Seattle looking at Craig

[Fat Strat]

Don't forget that Felix is going to make $20M for the next two years. That's a ton of money and should hinder his trade value a lot. Not a lot of teams can take on $40M in guaranteed payroll while giving up multiple prospects.

[Pudgelewis]

Like some others have said, SP hasn't been our problem.

It's going to be. Kelly hasn't been pitching anything like his ERA, and the only pitcher we can realistically hope will match his performance from this point on is Wainwright.

I think the larger point is that getting an upgrade in the rotation to protect against Kelly's eventual regression won't make the team perform necessarily better than it is right now. Even if a Felix Hernandez comes in to match Kelly's sparkling ERA with the peripherals to boot, it doesn't matter much when the offense is doing it Jekkyl and Hyde routine. So giving up a cost controlled player who is likely our 2013 starting 1B for that kind of upgrade probably isn't the best idea.

Much better said than I did, but that's my line of thinking.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Don't forget that Felix is going to make $20M for the next two years. That's a ton of money and should hinder his trade value a lot. Not a lot of teams can take on $40M in guaranteed payroll while giving up multiple prospects.

Considering that teams are lining up in free agency or near free agency to give 20 million per to guys not as good as Felix(Hamels, Cain, Darvish), I really doubt his market is limited by his contract. Would it be the most efficient(air quotes on efficient?) use of resources? Probably not, but a 26 year old proven 6 WAR pitcher is maybe the most rare thing in baseball. It can't be replicated in the way that Allen Craig can, or that a litany of prospects can, or even dollars spent in free agency can.

[Mary1966]

If Zduriencik traded Felix he would be dead in Seattle. Felix is the only reason left to watch the Mariners.

[Vidor]

So let me pose my question again. Who would we get?

[Socnorb11]

Don't forget that Felix is going to make $20M for the next two years. That's a ton of money and should hinder his trade value a lot. Not a lot of teams can take on $40M in guaranteed payroll while giving up multiple prospects.

Considering that teams are lining up in free agency or near free agency to give 20 million per to guys not as good as Felix(Hamels, Cain, Darvish), I really doubt his market is limited by his contract. Would it be the most efficient(air quotes on efficient?) use of resources? Probably not, but a 26 year old proven 6 WAR pitcher is maybe the most rare thing in baseball. It can't be replicated in the way that Allen Craig can, or that a litany of prospects can, or even dollars spent in free agency can.

+++

I think it would be insane to make Allen Craig a deal-breaker in a Felix Hernandez trade.

[Magneto2.0]

Don't forget that Felix is going to make $20M for the next two years. That's a ton of money and should hinder his trade value a lot. Not a lot of teams can take on $40M in guaranteed payroll while giving up multiple prospects.

Considering that teams are lining up in free agency or near free agency to give 20 million per to guys not as good as Felix(Hamels, Cain, Darvish), I really doubt his market is limited by his contract. Would it be the most efficient(air quotes on efficient?) use of resources? Probably not, but a 26 year old proven 6 WAR pitcher is maybe the most rare thing in baseball. It can't be replicated in the way that Allen Craig can, or that a litany of prospects can, or even dollars spent in free agency can.

+++

I think it would be insane to make Allen Craig a deal-breaker in a Felix Hernandez trade.

This. I love Allen Craig. But he's 27 and has never played a full season and has had injuries and isn't a good defensive player. We'd have to give up Craig + 2 At Least A or A- prospects to get Felix Hernandez

[pioneer98]

I would trade Craig + prospects for Felix in a heartbeat. This is not just a trade for this year, it would also be a trade for the future. As some pointed out, Craig has been injury-prone, and hasn't really proven he can play a full season. Felix would be a real nice replacement for Carpenter. Actually, he'd probably be way better than Carpenter. It would be another classic Cardinals "trade and sign", if they could pull it off. If they can't sign him long-term they still would at least get him through 2014.

[Magneto2.0]

I'd give up Craig, Miller and + for him.

[robbotis]

Don't forget that Felix is going to make $20M for the next two years. That's a ton of money and should hinder his trade value a lot. Not a lot of teams can take on $40M in guaranteed payroll while giving up multiple prospects.

Considering that teams are lining up in free agency or near free agency to give 20 million per to guys not as good as Felix(Hamels, Cain, Darvish), I really doubt his market is limited by his contract. Would it be the most efficient(air quotes on efficient?) use of resources? Probably not, but a 26 year old proven 6 WAR pitcher is maybe the most rare thing in baseball. It can't be replicated in the way that Allen Craig can, or that a litany of prospects can, or even dollars spent in free agency can.

+++

I think it would be insane to make Allen Craig a deal-breaker in a Felix Hernandez trade.

This. I love Allen Craig. But he's 27 and has never played a full season and has had injuries and isn't a good defensive player. We'd have to give up Craig + 2 At Least A or A- prospects to get Felix Hernandez

Watch, Felix will get moved for a lot less than a great MLB ready slugger and two A or A- prospects. Hell, the list of teams w/ more than one A rated prospect is extremely small.
My bet is Felix could be had for a lot less than people assume.