Is It Fitting the Pieces or the Personalities That Make Great Trades Possible?

The New York Yankees have brought up Rob Refsnyder from Scranton, PA to play second base and it was about time. The Bombers have put a little space between themselves and the rest of the AL East and making a few final adjustments should position them as serious playoff contenders. As glad as the Yankee faithful may be that Stephen Drew has given way, they are still not happy. There is one more puzzle piece and a gaping hole in which it needs to go and there is little chance that help is on the way from Wilkes-Barre.

Didi Gregorius is a fine glove man and would be a fitting back up to a shortstop that can hit.

Flip the mirror to the NL east and the same picture begins to emerge. The Washington Nationals are clinging to a precarious lead over the New York Mets despite a season filled with injuries to key players. The return of Ryan Zimmerman should occur shortly after the All-Star break and Anthony Rendon might follow at some point along with Denard Span. The most noteworthy pothole in the Nationals road to the Post Season is in the bullpen, which has been the target of too many columns here to mention.

The Nationals have a plethora of middle infielders and Rendon’s return will increase the glut since he can play second and third. Even without Rendon, the Nationals have Yunel Escobar–hitting .321, Danny Espinosa and Ian Desmond. Then there is Trea Turner who is beginning to get traction at Syracuse and has hit a cool .417 in his last 10 games there. Turner looked even better in the Futures Game, where he was 2-for-2, with a triple. Other than Turner and Rendon, the Nationals might be willing to trade any of them, although Ian Desmond would be the first horse they would like to push out of the gate.

Although it is difficult to argue that the Yankees have a similar glut anywhere on the field, the one place might be in the bullpen. The seventh-eighth-ninth innings are capably handled by Wilson-Bellances-Miller and that leaves several possible trade pieces that might interest the Nationals. Chasen Shreve has been excellent and there is a small point of interest to the Nationals about Shreve. He came out of the University of Southern Nevada, JC in 2010, which is oddly enough the same launch pad for Bryce Harper, who came out ten rounds earlier than Shreve that year.

Throw in the Yankee pitchers Jacob Lindgren and Jose Ramirez who are pitching in Scranton-Wilkes-Barre and you have enough bullpen arms on the Yankee side to find some kind of fit with the middle infielders of the Nationals.  Mike Rizzo and Brian Cashman have never made a trade of which I am aware, and that might be the one sticking point. As much as the pieces might fit, there needs to be a personal connection as well and there may never be one between Rizzo and Cashman.

Billy Beane and Rizzo are hagglers who have been frequenting the same old town market place for several years now. The most recent off-season saw Beane send Yunel Escobar to Washington for Tyler Clippard, a trade which now the Nationals would like to have back. Not because either player has disappointed. No, it is because Danny Espinosa has played better than anyone expected.  Instead of playing second base for Espinosa, Yunel has filled in for the injured Anthony Rendon. So while Billy doesn’t want Escobar back and is more unlikely to want Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa is hitting .254/.331/.435, all of which is a pleasant surprise. Is it time to sell high on Espinosa? He is under team control for three more years and Tyler Clippard is a free agent at year’s end. Seems like the kind of swap that might interest Billy Beane.

Washington scouts who have been following the Athletics and the assumption is that they are scouting Ben Zobrist. But what would Billy Beane want back for Zobrist and Clippard? The two players would fill a wealth of holes for the Nationals and Danny Espinosa would be a nice upgrade over Eric Sogard at second base for the A’s. What else would Oakland need for two rental players? Obviously Washington would have to part with some pieces that might hurt, but there are certain untouchables such as Joe Ross, Lucas Giolitto and Trea Turner. Then again there are other players in Washington’s minor league system that could appeal to Billy Beane. Austin Voth–ranked number 10 among Nationals prospects–has had a nice season in Harrisburg and has shown that he is just about Major League ready. The Nationals could move Lucas Giolitto up to Harrisburg to fill Voth’s spot and Billy would have two controllable West Coast natives in Espinosa and Voth in exchange for Zobrist and Clippard.

It will be very difficult for the Nationals to part with Danny Espinosa, but if Anthony Rendon is available to play third and Trea Turner can fill behind any new injuries, then the Nationals can afford to part with the man with the Fu Manchu mustache. Ben Zobrist can play second and allow Escobar to remain at third until Rendon is ready. Zobrist can play the outfield where Jayson Werth’s wrist and his ability to bounce back at age 36 remain a question.

Tyler Clippard’s return would do a lot to salve any wounded feelings about the loss of Espinosa, but more importantly he would go back to bridging to Drew Storen in the eighth inning. The big question has to be whether Rizzo believes in Clippard? If he was sold on the former Yankee farm hand’s durability, why did he trade him before the 2015 season? Part of it was his lack of faith in Danny Espinosa as an everyday player. Yunel Escobar was supposed to play second and team up with Ian Desmond, Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman in a solid infield that has played together so far this season for only a handful of games. Next year’s infield is likely to be Rendon, Turner, Escobar and Zimmerman.  That makes Espinosa is expendable and after the start to his 2015 season, he deserves a chance to play somewhere everyday.

Espinosa and Voth for Clippard and Zobrist.  It works, but if you want something reely beeg, then maybe Oakland throws in Chad Pinder and Washington gives back Nick Pivetta. Then we have a six player bockbuster deal that is what the July trading deadline is all about.  Is the All-Star Game over yet?  Let’s get back to rumors about the trading deadline. Pennant races are what drive this machine, not home run derbies.