Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Excerpt: "Assets and Windows"

"Picture an alternate universe -- or the rule sets of any other league -- and give the Jays the ability to deal one or both of those picks. Does that put them in play for, say, David Price? The Jays have a rotation that, even with one of the two free agents, lacks a #1 and arguably lacks even a good #2. (None of the team's starting pitchers or the two free agents pitched at even a #2 level in both 2012 and 2013.) They dealt away the top of their farm system, save Aaron Sanchez, to acquire R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle. They've moved a lot of pieces to try and make this year and next year peak seasons, and having two picks in the top 11 of this year's draft does nothing for that goal. Would the #9 pick -- the chance to take Brad Zimmer or Kyle Freeland, perhaps -- along with Marcus Stroman and a lottery ticket like D.J. Davis be attractive to the Rays? A deal like that would enable the Jays to keep Sanchez, who might help them this year and will help them next year, while spending assets -- the picks -- that won't realize their value for three years or more."