Potential Off-Season Trades: Tyler Glasnow
One name to watch this off-season who could be traded due to his impending free agency after the 2024 season is Tyler Glasnow. When healthy, he has proven to be a front-line starter whom Tampa could look to move as he will soon need to get paid, and they have sufficient levels of depth pertaining to their starting caliber arms, along with a history of developing MLB caliber starting pitchers.
Glasnow, a free agent after next off-season, is a prime trade who is coming off a solid year in which he was rebounding from Tommy John Surgery. Glasnow, posted a FIP of 2.91, a K/9 rate of 12.20, a BB/9 rate of 2.8, and a WHIP of 1.08 in 120 innings.
The intriguing part about Glasnow’s timeline is that he may be incentivized to sign an extension with a team lower than what his market value may be due to his injury history. He may also be interested in gambling the final year and seeking a larger payout in free agency.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Offer: Gavin Stone, Jorbit Vivas, and Ronan Kopp for Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot
The Dodgers, who are coming off of a disappointing exit in the NLDS, unfortunately, were eliminated in part because they ran out of healthy starting pitchers. During the course of the year, they lost Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin to Tommy John Surgery, lost Walker Buehler for the entire season due to Tommy John Surgery, and lost Julio Urias due to his ongoing domestic violence dispute.
The Dodgers, who have historically been as well run as any team in baseball over the last decade, for the first time in a long time, need more starting pitching. Their rotation next year will likely entail Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler off of Tommy John Surgery, Bobby Miller, and the rest is to be determined, with Ryan Pepiot and Emmett Sheehan luring in the wings. The Dodgers will likely sign someone via free agency to add to their rotation, but in my estimation, it is also likely they would like to trade for someone of Glasnow’s talent level who can help them contend for a World Series again next year. They also added Margot in the deal, a veteran outfielder who can plug and play every day or be a fourth outfielder.
Stone and Kopp each provide the Rays pitching prospects with different profiles that may be interested in developing. Stone’s ability to generate swings and misses at the minor league level has been exemplary, and he has a four-pitch mix to work with that could be a nightmare for major league hitters, especially his changeup. His fastball tops in the high 90s, though people around the game say that he should generate more swings and misses with it as his primary pitch relative to his changeup, which is his strongest pitch. He certainly has the profile and build of someone Tampa would like to work with. Kopp, on the other hand, offers a build at 6 foot 7 and 250 pounds. His fastball sits in the mid to high 90s, and his slider, when working, is an effective putaway pitch. Kopp has not been able to find an ability to hone in his command, but his frame brings promise as to developmental routes with him, whether it be as a starting pitcher or as a reliever.
Vitas, on the other hand, is the lone position player the Rays would get back in the deal. Vitas has been demonstrably effective at making contact and getting on base at the minor-league level. While power is not potent in his swing and approach, it is hard to ignore how effective he is at hitting all fields and working counts to get himself on base. He has limitations defensively that will likely keep him at second base, but there is a lot to like in his offensive approach.
New York Mets
The Offer: Ronny Mauricio and Blade Tidwell for Tyler Glasnow
The Mets, known for their ability to develop and sustain pitching and will likely look to be competitive in the near future, if not in 2024, and have no concerns regarding funds, would be an intriguing destination for Glasnow’s short-term and long-term future. Glasnow could be the new President of Baseball Operations David Stearns’s first move to re-establish the Mets as a competitive force in the National League. Glasnow would surely go a long way in making Stearns’s presence known.
The Rays, meanwhile, get to add a top 100 prospect in Mauricio, who adds intrigue with his raw power and ability to play multiple positions for the Rays at the Major League Level, likely in a corner outfield position. His approach in AAA this year evolved to demonstrate a more consistent ability to make quality contact and cut down on his strikeouts. Mauricio does not have a demonstrated ability to consistently draw walks, but his hitting abilities progressed in 2023, and he is arguably ready to be on an opening-day roster for an MLB team in 2024.
Tidwell, meanwhile, ranks as either the Mets second or third-best pitcher in their system, depending on which site you look at. His fastball and slider have proven to be beneficial in his ability to get outs at the minor-league level. His fastball, which sits in the mid to high 90s, and his slider which has a definitive movement profile, can both generate swings and misses which has aided Tidwell in his rise up the Mets system. He would be an intriguing piece for the Rays to add, who would be adding a pitcher whose development profile still has to be fine-tuned with command work, but he has two pitches that can be strengths of his as he develops, along with less refined forms of his curveball and changeup.
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Offer: Tommy Troy, Gino Groover, and a PTBNL for Tyler Glasnow.
The Diamondbacks, fresh off a surprise World Series appearance, are entering a window where they can contend for World Series Championships. Their core is fruitful and can help in any trade, and the Diamondbacks need additional starting pitching alongside Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen. They could use another frontline starting pitcher to help them compete in 2024 and beyond.
Troy, freshly minted as a Diamondbacks first-rounder in 2023 out of Stanford, is currently a fringe top 100 prospect. In college, especially later in his career, he was consistently able to get on base with his plate discipline and ability to draw walks. He also frequently displayed his strong bat-to-ball skills which are pronounced when watching Troy play. He will handle his own defensively in the infield, though he profiles more at third base or second base than at shortstop.
Groover, a standout offensive talent during his career at NC State, can definitely blossom and develop the hit tool at the Major League level. He can make explosive and impactful contact with his aggressive approach and can hit to all fields. The bigger question pertaining to Groover is where he profiles defensively, which is limited. He will likely venture to a corner outfield spot or at first base due to his lack of natural feel and athleticism to play some of the premier defensive positions.
Regardless, this gives the Rays the Diamondbacks top two picks from the 2023 MLB draft with definite potential to become MLB contributors as hitters. Arizona, meanwhile, gets a third premier starting pitcher to headline their rotation.
