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Let's take a look at Rockies first/third baseman Garrett Atkins. Atkins turns 29 in December and is disappointed by his .287/.331/.451 line in 632 plate appearances this year. His hitting away from Coors has been worrisome - .245/.305/.417 in 600 ABs the past two seasons.
The Rockies haven't signed Atkins to a long-term deal, so he faces a possible $6.5-7MM arbitration reward for '09. He's under team control through 2010. Troy E. Renck writes of the "growing possibility" of a trade, with the Rockies aiming for frontline starting pitching.
Plenty of teams will be looking for corner infield help this winter - possibilities include the Giants, Yankees, White Sox, Twins, Indians, A's, and Dodgers. But what if that road line holds up, and Atkins is basically a more expensive Kevin Millar?
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What is even more worrisome than the Home/Road difference is the righty/lefty disparity.
RHP:
.260 .299 .395
LHP:
.383 .438 .648
Posted by: AA | September 17, 2008 at 12:23 PM
You undersell Millar, who is better than that road line.
Posted by: Playwright | September 17, 2008 at 12:27 PM
Not sure what he means by frontline starting pitching, but they aren't getting any for Garret Atkins and his career .261/.329/.425 line away from the friendly confines of Coors. I would think though that if the price is reasonable, the Jays should be in on the talks, and certainly have the arms to part with. He's not worth Marcum or McGowan, but a Litsch for Atkins trade might work for both teams.
Posted by: 92-93 | September 17, 2008 at 01:21 PM
I think Garrett Atkins is worth less than Mike Jacobs. I cant believe someone wants to trade for him...Blake is much better than him, Crede is similar for less.
Posted by: viktor06 | September 17, 2008 at 02:00 PM
92-93: I'm not sure how you justify that Atkins is not worth McGowan who offers very little in consistency? At least Atkins completes seasons at a productive level.
I highly doubt the Rockies will be able to get a frontline pitcher for Atkins, but a mid-rotation starter who has years left could do the trick. Of all the possibilities mentioned in the article, here are some potential fits.
Giants: Jonathan Sanchez
Yankees: Phil Hughes(unlikely)
White Sox: John Danks, I doubt Gavin Floyd would be enough
Twins: Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey
Indians: Don't see the right fit
A's: Houston Street (considering the loss of Fuentes), Justin Duchscherer
Dodgers: Front 3 aren't moving (Billingsley, Kershaw, Kuroda), but maybe a James MacDonald and Scott Elbert would be enough
Posted by: The Juice | September 17, 2008 at 02:13 PM
Juice - If any of those get traded for him, its a terrible deal for the acquiring team. The guy is below average away for a 3B, yet he plays terrible 3B and is more of a 1B for 7m. Just bad.
Posted by: viktor06 | September 17, 2008 at 02:16 PM
Atkins seems to be worth the most to the Rox. They should keep him if all they're offered is table scraps. He's having a horrible year, but he's a pretty good player and may turn it up a bit next year.
Posted by: ProgMatinee | September 17, 2008 at 02:44 PM
Really the juice? really? So 16-win Gavin Floyd wouldn't be enough scott elbert and james mcdonald would do it? CMon!
Posted by: ballerwhiteboy | September 17, 2008 at 06:23 PM
I wouldn't be suprised to see the Rockies hold on to Atkins and deal Ian Stewart instead....they could probably trade Stewart and another prospect to the Marlins and get Dan Uggla....they could use a 2B and he'd fit perfectly at Coors Field.
There were some rumors about a possible Laffey and Barfield trade for Atkins with the Indians and Rockies...but that was before Barfield got hurt and Laffey started struggling. Even with his struggles though he posted a 4.23 ERA in 16 starts....not too shabby for a young starter in the AL...
Posted by: Hermie13 | September 17, 2008 at 06:54 PM
Also...don't you think it'll be tough for the Rockies and Dodgers to come up with a trade being divisional opponents?
Posted by: Hermie13 | September 17, 2008 at 06:56 PM
"92-93: I'm not sure how you justify that Atkins is not worth McGowan who offers very little in consistency? At least Atkins completes seasons at a productive level."
Probably because McGowan has the potential to be a top of the rotation starter. And has shown flashes of it in the big leagues already. They are penning this guy in as their #2 starter if Burnett leaves, and if he stays healthy he probably deserves to be there.
"White Sox: John Danks, I doubt Gavin Floyd would be enough"
I don't think you realize just how good these two guys have been. Floyd is 6th in the league in wins (I know it doesnt really matter but still), has a 3.73 ERA despite pitching in a hitters park in the AL, and his ERA has never been above 3.84 this year. That's some nice consistency right now.
Meanwhile, John Danks has a 3.32 ERA (5th in AL), and a 147/52 K/BB ratio in 176 innings. And he doesnt turn 24 until April of 2009. Yeah John Danks is looking pretty good.
Garrett Atkins isn't worth a single one of the pitchers that you brought up with the exception of MacDonald and Elbert, and that would be an interdivisional trade which makes it unlikely.
Posted by: scribbletone | September 17, 2008 at 07:00 PM
"I'm not sure how you justify that Atkins is not worth McGowan who offers very little in consistency? At least Atkins completes seasons at a productive level."
And what kind of consistency does Atkins show? That he is consistently bad against RHP and on the road? McGowan is young, throws laser beams and has great control. Once he learns how to get people to swing at some bad balls, he has the potential to be dominant.
Posted by: AA | September 17, 2008 at 08:05 PM
I'd much rather see the Indians deal Barfield for Huston Street. Or maybe Jeremy Sowers plus a prospect for Street. They might look to keep Barfield to play everyday and move Cabrera to short and give Peralta a shot at 3B. Who knows?
Posted by: ilulic | September 17, 2008 at 10:10 PM
For what it's worth, Atkins' r/l splits this year are out of whack with his career numbers, so I wouldn't draw too many conclusions from the '08 numbers.
Career OPS vs. righties: .815
Career OPS vs. lefties: .904
That's a far cry from the 1.086/.694 split this year.
Why the disparity? He has a BABIP split of .377/.289 this year, compared to .319/.315 for his career.
I doubt that the Rockies would trade Stewart and retain Atkins. They get several more years of cost control by retaining Stewart and trading Atkins.
Posted by: kosmo @ www.ObservingCasually.com | September 18, 2008 at 07:54 AM
Atkins contract seems like a bargain compared to what the Rox pay out to keep Helton on the DL. It appears there are two teams likely to have an interest in Atkins and have the young MLB arms the Rockies covet. San Francisco has a void at 3B, two more years of Atkins buys them time for Angel Villalona.
The Brewers might be inclined to deal a Manny Parra or Dave Bush, but they have Matt Gammel waiting in the wings at 3B.
Posted by: DarthBruin | September 29, 2008 at 01:50 PM