Jon Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported yesterday that Tampa Bay Rays RHP Andy Sonnanstine could be on the trading block.
There will probably be plenty of trade rumors surrounding Rays right-hander Andy Sonnanstine over the final few weeks of spring training. But no one has made a formal inquiry yet, one major league source said Monday afternoon. Among the teams that could use another starter: the Diamondbacks, Mariners, Mets, Twins, Dodgers and Nationals.
Tampa Bay's Andy Sonnanstine
I’m not so sure that Sonnanstine is even worth our while at this point. I look at him and I look at Mike Pelfrey or John Maine and wonder if there is any real difference, or if Sonnanstine is even an improvement.
With Jenrry Mejia waiting in the wings, Jon Niese ready for his opportunity, and good spring performances from Nelson Figueroa and Hisanori Takahashi, I really don’t see where he would fit in.
Then of course there’s the question of what we would have to give up to acquire him.
Mike Silva of NY Baseball Digest posted an interesting article speculating a possible Chris Carter swap for Sonnanstine. However, despite Sonnanstine’s non impressive performance in the Majors thus far, I strongly doubt that the Rays would simply trade him for a career minor league corner outfielder with a bad defensive reputation.
Sonnanstine won nine games last season and posted a 6.77 ERA in 99 innings pitched with a 1.67 WHIP. Hardly the kind of numbers that jump out at you, but at 27 years old he still has time to improve.
The Mets passed on guys like Joel Pineiro, Randy Wolf and Jason Marquis this offseason citing that they felt those pitchers were not better than what the Mets already had in the house.
Sonnanstine seems like an even worse option than any of the pitchers the Mets passed on, so why would you want to give up multiple prospects to get Sonnanstine when you could have gotten better pitchers without having to give anything up?
