A significant gap exists between Dontrelle Willis and Barry Zitobeing available before the July 31 trade deadline and the starpitchersbeingobtainable.
Many executives expectbothleftiestobeon the market, but because neither Florida nor Oakland is compelled to trade the pitchers, the request priceisgoingto be staggering.
One AL GM said it is his belief that, probably to their regret now, the Marlins spurned Detroit’s offseason offer of Justin Verlander and Curtis Granderson for Willis. It shows how high Florida is shooting. The Marlins are prioritizing high-level catching and centerfield prospects. Another AL GM said, “[Marlins GM] Larry [Beinfest] is one of the most underrated GMs in the game and he’s in the perfect position; he doesn’t have to do a damn thing [because Willis is still years from free agency].
He’ll trade him if he gets the perfect deal.” Oakland GM Billy Beane essentially echoed the same about Zito. “If I do nothing, I have the value of a great pitcher and the two draft picks I will get [when Zito leaves as a free agent].” Beane noted his recent first-round picks Huston Street, Nick Swisher, Joe Blantonand Bobby Crosby encourage him about the compensation selections.
Beane expects his team to be in the race and would deal only if he got controllableplayers and the chance to keep contending.
For example, his request to the Mets for Zito was Aaron Heilman and Lastings Milledge, which shows how difficult it is going to be to land a pitcher of this caliber.
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The Mets don’t have a first-round choice this weekbecausetheysigned Billy Wagnerand, to worsen matters, two picks from previous drafts they didnotsigncouldgointhe first round. University of Texas righty Kyle McColloch, whom the Mets selected out of high school in the 18th round in 2003, is almost a certain first-rounder, accordingtoseveralexecutives.
More interesting is the case of Pedro Beato. The Mets took the Queens native in the 17th round outofXaverian(Brooklyn) last year, but as Beato moved further from his April 2004 Tommy John surgery, his fastball and stuffimprovedsomuchat junior college that Baseball America listed him as thedraft’s13th-bestpitching prospect. It is just that he was not expected to reach the draft because the Mets owned his rights until last week. But the sides failed to agree. The Mets offered about $750,000, seeing Beato more as a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds, and Beato was seeking around $1.5 million, mid-first-round money.
Word spread in scouting circles that the Mets were pressuredby theCommissioner’s Office not to pay Beato above his value. GM Omar Minaya admitted, “We asked for advice [from the Commissioner’s Office] and they gave us advice, but we made this decision. The Mets decided to make this offer and the player decided he did notwantit.” The Blue Jays are in the market for a shortstop, Tampa Bay’s Julio Lugois very available, and the Devil Rays like several of Toronto’s pitching prospects, including Triple-A lefty David Purcey, whom the Yanks drafted in the 17th round in 2003 but did not sign.