What About A Dexter Fowler For Homer Bailey Trade?

What about it? While it likely does not have much substance or momentum at this point, Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports wonder if there might me a good match between the two teams to make a deal. This rumor starts with the clear interest the Cincinnati Reds have in Dexter Fowler to fix their gargantuan hole in the leadoff spot. This rumor continues with the presumed interest the Colorado Rockies would have in any starting pitcher who can pitch competently.

Teams will continue to ask about Fowler this week at the Winter meetings. Image: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

To be fair to Bailey, he was more than competent in 2012. At times he pitched like a top of the rotation guy, notching 13 wins with a sub-4 ERA. He also ate up 200 innings, a quality that is quite appealing to the Rockies as they piece together their rotation.

Other than the obvious needs that each club would fill in a potential deal, Morosi and Rosenthal note how well the two salaries would line up. Fowler is projected to make $4 million in 2013, Bailey $5.1 million. That is especially important for the Reds, who apparently see themselves as priced out of the Michael Bourn sweepstakes. It would be tidy for the Rockies but it is not as important a consideration for them as they field offers for Fowler.

This Fox Sports report boils down to this: a Dexter Fowler for Homer Bailey trade would be awesome for the Reds, who would add an incredibly productive center fielder at a bargain cost they can afford. A Dexter Fowler for Homer Bailey trade would also be good for the Rockies, and who are they to complain about that given how bad their pitching was last year?

The Reds might have a surplus of starting pitching, making Bailey available. Image: Frank Victores-US PRESSWIRE

Even with starting pitching being the currency of Major League Baseball, the Rockies hold the more valuable chip in this hypothetical deal. A switch-hitting center fielder with Fowler’s range, offense (coming off a season in which he posted a .863 OPS), and friendly salary needs to garner more in return than a good starting pitcher who might have gotten over the hump last season to be a consistent #2 in a rotation.

Here’s the other problem with Bailey: he tied for 5th-worst in the league last year with 26 surrendered home runs. I actually thought people overreacted one year ago when the Rockies added flyball pitchers like Jeremy Guthrie and Guillermo Moscoso; I thought they made too big a deal about what a bad idea that was in Coors Field. I was wrong. Dead wrong. Both were a disaster, and both are now gone. I do not think I could handle it if the Rockies traded one of their 5 most important players for a pitcher who gives up too many home runs.

Dexter Fowler for Homer Bailey?

No thanks.