I won't post the full article because it's ESPN Insider, but Buster Olney's blog today discussed the possibility of teams trading bad contracts this offseason. A few mentions:
1.
B.J. Upton |
Atlanta Braves
Owed: $46.35 million over the next three seasons
He’s batting .205 this season after hitting .184 in 2013, and he’s already posted his sixth straight season of 150-plus strikeouts. The Cubs could again have interest after trade talks that involved
Edwin Jackson crumbled earlier this season.
There might be a match with the Indians, as well.
2.
Nick Swisher |
Cleveland Indians
Owed: $15 million for each of the next two seasons, with a $14 million vesting option for 2017 if he reaches 550 plate appearances in 2016
Swisher had a terrible season that was ended by knee surgery, posting a .608 OPS and some of the worst defensive metrics in MLB. With
Carlos Santana settling in at first base, it could be that the Indians will look to move Swisher’s contract in the offseason.
He might be an interesting dollar-for-dollar dump with the Cubs and Edwin Jackson.
4.
Michael Bourn | Cleveland Indians
Owed: $27.5 million for 2014-2015, with a $12 million vesting option for 2016 if he gets 550 plate appearances
He’s 31 years old and his numbers aren’t that far off from his last season with the Braves, when he hit .274 with a .739 OPS. But there is one significant difference in Bourn: He has battled leg injuries the past two seasons and has stopped stealing bases. He had 23 in 35 attempts last year, and just nine in 14 attempts this year.
The Braves loved Bourn’s makeup and had wanted to re-sign him after 2012, so perhaps Atlanta and the Indians can find some common ground among Swisher, Bourn and Upton.
7.
Ricky Nolasco |
Minnesota Twins
Owed: $37 million over the next three seasons, including a $1 million buyout of a club option for 2018
The signing of
Phil Hughes paid off. The signing of Nolasco, not so much. He’s 5-9 with a 5.62 ERA.
His dollars are pretty close to those of Swisher, so who knows.
13.
Ubaldo Jimenez |
Baltimore Orioles
Owed: $38.75 million for the next three seasons
He has already been demoted from the rotation to the bullpen, with an ERA of 4.74 in 21 games. Presumably,
Baltimore could be open to moving him, and you wonder if Cleveland -- with some contracts that it might want to shift -- could be interested in swapping some of its sunk cost for Jimenez, who had a lot of success with the Indians last year. Jimenez turns 31 in January.
16. Edwin Jackson | Cubs
Owed: a total of $22 million for the next two seasons
Jackson has the worst ERA in the majors -- by far -- at 6.09, and he’s owed $22 million for the next two seasons. In terms of positives, he turns 31 later this month and has a relatively pristine injury history, so there’s hope there. But remember, other veteran pitchers like
Scott Feldman,
Jason Hammel and
Jake Arrieta have gone to Chicago and rebuilt their records under Chris Bosio.