Three team trade idea
The Rays seem to have much less uncertainty coming into this trade deadline than they've had in past years. They have plenty of players due to become free agents next year that they can trade, and most of them likely will be traded. Yet, the only controllable player they may be looking to move is Archer, and even that seems unlikely given his injury. Here's an idea that I believe, at the very least, has some potential . . .
Chris Archer, Matt Duffy to Phillies
JP Crawford, JoJo Romero, Franklyn Kilome to Marlins
Sixto Sanchez, Brian Anderson to Rays
This may seem a little nuts, and I'm not quite sure how to judge Anderson's value, but I think something along this line is a win for all three teams.
With the Nationals not showing up this year, the division is open for one of either Atlanta or Philadelphia. This would be a huge statement from Philadelphia, and would allow them to have a solid 1-2-3 of Nola-Archer-Arietta for a playoffs run. Franco and Kingery have both been fairly disappointing this year, so this allows them to get some much needed offense on the left side of the infield with Duffy. They would need to give up their top prospect in Sixto Sanchez, but with him likely not being ready until 2020 would allow them to better compete now. Trading Crawford would also signify that they plan to go after Machado or Donaldson in the offseason and become an even greater force in 2019. This combined with the Kingery extension could make Crawford expendable.
The Marlins are nowhere near contending, and thus should be looking to get all the young talent they can. Brian Anderson is young talent, so it doesn’t make sense to trade their promising young player. Yet, a package of Crawford, Romero, and Kilome has a good chance of being better in the long run. Crawford has more upside at a premier position, and could very likely end up the best player in the trade. Meanwhile, Romero and Kilome are promising young starters to bolster their farm system. Given that the Marlins trade Starlin Castro at the deadline, this would allow Crawford to get more playing time and get a better chance to become a star player.
Lastly, the acquisition of Brian Anderson seems like a pretty ‘Rays’ move, and it almost feels like a homage to the Myers trade. I may have been a little tempted because of his 80 grade name. I feel like I'm fantasizing about some other world where the Rays really like Anderson and thus go out of their way to get him, but it also fits their timeline. We’ve seen a pattern of Tampa acquiring pieces with major league experience and control in their big trades (Duffy, Smyly, Souza) and this would be no different. Anderson would become the RHH OF the Rays don’t have, and thus would mesh into their young core of the future. The arguably bigger prize would be Sixto Sanchez, who has a chance to be just as good as Archer. With Snell taking over as the ace of the rotation, the loss of Archer would not hurt as much as it would have in the past. Duffy is a great player, but the Rays have plenty of options at 3B and he is about to hit arbitration.
So, in total . . .
1. Phillies go all in
2. Marlins believe that they're selling high on Anderson, go for the prospects
3. Rays believe in Anderson, and get a fantastic pitching prospect with him
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This may make the lineup right-handed heavy, but the Rays have many LHH on the way (the Lowes, Sanchez, McKay) and thus will balance out throughout 2019.
If the Rays were to keep Ramos and resign him as well, here’s what the hypothetical healthy Rays team could have to choose from at some point in 2019 . . .
Catchers: Wilson Ramos, Jesus Sucre, Nick Ciuffo
Infielders: Jake Bauers, Daniel Robertson, Willy Adames, Christian Arroyo, Brandon Lowe, Nick Solak, Nathaniel Lowe, Brian Anderson
Outfielders: Kevin Kiermaier, Brandon Lowe, Brian Anderson, Mallex Smith, Nick Solak
Starting Pitchers: Blake Snell, Jake Faria, Anthony Banda, Brent Honeywell, Jose De Leon, Yonny Chirinos
Relief Pitchers: Diego Castillo, Jose Alvarado, Jaime Schultz, Colin Poche, Ian Gibaut, Austin Pruitt
Top 5 Prospects: Brendan McKay, Sixto Sanchez, Jesus Sanchez, Ronaldo Hernandez, Wander Franco