Jermaine Dye is wearing that cap still. Why?

Normally this is an exciting time of year for the Stock Exchange, ranking behind only the hot stove season in regards to importance and raw prognosticating joy. However, the changing climate in baseball could well have spread far enough that no major deals will happen before the deadline. The game is becoming all about prospects, and more teams are of the mindset that they need to get disproportionate value for the talent they trade or else they just will not trade. Better to have compensatory draft picks than do any more dumps or salary swaps. The thing is that this new prevailing mindset actually lessens the game somewhat as good players who deserve a shot at the playoffs are becoming stuck in situations that are less than competitive. Sure, maybe it works out for the hometown fan that follows certain players, but for a team in the dumps the attendance and viewing numbers usually go down when the stink is strong enough. For example, Jermaine Dye is in the final year of his contract and is playing for a team that is not even close to being a contender this season – the Chicago White Sox. Additionally, he is not exactly a top performer this season and yet the White Sox asked for two of the three best prospects in the Red Sox minor leagues for the player – who did not even want to be traded to Boston anyway (as it turns out). The deal died a quick death when the talent could not be worked out, and a deal that would have been quick and easy in seasons past became the (apparent) key to the White Sox future.

Or not…at least not courtesy of the Red Sox and we should all be glad for that.

This just in – Ty Wiggington has been traded to Houston for reliever Dan Wheeler.

Interestingly, Houston makes a deal for a talent that was highly sought after by some contenders. Perhaps this is only the beginning of some bigger deal that Houston is working on, but it seems more likely they picked up Wiggington for next season since the Astros are not even remotely in the race for the playoffs this season. Rather odd, but Houston has been coming across kind of crazy all month in their trade demands for those few players they will actually part with. For example, the asking price for Mark Loretta is THREE quality prospects…THREE! The guy is having an okay season, but is also 35 and is not exactly someone to build a contender on. Sure, Mark is a nice piece for the puzzle, good personality, good talent, and the kind of guy that can help you win. The price asked is simply insane, but that is the market. Brad Lidge was taken off the market completely by Houston, not necessarily the smartest move because they probably could have gotten serious talent for a guy they really do not know how to use right now.

Strange Days.

This just in – Jorge Cantu is traded to Cincinnati for pitcher Brian Shackelford.
Interestingly, no one really cares about that deal - much like the Tadahito Iguchi trade to Philadelphia for a minor league pitcher transaction. Of course, thanks to the loss of Chase Utley they really had to do something fast. Kenny Lofton to Cleveland for minor league catcher Max Ramirez was more of a dump trade, but he should help the Tribe with his solid experience on contending teams not to mention that fact that some of Lofton’s best years were spent in Cleveland. Really, looking at the deals made so far during July, the one that stands out is Scott Linebrink to Milwaukee for three minor league pitchers. There are some legitimate questions about what the Padres were thinking trading their popular setup man to a contender in a season where the Padres themselves are contending. Not only has team chemistry and tranquility been strained, but the team is out a rock solid setup man who was their best bridge to Trevor Hoffman. Meanwhile, the team that wins is the Brewers who really needed to score a top talent to help fortify their playoff run. There were plenty of teams who wanted Linebrink, and the Brewers kind of snuck in and stole him – that is the kind of trade that takes teams to the World Series.

If only Theo would be just as sneaky and grab Mark Teixeira off of the Rangers. 

This just in – Torii Hunter likely to stay with Minnesota, extension in his future.

There is something about Torii Hunter in Minnesota that just feels right, here is hoping the team and player get it done right. The Twins remain one of those great teams who get a lot done without spending every penny they have…have to respect that when you see how fiscal irresponsibility can strike a team like, oh, say, the Yankees.

More so than ever, baseball fans know that the July 31st trade deadline is almost a soft deadline for deals in the MLB. Sure, after the 31st players have to clear waivers and stuff but that does not prevent desirable talent from sneaking through into the open market. Still, deals made before the deadline are the most attractive because they cannot be affected by opposing forces as easily, and teams have to like that. Obviously. Getting back to the point of the changing mindset of the game, there is some element of prospect madness which has taken root, and it threatens to really upset the trading apple cart. The simple truth is that the vast majority of prospects wash out, but to have deals in the game be predicated upon getting the biggest pile of options for the future seems a little lame. Once a team is out of contention there will always be grumbling for change, but only the teams who perennially miss the playoffs should look at making the big changes. For teams that are always in the running, or who miss out once in a while thanks to bad luck of some kind, they obviously have less motivation to trade. However, if you are out of the race and you have an ageing talent on a tear, or a player in the end of the contract, it almost becomes the responsibility of the general manager to deal that player for some manner of building block(s) for future seasons. Honestly, if Houston fails to trade Mark Loretta it just goes to show that the leadership of that club is completely out of touch with how a baseball team works. Likewise, if the White Sox fail to get anything for Jermaine Dye then GM Kenny Williams is failing at his job. Cutting losses for the future of the club is part of baseball, but prospects these days have become the gold standard and the exchange rate of prospects for veterans, for lack of a better term, sucks. Does any GM or owner really believe that their competitors will think they are “smart at this baseball stuff” if they hold out on trades until some poor desperate team finally overpays for a two month rental? Not likely, because teams like Baltimore and the Astros (to name a few) will continue to make foolish decisions that no number of prospects will ever be able to overcome. Sell a product everyone wants and the world will beat a path to your door.

Words to trade by.

Excelsior!

Questions and comments may be sent to Chris at chrismeyer@sportsgrumblings.com.