Tradable Blue Jays – The Adam Lind Case

Jun 26, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Adam Lind (26) on deck against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

This is my second Adam Lind article of the season and wow things have changed since the last time I wrote about him. In fact, Adam has transformed back into a reliable left handed bat that you can stick in the order in any spot 3-9. Adam is hitting close to his career best numbers which should put him in prime position for a sell high trade:

PA: 297
BA .306
OBP. 360
HR 11
BB 25

Any player who has had close to 300 at bats this season batting over .300 is or will be a desired commodity on the trade market. His patience at that plate and ability to hit the occasional home run makes him valuable for any contending team. The Blue Jays should be willing to trade him as he is one of two starting caliber 1B’s the team has (the other being Edwin Encarnacion )

What could hold teams back on making a move for him?

The knock on Lind going into this season is his splits against left handed pitching. His new approach at the plate has really paid off as he is currently batting .286 again lefties (over 58 plate appearances). Is it to soon to say he has gotten over this problem? Maybe a little early, but if a team believes in this years production then it will benefit the Blue Jays.

Another reason for a team to trade for Lind: Contract Status

A team that trades for Adam Lind will have the options to retain Lind at a reasonable price, or let him go. To buy Adam out after 2013 it would cost a team 2 millions dollars. However they can exercise one of their options and pay him $7 million in 2014. The same extension option applies the following two years as Lind can make $7.5 million for the 2015, and $8 million for 2016.

This is a huge advantage to the Blue Jays when trading this player. Giving a team the ability to retain a potential .300 hitter at less then 10 million/season for 3 seasons, with no 100% commitment, makes the return for Adam much higher then a “rental player”.