Its not desperation at all. It is timing.
You view this team as an 80 win team that is so far behind Chicago that trading for significant upgrades won't make a real difference in 2022.
With Jose only two years away from leaving, and several other core players not far behind, you think that all that production can be easily replaced by in house prospects without missing a beat....but even if that was possible (its not), we would simply be back to an 80 win team.
But adding a full season of Bieber, Civale, Plesac, Quantrill, and TMac to the rotation, plus Straw in CF, and Franmil for another 30 games...plus some normal improvement from a few youngsters...makes this closer to an 88 win team.
Not quite good enough to catch Chicago, but close enough that a few upgrades...one significant...would allow us to pass the Chisox.
Waiting another year to make a push makes zero sense.
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Bradley hits a lot of home runs, but his strike outs and defensive limitations eliminate all his value. Losing him carries very little risk, something as GM I am very willing to do.
Bradley is hardly a proven MLB talent, like so many of our posters are more than willing to trade away for more prospects.
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There isn't a contending team in baseball with an OF need that wouldn't trade Palacios for Happ. Happ is only a 2 WAR player? How many true rookie position players that weve brought up in the last two decades have put up 2 WAR? Not many.
I doubt that StL would trade Yepez for Palacios.
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You say that the Guardians place a higher value on Palacios than outsiders, so he is really more valuable than listed. Well, the same applies to Yepez then, doesn't it?
If Palacios is more valuable than Happ, Yepez is nearly as valuable as which Tribe starter? Quantrill? Civale? Or how about Espino?
Hint: Both assertions are ridiculous.
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Obviously, Yepez is not worth an established and productive MLB player/pitchers in return, and would have to be part of a package in a major trade with us...or part of a more minor deal.
And there lies the rub.
What StL has that we would want in a major trade they won't trade. What StL would want from us in a major trade we won't trade. Trading one of our front line pitchers for one of their starting outfielders would not improve either team...a trade merely for the sake of making a trade.
And if we are talking about a minor trade, its really unlikely that StL is willing to make a minor trade for a kid expected to be in their opening day lineup.
Now, if StL wants to trade from its over abundance of young MLB ready hitters who are scheduled to get to MLB this year (they have four), they might be willing to trade for one of our over abundance of SPs, who could conceivably be slotted into a contending MLB rotation at the beginning of this season....except that we don't have one.
No true contender is interested in slotting Morgan or Morris into their opening day rotation.
StL simply is not a good fit as a trade partner.
