07-13-2019, 04:27 AM
The Giants are entering a never before seen situation.
Usually by this time a team knows what it is and if it will be a buyer or seller at the trade deadline. When a seller, the value a trade can extract is pretty much determined by the quality of and how many suitors a team can find for its given trade assets. More demand equals higher price.
In the current case, with the Giants just 4.5 GB of wild card, and playing the best ball they have all season, the Giants are threatening to pass teams that might want their players. So the Giants not only have some valuable trade assets, they also get to drive up their asking price by adding a “buy us out of contending for a wild card spot with your team” premium to their demands.
There could be 8 NL teams who want Giants assets and are also feeling threatened by how well the Giants are now playing. It’s a fascinating dynamic I’ve never seen before. And by definition, if these NL teams want to ‘buy out” the Giants, that will drive up the prices for AL teams.
It’s all made even more interesting by the hard trade deadline in 18 days. My guess is Farhan won’t make any moves until that day because he has to push teams to their absolute limit. But in the end he doesn’t have to do anything if the Giants continue playing well enough to stay within 5 games of a wild card spot.
The winner of every negotiation must be willing to walk away. The Giants may not have the overwhelming talent/player control to trade for a prospect haul, but they very well could have the leverage.
Usually by this time a team knows what it is and if it will be a buyer or seller at the trade deadline. When a seller, the value a trade can extract is pretty much determined by the quality of and how many suitors a team can find for its given trade assets. More demand equals higher price.
In the current case, with the Giants just 4.5 GB of wild card, and playing the best ball they have all season, the Giants are threatening to pass teams that might want their players. So the Giants not only have some valuable trade assets, they also get to drive up their asking price by adding a “buy us out of contending for a wild card spot with your team” premium to their demands.
There could be 8 NL teams who want Giants assets and are also feeling threatened by how well the Giants are now playing. It’s a fascinating dynamic I’ve never seen before. And by definition, if these NL teams want to ‘buy out” the Giants, that will drive up the prices for AL teams.
It’s all made even more interesting by the hard trade deadline in 18 days. My guess is Farhan won’t make any moves until that day because he has to push teams to their absolute limit. But in the end he doesn’t have to do anything if the Giants continue playing well enough to stay within 5 games of a wild card spot.
The winner of every negotiation must be willing to walk away. The Giants may not have the overwhelming talent/player control to trade for a prospect haul, but they very well could have the leverage.