Pitchers that throw strikes or cost money.

I don’t want to overvalue Maholm, but I really like him and he is young enough and inexpensive enough to stick around and contribute on the next Bucs playoff team. That said, Escobar is a good talent who walks a good bit, has some power and has a good glove, and would be an excellent return for Maholm. If the Braves look to move Escobar though, they might be looking for someone better than (or more proven than) Maholm in return.

This might be realistically more interesting from the Pirates perspective in how it changes the Dodgers thinking. Now that their Plan A is out the door they’re much more likely to come back calling at the door for Jack Wilson. I had started to believe that Wilson wouldn’t be traded this offseason, but this seems to increase that likelihood again.

We’ll see. That said, I’m not all that keen on the previously rumoured return from the Dodgers. Hu (or whatever his name was) and Young don’t sound like they’d be valuable pieces for the Pirates, so I say why bother. I’d rather they go for higher risk/reward if they can’t get any higher impact, upper level prospects.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting something like this today. I’m writing up a post now.