Pads Trade Barfield To Indians For Kouzmanoff

Very interesting trade just went down: the Padres sent second baseman Josh Barfield to the Indians for third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and reliever Andrew Brown.

Side effects: the Padres now have an opening at second if they want to trade for Marcus Giles, and they probably won't make a bid for Akinori Iwamura.  Kevin Towers found a creative way to acquire a third baseman without spending money.  Kouzmanoff, 25, did nothing but hit in the high minors this season.  Baseball Prospectus's Kevin Goldstein ranked him the tenth best third base prospect in the game despite his age and health concerns.

Barfield had an OK rookie season, with a scorching July skewing the numbers a bit.  He'll be just 24 next year, so there's room for improvement.

Comments

[Mr_Punch]

Wow! Are the Pads making room for Marcus Giles?

[Jman]

This might signal the Padres not bidding on Iwamura, unless they plan to move him to 2B.

[zubes007]

I hate this trade if I am a Cleveland fan (I like the team, not a fan, and I hate it).

I think if they were so desperate to trade Kouzmanoff (which they seemed to be, even though the guy can simply rake), they could've gotten Giles, who is better. Maybe they wanted Barfield since they can control him for 5 more years...but he is not is Giles' league.

[MickS]

I've heard Linebrink for Giles but it's just a rumor.

[start_wearing_purple]

though definately not a blockbuster... it is rather shocking and unexpected.

I think its a good move for Cleveland, they have Marte to take over third and though Josh Barfield ain't his daddy, it looks to be more than just decent. And thus the Cleveland youth movement marches on...

Though there goes my farfetched dream of Lowell for Peavy...

[youalreadyknow]

Even trade for both sides... I like it. I think the Padres come out slightly ahead depending on how they fill the hole at 2B mainly because the 2B market seems much better this offseason than the 3B market.

I also think Andrew Brown will be a good reliever in the NL, thus adding more value to the deal for the Padres.

Kudos to both GM's for making a sensible trade.

[NotoriousVC]

BTW, the Padres also announced that they have hired former Angels pitching coach Bud Black as their new manager.

As for this deal, I just do not understand why you'd peddle Barfield after he had such a solid rookie season, he had the makings of a very good all-around second baseman.

[Not Joe Morgan]

I like this move for Cleveland; nice little hitting core of Hafner/Sizemore/Marte/V-Mart/Peralta/Barfield. I don't think there's a GM that I side with more often than Shapiro.

[Thrillhouse26]

I think Kouz and M Giles if they get him would be favorable to Branyan and Barfield. It would be great to keep Linebrink and get Marcus but that's probably being optimistic.

Maybe they found his replacement in this trade just like Cla. I don't know if it's the organization or park but they've had a good bullpen past 3 or so years.

[Rayman]

zubes, i'm a cleveland fan, and I like this trade. The Indians dealt from a position of strength and got a guy that can be our second baseman of the future. It filled one of our biggest needs in the process, and leaves room for other moves as well.

[OPERATIONSHUTDOWN]

This is a great move for Cleveland. Just building that core of solid young talent. Don't know why SD did this, I've heard nothing but good things about Barfield.

[Thrillhouse26]

As for Iwamura, does that leave the "main suitors" down to the Red Sox, Mets and "Phillies" ? I bet he goes somewhere Kooky out of left field.

[DR**Predz**]

I like this deal for the Padres but now what happens when the Red Sox get Iwamura. Who are they going to trade Lowell to?

[zubes007]

I think that Cleveland is taking a big risk by banking on Marte and Garko for the corner spots. Marte really regressed last year, and I always thought Garko's value was in being a good hitter for a CATCHER. Maybe I am wrong, they are both highly regarded prospects, especially Marte. I know Kouzmanoff is old, but his 2006 numbers were insane, as opposed to every other year when they were merely fantastic.

[istravin]

I don't know, I watched Barfield all year and the guy is great. Unless there is something behind the scenes we don't know about, the Padres made a real "business" move here that feels real cold. Barfield is going to hit well in Cleveland, but it's rough to move around at such an early point in your career. Let's hope he doesn't turn into another Jason Bay type guy that the Padres let get away.

[TribeFan06]

look at garkos #s last year...they are really good reguardless of the posision

i love this trare for the indians...they have to let marte play... kouz didnt have a spot where he fit in so it was a perfect time to trade him

now lets just hope shapiro makes a trade for a closer next

[Guardo369]

okay okay okay....

if anyone thinks this is a bad move for the Indians, I swear you're not paying attention to the team. They lose some bullpen help, which they'll probably need next year, but they lose out on a 3rd basemen. So what? They have Andy Marte, and he's suppose to be the next big thing at 3rd. He had that spot locked up for 2007 almost no matter what, so adding Barfield and losing two people that really don't hurt the team too much isn't that big of a deal. In all honestly, I feel like both teams made out, getting exactly what they wanted/needed.

The Indians now have a TON of core players, at C, 2B, SS, 3B, CF, RF, and DH. They really only need to work on LF, and, POSSIBLY 1B for the next few years. That's pretty good.

[Rayman]

zubes, Marte really came on towards the end of the year once he stopped pressing. garko is a patient hitter. the indians have the luxury of a good offense, so there is little risk, in my opinion, of letting marte and garko play.

[Ankur]

Also to add to Kouz's concerns, weren't they worried about his defensive abilities? I'm extremely excited about this trade, a great move by Shapiro.

[nickjs21]

As far as Iwamura goes, I still consider the Indians the biggest suitor. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland's paper) reported over the weekend that Shapiro intends to use Iwamura, should they get him, either in second or left field. Now that second is taken care of, Iwamura would be a cheap spot for LF and Shapiro has a fistful of money to use solely on the bullpen.

Barfield's fantastic. He made Baseball Prospectus' 2006 Top 50 prospect list, has a huge upside, and he's, what, 23? And a starting MLB 2nd baseman? I love this deal.

Especially when you consider the fact that yes, Kouzmanoff raked in the minors, but he was older than almost everyone he played against for that level. He's not as big a prospect as most people think, and the Cleveland media seemed pretty aware of that and I considered him our best trade bait. Shapiro didn't screw the Padres over, but on the long term scale I think Barfield is fantastic.

[nickjs21]

I also want to point out that Garko should be the starting 1st baseman. The fact that the Indians have danced around the issue and refuse to cement his place there worries me and leads me to believe he's involved in trade talks. I really think he could be the 1B for quite a time to come. His numbers were amazing for the end of the year when the Indians (seemingly reluctantly) gave him the job for the remainder of the season.

And yes, he was originally a catcher, but the reason he's now a 1B is due to the fact that he defended the position worse than Victor Martinez did in 06. Speaking of Vic, why not trade him? I can think of maybe 3 teams that WOULDN'T want Martinez right now, and Kelly Shoppach certainly isn't the same hitter, but if he could hit .265 with 20 home runs in a full season, with a huge + at defense, why not? Imagine what the Indians could get in return for Martinez.

But I digress.

[summerteeth]

I don't understand how this takes the Padres out of the running for Iwamaru. The Cleveland Indians were looking at him to play 2nd and I don't think it is a coincidence that this trade involved the Indians possibly taking the Padres greatest contender out of their way for Iwamaru.

[nickjs21]

On the contrary, the Indians could still look to get Iwamura.

From the Plain Dealer:
"The Indians don't think the left-handed-hitting Iwamura could play second base, where they have a hole, but they do think he could help Andy Marte at third and play some right and left field.

They also have interest in free-agent pitcher Hiroki Kuroda of Hiroshima. Kuroda went 13-6 this year.

Another pitcher who may interest them is Masumi Kuwata, 38, who spent much of the season in the minors with the Tokyo Giants. Kuwata, 173-141 with 14 saves in his career, is said to be similar in style and skill to Takashi Saito."

To be honest, I know nothing about the other two guys.

[youalreadyknow]

Kuroda already re-signed with Hiroshima, so that's out of the question.

[russell]

Just to bring back the possiblty of Martinez getting traded i would love to see a Martinez/Betancourt/Guiterrez for Jennings/Holliday from the rockies

[russell]

Theres more chances of Shoppach being trade for secound tier pitcher, anyway.

[RedTRibe]

I think you are on to something with Martinez maybe being traded. I could see interest from a ton of teams, the Red Sox included. This trade is great for the Indians, Barfield will thrive outside of PETCO, and Kouzie is older than would be liked as well as injury prone with his back. Brown sucks to lose, but the Tribe is getting a 2nd baseman who they will have control of for at least 5 years, with minimal risk since they dealt from source of depth. The Indians could make a big splash now that second base has been covered with money to spend in the free agent market. The tribe needs bullpen help, and a right handed power bat in the outfield, possbily a first baseman as well,but Garko has shown signs of promise. wishful thinking would be that we could trade for Manny and bring him back, but thats more than unlikely. If Shapiro pulled the trigger on that deal imagine Hafner and Ramirez in the same lineup, as well as the tickets it would sell at the Jake for nostagia purposes, Cleveland would welcome back. Eh, I sound like all the other fans from cleveland who miss the 90's lol...pathetic I apologize in advance.

[AkulaMkii]

This is a terrible trade for the Padres. They didn't need to move Barfield, and they got 2 inferior players in return. Even if they are paving the way for Giles, I would much rather have Barfield than Giles at 2B, and that's not even factoring in whoever we would have to give up for Marcus. This has completely erased whatever faith I'd regained in the Padres front office. Congrats, Cleveland fans, and enjoy the production from this blue-chip stud. Expect at least .300/20/80 with speed and defense for years to come.

[RedTRibe]

gotta be honest, I know the padres want giles badly...but Im suprised they actually went through with this trade. Makes ya wonder what else is on tap for the hot stove, since to my knowledge this trade hadnt been mentioned anywhere before today.

[nrmax88]

dont know much about brown, but why keep kouzmanoff when andy marte is there and ready to go? i seriously disagree with zubes, i dont think it is fair to say barfield isnt in his league when barfield is just a kidwith a pretty good looking future. Giles came off one of his worst seasons, i think he will get better next year, but hes much older then barfield. Cleveland just got younger at second, and the padres got a young pitcher and young 3B. Often times its these small trades that end up being more important then the big blockbusters we all wait for

[istravin]

Gotta remember, Barfield had one of the best road batting averages in the majors at the age of 23. i don't think the padres would still like to get iwamura, i feel like marcus giles is the more attractive option, at least in the beady eyes of kevin towers. as for his brother, brian, i'd like to think that he's going to bounce back, but i really think he is on some kind of decline, and either needs to be dropped in the lineup or given a few more days off. i think that alderson and probably towers agree with this and that is why dusty baker doesn't have a new job today. As for linebrink, i think the guy isn't a huge piece of the puzzle. so trade away, get to the playoffs again, and win a couple games for once. i'm out

[ejruiz777]

Giles for Linebrink sounds about right at this time. That said, I think the Pads will wait to see what happens with the rights to Iwamura (who can play 2nd base) before pulling the trigger on a deal with Atlanta. I think that if Giles was their top choice, they would have turned this trade with Cleveland into a three way deal or at least have the swap with ATL all set up to make it simultaneous to this one.

[zubes007]

I am not being fascetious, but somebody please tell me what I am missing about Bafield...

This guy had ONE, UNO, 1, month last year where his OBP was above .304. His numbers would've been Neifi-esque if not for his 1.025 OPS June. I know you cannot discount that and the PETCO factor, but I don't see why Cleveland fans should be excited about him. However, I suppose a cheap league-averagish 2B for 5 years is better than paying 5 mil for Belliard.

[nrmax88]

because he is a stud and hes 23 and he as all the tools to be a really good player. thats it

[nickjs21]

I'm not being fascetious either, zubes, but somebody please tell me why you would judge a 23-year-old kid who performed phenomenally in the minors (save for one off year) and has amazing upside, based solely on his FIRST year in the majors. At the age of 23.

Here's what the Indians basically did in this trade, to sum it up:
Filled their biggest positional hole.
Improved their defense (even his "solid average" defense, as Shapiro put it, is preferable to what we had since Belliard left).
Ended logjams at both 3B and 1B, and at the very least gave Marte their vote of confidence that he doesn't have to worry about a position battle.
Got rid of a pitcher who may not have made the 25-man roster and was out of options.
Accomplished one of the three main goals of the Indians' offseason without spending a dime.
Sold Kouz at his absolute highest value.

I do, however, want to reiterate that Kouz, should he stay healthy, could put up great numbers with a starting job.

[summerteeth]

Well it appears the Padres posted a bid on Iwamaru afterall. Kevin Towers was quoted in the Union Tribune today saying such. Towers said Iwamaru could play second or either corner outfield position, or could be a super utility guy. The Union Tibune said teams that were interested in Iwamura are Red Sox, Phillies, Devil Rays.