Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports that the Toronto Blue Jays were approached by the Pittsburgh Pirates about first baseman Adam Lind, but that talks quickly fizzled when the Blue Jays asked about Neil Walker in return. Earlier today we heard a rumor that the Pirates were exploring trade options, including Lind. That was the second time the Pirates had been linked to Toronto’s first baseman.
Davidi says that Toronto isn’t looking to move Lind, but that they’ve checked on some of the other available free agents and trade options on the market in the event they could find a trade partner. It sounds like they are going for the classic “trade a player for a big return, then replace him with someone of equal value for an overall net profit” plan that you see on blogs and message boards. It’s hard to pull off, because the other team can just go sign James Loney or make a lesser trade for Mitch Moreland or Logan Morrison.
Lind has three years of team control, with two of them being option years. Walker is basically under the same situation, with three years of team control, and the ability to non-tender him after each season. So a Walker for Lind deal might make sense from Toronto’s perspective, although Walker would have much more value since he’s cheaper and plays a harder position to fill.
