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Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com believes the Blue Jays are listening to 
offers for OF Alex Rios, who is hitting .259 with 10 HR, and will earn $60 million over the next five seasons.
According to Rosenthal, the Jays might be asking teams interested in RHP Roy Halladay to take on either Rios, Vernon Wells or Scott Rolen.
This morning on WFAN, SI.com’s Jon Heyman said the Yankees and Mets are among 12 teams who have contacted the Jays regarding Halladay.
In a poll on MetsBlog.com, 54 percent of people who voted said they would trade Fernando Martinez, Wilmer Flores and Brad Holt for Halladay, while 62 percent said they would sign Rios to a five-year, $60 million deal if he was a free agent.
Rosenthal also reports on trade rumors involving Rockies 1B-3B Garrett Atkins and OF Ryan Spilborghs, as well as D-Backs pitcher Doug Davis.
Speaking of outfielders…
According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, “The Orioles are exploring trades for infielder Oscar Salazar and OF Felix Pie,” as they look to create a roster spot for SS Cesar Izturis, who will be activated from the disabled list on Friday.
Pie, who had been a highly-touted prospect with the Cubs, is batting just .226 in 182 career games, with just 26 extra base hits, 12 stolen bases and a .299 OBP.
Zrebiec believes the O’s have talked to the White Sox about a deal that would swap Pie for 3B Josh Fields.
Pie is not eligible to be a free agent until 2014.
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I’d trade a lot for Rios and Halladay especially if we could give Halladay an extension. Also if it keeps Halladay away from the Phillies who will surely repeat if they get him.
We would be instant contenders if we get both especially when we get our core players back. Aren’t we in it to win it?????
I am not a big fan of rios…but if that helped get halladay here…and while putting rios in LF and sheff on the bench improves this offense and defense…i dont think the mets will do that, mostly because of the $$$…..they are gunna have to add 2 huge contracts with rios and halladays extension…and rios is worth maybe half of his contract…
I agree but if he goes to the Phillies it doesn’t matter how good our prospects turn out cause they will be the team to beat for a long time especially with their offense. IT would be very dangerous.
oh i have no problem giving up prospects for halladay…in fact i want them to give up fmart, flores, mejia/holt if it will get a 1-2 of johan and halladay…but im more concerned that the mets will take on that terrible rios contract and have 3 bad contracts on there roster(and big ones at that) 23 mil for castillo….36 for ollie….60 for rios…..thats alot for average players…
Rios is average this year, but he is still young and has plenty of room to improve. I’d rather take the chance on a talented young player than an aging broken down player (Castillo). It is a lot of money. But he has consistently been around .280, 15-20 HRs, 30 doubles, 80 RBIs, 15 SBs, and plays a good defense. Those are solid overall numbers. He’s struggled this year when they kept him in the 3-hole.
Except if they take on one of those contracts how are they going to pay for Halladay since they are already close to their budget
Exactly – if the Jays are packaging Halladay with Rios, Rolen or Wells, that alone would keep the Phillies out of the bidding.
Plus I don’t believe Halladay would be interested in signing a contract extension to pitch in CBP over the next 4-5 seasons. In the end it may end up being too rich for Philly’s blood.
I hope your right about the Phillies being out of it if they are packaging both players. Cause if you are wrong we are in trouble.
We have a lot of money off the books next season …thats how they pay for it.
Yep…Delgado’s $12m is off the books, and there is no impact bat to replace him…I wouldn’t be against bringing him back next season, but it would be for closer to $m guaranteed in my opinion. You are also taking another $16m off the books between Wagner and Putz. Conservatively, that’s $20m off the books (should Delgado return) which would go directly to Hallady and Rios. Beyond that, Beltran’s deal is up after 2011, and even if they resign him, it will be at a reduced rate. Ultimately, they would really take a hit payroll wise this season, and possibly 2010. However, the way the last two seasons ended, and the way things are now they may need to tale the hit to appease the fans
In addition, taking Rios’ contract should reduce the prospect cost…I’d say that the team definitely needs to hang in to Holt, Flores, Mejia,and if possible, F-Mart. If they threw in guys like Davis, Niese, Marte, Murphy, and perhaps a Parnell, I’d think they should get somewhere. Personally, I’d consider adding the big pelf to the mix if it comes down to it.
To me it isn’t a good move for the Jays to ask Halladay suitors to take on Wells, Rios or Rolen’s contract. If I have to take on one of those contracts as part of the deal I would come back with than you get less prospects and/or lesser prospects.
Your right and we have to keep him away from Phillie.
This is the exact type of deal that Boston pulled off to land Beckett… I’ll be it beckett was way younger then Doc is. But They had to eat Lowell’s contract to take Beckett and gave up Hanley in the deal.
If you can get Rios and Holliday 1 potential all-star and one yearly Cy contender, you have to explore it.
That Beckett deal sure worked out well for both teams. Hanley was a propsect when he got traded and is now the 2nd best hitter in the league. And Beckett, well he got them a 2007 ring.
I like Rios because I think he would be a comparble alternative to Matt Holliday (and cost less in terms of $ and years), and he would only cost some low-to-middle end prospects by all accounts. But if the Jays are packaging him with Halladay that would be a lot of money for the Mets to swallow over a long period of time.
Not saying I’m against the idea necessarily. It would just depend on how the deal is structured.
however, the halladay extension wouldnt take effect until 2011 so the bulk of the deal won’t be felt for another 2 years and if so the wilpons would surely adjust the payroll accordingly to meet their “cap” by then. I definitely do this to keep him away from philly plus if you take on rios (which I dont think Philly would do) maybe you can lower the price in prospects.
Good points. Delgado, Wagner and Schneider will be gone next year; Castillo (if he’s not gone already) will be in the last year of his contract in 2011, as will Beltran. The Wilpons would have a lot of room to manuever.
Of course, Wright and Reyes will cost around $15M/year around then, but all this assumes all these guys will still be with the team by 2011.
Very true…but Reyes will be a F.A. after 2010 and will be looking for a big payday.
Yes, we take on a lot of money in contracts, but next year we lose the contracts of Delgado and Wagner, plus likely Schneider, maybe dump Castillo, and bam, we have some free cash to balance this out.
I have no problem sending Fmart. We expect him to be a solid OF, well, Rios aint too bad, so its not like we are creating a hole. Plus, I can still cheer for FMart to crush the Yankees for years to come…
We don’t have any “cant miss prospects” and surelyu no one of the caliber of Halladay. martinez may be as good as Rios or slightly better some day but he is not going to be an elite outfielder. Any what prospect do we have that will be as good as Halladay? i would do this in a heartbeat. i don’t think it gives us any guarantees this year becuase who know what Reyes, Delgado, Putz, Beltran can do. But next year we could get Hudson and we would have Rios, Beltran, Church (if not included in the trade) and then Wright, Reyes, Hudson, Murphy in the infield and who know who will be catching but Putz/K-Rod in the pen and Halladay, Santana 1-2. That would be awesome. Plus, Halladay on the Phillies and we will play second fiddle to their core for the next 5 years.
Exactly what is it about Rios that people find so exciting. His batting average, slugging percentage and OBP have each declined for the last three years.
Here is his OPS for the last four years:
2006 .865
2007 .852
2008 .798
2009 .729
For comparison here are Church’s numbers for the same period:
2006 .891
2007 . 813
2008 .785
2009 .719
What exactly is the value of this guy? he is no better than Church and he comes with a millstone of a contract.
Do we expect him to suddenly reverse his trends of the past three years because he puts in a Met uniform.
Omar, please do not waste time with Alex Rios. He is a former ROY who has not developed into a top player.
Church has 2 home runs and 21 rbi’s.
OPS is always a BS stat and can be argued. Look at overall production.
You cant compare Rios to Church. Church has been a disappointment I think we all can agree. Maybe Rios needs a new home?? Who knows. All I know if it gets Halladay here I could deal with it.
Obviously financials will be an issue.
I think Holliday and Rios are more comparable – and factor in that Rios as played his career in the AL East (and is a year younger than Holliday).
Your right and do you really want to bid against the Yankees and Red Sox during the off season for Holiday who is basically the same player as Rios???? I dont. Holiday is going to demand almost $20 mil with Boras as his agent. Rios gets $12.
heck, i’m in favor of giving up a few of our “untouchables” to make this deal happen. but do any of us really think that omar will suggest to the wilpons that we do it? nah. i don’t think this will happen ever, but i hope i’m wrong. halladay and santana? phew!!
with halladay and santana we will lose 3-2 instead of 8-2. LOL
LEts be fair – that won’t be the issue when we get our core back. That is only the issue now. But I know what you mean. haha
Allow me to play GM for second. If I’m Omar (and the Wilpons authorized the payroll addition), I would offer the Jays the following:
1) Jay get Brad Holt, Bobby Parnell, Josh Thole and Daniel Murphy or Ike Davis.
2) Mets get Roy Halladay and Alex Rios.
It’s a bit of a risk because Halladay is only signed through 2010 and there’s no guarantee that the Jays would accept this deal, but this deal would give the Jays two live arms, one 1st basemen prospect and a good-hitting catching prospect. In addition, the Jays rid themselves of the $60M remaining in Rios’ contract.
For the Mets, it would deplete their farm system even further, but it would allow them to keep Mejia (who I think is their #1 pitching prospect right now), F-Mart and Wilmer. If Halladay leaves via free agency, then the Mets collect two high draft picks.
Thoughts?
I think it would take more than that to get Halladay and Rios.
That looks like a great deal for the Mets. I can’t see the Blue Jays doing that especially since 12 other teams will be putting packages together for them.
Agreed Lorenzo if not for the $60M that any acquiring team would be taking on. Few teams can take on Rios’ contract.
The Jays could get more for Halladay if they would not insist on a team taking on such a bad contract. Rios is young, but has been beyond mediocre since signing his contact extension.
It’s a question of what’s more important? Prospects, getting out from under the bad contract or a little of both.
Taking on that much in Contracts you can assume that it wouldn’t be necessary to give up 3 prospects in the mets top 15, and 2 major league pieces now. You also giving them 2 first basemen, as we’ve seen Murphy can’t play outfield and idk about Davis in the OF.
Only saying this because when the Red Sox traded for Beckett Lowell and Mota they gave up:
In a deal that was made official on Thanksgiving Day, 2005, Beckett was traded to the Red Sox along with third baseman Mike Lowell and relief pitcher Guillermo Mota for minor league prospects shortstop Hanley Ramírez and pitchers Aníbal Sánchez, Jesús Delgado and Harvey García.
So i could see a deal like Holt/Mejia, Flores/Marte/Havens a Cesar Puello OF type and a Robert Carson type fringe starter with MLN caliper FB that could slot in the BP.
I will never say that Rios is a savior. But he’s talented, you can’t deny that. Maybe he’s just unhappy being in Toronto. He’s played in 150+ games the last 2 years. he’s about a .300 hitter. he’s hit 24 HR. He’s driven in 79, 85, and 86 RBI the last 3 years.
I like ryan church but he’s never had 80RBI, He’s never hit more then 15 HR and he’s 3 years older.
So if you dealt for Halladay and Rios, your getting a nice Piece in the outfield and another STUD pitcher. I know you further deplete the already middle of the road farm team, but in a deal where your getting 2 proven MLB All-Star caliper players (Rios 2 and 6 with 2 Cy Young’s) holliday. You have to pull the trigger on that.
OK, what I’ve heard here in favor of Rios boils down to:
1. Maybe he’s just not happy in Toronto
2. He’s young and has upside.
3. OPS is a bs stat (which is denying reality)
However, I still haven’t heard an explanation as why we would want a player whose batting average, slugging percentage and on base percentage have all declined in the past three years?
How about:
- His stats are comparable to Holliday’s (who’s OPS has declined since he left the confines of Coors Field)
- He’s a year younger than Holliday
- He would cost less than Holliday both in terms of years and $
- The Mets would not have to deal with Bora$ in a bidding war that would include the Red Sox and Yankees.
- He would provide a long term solution in LF
- He’s a RH bat
- An outfield of Rios-Beltran and Church would be among the best in the league defensively
- There’s the possibility that taking Rios might also give the Mets Halladay