Relieved by the Deadline?

As Brian Wilson notched the final out in the 82^nd All-Star game on Tuesday night, baseball entered its next stage in a continuous and long season, the trade deadline season. Shortly after the game, we learned that Francisco Rodriguez was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for a couple of ‘players to be named later’. At the moment, the Blue Jays are considered by many realistic individuals as out of contention and have some key pieces that will interest many teams, namely bullpen help. Names include Jon Rauch, Frank Francisco, Octavio Dotel, Shawn Camp and Jason Frasor, all free agents at the end of the year (though, the Blue Jays hold a club option on Frasor, Dotel and Rauch). I believe Dotel and Frasor will garner the most interest as the former has the ability to dominate right-handed hitters, while the latter has been the best pitcher in the bullpen this year. I believe Alex Anthopoulos is actively discussing with teams such as the Cardinals and Rangers about bullpen help, but will he actually pull the trigger?

I personally believe that there is a better chance Anthopoulos pulls a trigger on trading Don Wakamatsu to a team that has fired their manager than one of the relievers being dealt (I mean it is Anthopoulos, what can't he do?). The type B picks that will compensate the Blue Jays at the end of the year will be leverage as to what Anthopoulos will ask in return. If we look at the past few years at names that have been drafted in the compensation rounds, we see names like Travis d’Arnaud and Brett Cecil from the 2007 MLB draft, Joba Chamberlain and Chris Perez from the 2006 draft and Clay Buchholz and Jed Lowrie from the 2005 MLB draft. The compensation round is where many general managers are willing to take risks on players and gamble on many high school picks and players who might command large amounts of money. Since 2010, Anthopoulos has picked six high-school draftees in the compensation round, namely Aaron Sanchez, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob Anderson, Joe Musgrove, Dwight Smith and Kevin Comer. Anthopoulos has used the draft to re-stock the Blue Jays minor league system, and will continue to use the draft to build a strong minor league system. Do I think Anthopoulos will give up an opportunity to attain such young talented prospect from the 2012 draft by trading away a reliever? No wonder Anthopoulos was asking for one of Joba Chamberlain or Jesus Montero for Scott Downs last year. Turns out the Blue Jays got Jacob Anderson and Daniel Norris in return for Scott Downs. Norris is believed to be one of the best, if not the best left-handed pitcher from the 2011 MLB draft.       

So if a trade were to happen, what do I expect to be returning the Blue Jays way? I expect young talent that is 2-3 years away from becoming MLB players. I see Anthopoulos targeting high ceiling players, as teams will be less resistant to giving them up than a prospect in AAA knocking on the MLB door.

So if I had to guess, I would not be surprised to see Patterson get traded and/or even Encarnacion. Patterson could serve as a fourth outfielder/pinch-runner for a competing team, and he can attempt to steal third base against the Red Sox every time his new team plays against them. Encarnacion can be an insurance policy to a team looking for a power right-handed bat off the bench who has the ability to play first and third base. Also, a team weak at third base might be interested at Encarnacion, too. With Alex Rodriguez out until early September, Yankees might be interested, considering Eduardo Nunez makes Encarnacion look like a gold-glover. I also would not be surprised to see Frasor go, as he might be a candidate that finishes the year as a Type A and re-signs with the club. It would be great to see younger guys get a shot at the bullpen, but in my opinion, the bullpen will look more or less the same. Yet again, this is Alex Anthopoulos we are talking about and he might go and prove me wrong.

Love to hear your thoughts on twitter @ShakeelSalamath