Willis and Cabrera - especially Cabrera - are going nowhere, at least for now. They might trade Willis, but what they would get in return would make it worthwhile. They'd essentially have to get a top 10 pitcher prospect, a top 10 CF prospect, and a top 10 C prospect. So who can fit the bill?
Option A: Dontrelle Willis to LAD for P Chad Billingsley, CF Matt Kemp, and C Russ Martin.
Billingsley, 21, was LA's 1st rounder in 2003 and went 13-6 with a 3.51 in AA-Jacksonville last season, striking out 162 while walking 50. Kemp, 21, hit .306-27-90-.349 OBP, 92 K-25 BB with 23 SB/6 CS last year for High A-Vero. Martin, 23, hit .311-9-61-.430, 69 K-78 BB, 15 SB/7 CS for AA-Jacksonville. He is also a strong defensive catcher.
Option B: Willis to ARZ for CF Chris Young or CF Carlos Quentin, C Miguel Montero, and P Garrett Mock.
Quentin, 24, hit .301-21-89-.422 with 72 BB-71 K, 9 SB-1 CS for AAA-Tucson. Interestingly, he got plunked 29 times. Ouch. Young, acquired from CWS this offseason for Javy Vazquez, 23, hit .277-26-77-.377 with 32 SB-6 CS and 129 K-70 BB for AA-Birmingham and is a fantastic CF. Montero, 23, hit .326-26-95 with 78 K-33 BB between High A-Lancaster and AA-Tennessee. I can't calculate the OBP between the two, but at Lancaster, where he spent about 70% of the season, it was .403. At Tenn, it was .311. Mock, 23, went 14-7 with a 4.18 and 160 K-33 BB for High A-Lancaster. He's right-handed (as is Billingsley).
These are the two scenarios I could see happening. The Yankees and Mets don't have the depth in their systems to trade for either, because Duncan is sucking for Columbus/Trenton anyway and Hughes is not nearly enough, and because with the exception of Milledge, Florida already cleaned out the Mets' system. Angels could jump in if they wanted to, but they don't have much pitching, at least what they'd want to give up with what is an aging team already. Astros would have to give up more than 3 players, maybe even 5, but they could put together a deal.
Bottom line: IF/when the Marlins' current pitching prospects prove themselves, guys like Johnson, Nolasco, Olsen, Petit, Pinto, Volstad, Thompson, West, Marceaux, Garcia, and Barone (if you care to look up some of the latters' stats, you'll realize how deep the system is in pitching), Florida has two glaring holes at CF and C. The prospect landscape is barren there, because Miguel Olivo is no franchise C and the odds of Abercrombie developing enough to be a potential All Star aren't great, and if Arizona or the Dodgers offer one-stop shopping, Beinfest has to pull the trigger for the betterment of the team as a whole.
I love Dontrelle Willis and in fact hope, as a fan, that he doesn't get traded. But sentiment can't get in the way of sense, and a deal like either of the two above makes more than perfect sense for the present and future of the franchise.
That's an interesting trade though, the Dodgers have been trying to trade Perez for years now. Maybe Clement back in the NL and in a pitchers park would help him out. I'd be interested in doing a Clement for Derek Lowe trade, however I seriously doubt the Dodgers would.
