great hitter, and Bell, good closer, but to give up 5 talented players including starter Loney, Martin along with McDonald (good in middle relief), DeWitt (good last year) and DeJesus (the future) would have made no sense.

But we love the speculation and the rumors. Nice!

big_red01027 Reputation: 99 Level: Superstar Since: Feb 19, 2007	Posted on: August 1, 2009 5:57 pm Score: 91 The deals that didn't get done It's utterly shocking that the Dodgers didn't want to give up Russell Martin, James Loney, and three other players for Adrian Gonzalez. Seriously, what were the Padres smoking? They seriously thought Adrian Gonzalez is worth THAT much? I wouldn't even trade Loney for him straight up. [ Reply to Comment ]
redwings1969 Reputation: 94 Level: All-Star Since: Jun 25, 2009	Posted on: August 4, 2009 1:43 pm Score: 98 The deals that didn't get done Maybe he isn't worth 5 players including prospects, I don't know. But he's a much much better player then Loney is by a longshot. Look at his last few seasons prior to this one and then considering how he plays for a lousy team and organization that's going nowhere you have to see how he would be absolutely unreal in LA. You were also going to get Heath Bell as well who THIS YEAR is one of the top 5 closers in the game. Does he do it again next year? I don't know. This is really the first time he's gotten the ball on a regular basis so it's tough to say either way. But if he continues at this pace for another 3 years matching this years stats, then that trade might have been a steal for the dodgers. [ Reply to Comment ]
LyricalKnights Reputation: 28 Level: Rookie Since: Aug 6, 2009	Posted on: August 6, 2009 7:32 am Score: 121 The deals that didn't get done This trade would have been an absolute NO-BRAINER for the Dodgers to accept, and I'll explain why. First, let's look at what you'd be getting. You'd be getting back two premium players, in Gonzalez and Bell, both of whom would be under team control through the 2011 season. You can forget Adrian's low average this year--teams have figured out that absolutely no one is around him in the Padre lineup and he's getting nothing to hit. The guy's an elite hitter, is young, and actually is absurdly cheap for the next few years (he is only making 3 million this year, 4.75 million next year, and 2011 is a club option for 5.5 million that obviously would be exercised). So you'd have a premium player under control for the next two years after this one at probably 1/3 of what he's actually worth. With Bell, you have a shutdown closer that you could use to form a truly lights-out bullpen if he were on the Dodgers. Broxton-Bell-Sherrill-Troncoso-Kuo would be a wicked bullpen, and the great thing is that all of those players are under team control through at least 2011. And Bell is cheap; his salary this year was just over a million in arbitration, so next year it would probably be about 3-3.5 million, and probably around 5 million in 2011. You'd also be able to move Sherrill or Bell in a trade to help another area, if you absolutely had to, but you could always just go with a ridiculously good 'pen, like the Nasty Boys of the Reds back in the late 80's/early 90's. What would you be giving up? Well, the best player of those 5 is Loney, who is solid, but replaceable. His RBI numbers are mostly a function of the fact that the hitters in front of him get on base a lot. Loney's OPS is ordinary, especially for a first baseman, and even though he has a great glove, Gonzalez is no slouch with the leather, either. Gonzalez is a true difference-maker in a lineup, and Loney is an average-hitting first baseman. Loney's best value lies in the fact that he's a useful player and is cheap; next year will be his first in arbitration. As far as Russell Martin goes...the guy is living off of reputation. If you actually look at what's he's done since July 1 of last season--more than a year's worth of games--you'll see that he hasn't been good. At all. Martin has hit 7 homers in that span, and his slugging percentage has dipped so low this season (.330) that Ichiro's BATTING AVERAGE is 35 points higher than that. He's regressed considerably (was he a PED guy?), and his defense is merely league-average (I think people assume he's a great catcher because of his youth and athletic ability). Take away his name, and look at what he does, and he's a replaceable player--a guy who's basically become an average major league catcher. You could go with a guy like Jason Varitek or Rod Barajas next year and you really wouldn't be downgrading much, if at all. As for the other 3 guys (McDonald, DeWitt, DeJesus), DeJesus is the only one that has a chance to be really good, and he's so young that you have no idea if he will or not. McDonald's ceiling is as a middle-of-the-rotation starter, and DeWitt would be a complete throw in as far as I'm concerned. A massive upgrade at first base and achieving a truly one-of-a-kind bullpen would be enough for me to make this deal, considering that McDonald and DeWitt aren't difference-makers and considering that losing Loney wouldn't matter if you got Gonzalez. DeJesus is a good prospect, but I always believe if you can get something great, you should be willing to move a prospect or two as long as you don't gut your system. And as for Martin, well, you'd have to go with Ausmus for the rest of this year, but real Dodger fans will tell you that's not much of a downgrade. And you'd be upgrading so hugely in your bullpen and at first that it would be worth it. [ Reply to Comment ]
HawkCharger Reputation: 99 Level: Superstar Since: Aug 27, 2006	Posted on: August 6, 2009 12:49 pm Score: 84 The deals that didn't get done This would have been huge for the Padres, who would have been selling high on a couple of stars. They'd be getting the foundation they need to reboot the franchise. It would have been huge. The Dodgers would have regretted it in the long run. [ Reply to Comment ]
ItsJustJake Reputation: 96 Level: Superstar Since: Apr 6, 2007	Posted on: August 7, 2009 9:54 am Score: 83 The deals that didn't get done Actually, I think the Dodgers and the Padres would have both been happy with that trade. It would have pushed the Dodgers past the Phillies in my opinion, and the Padres would have gained a lot of good young players. [ Reply to Comment ]
mrrickers Reputation: 91 Level: All-Star Since: Feb 11, 2009	Posted on: August 7, 2009 12:45 pm Score: 85 The deals that didn't get done Dodgers were smart or lucky not to do that trade. Sure, Gonzalez, great hitter, and Bell, good closer, but to give up 5 talented players including starter Loney, Martin along with McDonald (good in middle relief), DeWitt (good last year) and DeJesus (the future) would have made no sense. But we love the speculation and the rumors. Nice! [ Reply to Comment ]
ItsJustJake Reputation: 96 Level: Superstar Since: Apr 6, 2007	Posted on: August 7, 2009 1:31 pm Score: 65 The deals that didn't get done Speculation, on the Intarwebs? Whodathunkit! [ Reply to Comment ]

Danny Knobler

The Knobler Blog