Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: August 8, 2018 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, football, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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Before you know it the NFL regular season is going to be starting and there are two top defensive lineman that have still not reported to their teams training camps. Both players are looking for new contracts and there has been some talk that one could actually be traded. Let’s see what we can figure out.

Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams is scheduled to make a little over $2.5 million dollars in the final year of his rookie contract. That’s quite a deal the Rams are getting for a player who has been recognized as the best defensive tackle in the NFL.

Donald played in and started 14 games last season. He recorded 11 sacks an forced 5 fumbles last season. Over his four seasons Donald has made 148 tackles to go with 56 assists; he also has 39 sacks and has forced 9 fumbles recovering 2 of them.

Believe it or not Donald is actually the 14th highest paid player on the Rams and is even scheduled to make less than punter Johnny Hekker going into this season.

Donald has an estimated market value of $18.9 million dollars, but would the Rams be willing to meet that number in a contract?

It will be interesting to see if and when Donald reports to camp. It seems right now the Rams hold all of the cards. Even if Donald holds out into the season if the Rams decide they want to keep him they have the option of putting the franchise tag on him next off season.

Do you see the Rams and Donald agreeing on a contract?

The other hold out is Oakland Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack who is also in the final year of his rookie contract and is scheduled to make just under $4.7 million dollars this season.

It’s become an interesting situation because obviously Mack wants more money, but his production has been down the last couple of seasons. Mack posted a career high 15 sacks in 2015. That total dropped to 11 in 2016 and 10 1/2 last season. Now those 10 1/2 sacks did lead the Raiders last season, but it’s not quite the numbers an elite defensive end puts up.

As of late there have been some that the Raiders are “open for business” when it comes to Mack. That more or less means that they would be willing to listen to trade offers for the defensive end. Even though these reports have said that the Raiders are willing to listen they also say that there is a very slim chance that a trade would actual happen.

It looks as though in the end the Raiders and Mack will agree on a new deal. Mack has come out and said that he wants a contract comparable to Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller. In 2016 Miller signed a 6-year $114.5 million dollar contract with Denver. If the Raiders see Mack as a talent like Miller then it should be a simple negotiation, but do the Raiders see him as that type of a player?

What do you have the Raiders doing with Mack? Will he get a new deal or will they actually trade him?

It hasn’t been made official yet, but there is suppose to be an announcement by the NBA later today, but it looks as though we’re going to get to see the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day.

The Warriors/Lakers game will be headlining a Christmas Day line up that has four there games on the schedule.

Besides LeBron James visiting the defending champions will get to see the Philadelphia 76ers taking on the Boston Celtics. We also get the Milwaukee Bucks against the New York Knicks, the Utah Jazz against the Portland Trailblazers and the Houston Rockets against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Yes it is just August, but this set of games especially the Warriors/Lakers game is going to be talked about like it’s happening tomorrow and in some cases it already is being talked about like that.

Which on of these games are you most looking forward to on Christmas Day?

While we’re on the NBA it appears as though Carmelo Anthony and the Houston Rockets have verbally agreed to a contract.

The 34 year old Anthony played with the Oklahoma City Thunder last season in what turned out to be the worst season of his career. Anthony averaged a career low 16.2 points per game He shot 43.7% on 2-pointers and 35.7% on 3-pointer for a combined shooting percentage of 40.4% last season. Anthony also grabbed 5.8 rebounder per game and handed out 1.3 assists per game.

In July Oklahoma City traded Anthony to the Atlanta Hawks who subsequently released him. Not surprisingly Anthony cleared waiver and became eligible to sign with any team.

Anthony has stated that he doesn’t want to come off of the bench, but that might be where he finds himself with the Rockets. It appears as though Anthony will be asked to pick up some of the offense that Trevor Ariza did last season. Ariza signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns this off season.

While Ariza did leave Houston in free agency the Rockets where able to re-sign point guard Chris Paul and center Clint Capela. The Rockets also add 2014 Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams to add depth at guard.

Does pairing Anthony with James Harden and Chris Paul give the Rockets the trio they need to challenge Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference?

The Washington Nationals are still trying to get themselves into the race in the National League East. Washington has gotten over the .500 mark at 58-55 which outs them 6 games behind the East leading Philadelphia Phillies and 4 1/2 games out of a wild card spot.

Now the Nationals shipped off a couple of relievers for some interesting reason this past week. Brandon Kinztler was traded to the Chicago Cubs after there was a report that he was a clubhouse snitch; which apparently was untrue and then they dealt Shawn Kelley to the Oakland A’s after Washington had designated him for assignment after he acted childish when he was called upon to pitch in a blow out.

So being a couple of arms down the Nationals added some what they hope will be help to the bullpen by signing Greg Holland. Now Holland has had his struggles this season and ended up being released 7 days ago by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Can the Nationals get Holland right? He was 0-2 with an ERA of 7.92 with St. Louis. Holland made his first appearance yesterday for Washington. He pitched 1 inning; striking out 3 and walking 1 in Washington’s 8-3 win over Atlanta. Maybe getting off to a good start with the Nationals is what Holland needs.

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but the podcast is also available for you to listen to any time you want at TuneIn.com.

Don’t forget to look me up on Twitter @Burketime

 

How was your week

Posted: August 4, 2018 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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As the baseball season heads into the home stretch there’s been a lot of talk about which teams have the best chance to win the World Series, but there hasn’t been a lot of talk about who might win what award. Earlier in the week I did see a pole on who might win the MVP award in each league, but there was nothing about the other three big awards; so I thought we could take a look at those.

The National League Cy Young has quite a few contenders for it right now, but I’m going to try and cut it down to the Top 5.

Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets is going to get some well deserved votes, but I don’t think he’ll get enough to win the award. In 22 starts deGrom is just 5-7, but has an ERA of 1.85 over 146 1/3rd innings. He has 173 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.97.

Aaron Nola has had a breakout year for the Philadelphia Phillies. Nola is 12-3 in 22 starts with an ERA of 2.35 over 142 innings. Nola has recorded 142 strikeouts and has a WHIP of 0.97. I don’t think Nola will win the Cy Young, but I’ll be interested to see where he finishes in the voting.

After spending the past three seasons pitching in Japan Miles Mikolas was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals and so far the move has paid off. Mikolas is 11-3 in 22 starts with an ERA of 2.75 over 137 1/3rd innings. Mikolas isn’t overpowering like some pitches on this list as he has just 97 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.08. So far it’s been an impressive return for Mikolas, but I don’t think he’s winning the Cy Young.

Zack Greinke is having a good season for the Arizona Diamondbacks as he is 12-6 in 23 starts with an ERA of 2.96 over 142 2/3rd innings. Greinke has struck out 148 hitters and has a WHIP of 1.04. Greinke is having a good season, but I think he’s going to come up a little short in the Cy Young voting.

Right now my Cy Young award winner is Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals. Scherzer is 15-5 in 23 starts with an ERA of 2.33 over 154 2/3rd innings. Scherzer has 210 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.91. This would be Scherzer’s 3rd NL Cy Young in a row and his 4th overall.

Just outside the Top 5 pitchers like Jon Lester, Sean Newcomb and maybe even Zach Godley have a chance to move up in the voting over the final two months of the season.

Over in the American League there are quite a few Cy Young contenders; so cutting it down to just a Top 5 was more difficult than I thought, but here’s what I came up with.

Last week I would’ve given this award to Chris Sale of the Boston Red Sox, but with his recent trip to the disabled list I think he’s going to fall just short again. Sale is 11-4 with an 2.04 ERA in 22 starts covering 141 innings. He has struck out 207 hitters and has a WHIP of 0.87.

Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays is 12-5 with an ERA of 2.27 in 20 starts covering 119 innings. Snell has a WHIP of 1.07 and has struck out 134 batters. Snell returns from the disabled list tomorrow from Tampa Bay. It’s been a good year for Snell and while he’ll get some Cy Young votes his numbers don’t match up with the other contenders.

Justin Verlander has had a resurgence since being traded to the Houston Astros. He is 11-6 in 24 starts over 156 1/3rd innings with an ERA of 2.19. Verlander has a very good chance to pick up his 2nd career Cy Young award. Verlander has 204 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.88, but I think the problem is going to be that there are three Astros starters that are having good seasons and it looks as though they may cancel each other out.

Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians won his 2nd career Cy Young award last season and he’s in the running for the award again this season. Kluber is 13-6 in 22 starts with an ERA of 2.79 over 145 innings. Kluber has 139 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.94. Kluber is in a situation like Verlander. The Indians have another starter who has put up good numbers and that might hurt Kluber in the voting.

I think that Luis Severino of the New York Yankees is going to be the last guy standing in the end and will take home his 1st career Cy young award. Severino is 14-5 with an ERA of 3.08 in 23 starts covering 143 1/3rd innings. He has struck out 159 hitters and has a WHIP of 1.11. The voting should be close, but I think that Severino will sneak away with the award.

There are other pitcher who will get some votes and could improve their position over the final two moths of the season. Astros Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton are going to compete with Verlander for Cy Young votes just like Trevor Bauer of the Indians will compete with Kluber for votes. Rick Porcello of the Red Sox picked up a Cy Young award in 2016 while picking up 22 wins. He looks like he’s going to be a 20 game winner again; so he’ll get some votes as well.

Now there is almost two full months of baseball left to play; so there will be pitchers that step up and show they’re a contender for the Cy Young and then their will ne pitchers that fade down the stretch.

As of right now both races are very tight, but I’m going with Scherzer in the NL and Severino in the AL. Who do you have? Leave your pick in the comments.

I mentioned at the start of this blog that there was a poll for MVP done earlier in the week. Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves won a very close vote over Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies. Both guys are having good seasons and their team are in playoff contention; so I can understand that voting. What really confused me was the American League voting. Out of 30 voters Mike Trout got 25 of the 1st place votes.

I’m guessing these voters just picked Trout out of muscle memory. Trout is having a good season and deserves to get some MVP consideration. Trout’s team the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have fallen out of playoff contention which seems to affect every other player when it comes to MVP votes, but Trout has been immune to it. I’m under the impression that these voters just forgot to look at the season Mookie Betts is having for the team with the best record in base the Red Sox.

I’m very confused by this; so I’m hoping someone can help me out with this. Please leave me a comment and let me know if I’m off on the Mike Trout MVP debate.

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but don’t forget that the podcast is available for you to listen to when ever you want at TuneIn.com.

You can also find me on Twitter @Burketime

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: August 1, 2018 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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Yesterday was the end of baseballs non-waiver trade deadline and there where quite a few deals that got done. Now teams can still make trades, but a player has to be put on waiver for any trades to happen.

Baseball has one of the simpler systems to understand. When a player is out on waivers there are a few things that can happen. He can get through waivers unclaimed and then can be dealt to any team. If a player is claimed his team can pull him off of waivers and keep him or they can try to work out a deal with the team that claimed him. There is one more option, but it doesn’t happen to often. If a player is claimed on waivers the team that placed him on waivers can simply let him go to the team that claimed him. The team claiming him would get him with no players exchanging teams, but would be responsible for all the money left on that players contract. The waiver claim order goes from the team with the worst record at the time the players was placed on waivers to the team with the best record being given the last chance to claim any player.

Oddly with all of the deals that ended up being made yesterday I feel that there was more talk about a player that wasn’t traded; that of course being Bryce Harper.

Washington Nationals General Manager came out early in the day on Tuesday and said flat out that Harper wouldn’t be traded, but that didn’t stop everyone from talking about him being traded. I guess they thought that Rizzo was bluffing and he had a Harper deal in the works. In the end Harper stayed with the Nationals and I guess I was the only one surprised that happened.

I understand that the Nationals have had a disappointing season and I believe they’re the most disappointing team in baseball. Even with as bad as Washington has been they’re still a .500 team at 53-53 and are just 5 1/2 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for 1st place in the National East.

Now I know there are going to be a lot of people out there who will talk about the fact that the Nationals have to pass two teams to get into 1st place and in a lot of cases that can be too big of a mountain for a team to climb, but because of scheduling I don’t think that’s the case this time. The Nationals have 17 more games against the Phillies and the Atlanta Braves who are currently in 2nd place in the National League East. Washington will play Philadelphia 9 times and Atlanta 8. There’s no easier way to make up ground in your division then by beating the teams in front of you.

Of course for the Nationals to make this move they’re going to have to get some things back on track starting with Harper being better than the .223 hitter he’s been so far. They’re also going to need some offensive help from Ryan Zimmerman and it would be an extra plus if they could get any kind of offense at all out of their catching position.

On the plus side Daniel Murphy seems to be finding his swing as he’s hit .474 over his last six games. If Murphy starts to hit that could help Harper see better pitches and just with Murphy’s improvement Harper is hitting .350 over his last six games. The Nationals will also need rookie Juan Soto to continue to play like the way he’s played and Anthony Redon will also need to produce.

Max Scherzer is fine at the top of the Nationals rotation, but after that there are questions starting with Steven Strasburg. Strasburg is currently on the disabled list with a pinched nerve in his neck. He’s expected back in the middle of the month; so he’ll need to contribute to the pitching staff.

Now after the big two it looks as though the Nationals will be going with Gio Gonzalez, Tanner Roark and Jeremy Hellickson to round out their rotation.

Gonzalez is 6-7, but has an ERA of 3.78 in 21 starts. If he can get some run support his record could be better. Roark has been terrible this season. He’s appeared in 22 games making 22 starts. He has a record of 5-12 with a 4.37 ERA. He’ll need to pitch much more like the guy who has a career ERA of 3.55 to help the Nationals get back in the playoff race. Now Hellickson has been a nice surprise for Washington. He was a late signee and has only made 15 starts, but he’s 4-2 with an ERA of 3.59. If Hellickson can just continue to pitch like he’s been he’ll be a big help down the stretch.

Washington did make a trade deadline deal yesterday as the sent reliever Brandon Kintzler to the Chicago Cubs for minor leaguer Jhon Romero.

The Nationals have some questions in the bullpen and it starts with when will closer Sean Doolittle return? Doolittle is on the disabled list with left toe inflammation and while on the disabled list suffered a stress fracture in that foot. It appears he is still weeks away from returning.

With Doolittle out who will the Nationals turn to in closing situations? Ryan Madson has converted 4 of his 6 save chances, but has an ERA of 4.54. Kintzler had 2 saves in 5 chances. Kelvin Herrera is 1 for 1 in save chances since being acquired and you’d think he’d be the guy the Nationals would turn to since he had 14 saves with the Kansas City Royals before being traded to Washington.

Beside who will close games the Nationals are going to have to find pitchers in their bullpen that can get the game to the closer.

Someone in the bullpen is going to have to step up and fill the main set up role. Matt Grace has been good from the left side with a 2.77 ERA and Justin Miller is 6-1 this season. Shawn Kelly has an ERA of 3.34; so this combination will have to continue to hold leads for whoever ends up closing games for the Nationals.

Have you given up on the Nationals? Or do you think they still have a chance?

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live in BlogTalkRadio.com, but don’t forget that you can listen to the podcast ay time you want at TuneIn.com.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @Burketime

 

How was your week

Posted: July 28, 2018 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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The MLB trade deadline is just three days away. After that I’m sure you’ll see a lot of articles about which teams where winners and which teams where losers. I thought we’d get a jump on that, but with a twist. Instead of looking at the trades that where made and how they will affect the pennant race let’s take a look at them and see how they’ll affect your fantasy team.

Let’s start with the biggest name that’s been traded so far Manny Machado who went from the Baltimore Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers. This is an easy one. Machado was having an MVP caliber season with the worse team record wise in baseball and there’s no reason to think that won’t continue. Machado may even have a chance to pick up some more RBI’s and score more runs for his fantasy owners being in a better hitting line up. The return of a healthy Justin Turner would give Machado even more of a chance to produce, but even without Turner it’s still a fantasy Win.

Let’s go with Machado’s teammate Zach Britton next who was traded from the Orioles to the New York Yankees. If you drafted and held on to Britton you where expecting him to return and pick up some saves for you, but he’s not going to get too many of those opportunities now. In my category leagues Holds is one of the categories; so Britton will be able to contribute in those leagues, but I most other leagues it’s going to be difficult to get a contribution from Britton for the remainder of the season. This one has to go down as a fantasy Loss.

Let’s stick with the Yankees as they also acquired left handed pitcher J.A. Happ from the Toronto Blue Jays. Happ picked up 10 wins with a Toronto team that was under .500. You have to think that a move to a contender should be good for him, but you never know. Happ has been om a bit of a downward cycle as he hasn’t pitched more than 5 innings in his last three starts and over his last seven starts his ERA is 5.20. Now he’s moving to a hitter friendly ballpark, but he’ll also have a better hitting team behind him even without Aaron Judge for a few weeks. I think this will be a Win for you fantasy team.

The Boston Red Sox also picked up a starter as they traded with the Tampa Bay Rays for right hander Nathan Eovaldi. The first thing that comes to mind is will Eovaldi stay healthy. Even think season Eovaldi didn’t make his first start until May 30th. He appears healthy and four of his last five starts have been very good. Moving to the best team in baseball should also be a big plus. All things point to this being a fantasy Win. 

The Milwaukee Brewers have made a couple of moves the first one being a deal with the Chicago White Sox for reliever Joakim Soria. With the White Sox Soria was the guy at the end of the bullpen getting the opportunity to get a save. He’s not going to be getting those chances with the Brewers. Soria has performed well in the set up role before which is what he’s expected to do for Milwaukee, but if you took a chance and drafted him I fantasy you took him as a closer. With that being said this ends up as a fantasy Loss.

The other deal the Brewers made was last night as they acquired Kansas City Royals 3rd baseman Mike Moustakas. This trade adds another power bat as Moustakas has hit 20 ho runs this season and is coming off a 2017 season where he posted a career high 38 home runs. With Eric Thames being out injured Moustakas should side nicely into that role of left handed power hitter for the Brewers. Being added to a better line up should also help Moustakas as he shouldn’t be pitched around now. This looks like a fantasy Win. 

The defending World Series champion Houston Astros have also made a couple of moves. The first one was acquiring catcher Martin Maldonado from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Maldonado has always been looked at as a good defensive catcher and a quality handler of a pitching staff, but he did post a career high 14 home runs last season. The question here is going to be playing time as I how much will he get. Max Stassi has dome a nice job filling in for the injured Brian McCann; so you have to figure right off the bat Maldonado is going to be sharing time. When the veteran McCann returns he’ll need the at bats to get ready for the playoffs. With all of this working against Maldonado this one is a fantasy Loss.

The Astros also added some bullpen help last night as they picked up Ryan Pressly from the Minnesota Twins. It was thought that the Astros might be looking for a closer, but Pressly is a set up guy who’s appeared in 51 games this season and has posted 8 holds. Pressly’s ERA is a little higher than most would like for a reliever, but I think this is another situation of a player going to a better team. This is a tough call, but I think this one will go down as a fantasy Win.

The Chicago Cubs added to their starting rotation picking up former World Series MVP Cole Hamels from the Texas Rangers. Hamels has had some struggles this season. I his last start Hamels gave up 7 runs in 5 innings and over his last seven starts has an ERA of 6.69. A lot of Hamels trouble has been associated with pitching in Texas where during the summer months the baseball really jumps at the Ballpark at Arlington. Is a change of scenery what Hamels needs? This season and last season Hamels ERA has been over 4.00, but he has had success in the National League before. I think the move to the Cubs will be a positive for Hamels and while he may not match the stats he had the last tie he was in the National League I think his numbers will improve. This should be a fantasy Win.

It had been reported that the Philadelphia Phillies where interested in adding a middle infielder and that’s what they did when they traded with the New York Mets for Asdrubal Cabrera. Cabrera is a career .270 hitter, but is ahead of that number this season and has hit better than that the last two seasons. Cabrera also appears to be on his way to posting a career high in home runs; he has 18 home runs right now and his career high is 23. Cabrera has played 2nd, short and 3rd in his career, but this season he has exclusively played 2nd base. I’m not sure where the Phillies are panning on playing Cabrera, but he fits what was perceived as their need. As long as Cabrera continues to get regular at bats with the Phillies there’s no reason he shouldn’t continue to put up the numbers he’s been doing all season; so this should be a fantasy Win.

Another team that went out and traded for a position of need was the Arizona Diamondbacks as they acquired shortstop Eduardo Escobar from the Minnesota Twins. Escobar was the Twins best player this season posting a .274 batting average with 15 home runs and 63 RBI’s. What’s paid off for fantasy owners with Escobar this season is he has a MLB leading 37 doubles this season. This looks like a good move for a Arizona team that is 1 1/2 games out of 1st place in the National League West and are currently holding the second National League wild card spot. Escobar is moving into what is a better hitters parks; so this should be a fantasy Win.

I saved this trade for last because I’m guessing it doesn’t affect too many leagues, but it will have an affect in the two 20 team leagues I’m in.

The Colorado Rockies added to their bullpen acquiring Seunghwan Oh from the Toronto Blue Jays. It appeared as though Oh was going to get some save opportunities in Toronto and earlier on he did, but converted just 2 of 5 save chances. Oh had his trouble in the closing role for the Blue Jays and was shifted into more of a set up role where he did well. Oh’s ERA is 2.68 in 48 games. The Rockies have a very crowded bullpen and I’m not sure how many chances Oh will get plus his home game are now in Coors Field. I think the combination of this many this one a fantasy Loss.

I think we got all of the major trades that should affect your fantasy leagues as of right now. Let me know n the comments if I missed one or what you think of these deals.

Don’t forget to listen to Sports Time Radio live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but if you miss it live you can go over to TuneIn.com and listen to the podcast any time you’d like to.

Remember to look me up on Twitter @Burketime

 

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: July 25, 2018 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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The Baltimore Orioles rebuild started by sending Manny Machado to the Los Angels Dodgers and it continued last night with the trade of Zach Britton.

Britton was dealt to the New York Yankees for three prospects all pitchers. Dillion Tate is a right handed pitcher who was 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 15 starts at Double-A. Right hander Cody Carroll and lefthander Josh Rogers where both pitching in Triple-A. Carroll has pitched in 32 games and is 3-0 with an ERA of 2.38 with 9 saves. Rogers was 6-8 with an ERA of 3.95 in 19 starts.

The Orioles kept all three in the minors at the levels they where at. Tate went to Double-A Bowie while Carroll and Rogers where assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.

Britton’s season didn’t start until June 12th as he had Achilles tendon surgery in the off season. He’s appeared in 11 games for the Orioles going 1-0 with an ERA of 3.45 with 4 saves.

Britton isn’t quite back to that dominant closer form he showed before getting injury, but he hasn’t given up a run in his last 8 appearances and truth be told the Yankees don’t need him to be that guy. Britton has been used in back to back games, but hasn’t pitched more than an 1 1/3rd in a game this season.

Britton strengthens what looked to be an already strong Yankees bullpen. Aroldis Chapman has an ERA of 2.03 while Dellin Betances (2.55) and Chad Green (2.63) have ERA’s under 3 while David Robertson has a respectable 3.05 ERA. Jonathan Holder and A.J. Cole have also contributed to the Yankees bullpen success. Adam Warren recently returned from injury while Chasen Shreve has had some struggles this season.

The addition of Britton will allow the Yankees to match up late in games against left handed hitters without having to stretch Chapman out. Britton also has the closing resume to give Chapman a day off if needed.

Britton is in the final year of his contract and since he was dealt mid-season the Yankees will not be able to give him a qualifying offer. That means if Britton signs with someone other than the Yankees next season New York won’t receive any compensation for him. The Yankees are also picking up the remainder of Britton’s 2018 salary which is right around 4.38 million dollars.

There where a lot of teams interested in acquiring Britton and the Yankees getting him is as much a game of keep away as it is improving their own bullpen. It was reported that the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs where two contenders interested in Britton. Now they’ll have to look elsewhere and the Yankees won’t have to face Britton if they where to meet up with the Astros in the post season.

With Britton, Brad Hand and Jeurys Familia all being traded it’s going to be difficult for a team to find a closer type of pitcher. Even though everyone seemed to think that the Oakland A’s should be sellers and deal their closer Blake Treinen they decided to go a different route and traded for Familia. With the Pittsburgh Pirates on an 11 game winning streak which has got them back into striking distance of a wild card spot they’ll more than likely hang into their closer Felipe Vazquez. So who’s that leave out there?

Fernando Rodney has converted 21 of his 26 saves chances for the Minnesota Twins. Rodney is 41 years old and in his 16th season, but can still get the job done. The Twins are 46-53 and it doesn’t look like they’ll be catching the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central; so they might look to trade Rodney. Rodney would be owed the remainder of his $4.25 million dollar salary for this season and he has an option for next season at the same salary, but he could be bought out for $250,000.

The Texas Rangers aren’t going to be contenders this season and there has been a lot of talk about them trading Cole Hamels, but would they deal their closer? Keone Kela is just 25 and has converted 23 of his 24 save chances this season. The price tag might be a little high for Kela as he doesn’t reach arbitration until this coming off season and can’t be a free agent until the 2022 season. There are some reports that the Pirates have contacted the Rangers about Kela’s availability.

At 43-60 the Detroit Tigers have played better in the first year of their rebuild than I think even they expected, but with the rebuild going on I’m sure they’d be open to dealing their closer Shane Greene. Greene has converted 20 of his 23 saves chances this season, but does have an ERA of 3.86. Greene is 29 years old and goes into arbitration next season and can become a free agent in 2021.

The Chicago White Sox are in the exact same position that the Tigers are. Jokim Soria is closing for the White Sox this season and has converted 16 of his 19 save opportunities. Soria is 34 nd in his 11th season. He’s actually spent more time pitching as a set up man than he has a closer; so it shouldn’t be difficult for him to work back into that role. Soria is making $9 million dollars this season and has an option for next season at $10 million dollars, but the contract has a $1 million dollar buy out.

I think the hot name on the relief front will be Raisel Iglesias of the Cincinnati Reds. Iglesias has converted 19 of his 22 save chances this season, but has an ERA of just 2.20. Iglesias is 28 years old and any team acquiring him would have him under control for four years if they wanted to. Iglesias is eligible for arbitration in 2021 and would be allowed to become a free agent in 2022. Interestingly there are teams out there that have mentioned that they’d be interested in seeing if Iglesias could become a starter, but that would be next season after a full spring training of being stretched out as a starter. the Reds seem to have been rebuilding for quite a few years without much success. Would they move Iglesias for a package of prospects and try to speed up that rebuild?

There’s a pretty good list of closers that could be traded before the July 31st deadline. Did you see someone that your favorite team should be looking at? Or is there someone that isn’t listed that should be? Let me know in the comments.

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but don’t forget that the podcast is also available for you to listen to any time you want at TuneIn.com.

Look me up on Twitter @Burketime

How was your week

Posted: July 21, 2018 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, golf, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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I understand in today’s online world that it’s very important for you to be the first one to report on a story no matter if it’s good, bad or indifferent. This has led to some very poor reporting from some very good journalists. Last night I came across an odd situation like this.

After the Mets/Yankees game wrapped up last night there was a lot of talk about the fact that the Mets didn’t use Jeurys Familia in a save situation last night. That led to a lot of speculation that he either had been traded or was about to be traded.

I decided to check Twitter because a lot of trades come out there before any place else. As I was scrolling through my Twitter feed there was a post from a prominent baseball reporter who I believe works for ESPN. I’m honestly not sure if he’s still employed there. I watch games on ESPN, but I don’t know if they still have a baseball show; so I haven’t seen this guy on their network lately. Anyway in his tweet he reported that Familia was on his way to the Oakland A’s then he added as soon as the teams can work out the deal. After reading the tweet; I sat there and thought isn’t that how trades are made? So I couldn’t figure out from his report if the two teams had made a deal or not, but more importantly than giving us any information he was the first one to get it out on Twitter. Luckily a little further up on my Twitter feed there was a report from a baseball writer who reports on the MLB Network and he reported that the two teams where talking, but no deal was in place. He also mentioned that there where other teams still interested in Familia.

I’m actually kind of rooting for this trade to happen just so I can hear the response from all of the guys on the MLB Network who have saying for weeks before the All-Star break that the A’s should be sellers at the trade deadline. I found it hilarious that a team that is currently just 4 games out of a wild card spot should be a seller, but all these guys seem to care about is acquiring prospects.

If the A’s are the team that ends up making a deal for Familia he’ll slide into a set up role in front of Oakland’s closer Blake Treinen. Familia was a set up guy for the Mets as a rookie; so he has some experience in that role. Familia is only signed through the end of the season; so he’ll be a free agent this off season.

Familia has appeared in 40 games for the Mets this season covering 40 2/3rd innings. He was 4-4 with 17 saves and an ERA of 2.88. He’s struck out 43 batters and walked just 14, but 1 was intentional while allowing 1 home run.

Familia would give the A’s another power arm in their bullpen in front of the already hard throwing Treinen. Lou Trivino has been a break out pitcher out of their bullpen this season. Trivino has appeared in 36 games covering 44 1/3rd innings. He is 7-1 with an ERA of 1.22 while piking up 4 saves and posting a team high 12 holds. Treinen by the way has converted 24 of his 27 saves chances while posting an ERA of 0.94.

While there seems to be quite a few bullpen arms on the trade market Familia would be one of if not the top reliever on the trading block. Not only would he be a big add to the Oakland bullpen, but if they get him the other contenders looking for relief help will have to go shopping somewhere else.

The Chicago Cubs are one of those contending teams and right out of the All-Star break they added a veteran arm to their bullpen.

The Cubs sent minor league left hander Tyler Thomas to the Texas Rangers for veteran right hander Jess Chavez.

Chavez is a well traveled veteran as the Cubs will be the 9th team he’s played for in his 11 year career. Chavez has been durable throughout his career as he has been used as both a starter and a reliever. It does appear that the Cubs are planning to use him out of the bullpen, but in case of emergency he could make a spot start.

Chavez appeared in 30 game for the Rangers this season; all in  relief. He was 3-1 with an ERA of 3.51 while recording 1 save and 3 holds.

While it’s not the major move I’m sure that some fans would like to see the Cubs make. It is a move that they needed to make. The Cubs bullpen has battled injuries all season with the latest being closer Brandon Morrow going back on the disabled list. It wouldn’t be a big surprise to see the Cubs add another veteran reliever before the trade deadline.

We don’t spend much if any time talking about golf on Sports Time Radio, but they are playing one of their major tournaments this week. This year it’s being played at Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus Scotland.

The 3rd round of the tournament has already teed off, but the leaders won’t be headed out for their round for a few hours.

After two rounds Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner are tied at the top of the leaderboard at -6 under par. Pat Perez, Xander Schauffele and Tommy Fleetwood are all jut one stroke behind at -5 under par. There are also five golfers tied at -4 under par.

Schauffele is scheduled to tee off at 10:40 a.m. and he’s playing with Rory McIlroy who is one of those golfer tied at -4 under par. Perez and Fleetwood are scheduled to tee off at 10:50 a.m. while the leaders Johnson and Kisner have an 11:00 a.m. tee time.

Since I’m sure everyone is wondering Tiger Woods is at Even par through two rounds which puts him in a tie for 33rd right now. Woods is scheduled to tee off at 8:15 a.m. and he’s playing with Shaun Norris who is also at Even par heading into round three.

FYI all the tee times where in Eastern Standard Time.

Don’t forget that you can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but the podcast is also available for you to listen to any time you want at TuneIn.com.

Feel free to look me up on Twitter @Burketime

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: July 18, 2018 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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It’s All-Star break time in Major League Baseball. I’m not a fan of any of the All-Star games, but the baseball All-Star game is as close to the actual sport than any of the other All-Star games out there. I didn’t watch any of the game tonight nor did I watch the Home Run Derby yesterday. I guess it’s kind of my mid-season baseball break to prepare for the trade deadline and playoff races. While we’re on trades.

While the All-Star game was on I caught some breaking news on one of the many sports channel I have and they where reporting that Manny Machado will be traded very soon. Apparently the Baltimore Orioles have agreed to trade Machado to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

When the news of the trade first broke the team that was going to be acquiring Machado was unknown, but as the night went it became clear that the Dodgers where that team.

Now there are a few things that the teams have to work out before this trade will be official. It appear right now that the Orioles will receive just one player Yusniel Diaz from the Dodgers. Diaz is a 21 year old outfielder who is the Dodgers #4 ranked prospect. What the teams are trying to work out now is if the Orioles will send any money along with Machado to the Dodgers. If money is added to the deal Baltimore could receive another player. Adding money to the deal would also help the Dodgers with some of their luxury cap concerns.

Will have to wait until the deal is officially agreed on before will know everything, but I’m surprised that the Orioles where only able to get one prospect as of now for Machado.

The Dodgers are currently in 1st place in the NL West by 1/2 game over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

By adding Machado the Dodgers will be able to get their line up back to where to was at the start of the season. Los Angeles lost their starting shortstop Corey Seager after 26 games this season. Seager sprained the UCL in his right elbow and has under gone Tommy John surgery. He should be ready to return in spring training next season. Chris Taylor has been filling in at shortstop, but was originally going to be the everyday centerfielder; Kiki Hernandez has been helping fill in at centerfield with Taylor at shortstop. With the addition of Machado it will allow Taylor to return to centerfield and Hernandez can return to be a utility guy.

Taylor is hitting .253 with 11 home runs, but has struck out 109 times this season. Hernandez is hitting .230 with 16 home runs. Machado would bring a .315 batting average with 24 home runs. It would be a big upgrade for the offense at that position, but Machado is also playing solid defense at shortstop with a fielding percentage of .980.

Even if the Dodgers do end up being the team that adds Machado there are no guarantees that he’ll put them over the top. Los Angeles is still dealing with a lot of injuries. Justin Turner missed the final four game before the All-Star break with left abductor tightness. Turner is expected to return when the season restarts on Friday. Yasiel Puig ended up on the disabled list right before the All-Star break with Grade 1 right oblique strain and is expected to still be out a couple of weeks. The Dodgers also have five relievers and one starter on the disabled list and don’t forget that both Rich Hill and Clayton Kershaw have missed starts this season with injuries.

While adding a player the quality of Machado will be a big, big plus for the Dodgers it might be even ore important if they can get healthy and stay healthy.

How do you feel about Machado to the Dodgers. Does it make the favorite in the NL West or the National League? How much does it improve their odds to win the World Series?

The Portland Trail Blazers won the Las Vegas Summer League championship on Tuesday by beat the Los Angeles Lakers 91-73.

The Trail Blazers jumped out to a 31-19 lead after the 1st quarter and where able to cruise home from there. K.J. McDaniels was named MVP of the championship game. McDaniels was the games high scorer with 17 point and also grabbed 7 rebounds. McDaniels came off of the Portland bench to go 8 of 14 in his 20 minutes of action. Caleb Swanigan grabbed a game high 9 rebounds while Wade Baldwin IV handed out a game high 6 assists for the Trail Blazers.

Josh Hart was the Lakers high scorer with 12 points. Hart ended up getting ejected in the 4th quarter after picking up two technicals for complaining. Jonathan Williams grabbed a team high 6 rebounds while Alex Caruso handed out a team high 4 assists. While the Lakers didn’t win the championship Hart was named Summer League MVP.

While the Lakers where playing for the Summer League championship second year guard Lonzo Ball was having surgery on his left knee.

After a month of rest and looking into other treatment option for his injured knee which included platelet rich plasma injections Ball ended up having arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus ligament.

Ball ended up missing the final eight games of the regular season with what was described as a knee contusion. Ball then took another month off after the season ended to allow the injury to strengthen and heal. While Ball spent time lifting weights and getting stronger he didn’t spend much time on the basketball court because of the knee injury. After the surgery Ball is expected to be ready for training camp without any complications.

Once Ball is healthy he’ll have to battle it out with veteran Rajon Rondo for the starting pint guard spot. Rondo was signed as a free agent this off season. Even though Ball was the #2 pick in last years draft the Lakers have said that the four spots around LeBron James would be open for competition in training camp.

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but don’t forget that the podcast is also available for you to listen to any time you want at TuneIn.com.

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime.

How was your week

Posted: July 14, 2018 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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With 63 wins so far this season the Houston Astros have the second most wins in Major League Baseball trailing only the Boston Red Sox who have 66 wins. The Astros are currently in 1st place in the American League West 4 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners. Houston looks like a serious threat to win back to back World Series, but they seem to have one glaring weakness.

After back to back relief appearances where he had given up a run the Astros sent their closer Ken Giles to Triple-A. Giles was 12 for 12 in save opportunities, but had an 0-2 record with an ERA of 4.99 in 34 games this season. On July 10th Giles came into a game against the Oakland A’s with a 4 run lead. He threw just 8 pitches and was charged with 3 earned runs as the A’s managed to comeback and beat the Astros 6-5 and while Giles wasn’t involved in the decision he was the pitcher who allowed the A’s to get back into the game. This was Giles last appearance before the Astros sent him to Triple-A.

The Astros acquired Giles in a seven player deal with the Philadelphia Phillies in December of 2015. Houston received Giles and Jonathan Arauz in return for Mark Appel, Harold Arauz, Tom Eshelman, Brett Oberholtzer and Vincent Velasquez. Appel was one of if not the Astros top pitching prospect at the time of this deal and it was a bit of a surprise that Houston traded him.

While Giles was looked upon as someone who would develop into a top closer even though when he was with the Phillies Giles was mostly used as a set up guy. He did do a little closing for them picking up 15 saves in 2015. Since going to Houston Giles has been up and down. He picked up 15 saves for Houston in 2016, but had an ERA of 4.11 and blew 5 save chances. Last season Giles converted 34 of 38 saves chances and posted an ERA of 2.30, but he had some struggles in the post season. Giles appeared in 7 post season games; he was 0-2 with an ERA of 11.74 over 7 2/3rd innings. Giles did convert 2 of his 3 post season save chances, but once wasn’t used in a save situation during the World Series.

With the pitcher they thought was going to be their closer now in Triple-A; who will the Astros use to close out games? Hector Rondon has closing experience and it looks as though he may be the guy at the end of games for the Astros right now. Rondon is 1-2 on the season with an ERA of 1.57. Rondon has convert 8 of his 11 saves chances this season. Chris Devenski and Brad Peacock also have 2 saves this season. Devenski has blown 3 save chances this season while Peacock has 3 blown saves.

If those are the Astros three choices to close games. Do you see them staying with this bullpen set up? Or will the be active in the trade market?

I’m sure the first name that is going to come up is Zach Britton of the Baltimore Orioles as it seems as though Britton and Manny Machado are going to ever team. Britton is coming back from an injury plagued 2017 and hasn’t been throw into the full time closer role yet in Baltimore. Britton has 2 saves in 3 chances and is 1-0 with an ERA of 4.26. While Britton’s name comes up quite a bit in trade talk he’s not the only one that could be dealt.

Th other name you heard a lot not only this season, but last season as well is Brad Hand of the San Diego Padres. It’s always been thought that Hand would be traded to a contender and used as a set up guy, but he’s the Padres closer. Hand has converted 24 of 29 saves and is 2-4 with an ERA of 3.05 this season. Hand has a very friendly team contract and the Padres have resisted moving him, but I’m sure if the right offer came along they’d have to consider it.

The New York Mets have made it clear that they’re willing to trade anyone; so maybe Jeurys Familia could be a target for the Astros. He had a couple of years as a dominant closer, but after a difficult 2017 season he’s had a difficult time returning to being dominant. He’s appeared on 39 games for the Mets this season and has an ERA of 2.95 while converting 16 of his 20 sav attempts. Familia will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Another name that has popped up here and there is Raisel Iglesias of the Cincinnati Reds. Iglesias is 28 years old and won’t hit the free agent market until after the 2021 season; so any team that acquired him would have him under control for three more seasons. Iglesias has converted 19 of his 22 saves chances this season. He’s 1-1 with a 2.41 ERA. Interestingly there are teams that would like to turn Iglesias into a starter after this season. He has made 21 career starts, but hasn’t been a regular starting pitcher since his 2015 his rookie season.

I haven’t heard a lot of talk about this closer, but with the Pittsburgh Pirates 5 games under .500 you have to wonder if they’ll listen to offers for Felipe Vazquez. He’s converted 21 of his 25 save chances this season and is 3-2 with a 3.15 ERA. This is Vazquez first season as a full time closer. He’s signed through the 2021 season, but has two option years on his contract; so any team that dealt for him could keep him until 2023 if they choose to.

Those are some of the top closers out there that could possibly be traded. There have been some other names mentioned. Kyle Barraclough of the Miami Marlins has been mentioned, but it would probably be a situation where he’d be acquired to fill a set up role. Barraclough has just recently started closing games or Miami. The Marlins do have 38 year old Brad Ziegler who has quite a bit of closing experience, but like I mentioned recently was taken out of the closers role for the Marlins. I’m sure the White Sox would move veteran closer Joakim Soria. He just resumed closing games for the White Sox as he was taken out of the closers role for a short period of time. but has converted 14 of his 17 save chances. Shane Greene is just returning from the disabled list, but had converted 19 of his 22 saves chances before going on the disabled list. With the Detroit Tigers in rebuild mode I’m sure they’d listen to offer for him.

Now it’s not only the Astros that are looking for a closer as the Phillies are also front and center in pursuit of one. Philadelphia has been linked to Britton as well as Machado. There was a report this week that the Phillies have “upped” their offer to the Orioles quite a bit to try to acquire not only Britton, but Machado in the same deal.

Which team o you see pulling the trigger first on a closer; the Astros or the Phillies?

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but the podcast is also available for you to listen to any time you want at TuneIn.com.

Remember to look me up on Twitter @Burketime

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: July 11, 2018 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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While there are some players having good seasons I think it’s still pretty clear that Mike Trout is the best player in baseball. With the exception of last season when he finished 4th; Trout had been 1st or 2nd in the MVP voting since his rookie year. Trout is on his way to contending for another MVP awards this season as he’s hitting .314 with 25 home runs and 50 RBI’s. The RBI total is a little low, but remember that Trout generally hits 2nd in the Angels line up; so he has less opportunities to drive in runs early in the game.

No with all of the awards and the numbers he’s put up Trout has only played in 3 post season games.

In baseball unlike some other sports it’s difficult for one player to carry his team. Now a player can get hot and pick up more than his fair share, but over a 162 game season there are about as many highs as there are lows for a player. So don’t expect Trout to be getting the Angels into the playoffs again this season as he needs some help and you wonder if he’ll ever get it there.

The Angels have assembled what should be an impressive young pitching staff, but I’m not sure if they’ve all been healthy at the same time to form a rotation. Tyler Skaggs and Nick Tropeano are currently on the disabled list while Andrew Heaney has actually managed to stay healthy this season. Garrett Richards had made all 15 of his starts going into last nights game and while he did make his 16th start of the season he left that start after just 2 2/3rd innings due to right forearm irritation. Richards is scheduled to start Sunday against the Dodgers, but will have to see if he makes that start.

Richards is 30 years old while Heaney and Tropeano are 27 years old and Skaggs is the youngest at 26 years old. Then the Angels added Shohei Otani to the mix and it looked as though they’d have a starting rotation that could help get Trout into the playoffs, but it doesn’t look like this will be that year.

Otani returned from the disabled list on July 3rd, but only as a hitter. He’s made 9 starts this season and has a good ERA at 3.10, but it’s unclear if he’ll pitch again this season. His bat in the line up is a plus, but the Angels really could’ve used his help in the rotation.

While it’s looking like another season that Trout and the Angels won’t see any post season action they’re actually having a good year. The Angels are over .500 at 47-45. While it’s always good to be over .500 the Angels are still 14 games behind the Houston Astros for 1st place in the American League West. The Angels are currently 10 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the second American League wild card spot. Not only do the Angels have to make up a double digit deficit in games, but they also have to jump the Oakland A’s who are 4 games ahead of them in the standings.

Could we see the Angels go out on the trade market and try to acquire a starter? Even if they did go out and get a top starter would it be enough to get them into the playoffs?

Alex Bregman had the first two home run game of his career last night and got the walk off hit for the Astros as they beat the A’s 6-5 in 11 innings last night. While Bregman hit those two home runs neither of them was the walk off winner.

Here’s how it went down/ Bregman made weak contact with a pitch that was low and outside. It appeared as though the ball would stay foul by home plate, but it ended up rolling into fair territory. A’s catcher Jonathan LuCroy scooped up the baseball and attempted to tag Bregman. As Bregman pulled back from LuCroy’s tag attempt the baseball popped out of his hands and fell to the ground. Bregman took of towards 1st base where he appeared to be an easy out. LuCroy threw the ball to 1st base to get Bregman out the ball ended up glancing off of Bregman’s helmet and going down the rightfield line. While all this madness was going on Kyle Tucker who was on 2nd base when this started scored the game winning run.

Since LuCroy was charged with an error on the throw Bregman doesn’t get credit for an RBI or what would’ve been his fourth walk-off hit of the season. The Astros however do get credit for their sixth walk-off win of the season.

Believe it or not this is the second time this season that Bregman has hit the ball not very far from home plate that ended a game. On April 8th Bregman hit a pop up in front of home plate against the Padres. San Diego 1st baseman Eric Hosmer came running in calling the ball. Hosmer ended up over running the baseball and it dropped behind him as the game winning run scored.

In case you where wondering the umpires did review the mess with Bregman and LuCroy. The review took a little over two minutes and as I’m sure you can guess the call stood.

It looks like the Carmelo Anthony will be playing for someone other than the Oklahoma City Thunder next season. The Thunder has given Anthony permission to meet with other teams.

Early reports are that Anthony and his representatives have met with the Rockets and the Heat. The Lakers along with some other teams have expressed interest in Anthony, but no meetings have been reported.

Now before Anthony can go anywhere the Thunder would have to find a trading partner for him and that’s not going to be easy. Anthony has a no-trade clause, but would be willing to waive it if he’s dealt to a team that would be willing to release him. That’s where the issues start to come in to play. Anthony has a salary of $28 million dollar for next season and there isn’t a team out there that can absorb that type of a cap hit.

If Oklahoma City is unable to find a trade partner for Anthony they may end up buying him out so they can spread the salary cap hit out over a four year period.

Who does Anthony end up playing for next season?

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but don’t forget that the podcast is also available for you to listen to any time you want at TuneIn.Com

Don’t forget to look for me on Twitter @Burketime

How was your week

Posted: July 7, 2018 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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As we get closer and closer to the July 31st trade deadline it seems like it’s been clear for some time which teams would probably be looking to buy and which teams would be interested in selling. Now there is one team that everyone seems to have in their sellers list that I can’t figure out why they’re there.

Most if not all of the people I’ve seen talk about the trade deadline have the Oakland A’s as sellers. Now Oakland is 8 games over .500 at 48-40, but are in 3rd place in what looks like a tough AL West. Oakland is currently 10 games behind the 1st place Houston Astros and they also find themselves 7 1/2 games behind the 2nd place Seattle Mariners who are currently holding down the final America League wild card spot.

While this is a big deficit for the A’s to make up they do have 74 games left to play this season. Plus the Astros and Mariners have been two of the hottest teams in baseball.

If Oakland does decided to make some deals they have some interesting players they could move.

Jed Lowrie name has been quite popular and with the way he’s played this season that’s understandable. Lowrie is hitting .290 and has shown some power with 14 home runs this season. Lowrie is 34 and is in his 14th season and while he’s played mostly 2nd base this season he recently filled in at 3rd base for the injured Matt Chapman. Lowrie is in the final year of his contract which pays him a total of $6 million dollars. With the numbers Lowrie is putting up and what would be a very affordable contract in today’s game; add in that he can play multiple positions it’s easy to see why they think Lowrie the A’s could trade him.

The other name that seems to come up every time the A’s and trades are mentioned is Blake Treinen. He just turned 30 and it looks as though he might’ve finally figured things out. Treinen has picked up 22 saves this season and has an ERA of 0.84. Treinen has appeared in 35 games covering 42 2/3rd innings. He’s struck out 52 while walking 12 nd has given up just 1 home run this season.

Treinen spent the first three plus years of his career with the Washington Nationals and while he put up solid numbers he never develop into the bullpen piece they thought he would. Any team that would acquire him would have to figure out if he’s actually figured things out or not.

Treinen is making $2.15 million dollars this season and won’t reach free agency until the 2021 season; so any team that deals for him would have him under control for two more seasons.

Oakland has some other veteran players in the final years of their contracts, but I’m not sure how much interest they’d draw on the trade market.

The A’s have veteran pitchers Yusmeiro Petit and Santiago Castilla as well as outfielder Matt Joyce and catcher Jonathan LuCroy in the last year if their contracts. None of them are putting up great stats this season, but maybe since LuCroy is a catcher he might get some interest.

No, I didn’t forget Khris Davis who still has one more year of arbitration left before he’d hit the free agent market in 2020. Oakland has just never shown any interest in trading Davis and there’s been no mention of his name in any trade rumors.

If the A’s decide to make Davis available he could bring a good return from a team looking to add a proven power hitter to their line up. Davis has hit over 40 home runs and driven in over 100 RBI’s the last two seasons and even though he missed some time with an injury he’ll have a chance to get to those numbers again.

Like a lot of the players that could draw some interest from teams Davis has a vey friendly contract as he’s making $10.5 million dollars this season.

Do you have the A’s as buyers or sellers?

When the Chicago Bulls traded their best player Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Justin Patton at the 2017 draft they received guards Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine along with Lauri Markkanen. LaVine was injured at the time of this deal, but the Bulls saw him as a young player they could rebuild around. Well if the Bulls still see LaVine as that guy it’s going to cost them.

LaVine is a restricted free agent this off season meaning he can get offers from teams and the Bulls would have 48 hours to either match that offer or allow LaVine to go to the team that gave him that offer.

Due to his injury LaVine played in just 24 games last season and maybe the Bulls thought that would keep teams from offering him a large deal. If that’s what they where thinking they where very wrong.

The Bulls had some contract talks with LaVine this off season, but couldn’t agree on a new deal. With the window still open the Sacramento Kings stepped in and gave LaVine an offer sheet for 4 years and somewhere between $78 or $80 million dollars. The Kings offer is fully guaranteed with no option years.

The Bulls have already said that they will match the Kings offer sheet to LaVine keeping him with the Bulls. With this new contract LaVine’s salary will count about $19.5 million dollars against the Bulls salary cap.

Do you think it was the right move for the Bulls to match the Kings offer sheet to LaVine? He is just 23 years old, but has had some injury issue. I mentioned that he played just 24 games last season. He was also injured in the 2016-17 season playing in just 48 games. LaVine averaged 16.7 points in his 24 games last season. He also handed out 3 assists per game and grabbed an average of 3.9 rebounds per game. I understand when the NBA signed their new television contract before last season that salaries went through the roof; so this seems like an acceptable contract in today’s game. I guess will have to wait and see if LaVine turns into the player the Bulls think he’ll be or if the should’ve let Sacramento have him.

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but don’t forget that the podcast is also available for you to listen to any time you want at TuneIn.com.

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

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