With the somewhat erratic performance from the rotation this year, you would have to think that a starting pitcher acquisition would be helpful, specifically an American League veteran. And by AL veterans, I mean Vicente Padilla and Kevin Millwood of the Texas Rangers.
Both have been off to good starts this year, but the relatively weak strikeout rates and mediocre WHIPs are definitely not going to help Texas in trade negotiations. Financially, it doesn’t make sense for a rebuilding club to hold on to a pair of eight-figure pitchers who are overachieving. They should sell while the item is hot. Of course, you don’t see many blockbuster trades in April/May, and there’s the likely scenario that both pitchers fizzle out by July.
Padilla doesn’t interest me much but a Millwood acquisition would be nice. You would have some competition, and you would also eliminate the chance to get A.J. Burnett in the future (more on this later). If I could snag KM for Jeff Marquez and some castoffs, I’d think about it, but anything more would be illogical. I see this as a parallel to the Bobby Abreu trade in 2006, when the Yanks preyed upon an overpaid player and got him for junk, as they were willing to take the whole contract.
