Anybody got an inside scoop on potential trades?

[volsandbraves]

I personally hope that we can go get a front line starter for Salty.

I love him and he'll be hard to deal, but business is business. I felt the same way about Marcus Giles, but Kelly Johnson has been amazing - not that we went out and got him.

Who are some of the star pitchers on losing teams that we might be able to get?

 

[lavell]

Mark Buerhle?

 

[Chief]

Schuerholtz is the master of keeping things quiet. He traded for Kenny Lofton, Andres Galarraga and Gary Sheffield without even so much as a whisper from anybody.

 

[timbok]

we have a pretty good staff now..a little help would be a plus though.

 

[lavell]

ya I like the four of: Smoltz, Hudson, James, and Cormier but I am not a big Davies fan and think we need a real number 3 which James and Cormier may not be.

 

[timbok]

I like that rotation as well.

 

[El Grande Donkey]

They need a big bat at LF or 1B more than another pitcher (Adam Dunn can play both and he is available)

 

[volsandbraves]

Would you trade Salty straight for Dunn?

I'm not sure that I would. Dunn's a good player and he's better than anything we've got in LF or at 1B right now, but Salty - if given time - might be as good at 1B defensively as Dunn.

Also, Dunn makes 10 million a year. Can we afford him? I mean, Thorman makes the league minimum right now, right?

Lastly, Dunn has a career .946 OPS at GABP and only a .842 OPS away from there. Perhaps he's been a bit of a product of his home park?

The more I think about it, Dunn might not be our best bet. I think Salty could produce a .842 OPS in full-time duty. Maybe we should see if he can play first.

And as far as left field is concerned, Harris and Diaz have been pretty lights out so far.

I still think we need a star SP. Can we clone Smoltz and pay the clone 8 million this year on a prorated basis? That'd be sweet.

Buehrle's not a bad option, but he's getting on up in age and he makes 9.5 million right now.

I've scanned the last and second-to-last place teams in all the divisions and here's a couple of names I came up with. Give me your thoughts on these guys:

Jeff Francis - Colorado
Vicente Padilla - Texas (yeah, I know, a reach)
John Patterson - Washington (very good when healthy)
Dontrelle Willis - Florida
Kevin Millwood - Texas
Aaron Harang - Cincy (not likely, but worth a shot)
Roy Halladay - Toronto (again, not likely, but worth a shot)
Andy Pettitte - Yankees (ok, a pattern is developing)
Gil Meche - KC (wouldn't that be funny?)
Braden Looper - St. Louis
Javier Vazquez - White Sox (he makes 12.5 mil though)

What are your thoughts on my long, rambling post?