Brett Lawrie: argument to trade him?

[YogiStewart]

I'm not advocating that we should trade Lawrie. Just discussing if there is logic behind trading him.

Do you sell someone who may be injury prone and whose hitting hasn't shown improvement in his (limited) time in the majors? Trade a strong defensive 3B when you don't have any prospects to replace him? what if he brings an important piece back and we can get by with guys like DeRosa (or EE?) at third?

[Santoki]

I'm not advocating that we should trade Lawrie. Just discussing if there is logic behind trading him.

Do you sell someone who may be injury prone and whose hitting hasn't shown improvement in his (limited) time in the majors? Trade a strong defensive 3B when you don't have any prospects to replace him? what if he brings an important piece back and we can get by with guys like DeRosa (or EE?) at third?

His value is at an all-time low. There's zero reason to trade him right now especially when you don't have a viable option to come in and play 3B. There are other pressing needs and trading Lawrie doesn't solve them.

[tecumseh18]

It's not that his hitting "hasn't shown improvement". He came up to the bigs hitting a ton, and then regressed. This is also the Colby Rasmus story, who had a different kind of attitude problem. Scouting is on to him? Is that correctable? Does he have the mental makeup to adjust?

Seems to me Lawrie was considered a bit of a headcase when we traded from him. Might not have got him otherwise. And at 23, we shouldn't expect him to be a super-mature guy. These are usually tough calls to make when the guy isn't great defensively. But like Rasmus, Lawrie more than pulls his weight when the other team is up. It makes it easier to ride it out. As I recently said in another thread - in a bad offensive year last year, Lawrie put up a ~ 6 WAR season offensively and defensively if extrapolated to 162 games. This year, he was injured in spring training and never had a chance to settle in.

The point is, we like the direction Colby is headed in now, and I think we should extend the same courtesy to the lone native Canadian on our roster (not just for that reason, of course). The only wild card is whether he in any way can be considered a cancer on the team. The not-tagging up tantrum is just one data point. I would assume older members of the team would just laugh or roll their eyes at him, along with Gibby's tongue lashing. Guys can learn from that. Obviously, no-one wants to mess up the chemistry right now, and coming back to a team winning without him may cause Lawrie to slow his roll.

If Chad Mottola was still in AAA, I would send Lawrie to Buffalo for a spell. It's great to hear Lind talking positively about his experience last year. Or maybe we can still do it, and give Mottola gas money to take frequent trips down the QEW.

[Randle McMurphy]

No, selling low on a young player with his talent level is exactly what AA should not do.

And "getting by" with guys like De Rosa/EE (both of whom cannot play the position even adequately) is also not appealing at all.

[Anatomize]

Other than what everyone else has said, I'd just likely suggest he needs to calm down at the plate a little bit. He's young and over anxious, he looks like he wants to murder every pitch and he goes absolutely bananas whenever something goes wrong for him. I understand he's a very intense competitor, but baseball isn't like other sports, you have to be a patient hitter.

[Natural11]

Lawrie hasn't impressed this season, but the potential is there and he's a longer term solution than a guy like DeRosa. I think he will mature into a leader and be a steady option at 3rd for a long time. The most recent injury was a result of poor judgement and not a pre-existing condition.

I get why people might want him out given his abysmal performance this season, but I really expect him to improve.

[Bobmarley12345]

I don't think Brett Lawrie is going to turn into a very good hitter unless he changes his batting stance around. His attitude sucks so i doubt there is a chance he will be open to suggestions. His defense his good, but you have to be able to hit alot better than he has. He is absolutely terrible this year. Right now the Blue jays are better off without him.Over at the pro daily forum Lawrie is seen as a God to most of the people over there. they get right upset if you have anything negative to say about the guy. That forum sucks.

[Duffman100]

I'm not against trading him in general, but the timing is poor. He has to build up more value.

[TorontoRaptures]

Simply can't trade such a highly touted prospect while he's underperforming. That would be terrible asset management.

I think the cases of Hill and Lind should remind us that quality ball players can and will struggle at times, and that patience is needed in this game. Lawrie is 23. He'll get there.

[soulchild_07]

Yeah agreed value would be too low and he's still got crazy potential going forward however if you did move him I would suggest Bautista as his replacement and adjust the outfield accordingly and bring Gose up when he's ready.

[Gibby]

Values way too low atm. His upside is still pretty high.

[Parataxis]

As with every single other potential trade-piece, it depends what we get back for him.

If we get an offer we can't refuse? Well, we can't refuse it, trade him.

If we get what's more likely considering he's at a low ebb in value? Keep him.

[Illuminati_]

Simply can't trade such a highly touted prospect while he's underperforming. That would be terrible asset management.

I think the cases of Hill and Lind should remind us that quality ball players can and will struggle at times, and that patience is needed in this game. Lawrie is 23. He'll get there.

Lind and hill both have a track record though. Lawrie has yet to put together an extended run of good play so that comparison ends there. There's too much going on wit his swing right now for him to generate the power we need from 3b.

[Kapono]

Remember when people were comparing Lawrie to Pete Rose?

[Randle McMurphy]

Simply can't trade such a highly touted prospect while he's underperforming. That would be terrible asset management.

I think the cases of Hill and Lind should remind us that quality ball players can and will struggle at times, and that patience is needed in this game. Lawrie is 23. He'll get there.

Lind and hill both have a track record though. Lawrie has yet to put together an extended run of good play so that comparison ends there. There's too much going on wit his swing right now for him to generate the power we need from 3b.

Except Lind's track record is very poor. Brett Lawrie has actually already contributed more since the end of 2011 (5.4 WAR) than Adam Lind (5.1 WAR) has over his entire Jays career.

[tecumseh18]

Lawrie is our very own DeMarcus Cousins.

[J-Roc]

Other than what everyone else has said, I'd just likely suggest he needs to calm down at the plate a little bit. He's young and over anxious, he looks like he wants to murder every pitch and he goes absolutely bananas whenever something goes wrong for him. I understand he's a very intense competitor, but baseball isn't like other sports, you have to be a patient hitter.

This is exactly it. The mechanics are there. He just needs to slow down. But up till now, no coach has been able to convince him. Perhaps he'll be convinced by seeing the team playing well and just feeling he needs to fit in.

[flatjacket1]

His value is at an all-time low. There's zero reason to trade him right now especially when you don't have a viable option to come in and play 3B. There are other pressing needs and trading Lawrie doesn't solve them.

I don't think I've ever agreed with you before.

Welp, cheers to a first!

[kavan]

I think he just needs to play a few good games and everyone will forget about this he is young, his attitude and how he plays the game. Winning fixes everything in his case getting on base, playing solid defense and stealing a few bases will have everyone back on the Lawire train. Lets leave the 23 year old alone and find his own.

[Schad]

Other than what everyone else has said, I'd just likely suggest he needs to calm down at the plate a little bit. He's young and over anxious, he looks like he wants to murder every pitch and he goes absolutely bananas whenever something goes wrong for him. I understand he's a very intense competitor, but baseball isn't like other sports, you have to be a patient hitter.

This is exactly it. The mechanics are there. He just needs to slow down. But up till now, no coach has been able to convince him. Perhaps he'll be convinced by seeing the team playing well and just feeling he needs to fit in.

Disagree on the mechanics; the raw tools are there, but his swing needs work. He cuts himself off, which is a product of his stance and stride, and it leads to him getting little to nothing behind contact.

That's fixable, though; it's much better than having a kid who lacks bat speed, or has a ridiculously long swing. Just need to find a way to get all of his bit working together and he should be a solid hitter.