Morisato As GM - Five Decisions I Would Make (Nationals, Padres, Mariners, Pirates, Orioles Edition)

October 17, 2008 at 12:25 pm · Filed under Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals

Okay, after dicking around with this column idea for a while, I decided to go in order of the draft.  That would allow me to at least focus on teams that need help the most. Not that any of this is, you know, real, or any advice will be taken.  You may see several moves repeated throughout the course of the series.  Don’t worry about it.  Each 5 moves are to be taken as if they are being made in a vacuum.  With that said, onto the countdown:

1. The Washington Nationals (59-102)  

• Extend Ryan Zimmerman - Zim is your franchise player.  Why not sign him to an extension?  He’s got a lot of promise still and while he’s not the second coming of Mike Schmidt, he’s still damn good.
• Sign Juan Rivera - Rivera was underappreachated on the Angels and still has quite a bit of promise.  I’d sign him to a three year deal (a reasonable one) and stick him in one of the outfield corners.  He’s the type of guy that could be a bargain.
• Trade Austin Kearns To The Royals For Mark Teahen - Teahen could play first base or the outfield, depending on what you want to do with Elijah Dukes.  Though he’s great in the outfield, the problem is that he’s not able to stay healthy.  It’s possible that a move to the infield could be less physically taxing.  Kearns would improve the Royals’ outfield defense, plus offer a bit of upside in order for him to get out of Washington.  WIth these three deals, I now have an outfield of Rivera, Milledge, and Dukes, plus Zimmerman and Teahen at the infield corners.  That’s not bad.
• Commit To Emilio Bonifacio At Second Base - He’s here, might as well see what he can do.
• Trade Ronnie Belliard To The Dodgers For A Player To Be Named Later - Right now, ANYTHING is fucking better than Ronnie Belliard.  In this case, I’d offer him to the Dodgers for a player, doesn’t matter what, just in order to get him off the roster.  The spot could then be used in the Rule 5 Draft to pick someone with a future.

2. The Seattle Mariners (61-101)  

• Trade Jarrod Washburn To The St. Louis Cardinals For Skip Shumacher - Shumacher is a nifty little outfielder that could play right field, allowing the Mariners to have Ichiro in center, like they should have left him last season.  Washburn gets to pitch in a favorable ballpark and league and work with a quality pitching coach to help him get his career back on track.
• Trade Carlos Ruiz To New York For Player To Be Named Later - Omar Minaya has been musing that a reunion of Ruiz with best pal Johan Santana will be enough to make him a competant pitcher again.  I would gladly pawn off Ruiz’s contract for whatever I can get from the Mets, just so I don’t have to pay him anymore.
• Trade Adrian Beltre To The Los Angeles Dodgers For Blake DeWitt And A PTBNL - The Dodgers are almost certainly going to overpay for someone in order keep the winning going on, and they’re almost certain to lose Casey Blake this off-season.  The Dodgers have batted their eyelashes back to their former third baseman, and Beltre has talked about returning to his former squad.  Why not offer him for Blake DeWitt, who has been killed recently over his Playoff Performance in LA?  The Dodgers might be inclined to do it, and it would give the Mariners a nice, cheap replacement.
• Trade J.J. Putz To The Tampa Bay Rays For Jeff Niemann And Reid Brignac - Tampa will be looking for more help in the bullpen this coming off-season and Putz is a potential difference maker, and is signed to a reasonable deal.   Both Niemann and Brignac are viewed as expendable by the Rays.  Brignac would then be groomed to be the shortstop of the future, while Niemann gets a look in the rotation in a favorable ballpark, plus in a division where two out of three division rivals play in pitchers parks.
• Let Josh Fields Re-Enter The Draft - Why the Mariners would draft a reliever in the first round is beyond me.  There were other college closers that could be had in later rounds that wouldn’t be tabbed as “once in a lifetime” talents by Scott Boras.  Go into the 2009 Draft with two First Rounders, and go from there on the rebuilding process.

3. The San Diego Padres (63-99)

• Trade Brian Giles To The Chicago Cubs For Felix Pie - Centerfield is an offensive void for the Padres, and Pie seems to have fallen out of favor in Chicago, especially under Lou Pinella, who never seemed to take to him.  With the Padres wanting a improvement in right, I’d happily offer them Giles (who cannot veto a trade to the Cubs), in exchange for Pie.  Pie, then, could improve the outfield defense, and spare everyone the sight of Scott Hairston playing centerfield.  
• Trade Kevin Kouzmanoff to The Oakland Athletics For Ryan Sweeney - Oakland needs thump badly in that lineup, and Kouzmanoff has plenty of it.  Oakland also has a surplus of outfielders, and of the bunch, Sweeney is the most expendable.  I’d offer them the exchange straight up, with the plan to have Sweeney play right field, while Hairston moves to left field permanently.  The A’s would then get a cheap DH that would add some real power to the lineup, and force them to stop fucking around with reclaimation projects like Frank Thomas and Mike Sweeney.  And while the outfield would be rather lacking in power, it does offer a lot of upside, and an increased defensive efficiency, which is necessary in PETCO National Park.
• Move Chase Headley Back To Third Base - With Kouzmanoff now gone and Hairston in left field, Headley is now free to move back to third base, where he is a defensive and offensive upgrade over Kouzmanoff.
• Trade Khalil Greene To The Texas Rangers For Joaquin Arias, PTBNL and John Mayberry Jr. - Next, I would send Greene to Texas, saying that this would be to their benefit.  Greene would allow the Rangers to slide Michael Young over to third base, allowing the defensively superior Greene to play shortstop.  In return, I offer to take back Arias, who would then play shortstop, Mayberry, who would be my outfielder of the future, and a third player that would be pending Greene’s first half with the Rangers.
• Trade Jake Peavy To The Atlanta Braves For Tommy Hanson, Gorkys Hernandez, Brent Lillibridge, Brandon Jones and A PTBNL.  Peavy wants to be moved to a National League team if deal and the Braves are close enough to his native Alabama that he’ll accept a move there.  While the Padres won’t be getting anything major league ready yet, they do get Hanson, one of the Bravos’ best pitching prospects, Hernandez, an outfielder for the future, Jones, who could be a good corner outfielder, Lillibridge, a nice shortstop, and a PTBNL that could be a pitcher.  And the Braves get the ace they crave. 

4. The Pittsburgh Pirates (67-95)  

• Do NOT Re-Sign Jason Michaels Or Doug Mienkiewitcz - I understand that the Pirates are big fans of these two bench outfielders.  There are better ways to spent $2 million bucks.  Let ‘em walk.
• Make Andrew McCutchen The Starting Centerfielder - McCutchen, up until this year the Pirates’ top minor league prospect, is ready for the show.  He’s a much mor esuperior defender in center than McClouth, and could allow the Pirates to have a much stronger offensive core to build upon right now, all the while improving outfield defense.
• Move Nate McClouth To Right Field - Meanwhile, McClouth would slide over to right field, improving the outfield defense.
• Trade Jack Wilson To The Detroit Tigers For Dontrelle Willis - This might seem a bit extreme, but Willis isn’t signed for much and the possibility of him moving back to the National League, where he pitched much better in his career, and out of the American League is a worthwhile gamble.  If he succeeds, the Pirates will gain a valuable trade piece.  If not, well, than he’s not much worse than some of their other options.  This is not Matt Morris redux, it’s a gamble to see what Willis has left in the tank.
• Trade A Reliever To The Los Angeles Angels For Brandon Wood - At this point, Wood’s value is shit, but the problem is that Wood is a legitimately talented prospec that plays a decent shortstop, has some speed, and can hit for power.  He’s killed Triple A the past three years.  But he’s been dicked around with by the Angels so much that he hasn’t gotten a legitimate shot.  I’d offer the Angels a reliever, hoping that they’ll surrender Wood in the deal.  They really don’t have a place for him, and it’s become apparent that Mike Scoscia and the Front Office have fallen out of love with him.  The problem is, they’re too afraid that Wood could come back to bite him.

5. The Baltimore Orioles (68-93)

• Cut Ramon Hernandez, Call Up Matt Wieters - Hernandez is done, and Wieters is better right now anyway.  Why not call up arguably the top prospect in baseball and let him work.  He’ll make the team much better in terms of defense as well as his incredible power potential.  If Hernandez does anything elsewhere, tip your cap and say you’re happy for him.
• Trade George Sherrill To The Angels For Kendry Morales - The Angels will probably want a closer and to keep the middle relief strong in the event that K-Rod leaves.  Morales is a pretty solid first baseman and still very young.  He’s got more upside than Kevin Millar, so target him to hit six in the order behind a strong offensive core of Markakis, Wieters, and Jones.
• Sign AJ Burnett - Burnett has a lot of upside, and unlike most of the free agents available, he is also going to be young enough when the Orioles bunch of high impact pitchers reach the majors.  
• Sign Juan Rivera, Make Luke Scott A DH - Again, Rivera has upside and can play the outfield.  He’s also a better defender than Luke Scott, which helps the pitching staff, and allows you to use Scott as a DH.
• Non-Tender Daniel Cabrera - Give up on this particular experiment, it’s over.  If you really want to get something of lesser or much lesser value, send him to San Diego or Pittsburgh for peanuts.  Or Freddy Sanchez.  Whichever comes first.

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Transaction Assesment - Latest Movings And Shakings

July 22, 2008 at 4:33 pm · Filed under AL Central, AL West, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baseball, Boston Red Sox, Bullpen, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Joe Blanton, MLB, Matt Murton, NL Central, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Rich Harden, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays

Here are my takes on the most recent trades in baseball.

The San Diego Padres Trade LHP Randy Wolf To The Houston Astros For RHP Chad Reineke.  I don’t get this trade at all, as Wolf has been horrific away from PETCO.  He’ll eat innings and perhaps provide Shawn Chacon-esque production, but that’s about it.  As for Reineke, he is a decent little prospect who has been starting for the Express, but is more likely to head to the bullpen.  Many feel that Reineke could be the second coming of Chad Qualls, in which case the Astros just got fucked.  Kudos for San Diego for getting something of value, even if it isn’t what the hoped for initially.  As for the Astros, this is just another attempt to try and save a sinking ship that already had several holes drilled into it when the season started.  Astro Grade - D, Padre Grade - B 

The Washington Nationals Trade  RHP Jon Rauch To The Arizona Diamondbacks For 2B Emilio Bonifacio.  This was an outstanding trade by Arizona, who gets a quality setup man in Rauch for a pittance.  Bonifacio isn’t a great prospect, more of a speed and defense guy that legs out singles, but has little power or hitting skill.  Jim Bowden got outsmarted on this deal.  Rauch was worth so much more and would have gotten at a pair of prospects that were better than Bonifacio from any other contender, such as Boston or Tampa Bay.  This trade could get Bowden fired.  Snake Grade - A, National Grade - D-

The San Francisco Giants Trade 2B Ray Durham To The Milwaukee Brewers For LHP Steve Hammond and OF Darren Ford.  This was a fairly solid trade for both sides.  The Giants get rid of a player that wasn’t helping them really, in the grand scheme of things, and get something of value, even if it’s a fourth outfielder in Ford and a future middle reliever in Hammond.  As for the Brewers, they get some insurance in the event that Rickie Weeks continues to disappoint.  I understand the allure of tools and all, but really, Weeks has been a collosal disappointment since he came up.  Giant Grade - B, Brewer Grade - B

And, just for laughs, here are my toughts on two of the big three pitching trades that went down.

The Philles Acquire Joe Blanton From Oakland For Three Prospects.  The Phillies needed another pitcher, but to be quite frank, Blanton wasn’t all that hot and they overpaid slightly.  Of the three prospects they acquired, the only real one of consequence is Adrian Cardenas, a solid second baseman offensively that will likely be Eric Chavez’s successor at the hot corner.  Josh Outman, a left hander, is kind of a lefty specialist right now that could evolve into a quality middle reliever.  Then again, I was wrong about Greg Smith, who has been rather successful for Oakland thus far.  Overall, it’s a quality trade that makes up for the next one…  Philly Grade - C, Oakland Grade - A-.

The Cubs Acquire Chad Gaudin and Rich Harden From Oakland For Eric Patterson, Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, and Josh Donaldson.  This trade I found out with my buddy in Chicago and it made us both go “Wow.”  Oakland could have gotten more.  Gallagher is the best prospect of the bunch and is essentially Gaudin, but younger.  Patterson is looking more and more likely the next Mark DeRosa and Matt Murton finally gets a chance to start (and his jerseys at the Cub gift show were marked down to $70).  Donaldson is the wild card prospect, but is thus far looking like the next Brad Ausmus.  Good job for the Cubs by acquiring Harden, who while delicate is still good, for their pocket change.  Cub Grade - A, Oakland Grade - C.

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Crazy Trade Idea For Sabathia

July 1, 2008 at 1:13 pm · Filed under AL Central, AL East, AL West, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Baseball, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Eric Bedard, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, Matt Murton, NL Central, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers

There is some thought put into this in terms of players traded, so here me out before I get flamed. 

The Brewers Get:  LHP C.C. Sabathia

The Indians Get:  1B Prince Fielder, SS Alcedes Escobar

Okay, put down the knives!  Let me explain.

The Brewers are nearing arbitration with Fielder, who has shown no interest in a contract extension with Milwaukee.  Complicating matters is Scott Boras, who is likely hard at work on finding vague quotes, Hall of Fame comparisons, and any other things to fill a thick, leather bound tome to be passed around at the 2011 Winter Meetings.

Complicating matters is the fact that Brewers already have a stable of potential replacements in the organization.  Ryan Braun isn’t great out in left field, and could be moved to first if need be.  Even if you’re not thrilled about that option, you have two first baseman types in the minors.  The first, Matt Gamel, shows great pop, but is a terrible third baseman that will need to move to first eventually.  The other, left fielder Matt LaPorta, is ready to play in the majors now, and could be promoted to fill in Fielder’s current role.

As for the Indians, they would gain a solid run producer for the next three years, allowing them to replace Ryan Garko at first with Fielder.  The inclusion of Escobar, an all glove, some bat shortstop, would allow the Indians to move Jhonny Peralta to third base, preparing them for the depature of Casey Blake.

If the Indians really want to be sticklers, a Player To Be Named could be added in there, but not much else.  In fact, this may be the best they could do.  Of the teams six games or so from their division lead, we can eliminate the three NL Central Teams (White Sox, Tigers and Twins) because of the unlikelyhood of the Indians dealing within the division, plus because of the states of the White Sox and Tigers’ farm systems.  On that note, we can also eliminate the New York Teams and Giants, though if the Giants offered up Matt Cain, I’m sure the Indians would listen.

That leaves Boston, Oakland, Both LA Teams, Texas, Milwaukee, The Phillies, Marlins, Cubs, Cardinals and Diamondbacks.  11 teams.  From that bunch, the Angels, Marlins and Athletics can be eliminated (all three are looking for offense.)  Arizona seems more likely to add an impact bat instead of a pitcher as well, plus they themselves have enough depth in the major league rotation with Webb/Haren/Johnson/Owings/Davis.   The team on that list with arguably the best farm system, the Rangers, are also likely out.  If the Rangers make a move, it would be for more prospects or for an established pitcher that is under club control for several years (there’s an arguement for a Matt Cain trade here.) 

That leaves six teams:

1. Boston - The top contender remaining with a good farm system now that Texas is eliminated under this scenario.  You could begin around Michael Bowden, Boston’s top pitching prospect now named Clay Buchholz, and work from there.  I’d push for Jason Place, a slugging centerfielder who will likely have to move to right field as he develops.  You could try to ask for Jed Lowrie, though I don’t think that the Red Sox would be willing to do it.  Asking for Brandon Moss might work, though he’s a bit stretched as an everyday player.  All in all, Boston has the best package of talent available, should they choose to deal.  They may just choose to stand pat and allow Bartolo Colon and Buchholz to help them down the stretch, which would be a big blow to any Indians chance for a deal.
2. Dodgers - Hard to see a fit here, considering that Clayton Kershaw is likely to be blocked from being a part of a deal.  The Dodgers could try to put together a package around Matt Kemp, who could play right for the Indians right now.  They have enough lower level prospects to offer to make a potential three for one deal, which would be a solid one, especially if one of the prospects was their catching jewel, Carlos Santana.
3. Brewers - Already stated.
4. Phillies - Philly has relatively few prospects to deal.  They could offer Carlos Carrasco, their top pitcher, and Adrian Cardenas, their top positional prospect (slugging second baseman).  Aside from that, there’s not a whole lot to work for, and besides, the Phillies are more likely to go after a pitcher that is more controllable for more years, such as Eric Bedard, who could perhaps come cheaper.
5. Cubs - The Cubs have little to work with in terms of impact prospects, as they’ve done a rather poor job of stocking their organization in the past few years.  Donald Veal has the Dontrelle Willis starting kit, he just lacks command.  From there, Jose Ceda could be ready to close next year.  After that, what the hell else can you do?  You could try and toss in Tyler Colvin and Matt Murton, both outfielders, and maybe a PTBNL, but beyond that, you might be better waiting for other stuff to open up.
6. Cardinals - St. Louis wouldn’t mind another top starting pitcher to go with Adam Wainwright, and they do have some prospect depth to deal from.  They could offer their top prospect, Colby Rasmus, a centerfielder with star potential, as well as Chris Duncan, and their top catching prospect Brian Anderson.  Beyond that, there’s not much more you could offer of interest.  The Redbird’s system is deeper, but lacks a lot of upside.

So there you have it.  Fielder and change might be enough to convince the Indians to go for it.  In fact, Fielder alone would be better than any draft pick that the Indians could make (their history isn’t very promising, I’ll discuss that at a later date.)    If you wanted quantity over quality, you could go with the Cubs offer.  However, more likely, the Indians will go with the best offer, which may be more or less than what I’ve put out.

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