My quick take on the major deals of the past few days:
1. Mark Teixeira, Ron Mahay to Atlanta Braves; Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, player to be named later to Texas Rangers.
Notes: A win for both teams. The Rangers get a major league-ready player in Saltalamacchia, a high-ceiling prospect at shortstop (Andrus), and a 19 year old pitcher who throws with plus velocity (Feliz). The Braves deepen their lineup with Teixeira and have leverage in their upcoming negotiations with Andruw Jones. Although it is likely that Teixeira will test free agency in November 2008, they will get a full year of high-caliber production from the first base position. Before Adam LaRoche hit 32 homers last year, the Braves had gone seven seasons between 30HR seasons from their everyday first baseman (Andres Galarraga, 44HR in 1998).
2. Octavio Dotel to Atlanta Braves; Kyle Davies to Kansas City Royals.
Notes: The only benefit to KC here is that they get a cheap arm that has had success in the minor leagues. As a major leaguer, Davies hasn’t fared quite as well. But the operative word here is cheap and it gives KC control of another younger player that is a few years away from salary arbitration. Atlanta bolsters their bullpen by adding another arm in front of struggling closer Bob Wickman. Viewed in conjunction with their trade for Teixeira, the Braves clearly view themselves as a team poised for an October run and have added both an impact bat and depth to their bullpen.
3. Eric Gagne to Boston Red Sox; Kason Gabbard, David Murphy, and Engel Beltre to Texas Rangers.
Notes: This is an interesting trade. Texas adds depth to their farm system by adding Murphy and Beltre to Triple-A and Single-A, respectively. Murphy developed into a productive hitter by the end of his college career and showed promise in one season of Double-A baseball last year. Beltre is still too young to judge but appears to be a decent prospect. As for Gabbard, he’s a curious case. His major league stats are actually better than his minor league ones and he doesn’t seem to be much more than a #3/#4 type starter. Of course, Texas has been starved for back-of-rotation starting pitching for years now so maybe Gabbard can be a nice addition for the Rangers. Gagne’s arrival in Boston is also a mixed bag. The Red Sox bullpen wasn’t a particular weakness so it can be argued that Boston gave up talent for a two-month rental of a player they didn’t actually need. That fact, coupled with Gagne’s recent ineffectiveness – 5.00 ERA, .297 BAA over the last 30 days – makes him a potential boom or bust addition. Of course, on paper, the Delcarmen-to-Okajima-to-Gagne-to-Papelbon bullpen conga line is impressive. But that’s why they play the games, right?
4. Luis Castillo to New York Mets; Drew Butera, Dustin Martin to Minnesota Twins.
Notes: The Twins gave up very little to get very little back in return. One wonders why they wouldn’t keep Castillo, a free agent after this season, and let him walk in exchange for the draft picks they’d get as compensation. It doesn’t seem realistic to expect that both Butera and Martin will develop into anything of consequence for the Twins, even though both played college baseball and might be a bit more polished than their stats might indicate. The Mets opted to add a veteran to the mix instead of sticking with youngster Ruben Gotay. At the end of the day, the Mets didn’t address their need for more pitching in the rotation and bullpen. Although moving Gotay to the bench improves their depth, this move is akin to running in place.
5. Scott Proctor to Los Angeles Dodgers; Wilson Betemit to New York Yankees.
Notes: Apparently there’s something in the water in New York because the Yanks made the same “running in place” trade as their crosstown step-siblings. Does Betemit improve New York’s depth on the bench? Absolutely; he makes Chris Basak’s roster spot expendable. But does it address New York’s need for more (and better) relief pitching? No, not in the slightest. The current plan is to promote from within, testing out Edwar Ramirez, Chris Britton and Joba Chamberlain on the big club in place of Proctor and Brian Bruney. For the Dodgers, they simply add depth to their bullpen which is never a bad thing. The only problem for them is that they’re locked in a vicious three-way fight for the division and their real issue is scoring enough runs on a consistent basis.
Grades: Atlanta Braves (A), Texas Rangers (A), Boston Red Sox (B+), Los Angeles Dodgers (C+), New York Yankees (C), New York Mets (C), Kansas City Royals (C-), Minnesota Twins (D)
1. Mark Teixeira, Ron Mahay to Atlanta Braves; Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, player to be named later to Texas Rangers.
Notes: A win for both teams. The Rangers get a major league-ready player in Saltalamacchia, a high-ceiling prospect at shortstop (Andrus), and a 19 year old pitcher who throws with plus velocity (Feliz). The Braves deepen their lineup with Teixeira and have leverage in their upcoming negotiations with Andruw Jones. Although it is likely that Teixeira will test free agency in November 2008, they will get a full year of high-caliber production from the first base position. Before Adam LaRoche hit 32 homers last year, the Braves had gone seven seasons between 30HR seasons from their everyday first baseman (Andres Galarraga, 44HR in 1998).
2. Octavio Dotel to Atlanta Braves; Kyle Davies to Kansas City Royals.
Notes: The only benefit to KC here is that they get a cheap arm that has had success in the minor leagues. As a major leaguer, Davies hasn’t fared quite as well. But the operative word here is cheap and it gives KC control of another younger player that is a few years away from salary arbitration. Atlanta bolsters their bullpen by adding another arm in front of struggling closer Bob Wickman. Viewed in conjunction with their trade for Teixeira, the Braves clearly view themselves as a team poised for an October run and have added both an impact bat and depth to their bullpen.
3. Eric Gagne to Boston Red Sox; Kason Gabbard, David Murphy, and Engel Beltre to Texas Rangers.
Notes: This is an interesting trade. Texas adds depth to their farm system by adding Murphy and Beltre to Triple-A and Single-A, respectively. Murphy developed into a productive hitter by the end of his college career and showed promise in one season of Double-A baseball last year. Beltre is still too young to judge but appears to be a decent prospect. As for Gabbard, he’s a curious case. His major league stats are actually better than his minor league ones and he doesn’t seem to be much more than a #3/#4 type starter. Of course, Texas has been starved for back-of-rotation starting pitching for years now so maybe Gabbard can be a nice addition for the Rangers. Gagne’s arrival in Boston is also a mixed bag. The Red Sox bullpen wasn’t a particular weakness so it can be argued that Boston gave up talent for a two-month rental of a player they didn’t actually need. That fact, coupled with Gagne’s recent ineffectiveness – 5.00 ERA, .297 BAA over the last 30 days – makes him a potential boom or bust addition. Of course, on paper, the Delcarmen-to-Okajima-to-Gagne-to-Papelbon bullpen conga line is impressive. But that’s why they play the games, right?
4. Luis Castillo to New York Mets; Drew Butera, Dustin Martin to Minnesota Twins.
Notes: The Twins gave up very little to get very little back in return. One wonders why they wouldn’t keep Castillo, a free agent after this season, and let him walk in exchange for the draft picks they’d get as compensation. It doesn’t seem realistic to expect that both Butera and Martin will develop into anything of consequence for the Twins, even though both played college baseball and might be a bit more polished than their stats might indicate. The Mets opted to add a veteran to the mix instead of sticking with youngster Ruben Gotay. At the end of the day, the Mets didn’t address their need for more pitching in the rotation and bullpen. Although moving Gotay to the bench improves their depth, this move is akin to running in place.
5. Scott Proctor to Los Angeles Dodgers; Wilson Betemit to New York Yankees.
Notes: Apparently there’s something in the water in New York because the Yanks made the same “running in place” trade as their crosstown step-siblings. Does Betemit improve New York’s depth on the bench? Absolutely; he makes Chris Basak’s roster spot expendable. But does it address New York’s need for more (and better) relief pitching? No, not in the slightest. The current plan is to promote from within, testing out Edwar Ramirez, Chris Britton and Joba Chamberlain on the big club in place of Proctor and Brian Bruney. For the Dodgers, they simply add depth to their bullpen which is never a bad thing. The only problem for them is that they’re locked in a vicious three-way fight for the division and their real issue is scoring enough runs on a consistent basis.
Grades: Atlanta Braves (A), Texas Rangers (A), Boston Red Sox (B+), Los Angeles Dodgers (C+), New York Yankees (C), New York Mets (C), Kansas City Royals (C-), Minnesota Twins (D)
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