San Diego is desperately trying to upgrade their lineup through any means possible. They just traded Jon Link, a minor league pitcher to the White Sox for Rob Mackowiak.
They also got Morgan Ensberg from the Houston Astros, hoping that he can regain his power stroke in a Padres uniform.
What are they going to do with all these mediocre players?
Buster Olney reports that Octavio Dotel has been traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for left-handed pitcher Kyle Davies. The Braves have been this year’s biggest deadline movers, acquiring Mark Teixeira yesterday and now Dotel. The Braves now feature one of the best NL lineups, especially if Andruw Jones comes back around. They have cleared out a lot of their more highly regarded prospects, so they will need to rebuild that farm system. Shouldn’t be a problem for Schuerholz, though.
This trade benefits both teams, as Kansas City didn’t have much need for Dotel, and badly needed to upgrade their starting pitching. Davies was a highly regarded lefty prospect, and showed some flashes last season, but struggled and seems to have lost his top status.
Dotel could lose his closer status, though some sources think that Bob Wickman could be traded away. So don’t drop Dotel yet, until we find out what happens.
Teixeira looks to slot in #4 in the Atlanta lineup, so his numbers should really take off. He tends to be a second-half player, anyway.
The Braves also ended up sending yet another minor leaguer to Texas in the Teixeira trade: Beau Jones. Ouch. I hope Teixeira is worth it.
The New York Yankees traded reliever Scott Proctor to the Los Angeles Dodgers for utility infielder Wilson Betemit today.
Proctor, a 30-year old right-hander, is 2-5 with a 3.81 ERA, but his peripherals are not looking good. His WHIP is 1.51, and has walked a much higher percentage of hitters this season, while striking out fewer hitters. He’s blown four saves already this year. What exactly do the Dodgers see in this guy?
Betemit is one of those “potential” guys, a young player who is thought by some capable of being a 30-40 HR hitter. But he has been a disappointment with Atlanta and Los Angeles. This year he is hitting .231/.359/.474 with 10 HR and 26 RBI in 156 AB. He’s drawing lots of walks, but has seen his playing time decrease with the move of Nomar Garciaparra to third base. It is said that New York is looking to him to compete for the third base job if (when) A-Rod opts out of his contract this winter.
Good job by Brian Cashman.
Omar Minaya is fast losing his reputation for big splashes. The quick-fire GM has yet to pull off a major trade this season, even though his Mets have been tied to almost every available player.
In an effort to remedy the situation at second base, the Mets acquired Luis Castillo from the Minnesota Twins for two minor league prospects, catcher Drew Butera and outfielder Dustin Martin. Both are considered average prospects at best. There is no real fantasy impact here, as Castillo hits only for average. He will be a defensive upgrade for the Mets, and probably more steady at this point than Damion Easley or Ruben Gotay.
The Twins will allow Alexi Casilla to get a shot at second base until prospect Matt Tolbert is ready.
There hasn’t been a whole lot of starting pitching available at this deadline, and the names that have been mentioned have been way overpriced. That probably led the Phillies to trade for starter Kyle Lohse today. Lohse is 6-12 with a 4.58 ERA in 21 starts for the Reds this year. Maybe the best thing that can be said about him is that he’s thrown two complete games (one shutout) in 2007.
Pardon the brevity of Ken Rosenthal’s post; he’s busy covering deadline trades that really matter. They sent double-A pitcher Matt Maloney to Cincinnati in return. I don’t consider this a major move, and I don’t really consider it an upgrade.
The Atlanta Braves, still in it this year and building for the future, have agreed on a deal that would bring first baseman Mark Teixeira to Atlanta. Also included in the deal is veteran left-handed reliever Ron Mahay (a compromise since Atlanta initially wanted the younger C.J. Wilson).
The Braves were in a bit of a bidding war with the Los Angeles Angels, but I had a feeling that they would give up whatever it took to get Big Tex. (The Angels are notoriously stingy when it comes to trades; GM Bill Stoneman always gets close, but never pulls the trigger.) The Braves have been struggling without much production from Andruw Jones this year, and Scott Thorman has been a big disappointment. Now they have a big bopper to help carry the offense, and should Jones round back into form, you are looking at a pretty formidable offense here.
The move did cost Atlanta dearly, however. They had to give up top C/1B prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia, highly rated 19-year old shortstop Elvis Andrus and two pitching prospects, one of whom is reportedly lefty Matt Harrison, last year’s Minor League Player of the Year for the Braves. Salty has already shown a pretty well-developed bat and plate approach in 141 AB with Atlanta, hitting .284/.333/.411 thus far, and the other players have pretty high ceilings.
One would assume that Texas catcher Gerald Laird would now be available to a contender in need, unless the Rangers elect not to promote Jason Botts from AAA Oklahoma City.
Giving up too much?
Was GM John Schuerholz pressured into giving up too much to get Teixeira? One has to second-guess their getting rid of Adam LaRoche this past off-season, only to trade for another first baseman at the deadline. Admittedly, Teixeira is a much better all-around player, but it remains to be seen if he is the franchise bat the Braves are hoping he is. Despite some eye-popping numbers, Teixeira has suffered some long droughts where he didn’t hit much. The last two seasons combined, he has hit just 21 HR before the All-Star Break, with 90 RBI. Not bad numbers by any means, but is it enough to carry an offense? Elite-hitting first basemen are far less rare than elite-hitting catchers and shortstops, so this move could come back and bite Atlanta in the future. On the other hand, it is a great move for this year, and Teixeira could become a cornerstone for years to come. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Jorge Cantu broke into the majors in 2004/2005 at age 23, and looked like a future All-Star. In 2005, he hit .286/.311/.497 with 28 HR and 117 RBI, but his lack of plate discipline and inconsistency has sent him back and forth from AAA baseball the past two seasons. Tampa Bay traded him (along with outfielder Shaun Cumberland and cash) yesterday to the Cincinnati Reds for two pitching prospects.
Cincinnati already has Brandon Phillips at second base, but could move him to shortstop to accomodate Cantu. Current shortstop Alex Gonzalez is on the bereavement list for a long time, as his infant son battles illness, and the Reds’ replacements are on the DL. Look for Cantu to get a shot at returning to the bigs.
Tampa Bay acquired “pitcher Calvin Medlock and left-handed pitcher Brian Shackelford and future considerations”. The Devil Rays have realized how bad their pitching situation is, and are scrambling to improve their depth until top prospects such as Jeff Niemann arrive. They also went and got Grant Balfour from the Brewers for Seth McClung yesterday. Since Balfour is out of minor league options, the Brewers had to move him to make room for Scott Linebrink on the roster.
With so many contenders out there looking for relief help, I didn’t see Dan Wheeler going to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Wheeler, 29, is a very good setup man who has some closing experience and is a solid arm in the bullpen. He has had a bad year, which hurt his trade value, though his peripherals are still good. This move allows prospect Ben Zobrist to move up to join the big league club, and provides some needed bullpen help for a young rotation who needs confidence in their bullpen. If the Rays plan on building through free agency in the offseason, this could be a very good move. With their payroll, they could make their move at any time. Of course, we’ve been saying that for some time. They could use a free agent veteran to lead their rotation, a la Gil Meche and Kansas City this year.
On the Astros side, they get an established hitter and very flexible player in 29-year old Ty Wigginton. I see him sort of as a replacement for Aubrey Huff, who went to Baltimore this season (slightly less stick, more positions). Wigginton is having a good season at .275/.329/.458 with 16 HR and 49 RBI already. His career line is .267/.326/.448. He is slated to replace Morgan Ensberg at third base, but can also play second or first base, or even in left field.
Well, it took some time, but troubled Shea Hillenbrand has been signed by the hitting-starved San Diego Padres. Hillenbrand has been released two years in a row by the Blue Jays and Angels due to clubhouse issues. He will begin with a minor league assignment, and likely isn’t more than insurance against injury to either Kevin Kouzmanoff or Adrian Gonzalez at this point. He is a streak hitter, though, so if he gets hot… Well, we’ll cross that bridge if we get to it.
The deadline deals are officially underway. Two second basemen changed hands yesterday:
The San Diego Padres, known to be searching for a replacement for the .234/.306/.323 Marcus Giles, picked up Scott Hairston from the Arizona Diamondbacks for reliever Leo Rosales. The 27-year old Hairston has primarily been a reserve outfielder for the D-backs of late, but actually has played the most games at 2B in his career. He’s a career .238/.293/.407 hitter, but hit .248/.293/.442 as a rookie, when he last got semi-regular playing time. He has some pop and will likely serve as insurance for the Pads, in case they can’t land Mark Loretta or another second base option. He’s a lifetime .300/349/.550 hitter against lefties, so could be a prime platoon candidate.
The White Sox, who are well out of contention, have been looking to move some of their veteran contracts, and have traded Tadahito Iguchi to the Phillies for 21-year old pitching prospect Mike Dubee. The move is in response to Chase Utley’s hand, which was broken when he was hit by a pitch two days ago, and required surgery. Utley is expected to be out for at least a month. Iguchi has struggled this year, but he has been a pretty good bat, and in the Phillies’ lineup, could bounce back in a big way. However, don’t expect him to hit higher than 7th in the order. The right-handed Dubee is currently in single-A ball, and has been solid in his second year in the minor leagues.
Teams still pursuing second basemen (Mets, Padres) are going to feel some pressure to make a move soon.
