As front office asks for patience, trade rumors swirl.(41.09)

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As front office asks for patience, trade rumors swirl.(41.09)

Post by niles08 » Fri Jan 24, 2020 9:44 am

On the heels of the Omaha front office putting out a request for patience from Hawk Nation, trade rumors involving nearly everybody on the team have found their way to message boards across the country.

While many question whether some of these are true, or just gossip scenarios dreamed up by those sitting at home, it is probably likely at this point to assume that Omaha indeed is going to make some sort of move.

Do we here at the Omaha World-Herald think that the Hawks are about to sell off their entire team? Absolutely not. Do we think that few moves could be fan favorites that will upset some? Only time will tell.

Omaha hasn’t had a good farm system basically since the middle of the past decade, routinely ranking near the bottom of the league. Is now the time that maybe Omaha can rebuild that system a bit by trading some chips away for the future?

Looking at the current contract situation, it appears Omaha is going to have roughly $25,000,000 next season in open cap space if it were to resign none of it’s expiring contracts. Those contracts are actually likely, at least in our minds, to be the players moving on from Omaha either at seasons end, or by way of trade this year to help a contender.

Those players are

Justin Jackson, Martin Marin, Sergio Maldonado, Jose Zamora, and David Rivas.

Jackson has been pretty publicly discussed and from what I understand business is starting to pick up with multiple teams currently in discussions regarding Jackson. Of course, if Omaha doesn’t trade him they may be in line to get a comp pick next season in the draft. Theoretically, they could also just resign him although right now that seems to be the least likely option that Omaha is leaning towards.

Martin Marin is probably a bit underrated from a power standpoint just because Jackson is the main discussion, but Marin actually is cheaper, and other than 1-2 years that Jackson had, Marin has nearly been identical in WAR.

Jose Zamora & David Rivas are two pitchers that could find new homes. Rivas has been a dependable reliever for Omaha since coming up through the system, but has struggled this season and is in a contract year. Zamora was a Rule 5 pick who is a 1 and done in Omaha. If a team needs pitching in a pitcher-friendly park, they may come for him, otherwise, he’ll likely hang out in Omaha on a cheap contract this season.

So who is not an upcoming free agent that could be moved?

Well according to the gossip, Tu-Fu Yong has been in discussions. He is having a good year at the plate and now that he is playing second base has been very good. He leads the club in home runs at this current point and has a somewhat team-friendly contract paying him $11 million the next 2 years with a team option for a 3rd year in 2044.

Could the team move on from long-time closer Jose Canales? He has a $7.5 million team option next season that it appears is going to be denied as team sources have told me that this is the last year Canales is going to be trusted with 9th inning duties. Could his 3.32 ERA in 2041, and 343 career saves be used elsewhere this season? Maybe?

Stephen Clulow has been as dependable as they come since being acquired in 2034. He has thrown over 200 innings nearly every season, except 2036 which he missed on the disabled list. Clulow is up near the top of the rankings for pitchers abused over their career, but has had no injuries since that 2036 ton UCL and is only making $5,000,000 annually through next season. This one may be hard for fans to swallow, but Clulow may be moved if the offer helped the team next season.

That’s nearly it for veterans unless you include Conner Hamilton as a veteran. The 24-year-old catcher is entering arbitration next season and with his defense and power has been rumored to have sparked some interest from teams.

We couldn’t finish the report without mentioning the rumors that the club is willing to move Andre Ly and also rumored to be willing to move Timo Dooley. Ly makes a bit of sense as the outfield seems crowded the way it is, and Ly could play center field for quite a few teams. Not to mention he is left-handed which Omaha’s home ballpark suffocates left-handed power hitters.

Dooley may be a bit more surprising to see moved as he has done okay this season through his first 14 games started in the BBA. His ERA is under 5, and he has a positive WAR so at age 21 expect Dooley to stick around in the BBA, likely in Omaha unless they are blown away by an offer.

One thing Omaha is looking to improve on is defensively at shortstop, along with their ability to takes walks, both of which have been scrutinized by the majority of fans.

Hold onto your seats folks, this could be a bumpy ride.
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