Trade Rumors…are just that…Rumors

[ads2]”The Dodgers are in talks to trade Matt Kemp.”
“The Dodgers are entertaining offers to trade Zach Greinke, because he has an opt out clause after the 2015 season.”
“Yasiel Puig is drawing interest from several clubs.”
“Andre Ethier wants to be a starter next season, so he will be traded.”

Stop me if you’ve heard any of these recently. What is both exciting and frustrating about this time of year, is how many things we hear about that simply aren’t true. The fact of the matter is, OF COURSE TEAMS WANT KEMP, GREINKE, PUIG, CRAWFORD, AND EVEN ETHIER!! These players are all former all stars, who, if playing at their full potential can help a team win. The problem is, with so many social media outlets, ie, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and access to information, it’s hard to decipher what’s real, and what’s not.

Every off season, and even in season trade deadline, analysts, insiders, experts, and of course die hard and casual fans speculate on who their team is trading for, or which free agents are signing here or there.
Some sources are good, many are not. A MLB hot stove rumor gets started just like any other rumor does. This person says this to this person, that person says that to that person, and pretty soon, there are three team trades involving Joc Pederson, Julio Urias, and Matt Kemp, Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins, Elvis Andrus and Derek Holland. Did you see what I did there? I repeated something I heard, and wrote about it, and now it’s on the internet, so it must be true, right?

Truth is, since last season, there has been speculation the Dodgers would trade one of their outfielders. With the emergence of Scott Van Slyke last season as a bonafide big leaguer, and the presumed readiness of Joc Pederson to play in the major leagues, it is almost certain the Dodgers are going to make a trade this off season. What bothers me, is how many inaccurate reports have been coming out. Just because a team has asked about a certain player, doesn’t mean the Dodgers are going to trade that player. It simply means that is the player most teams are interested in. But because an assistant overhears a conversation being had, now it’s being broadcast over every sports channel across the country as a pending deal.

Imagine how crazy it would be if every pending deal, or proposed trade was made public. It would be a giant mess…oh wait…it already is.

In the old days, there weren’t thousands of sports news websites, and social media outlets for information to be leaked. The general public didn’t often hear about every single thing being discussed behind closed doors.
In the old days, we heard about a trade when it happened, and that was about it.

With the Winter Meetings set to begin on Sunday in San Diego, there will be lots of talk of who the Dodgers will trade, who they will sign, and everything in between. In actuality, the Winter Meetings are precisely that, “meetings.” It’s scouts, executives, agents, and players sitting around talking about what they want and need. Sometimes deals get done at the Winter Meetings, sometimes they don’t. One thing we can count on, is we will hear about virtually every single thing discussed at these meetings. Nothing is kept private in this day and age. Just because we “hear” something, does not mean it was close to happening, or even that it was a possibility. It simply means, someone told someone what they heard. Kind of like a rumor.

I’m no major league “insider,” but I’m also smart enough to know the difference between a rumor and an actual possibility. When sorting through trade rumors and possible free agent destinations, consider the source, before jumping off a bridge, because your favorite player is being traded, or before spending your vacation money on season tickets, because your team might be signing this player. Read between the lines, and listen to reason. What I’m trying to say, is I pray that all of the Matt Kemp trade rumors are not true, and are simply wishful thinking by teams in other markets wishing they had a player with his talents playing for their team. Matt Kemp has been my favorite Dodger, since he came up in 2006. I understand he is very valuable, and that is why other teams are inquiring about him, but I wish every inquiry wasn’t made public. I hope the Dodgers do not trade Matt Kemp, and my baseball knowledge tells me they won’t.