Official MLB Trade Deadline Thread

• The Enforcer

  Lance Berkman vetoed a deal to the White Sox before accepting the deal to New York
  
  New York also traded for Austin Kearns
• jordo212000

  

  New York will look very different post trade deadline
• darbypitcher22

  

  i'm not sure how the Berkman deal will turn out. If he can be the DH and spell Teixeria every now and then and hit about .280 or .290 I'll be ok with it
• The Enforcer

  That is what they got Berkman for.
  
  To be the DH and get the occasional start at 1st.
• darbypitcher22

  

  if he can get healthy and stay healthy, and prove productive over the final two months, I could see the Yanks exercising his option for next year and getting rid of Nick Johnson
• jordo212000

  

  darbypitcher22;437309 wrote:if he can get healthy and stay healthy, and prove productive over the final two months, I could see the Yanks exercising his option for next year and getting rid of Nick Johnson

  
  Ya think? Haha. Let's be honest, even though he isn't the same guy from 2005 or 2006, he is still much better than Nick Johnson.
• The Enforcer

  It's a mutual option.
  
  I could see him going back to Houston after the year is over.
• darbypitcher22

  

  ^^^^
  
  Johnson had the chance to be great until he had the huge rash of catostrophic injuries that absolutely killed his career
• The Enforcer

  I really thought Johnson was going to be a really good ball player.
• jordo212000

  

  Nick Johnson great? I'm not sure I'll agree with that. I'd accept solid to good, but not great. A singles hitting first baseman who never displayed any real power will never be considered great in my book. How do you describe Lyle Overbay?
• Azubuike24

  

  Nick Johnson in 2006 shows that potential. He had a fabulous eye AND hit for great power in a horrible hitters park (RFK Stadium at the time).
  
  Lyle Overbay has never come close to doing what Nick Johnson did that year.
  
  Granted, it was one year, but Johnson was not "just a singles hitter." He had the potential to be an annual 30 HR, .900+ OPS guy consistently. He just has been killed by injuries.
• The Enforcer

  If Berkman and Kearns were not enough, the Yankees and Dodgers are trying to get Ted Lilly from the Cubs.
• darbypitcher22

  

  The Yanks have had him before early in his career and it worked out ok, before they let him go as a trade bargaining chip.
  
  I think the dodgers have the inside track on him though.
  
  Johnson may not have shown the power all of the time like people wanted him too, but I think it was starting to emerge before the broken leg, torn thumb ligament, etc. that put him on the shelf for significant amounts of time
• The Enforcer

  I would say he ends up in LA also.
• jordo212000

  

  Azubuike24;437341 wrote: Lyle Overbay has never come close to doing what Nick Johnson did that year.

  
  They are basically the same guy. .270ish hitter with 15-20 HR potential. Like I said, not terrible, but not anything that is considered great. Especially when you consider when Johnson was hitting those HRs. 23 HRs in 2006 is nothing. Guys were still hitting lots of home runs back then
• Azubuike24

  

  The real deadline is going to be the waiver deadline in August. With salary and limited packages being offered up by buyers, I think deals will be made in the next few weeks by teams really in positions to make a deep run. It will naturally give some of the teams who are contending now a better idea how close they really are. Teams like the Dodgers, Mets, Tigers, Rockies and Angels who could buy or sell right now, will know for sure in a few weeks or even a month if they have any chance at all. The only team in that group who is conceivably out of it is probably the Angels though. The NL is wide open in each division and the wild card is going to be a dogfight. The AL Central is far from over though. Unfortunately for the LAA, the AL wild card race is gonna be done and the AL West race is even further over.
• The Enforcer

  I really hope Ken Williams has something up his sleeve because if the Edwin Jackson move is all he does this will be a huge disapointment considering what Minnesota did.
• darbypitcher22

  

  with the waiver deals in place and so many teams still in the race it makes you wonder whether you'll see any gamesmanship by other teams, such as claiming a player in a waiver deal to keep someone from being on the other club
• Azubuike24

  

  jordo212000;437356 wrote:They are basically the same guy. .270ish hitter with 15-20 HR potential. Like I said, not terrible, but not anything that is considered great. Especially when you consider when Johnson was hitting those HRs. 23 HRs in 2006 is nothing. Guys were still hitting lots of home runs back then

  
  The difference is Johnson had a great eye. His OPS numbers, while not completely power driven, would not decrease nearly as much today as other players' would. The guy could've been among the leaders in OBP every year. He drew 110 walks in 147 games and still has a career .401 OBP. He might have capped out at 15-20 HR's in today's game, but he would be far more valuable in other areas.
  
  He's better than Lyle Overbay though. That's not a question at all.
• darbypitcher22

  

  I thought Kenny Williams was supposed to be sorting out a deal to "shock the world" I hope the Jackson deal wasn't it
• Azubuike24

  

  darbypitcher22;437360 wrote:with the waiver deals in place and so many teams still in the race it makes you wonder whether you'll see any gamesmanship by other teams, such as claiming a player in a waiver deal to keep someone from being on the other club

  
  Might depend on the contracts owed. Many of these guys who are being shopped are potential free agents. The closer the year gets to ending, the less money teams would owe on a claimed player. Guys like Dunn, Lilly, Westbrook, D. Lee, Hawpe, Guillen and others are free agents and could basically be had (given the market thus far) for teams just to take their remaining salary and maybe an average prospect, so risk in picking them off waivers might only be whatever is owed in 2010. Whereas other guys like Carlos Lee, Carlos Zambrano and a few others would still require teams to add salary after this year, and would likely be let go for nothing to anyone crazy enough to claim them.
• jordo212000

  

  Azubuike24;437364 wrote: He's better than Lyle Overbay though. That's not a question at all.

  
  Overbay 114 HRs, 497 RBIs, .276 career hitter, .359 OBP, .805 OPS
  Johnson 91 HRs, 387 RBIs, .270 career hitter, .401 OBP, .844 OPS
  
  Overbay has more plate appearances, so obviously the numbers would have been closer, but I still say they are the same guy. Overbay was a solid player. Not great. That's all I've ever said.
• The Enforcer

  I have to believe it involved Berkman, but he vetoed a deal today to Chicago.
  
  The only one I could think of now is Dunn.
• darbypitcher22

  

  yeah obviously for some players it wouldn't make any sense to pluck him of waivers but like you said for some it may be well worth the risk
• Azubuike24

  

  jordo212000;437377 wrote:Overbay 114 HRs, 497 RBIs, .276 career hitter, .359 OBP, .805 OPS
  Johnson 91 HRs, 387 RBIs, .270 career hitter, .401 OBP, .844 OPS
  
  Overbay has more plate appearances, so obviously the numbers would have been closer, but I still say they are the same guy. Overbay was a solid player. Not great. That's all I've ever said.

  
  We're not talking careers. We're talking potential. Johnson has been killed by injuries and hasn't played in a good ballpark for hitters. When you break it down, Johnson still has better peripherals (not totals, obviously). Johnson, if not for injuries, would be far better than Overbay. Again, Overbay has NEVER come close to anything resembling that season Johnson had in 2006 and anything close to the stretch Johnson had from 2005-2006.