As the MLB trade deadline approaches (it’s 2:00 p.m. tomorrow, Colorado time), I’m getting a little antsy. I always worry about trade deadlines and what might happen with my teams. The Rockies present an interesting situation in terms of this season — are they buyers or are they sellers?
Troy Renck of The Denver Post thinks that depends on tonight’s game. If the Rockies win, they might not do anything. If the Rockies lose, they’re sellers (specifically, they’re sellers of closer Brain Fuentes). The possibility of one game deciding the course this team will be on for the rest of the season terrifies me.
My feelings on Brian Fuentes have been mixed. I flat-out loved him for a while. He was, like Bobby Jenks, a reliable closer. Around the All-Star break last season, things started to go wrong. He went on the DL and after his return, he lost the closer spot to Manny Corpas for a while. This year, he didn’t get off to a strong start. Eventually, though, he returned to form and has become a reliable closer again. He’s been lights out. Maybe it’s just that he’s healthy or maybe he’s been motivated by the thought of being traded (my guess is that he doesn’t want to be traded at all, partly because the Rockies players like him and partly because he wants to be a closer and most if not all of the teams interested in him already have established closers and he’d end up as a set-up guy).
There’s no question that Fuentes is valuable. Right now, the issue seems to be that the Rockies think he’s more valuable than other teams think he is and, as a result, the price for him might be so high that nobody will offer a deal the Rockies would accept. A loss to the Pirates today (which would be three in a row) might tip the balance away from keeping Fuentes or getting someone awesome for him and in favor of doing something, anything to shore up the starting pitching.
So we’ll see what happens. I don’t think the Rockies are likely to make any other moves. There’s a chance they might trade Yorvit Torrealba, who hasn’t gotten much playing time since Chris Ianetta has been playing well. I still love Yorvit, so I’d hate to see this happen, but he could be a solid option at catcher for a team that needs one. I don’t think they’ll move Matt Holliday or Garrett Atkins. There’s no reason to nail the coffin shut just yet when you’re in such a crappy division, you know?
As for the White Sox, I have no idea. I hope they do something to bolster their inconsistent offense. I wouldn’t be surprised if they moved Juan Uribe. That said, I also wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled off some last-minute, blockbuster deal. The way things have been going in Minnesota, I wouldn’t mind that one bit.
