The Pitching Market

Last weekend Dan Haren was traded from the A's to the Diamondbacks in exchange for some excellent prospects. The Diamondbacks really improved their team, by trading some of their top prospects in exchange for an ace. Now that one of the available pitchers were traded this season it is possible that Johan Santana, Erik Bedard, and Joe Blanton could be traded soon. I believe that Santana and Blanton will be traded before the season. Santana will carry a hefty price, but it's definatley worth trading some prospects (some who might even pan out), to get the best pitcher in the league. I expect him to end up on either the Red Sox, Yankees, or Mets in that order. The wild card could be the Dodgers. They have a very good farm system, and if they wanted Santana they should have no problem getting him. Similarly, I expect Blanton to be traded any time now. The A's said once Haren goes Blanton goes. Look for them to trade him to an NL team. While Bedard might be available, he probably carries a bigger price than Sanatana. Johan is only signed through this year, but Bedard has multiple years left on his contract. While Bedard is a great pitcher, I wouldn't go after him because he's only had two "ace" years and he has never pitched over 200 innings in a season. It should be a very interesting couple of weeks, as we see who ends up where.