You CAN help your team with non-homegrown players. The Mariners got the #5 hitter they needed with Jay Buhner. The Rangers gave up a great pitcher for Josh Hamilton and that turned out all right over the past few years.
It's just usually a multi-year thing. Trading for guys at the deadline who are due to be free-agents and hoping they'll re-sign with your team can be problematic. RJ wanted to go to AZ. Lee went back to Philly. It's not impossible to get extra mileage out of your deadline trade, but I prefer multi-year situations if I'm gonna give up that much for a player.
I mean if it's 3-4 prospects for 3 months of a player or 4-5 for 1.5-3 years, then give me the extra years and take another prospect.
But again, it depends on need, and your belief in your minor leaguers already in the pipeline vs. what you're willing to trade.
I believe Ackley will be a plus offensive 2B with a good enough glove to stick. I believe the same about Franklin at SS, but he's years away IMO. I believe Seager will have a decent ML career as a utility guy who gets to start for a few years.
Do I believe Tenbrink, Liddi, Peguero, Wilson, Mangini, Almonte, Raben, et al will be plus contributors over long careers? No.
So the idea of home-growing your hitters is great, but if there's a gap in your system - say, you don't have a thumping OF/DH type you believe in - then IMO it's perfectly valid to go add that guy via trade or FA. That's not a band-aid, that's a fix.
I hope we add Rendon via the draft, but with or without him the lineups still a little light on thump. Ackley will bring the OBP, doubles, and wheels on the basepaths, but power will take a minute. And yes I know he's hit more HRs on the season than Smoak, and I think his power potential is bigger than people give him credit for.
I'm finding Schaffer fascinating this season as a Jacque Jones-esque hitter. But that's cute, and interesting, and nice in a vacuum - and does not help me put together next year's team that can win it all.
If Poythress comes through as a legit hitter, or Peguero, or whomever, and I've blocked them off with a plus hitter, then trade the minor leaguer for a spot I do need filled.
Catcher, maybe?
But as much as I don't want to bet that the Mariners can come through this year and give away valuable trade pieces on that shaky premise, I also don't just sit on my hands and hope that a genie will bring me enough internally-produced hitting to fix the offense before The Felix Years expire.
Especially if we draft a first-round arm in 2 weeks.
So I'm especially curious to see what mix of buyers and sellers we are in July. We could do either and help our 2012 club and beyond.
~G
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