EDIT: Fautino De Los Santos was traded to Milwaukee earlier this morning in exchange for catcher George Kottaras. This news broke hours after I had finished the original post around 2:46am. The proposal, as it stands, is invalid.
The Trade Deadline is quickly approaching, and the Mets, thankfully, are looking more like sellers as each loss piles up. While Sandy Alderson and his personnel were looking for pieces to buy as recently as three weeks ago, the abrupt struggles by the Mets leave them little time to work out trades with the still-contending teams.
For help that nobody in the Mets’ organization will ever see, and mostly for my personal amusement, I’ll be developing a trade a day until the trade deadline. Each one makes sense on paper and will help the Mets for a run next year.
Without further ado, today’s trade suggestion:
The Mets send 2B Daniel Murphy, RHP Ramon Ramirez, and cash considerations to the Oakland Athletics for RHP A.J. Griffin, RHP Fautino De Los Santos, and RHP Arnold Leon.
Murphy is a fan-favorite, has a good bat, and is under team control until the end of the 2015 season, so the Mets would expect a decent return on him. On the season, Murphy has a .303 average, as well as .773 OPS.
Oakland’s starting 2B is their homegrown, first-round pick, Jemile Weeks. While Weeks had a team-high batting average in 2011 (.303), he’s only hitting .216 this year, and has a dreadful .602 OPS.
If they’re serious about making a Wild Card run (especially after a magical July where they’re 17-3), they’re going to need better production, and Murphy will give them a solid #2 hitter. Murphy can also play 1B, 3B, and even some OF, giving Oakland the opportunity to figure things out.
Adding Ramon Ramirez and paying the rest of his contract is to help acquire the prospects Oakland would give up. Ramirez had a few tremendous years up until 2012, and maybe needs a change of scenery. While Oakland doesn’t need bullpen help, Ramirez has the potential to be a dominant 7th or 8th inning guy and has playoff experience.
As for who the Mets’ would get, A.J. Griffin is a #3 or #4 starter type with a below-average fastball, good control, and a nasty changeup. He won’t dominate anybody, but has a career 5.15 K:BB ratio in the minors.
Acquiring him would give the Mets a Santana-Dickey-Niese-Harvey-Griffin rotation for 2013, which honestly, isn’t that bad. Griffin doesn’t really profile into Oakland’s future either, as he’s only being called up as an injury-replacement to their ace, Brandon McCarthy.
Next year, the A’s have four other starting pitchers with big league experience under contract. Griffin is buried behind Brett Anderson, Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone, and Dallas Braden. He’s also less highly-regarded than 2010 first-round pick Sonny Gray, the emerging Dan Straily, and Brad Peacock, who the A’s acquired from Washington in the Gio Gonzalez trade. Oakland would be wise to move him while his value is at an all-time high, especially with their surplus of arms.
Arnold Leon and Fautino De Los Santos would give the Mets two more electric arms out of the bullpen. The A’s major league bullpen has been outstanding, which is why Leon hasn’t been promoted yet despite a 2.96 ERA and averaging 11.1 K/9 across three levels in the minors. He sits comfortably around 93mph, has a good curve, and above-average control. He would be an immediate asset to the Mets’ beleaguered bullpen.
De Los Santos has some big league experience, and has a 95-96mph fastball to go with a wipeout slider that averages around 83mph. He has all the peripherals to be a big-league closer, add adding him and Leon to the current Mets power arms (Bobby Parnell, Josh Edgin, Jennry Mejia, and Jeurys Familia) would give the Mets are far more formidable bullpen then they’ve had all of this year.
Why would the Athletics give up on a command starter, and two possibly great relievers? Because they’d get a needed stabilizing bat in the lineup, while keeping the rest of their current roster intact. Murphy is cheap for another three years after the end of the season, something the penny-pinching Athletics love. Griffin is a surplus, and Leon and De Los Santos are relievers who will help in 2013. The A’s aren’t in possession of the #1 Wild Card and 55-45 in 2013 though. They’re in possession of the #1 Wild Card and 55-45 in 2012.