In an article for ESPN Insider, Jim Bowden proposes four different blockbuster trades he would like to see happen before the deadline and one of the trades involves the Mets and A’s.
Mets receive: LHP Tommy Milone, RHP Ryan Cook and 1B Nate Freiman
A’s receive: 2B Daniel Murphy and RHP Bartolo Colon
A’s GM Billy Beane already made one blockbuster deal, but why stop there? The previous trade already gives the team its best chance at winning a championship since Beane became a GM, but the team has one remaining need: a solid second baseman. Why not get greedy and trade for Murphy, who is leading the National League in hits? While he’s at it, why not reacquire Colon for another year and a half, giving the A’s a two-season chance for a championship?
That would give the A’s a rotation of Sonny Gray, Scott Kazmir, Samardzija, Colon and Jason Hammel, with Jesse Chavez on the ready, and that would give them a much better chance of beating postseason nemesis the Detroit Tigers. With Murphy, the A’s will have lengthened their lineup and eradicated the only position in which they don’t have an above-average major leaguer.
In return, the Mets get 27-year-old Tommy Milone, who won 13 games in 2012 and 12 games in 2013 and is 6-3 with a 3.55 ERA and 1.21 WHIP this year. Sure, he’s a back-of-the-rotation starter, but he’s also 14 years younger than Colon, and his finesse ways would blend well with hard throwers Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard.
Meanwhile, Ryan Cook would upgrade the Mets’ bullpen and is expendable for the A’s, and if he stays healthy, he could develop into a closer. The key to the deal for the Mets could be Freiman, who has tremendous power from the right side. Many scouts think that if he’s given the chance to play every day at first base, he could end up being a 30-homer, 100-RBI producer. He just needs the opportunity.
I like Bowden, but he should stay out of the hypothetical trade business. While I’ve always been a big fan of Milone, and was surprised to see him bounced from the rotation and demoted after the Samardzija trade, I don’t see the upside in this deal for the Mets.
There is not one top prospect here and it’s very debatable that Freiman and Cook find any success with the Mets.
If the purpose of moving Colon is to open up a spot in the rotation for the return of Matt Harvey and the likelihood that one of Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard join the rotation in 2015, what role does Milone serve?
And where exactly is the proven major league bat this team is looking for? How can you trade Murphy and not get a legitimate hitter back?
This is an awful return for the Mets. It would set us back another two years at least.
