What The Massive Marlins-Blue Jays deal COULD Do Down The Line

I mentioned in my initial introduction that this would would ALSO be the place for my insight on baseball. This won't just be the one stop shot for Penn State Hockey, but for the time being since Penn State Hockey season and the baseball season doesn't overlap, you'll obviously get more Penn State Hockey coverage than baseball. But this week is an important one in the world of baseball with all of the award winners being released and one significant hiring that I'd like to talk about later.

But the biggest news maybe in all of sports was just announced not too long ago and reported by Jon Morosi of Fox Sports. In a massive blockbuster move, the Miami Marlins have agreed to trade shortstop Jose Reyes, starters Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle, catcher John Buck and utility man Emilio Bonifacio to the Toronto Blue Jays for shortstop Yunel Escobar, young starter Henderson Alvarez and four of the Blue Jays top prospects: shortstops Adeiny Hechavarria, pitchers Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Nicolino and outfielder Jake Marisnick. This all pending approval by Bud Selig and Company along with player physicals obviously. If you people thought that the huge Red Sox and Dodgers deal was huge, this one is slightly bigger in terms of pure magnitude, contracts being traded and sheer number of players in the deal.

Most baseball fans know all the guys that the Blue Jays acquired and what they bring to the table. But lets get a quick snap at the guys the once again new-look Marlins will be getting. Baseball Prospectus has Jake Marisnick rated as a five star prospect, Justin Nicolino as a 3-star, and shortstops Adeiny Hechavarria as a plus-plus defender. Baseball America's Nathan Rode has Marisnick as the Blue Jays #2 prospect (and #67 best prospect in all of baseball), Nicolino #5 with the Best Changeup and Control in the system, and Hechavarria #8 as the Best Defensive Infielder and Best Infield Arm in the system. The 23 year old Hechavarria appeared in 41 games with the Blue Jays in 2012 with a .254 average, .280 on-base percentage, .365 slugging percentage, 2 home runs, 10 RBI. Marisnick appeared in both Advanced-A Dunedin and Double-A New Hampshire in 2012 and Nicolino threw 124.1 innings for Single-A Lansing. This is a Blue Jays system that consistently gets rave reviews by scouts and baseball writers as one of the best in baseball.  Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthropolous and Marlins GM Mike Hill definitely did their due diligence on these prospects before pulling the string on this massive deal.

Here are my thoughts on what the tremors of this blockbuster Marlins/Blue Jays could POTENTIALLY be. First, don't be surprised if the Marlins keep this fire sale going and one of those shortstops they got from the Blue Jays (Escobar or Hechavarria) or 25 year old talented outfielder Logan Morrison goes to the Pirates in some sort of deal over the winter. Corner outfield and a long-term shortstop option are two of the pieces the Pirates are looking for. Second scenario that I think could happen is one of the two shortstops the Marlins got  (Escobar or Hechavarria) goes to the Diamondbacks for Justin Upton since Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers is obligated to acquire a shortstop or third baseman for his prized 25-year star Justin Upton. Third scenario, would be one of the two shortstops (Escobar or Hechavarria) goes to the Pirates and the Pirates then flip that player to the Diamondbacks for Justin Upton since Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington coveted Justin Upton during the 2012 trade deadline. Word came out after the trade deadline that the lack of a third baseman or shortstop Kevin Towers badly wanted in a potential Upton-to-Pirates deal is one reason the deal never went down. Look at other teams such as the Angels, Royals, San Diego, Red Sox, and Orioles to possibly contact Marlins GM Mike Hill in regards to one of the shortstop options