If we’re really going to go the “warm body” route, why not call Mark Grudzielanek or Ray Durham?

We must share a brain, because that was literally the first thing that jumped into my mind.

From 2005-2008, Grudzielanek was worth 3.0, 2.6, 2.7, and 1.7 WAR. And his 2008 numbers are diminished because of an injury. Over the same years, Ray Durham was worth 3.3, 4.0, -.8, and 2.6 WAR. Both guys would be solid stop-gaps options at 2nd with Lopez shifting to 3rd. Seems like one of them could be had for a reasonable price (maybe a million bucks?).

Really the big question is what kind of shape they are in. Seems like a best-case scenario (they’ve been working out and taking BP, but no live pitching) would probably require a couple weeks in the minors. I’d get them both in for workouts and see where they stand.

Another trade candidate might be Jose Bautista with the Jays. Totally uninspiring and not the best fit, but he’s probably fairly cheap (in terms of talent).

Too bad the Yankees just acquired Eric Hinske for a bad of peanuts. His defense might not inspire much confidence, but his LH bat that will take a walk and has some pop would have been a nice fit!

Seriously, Atkins is almost certainly available: even though he’s got a little more playing time lately, he seems to have lost his job to Stewart. And the Rockies might be willing to swap him for some cheap relief pitching. But he’s going to have 5 years of MLB service in the offseason, and already got a $7M contract for this year (avoiding arbitration). For a guy who’s been a .285 wOBA so far this year — and about a -10 UZR/150 over the past 3 years at 3B — that’s pretty rich. ZIPS still projects him to raise his wOBA to .329 (his BABiP this year has been just .240, well below his career average of about .314) but so far this year he’s been “worth” a net -$3.5M beyond his salary. Unless you think he’ll benefit from a change in scenery and/or you think he’s due to regress to the mean (which is possible given the BABIP) I wouldn’t want to give up much for him.

Oh and McGrath suggest trading Batista for the Dobber.

If the M’s are going to buy, they have to buy an expensive commodity (Johnson as one example), because that is what it will take for them to keep up. By expensive, I mean that it will take a solid return package to attain the player. I think they have to outfield and relief pitching assets to make it happen without overly compromising the future. Just because Bavasi was bad at it does not by itself mean that the M’s should not be buyers. But half-measures like Scott Moore or Adam Heether will do little to help the team now. Also, the reason I’ve focused on Johnson is because I can’t find a good third baseman that will help the team now and is potentially available (Garrett Atkins?).

When the Seahawks lost Brian Bosworth to injury in 1987, they plugged in an unknown (Fredd Young) who became an All-Star

You mean, besides having appeared as the AFC special teams player for each of the prior three seasons? Yes, it would be great if the M’s could find someone like that for free lying around.

I don’t like the idea of Lopez at 2B at all, he just doesn’t have the range to play that position defensively.

I think moving Lopez to 3B now gives the team the opportunity to get a solid replacement bat to 3B for Beltre while also giving Lopez a look there to see if he can play the position defensively. It does then mean the team needs to get a 2B but we do know that Woodward or Cedeno are at least upgrades defensively at 2B over Lopez.