An eventful afternoon in Major League Baseball (although... not really?) as a sort of blockbuster trade gets done. I have to say, it really wasn't that exciting on the whole. Anyway, with the Jays needing a minor miracle at this point, let's turn our attention to those wheelings and dealings in major league baseball.
A brief rundown of the bigger transactions. I'll leave it to others to mention run differentials and get all mathematical etc. etc.
To Los Angeles:
Manny Ramirez, $7 Million
To Boston:
Jason Bay
To Pittsburgh:
Brandon Moss, Craig Hansen, Andy LaRoche, Bryan Morris
The Verdict:
This one is somewhat hard to declare a 'winner' from, as all the teams get something. The Dodgers got one of the better hitters in the game in exchange for a third baseman they seemingly never intended to play. LaRoche has put up an OBP of over .400 in the minors between AA and AAA the last two years with decent power, and by all accounts he profiles as an above average third baseman as soon as right now, though there are concerns about his defense. Bryan Morris is high on upside, but is coming back from TJ surgery and is still a ways away from the Majors - Keith Law describes him as a possible dominant reliever.
This haul looks pretty good for the Pirates. For reference, let's look at the Teixeira deal from a year ago (which included Ron Mahay as well). For a premium player with a year and a half left, the Rangers got Salty, and Elvis Andrus and Neftali Feliz; Salty has stalled, but Feliz looks like a dominant starter and Andrus an above average short stop (they were 93rd and 19th on BA's preseason 100). They also got two prospects who are longer shots at this point. For Bay, a very good but not great left fielder with a year after this one at a reasonable $7.5 million, the team got one very good prospect (LaRoche, #31 on the preason BA list), another prospect with decent upside (Morris), a decent third/good fourth outfielder in Moss, and Craig Hansen, who could be a good reliever or could be a bust at this point. Given that they are not contending this year, nor will they likely next year, it seems like a pretty good haul given that teams have become increasingly reluctant to trade younger players.
For the Red Sox, I'm a little more ambivalent. In effect, they traded Manny Ramirez, $7 million, and two borderline starters (for them anyway) for Jason Bay, a guy who, when factoring in defense and baserunning, is probably about as good as or slightly worse than Manny Ramirez. The upshot of it is that Bay will actually try and won't be a clubhouse cancer. I don't imagine that the Red Sox would have renewed Manny at $20 million next year, so they have Bay at a fraction of that cost, so its probably worth that for them.
Oh, and I guess compensatory draft picks are all the rage these days around these parts, so theoretically the Dodgers could offer Ramirez arbitration after they decline his option. I can't imagine Ramirez would accept, so the Dodgers would net two picks. Of course, they've shown utter disdain for their farm system under Ned Colletti, so whether they want them, who knows. While we're on the subject, compensatory draft picks are not worth nearly what everyone ascribes to them. As Robert Dudek pointed out the other day, they cost money, they're far away from the majors, and as with any draft picks, there is a high rate of failure. And really, if a team was really that determined to get extra picks, they could easily just spend that money scouting in Latin America and pay a bunch of 17 year old kids a million dollars to sign with them.
To Chicago:
Ken Griffey Jr.
To Cincinatti:
Danny Richar, Nick Masset
Danny Richar is a pretty decent second base prospect who doesn't have enough of a glove to play short full time, though he can fill in. The Reds have Brandon Phillips at second, so I'm not quite sure where that leaves Richar. If Richar can hit for average in the majors he'll be a good player - he has decent pop and will take a couple of walks. Masset doesn't look like anything special at this point - in 84 ML inning he has whiffed 53 against 47 walks. He's only 26, and could still keep developing I suppose. The Reds got back a decent return for a guy who doesn't help them going forward.
As has been repeated ad nauseum, it's unclear where the Sox will play Griffey, who at this point is an average hitter and below average fielder. Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye occupy the outfield spots, Thome DH, and Nick Swisher CF. Some configuration could, I suppose, end up with Swisher at first and the scuffling Paul Konerko on the bench, but if Griffey plays CF that will be trouble. It's hard to see how this move really helps them too much going forward. At the very least their bench will be better, and they didn't give up too much.
To New York:
Ivan Rodriguez
To Detroit:
Kyle Farnsworth
The Verdict:
Hard to know what to make of this one. I suppose the Yankees are sort of selling high on Farnsworth, as he's been very up and down, and the Yankees have kindof figured out their pen situation. With that being said, Jose Molina is probably a better defender than Pudge at this point, if not his equal, and Pudge is hardly a superstar with the bat now. Much of his value is tied up in his batting average, which is being driven by a very high (.344) average on balls in play. The Tigers pen has been dreadful, but I'm not quite sure how one mediocre reliever really changes that. I don't think compensatory draft picks will be a huge factor here.
To Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California, United States, The World:
Mark Teixeira
To Atlanta:
Casey Kotchman, Stephen Marek
The Verdict:
This whole Teixeira business didn't work out too well for the Braves. He was good for them, but they didn't make the playoffs either year they had him, and the prospects they traded to get him (see above) are better than what they got in return for him. Casey Kotchman is a great defender at first, and when he's on he can draw a couple of walks and hit for a bit of pop, though he doesn't really have home run power. The Braves will have him under control for another three seasons, but he's arbitration eligible so he'll get more expensive, and all he really is is a nice complimentary piece. Marek looks like he'll be a long man at this point, unless he can get his control issues under wraps.
For the Angels this trade is about the playoffs (sorry if all this commentary is starting to sound familiar!) They've all but sewn up the division, and Teixeira is a big scary bat that will help them in the playoffs. They also have first crack at re-signing him, though he'll likely command a nine figure deal, at a minimum. If he walks they'll get picks, and if they keep him the loss of Kotchman is hardly that big. I like this trade a lot from the Angels perspective.
Anyway, thats how I saw the four largest trades of deadline day(s). It was kindof disapointing, in retrospect, wasn't it?
Please commence talking amongst yourselves. The Jays face the Rangers tonight in Arlington, a place that's never been kind to them. Maybe if they sweep they'll be back in the race!!!!!!!!!
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20080801103523712
