Cantu Asks For Trade

Former 117 RBI man Jorge Cantu doesn't view himself as a Triple A player, and has asked for a trade.  Unfortunately for him that request carries no weight.  The Devil Rays have decided to again sacrifice defense at second base, but this time at the hands of B.J. Upton.  At the least, this pleases fantasy baseball geeks.

Cantu, who I should mention once drove in 117 runs, saw his slugging slip from .497 to .404 last year.  He played in the WBC for Mexico and things went downhill from there.  He fouled a ball off his foot and broke a bone, then tried to play through it.  He returned in June, but his neck started bothering him in August after a collision. 

I think Cantu is proof that a lot of guys can drive in 100 runs, and that doesn't mean much by itself.  If he'd driven in 87 that year we'd look at him differently as a player. Even 90 runs seems to add some sort of credibility.  The worst SLG for a 100 RBI season was when Bill Brubaker slugged .384 with 6 HR and 102 RBIs for the 1936 Pirates, by the way.  Joe Carter has two 100 RBI seasons where he slugged under .400, an exclusive honor.

As far as the market for Cantu...a corner guy with no plate discipline, no defensive abilities, and decent pop is not that rare.  Think Josh Phelps.      

Comments

[Adam H.]

I think you are underestimating his market value. Considering the weakness at 2B right now and his previously shown potential, I would not be surprised to see a team take a chance on him.

[ZachAttack]

I bet the Mets make a run at him.

If they still had Alay Soler, I bet they could've swapped them.

I hope the Braves don't try to get him, as mentioned by a few articles.

[wihargo]

Cantu spent a lot of 2005 batting third behind Crawford and Lugo, which I figured contributed a lot to his RBI totals.

[boomshwa12]

him and dukes/baldelli for brad penny. that would add some much needed depth to the top of their rotation

[piratefn7]

i hope colorado makes a run at him so there not embaressed with kaz matsui

[Guitar Hero]

Marlins, meet your new outfielder Jorge Cantu. Devil Rays, meet your new starting pitcher Ricky NOlasco.

[greenbaydude1232]

Nolasco would be too high a price to pay.

[Guitar Hero]

Okay not Nolasco but you get the idea. Cantu to Marlins as an outfielder for a pitcher.

[finite24]

perfect match guitar hero, then they can put hermida in center, or even better, Willingham.

[OPERATIONSHUTDOWN]

Jorge Cantu is one of the most chronically overrated players in baseball. He had a nice age 23 season at TB (an .808 OPS is just nice). That RBI total is ridiculously misleading though. If it wasn't for fantasy baseball, this guy wouldn't be known outside of Florida.

The plate discipline and defense issues are what really kill Cantu's value. Cantu is kind of the poster boy for the major Rays shortcoming, no plate discipline (Gomes, Baldelli, Cantu, Young). Replacing Cantu with Upton is a nice move with respect to OBP for MLB's worst team in this category (theoretically he knows how to take a walk).

Dukes is a step in the right direciton with respect to this, as is Ben "The Zoroastrian God of Walks" Zobrist. With all the youth, speed and developing power at the top of the lineup with Crawford, Young, and Baldelli, it'd be nice to see this team develop a little OBP/baserunning niche in the AL East. They won't outslug the Yankees and Red Sox, but they coud make life miserable for opposing defenses with all that speed if they could get it on base.

Really, I get that TB has taken a high-ceiling athlete approach to drafting, but it's kind of worthless without the ability to put the ball in play or get on base. Here's hoping these moves make TB a better team and shake things up in the AL East.

[Guitar Hero]

that was sarcastic about hermida and willingham right? Who knows maybe cantu can play CF? Anyway I dont really care, but

that is funny that someone mentioned zoroaster on an mlb trade rumors board. Thats a pretty cool nick name for Zobrist.

[was385]

Big news, Atlanta and Tampa Bay have made a deal

http://mvn.com/mlb-braves/

[hawkeyenation]

i love april fools day was385

[RJ]

That was a joke about Gomes not having plate discpline right? Considering his career OBP is .100 points higher than his career BA.

[OPERATIONSHUTDOWN]

No that wasn't a joke. Striking out 2.5 times for every time you walk (Gomes' career average) means you have pretty awful plate discipline. If you take plate dicipline to mean simply drawing walks, then I guess Gomes is okay.

[kevmill21]

jonny gomes gets walked he does not draw walks, his plate discipline is just as poor as cantu's or baldelli

[RJ]

It's apparent you watch few if any Rays games, Gomes has drawn walks, considering he was batting in the low .200's it's not as if pitchers were affraid of coming after him to an extent.

[wihargo]

no disrespect, but if gomes's plate discipline is just as bad as Cantu's, how would you explain the very different walk rates of the two players?
I'm also a little confused about the difference between 'getting' and 'drawing' walks. Does David Ortiz/ Jim Thome get walked cause he is a great hitter, or does is he very skilled at drawing walks?
I always just thought that a guy with good plate discipline was a player willing to go deep into a count to look for 'their' pitch.

[beeniez]

This is completely off topic but I remember talking about this in past threads. The ERA for the fifth starter last year in the NL was 6.24, right? Where do I find that information and for other starters?

[usctrojans31]

If you're the Mets and Rays, do you explore a trade like this?

Jorge Cantu and someone like Juan Salas for Philip Humber?

To me, it makes sense for both teams. The Rays get someone who projects as a third or fourth starter behind Kazmir and Nieman. Also, they get Rice's Big Three which could help marketability.

For the Mets, they get someone who has upside and could benefit from a change of scenery and playing in between two pretty good defensive players as well as a player who projects to a bullpen arm who will just throw gas. They trade away something that they are lacking, pitching, but are taking the chance and replacing their weakest position.

[ArodSucksAtLife]

"For the Mets, they get someone who has upside and could benefit from a change of scenery and playing in between two pretty good defensive players"

Huh??? Upside...... playing between two good defensive players???? What's going on?

[ArodSucksAtLife]

"Reyes is the most exciting person in baseball, even when he is doing nothing" Cut to him staring at the grass. Next.
Stealing his way into a double play.

Wait should I be posting to FJM? My bad.

[DentalPlan]

Remember when Tony Batista had 110 RBIs?

[wihargo]

I like remembering the time when Batista had 40 homers. and that cool batting stance.