What does a reliever get you these days?

I've read talk on this and other boards about dealing Ron Mahay, fueled by reports by  Ken Rosenthal and other rumor mongers that several clubs have interest in our lefty reliever.

However, this inevitably leads to wildly optimistic trade proposals by fans, positing that if we only packaged Mahay with a useless part like Esteban German or Jimmy Gobble, we could land a top prospect like Matt Gamel!

Well it doesn't quite work that way. But how does it work? Let's examine what solid middle relievers go for in July deadline trades. I tried to examine just trades in which a solid middle reliever was the focus of the deal. I did not include closers.

This is not meant to be an advocacy of dealing for Mahay. I rather like having him around. But if we are listening to offers, this is to give you an idea of what realistic offers are out there for a guy like Mahay.

via mlb.mlb.com

2007

San Diego deals Scott Linebrink to Milwaukee for P Joe Thatcher, P Will Inman and P Steve Garrison

Many observers thought Milwaukee had overpaid for the mediocre Linebrink. He was an impeding free agent, but the Brewers were desperate for bullpen help after the implosions of Matt Wise and Derrick Turnbow. John Sickels had Inman ranked as the Brewers third best prospect, a "B", and had Garrison listed as honorable mention before the 2007 season. Baseball America had Inman third as well. Thatcher was more of an organizational soldier. He's already made the big leagues as a LOOGY, although he has not pitched all that well. This is probably the best kind of deal we could hope for.

New York Yankees deal Scott Proctor to the Los Angeles Dodgers for IF Wilson Betimet

Proctor only had three years of service time when he was dealt, so that puts him in a different circumstance than Mahay. He was dealt for Betimet, a one top top prospect who had never really gotten much of a chance in Atlanta or LA. He had shown signs of good power, but always hit for low average, making the Dodgers reluctant to put him in the every day lineup. Getting a player that has shown signs of success in a reserve role, but hasn't gotten the chance to start might be a good gamble on the part of the Royals to bolster their offense.

2006

Kansas City trades Mike MacDougal to the Chicago White Sox for P Dan Cortes and P Tyler Lumsden

We're well acquainted with this deal, perhaps the pinnacle of Dayton's tenure thus far. MacDougal was electric, but inconsistent, but the White Sox were attracted to his "Proven Closer" and "All-Star" tags. Plus, they were desperate as well. Lumsden was actually considered the better prospect, ranking 16th on Sickels list for the White Sox in 2006, while Cortes was 18th. But Lumsden has stunk, while Cortes looks like one of the Royals best pitching prospects. Another coup like this would be huge for Dayton and the Royals.

2005

Oakland trades Chad Bradford to Boston for OF Jay Payton

Not even sure this should be in the discussion. Bradford hadn't pitched all year due to injury. Jay Payton was a one-time starter declining into benchville. A trade like this would be sorely disappointing, and unlikely.

San Diego trades Ron Villone to Florida for P Yorman Bazardo and P Mike Flannery

Villone is a decent comp for Mahay - both inconsistent in their careers, but strung together a few nice seasons in a row. Villone was more of a LOOGY than Mahay was, but not used exclusively as such. He had a 2.45 ERA at the time of the deal. Bazardo was the 9th best prospect in the Marlins organization, according to Sickels.

2004

San Francisco trades Felix Rodriguez to Philadelphia for OF Ricky Ledee and P Alfredo Simon

Should we just throw this one out because Brian Sabean's stupidity is such an outlier? Felix Rodriguez was a hard throwing middle reliever with quite a bit of value. Sabean dealt him for Ledee, a former busted prospect now serving as a fourth outfielder. Ledee would play 31 games with the Giants and hit .113. Simon was a decent pitching prospect in A ball, but didn't do anything at all after being dealt.

2003

Milwaukee trades Curt Leskanic to Kansas City for IF Alejandro Machado and P Wes Obermueller

Remember when we were buyers at the deadline? That was awesome. We acquired Curt "Let's Panic!" Leskanic at the deadline in 2003 for two guys that were really just organizational filler. Leskanic was actually awesome in 2003, both for the Brewers and the Royals, so this was quite a fleecing for Allard Baird (how many times do I get to write that?) It was in 2004 that Curt was awful.

San Diego trades Matt Herges to San Francisco for P Clay Hensley

Matt Herges in separate deals has been traded for Guillermo Mota, Chris Young and Clay Hensley. I don't know if a mediocre reliever has ever been dealt separately for more useful parts before. Herges had a 2.86 ERA for the Fathers when he was dealt upstate. Hensley was in his second pro season, but was moving fast through the system. He ended up putting together a nice 2006 season in the bigs, but hasn't found that consistency since.

2002

Cleveland trades Paul Shuey to the Los Angeles Dodgers for P Terry Mulholland, P Ricardo Rodriguez, and P Francisco Cruceta

I seem to recall Shuey being pretty hot property in 2002. He posted a 2.41 ERA for the Tribe and had a pretty solid track record of success. For some reason, the Indians agreed to take the 39 year old 7.61 ERA, rotting corpse of Terry Mulholland. They also got two electric arms in Ricardo Rodriguez and Francisco Cruceta. Rodriguez was the 69th best prospect in all of baseball according to Baseball America. Cruceta was in his first pro season, and was dominating low A ball.

San Diego trades Steve Reed (and Jason Middlebrooks) to the New York Mets for P Bobby Jones, P Josh Reynolds and OF Jason Bay

Reed was a submariner who posted a 1.98 ERA for the Padres. San Diego packaged him with Middlebrooks, a 27 year old organizational soldier and landed LOOGY Bobby Jones (the bad one) a 22 year old pitcher named Josh Reynolds, and AA outfielder named Jason Bay. Reynolds was putting together a very solid season in A ball, but hadn't done much prior to that and wasn't considered much of a prospect. Bay had put together a couple of decent, but not great seasons in the Mets lower minors and was not considered one of their top prospects. If Dayton can luck his way into finding another Jason Bay, I'm taking him to craps table.

2001

Baltimore trades Mike Trombley to the Los Angeles Dodgers for P Kris Foster and C Geronimo Gil

Trombley had been a solid reliever for years, and at the deadline he was dealt for 26 year old minor league reliever Kris Foster and power hitting minor league catcher Geronimo Gil. Foster seems like a throw-in - he was having a fine 2001, but was coming off injury and was not very young. Gil had shown some solid power, albeit in the Texas League, and was blocked by a future Hall of Famer. He never did much, which is why I say, never trade for a catching prospect.

2000

Houston trades Doug Henry to San Diego for P Scott Linebrink

Hey, there's Scott Linebrink again, this time as a youngster! The circle of life is complete. Linebrink was a 23 year old, posting awful ERAs in the minors, with good peripherals. Henry was a mediocre reliever, posting a 4.45 ERA for Houston before he went on to suck for the Royals the next year.

Pittsburgh trades Jason Christiansen to St. Louis for SS Jack Wilson

Christiansen had been a solid LOOGY for years in Pittsburgh, but was having his worst season with an ERA around 5.00. Still, Tony LaRussa has a lefty reliever fetish, and so the Cards acquired Christiansen for a smooth-fielding, high average, no power AA shortstop. Kinda weird that the Cards would deal a guy with so much grit.

So there you have it, that's the precedent that has been set for middle reliever. Can we get a Prince Fielder for Mahay and Olivo? Perhaps if Doug Melvin is off his meds, but I wouldn't count on it. But that's not to say we couldn't get a solid trade that can help our ballclub for years to come if the right deal comes around.