Well, its been a long week, not only thanks to the fact that I was at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, but also trying to keep track of all the Winter Meeting Madness. It seems like baseball has lost its mind and suddenly trading is as shiek as ever. Everybody loves to trade. Trade trade trade! Like baseball cards as a youth. So, here's my quickee ratings and comments on these trades.
(Ratings are out of *****)
12/4/05 - LoDuca (C) to the Mets for 2 minor leaguers - Mets ***; Marlins ** - Mets get a catcher who usually only lasts 1/2 a season, Marlins get a bag of doorknobs (but save $). This is one of these trades that makes me say "meh." Yes, I said "meh".
12/5/05 - Chad Gaudin (SP/RP) to A's for PTBNL - A's *; Jays **** - So, how do you score four stars for getting a PTBNL? Well, its easy. Gaudin, for all intents and purposes, became B.J. Ryan as the Jays moved Gaudin to make room on the roster. So, in an alternate universe, Billy Beane made a terrible trade.
12/6/05 - Steve Kline (RP) to Giants for LaTroy Hawkins (RP) - Giants *; Orioles * - Maybe I should have saved my "meh" for this trade. Just please, oh please, don't let Hawkins be the closer for the O's. On second thought, go ahead!
12/7/05 - Dewon Brazelton (SP) to Padres for Sean Burroughs (3B) - Padres *; DevilRays ** - Let's see, how many infielders do the DevilRays need? They have Cantu, Upton, Green, Lugo, Burroughs, Huff. Burroughs looks like a future Geoff Blum, except maybe with less power (thats scary). My guess is he will be backing up all the infield, or starting at 3B if the Rays don't get anyone else. Brazelton, on the other hand, looks like he might have burned out already, at least mentally.
12/7/05 - Mark Loretta (2B) to Red Sox for Doug Mirabelli (C) - Red Sox ****; Padres *** - My first reaction: Ha ha ha ha! Loretta was stolen from the Padres (if he's healthy) and give the Sox a solid 2B to keep the spot warm for Dustin Pedroia. Now, lots of the media are saying Dumpy Doug will be a backup in SD. Why? He's solid defensively (he caught Wakefield for chrissakes) and can be potent versus lefties. I think they should give Mirabelli a fulltime look. As for the Sox, who becomes the backup for Varitek? Maybe they'll let Shoppach learn to catch Wakefield (he's caught Sox knuckling farmhand Charlie Zink).
12/7/05 - Ray King (RP) to the Rockies for Larry Bigbie (OF) and Aaron Miles (2B/SS) - Rockies *; Cardinals ** - Ray King said he wanted a trade if he wasn't going to be used in St. Louis. Be careful what you wish for, Mr. King. The Cardinals have found their Abraham Nunez replacement in Miles and maybe their Reggie Sanders replacement is Bigbie.
12/7/05 - Danny Kolb (RP) to the Brewers for Wes Obermueller (SP/RP) - Brewers -*; Braves ** - Yes, thats negative one stars for the Brewers. How often can a team trade for a player, then the player sucks it up and the team can send him back to the first team? And actually get someone for it? Obermueller did an OK job filling in for Sheets (for a while), so I see the Braves using him as MR.
12/7/05 - Mark Redman (SP) to Royals for 2 minor leaguers - Royals **; Pirates ** - Royals get an OK starter. Wow.
12/7/05 - Yorvit Torrealba (C) to Rockies for PTBNL - n/a - Woo.
12/7/05 - Juan Pierre (OF) to Cubs for Sergio Mitre (SP/RP) and 2 minor leaguers - Cubs **; Marlins *** - Its always good to stockpile pitchers, so Marlins get the edge. I've never been too impressed with Pierre, and Baker doesn't like to steal. Hmmm. I might have taken a chance on Felix Pie or Corey Patterson over Pierre.
12/7/05 - Johnny Estrada (C) to Diamondbacks for Lance Niekro (RP) & Oscar Villareal (RP) - D-Backs ***, Braves ** - I guess the Braves really trust Brian McCann. A key point to remember: You can no longer say "well, they'll be working with Leo Mazzone" when mediocre pitchers go to Atlanta. Now, they will be learning from "shoes on fire" Roger McDowell. We'll see how that works.
12/8/05 - Sean Casey (1B) to Pirates for 2 minor leaguers - Pirates *; Reds ** - Weird. I like this trade for the Reds because it means that Kearns & Pena should play with Dunn moving to 1B. I don't like it for the Pirates because it keeps Brad Eldred at AAA. Odd "additional by subtraction" trade in my books.
12/8/05 - Tony Womack (IF/OF) to Reds for 2 minor leaguers - Red 0; Yankees ** - Yankers get positive points for ridding themselves of the plate appearance sink that is Tony Womack for anything larger than the time of day.
12/8/05 - Edgar Renteria (SS) to Braves for Andy Marte (3B) - Red Sox ****; Braves *** - 1. The Sox gave up on Renteria too quickly; 2. The Braves gave up way too much for Renteria and most of his contract; 3. With that being said, everyone wins! Of course, the Red Sox now have a 3B logjam of Marte, Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis. My question that no one I've read has asked: Why can't Lowell play 1B?
12/9/05 - JC Romero (RP) to Angels for a minor league INF - Angels ***; Twins * - He complained, he was traded. Angels get a lefty in the 'pen. Done and done.
12/9/05 - Alfonso Soriano (2B) to Nationals for Brad Wilkerson (OF) and Termell Sledge (OF) - Rangers *; Nationals *** - The Rangers now have half of the OF in the league and the Nats have 2 All-Star 2B. Hmmm. Why do I feel like this trade isn't the end of the story.
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1 comment:
1. You've got to be kidding me. For the Blue Jays it may have been Gaudin for B.J. Ryan, but for the A's it's one more step in acquiring all cheap to moderately priced pitching in the league. If the Rangers get all the OF, the A's get all the pitching. I think I once made a roster like that in HH2003. . .
2. You mean Lance Cormier, not Lance Niekro (1B, SF).
3. People are not suggesting Lowell for 1B because he's a better defensive 3B than Youkilis, although I don't know how he compares to Marte.
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