Rockies Acquire Rafael Betancourt

Does this mean a deal is in place or that they're discussing several options and are intent on making one of them work today? Its sort of vague.

I say a good match would be Jared Burton from the Reds for Ryan Spilborghs.

Sounds to me like a trade has been agreed to and we're just waiting an official word.

My guess it is Saito from the Sox, being that they said they weren't done dealing.

Take Matt Capps, please.

My crystal ball says Matt Capps.

Capps for EYJ?

I get the sense Pittsburgh fans are ready and willing to part with Matt Capps. Just an observation.

i say Saito because the sox need to make a roster move to activate LaRoche and they have enougth pitching to get rid of saito i say saito and maybe kotsay package

I think Capps is truly the best option for the Rockies because he is not a rental he is only 25 and he could close if Street goes down or setup if not.

BucSox Saito can close to and he would be cheaper to get than Capps.

"i say Saito because the sox need to make a roster move to activate LaRoche and they have enougth pitching to get rid of saito i say saito and maybe kotsay package"

Hard to imagine the Rockies taking Kotsay.

townie good point i dont even know why i mentioned kotsay but saito seems like a pretty safe bet that he could probably be the pitcher that is being traded

Yeah bucsox i get what your saying but do they need to go out and get a pitcher like Capps as young as he is and give up the prospects to get him when saito is actually a nice option out of the pen.

Inside Pittsburgh Sports (www.insidepittsburghsports.com) reported the Bucs held talks with LAD and COL this week but mentioned it doesn't appear a deal is in place for Capps.

They are somewhat reliable, John Perrotto writes for them and mentioned Colorado as a potential destination a few weeks ago.

would be a good fit.

By the way if the Pirates are truly rebuilding why would they want to get rid of a young closer in MAtt Capps?

Posted by: NYYLastPlace4ever | July 23, 2009 at 01:49 PM

Because he's one of the few Pirates that would net a good return.

Jdub i know he will net a good return for them but do they have someone else that can fill in the closer role if they trade capps?

"Because he's one of the few Pirates that would net a good return."

Exactly, they can find a guy to replace Capps in the bullpen easily. If they can get a guy like EYJ that can be their starting 2B as soon as next year and be there for years to come why not. And with Atkins/Stewart/Barmes EYJ is relativly expendable.

A 2B of the future or a bullpen arm.......hmmm which would I rather have.

They have Joel Hanrahan... if he counts?

jdub is right, winning is not the Pirates main concern this year or probably next year. Their main concern is filling the system with talent so in 2 or 3 years they can start winning. The Pirates system was empty except for McCutchen when Huntington took over now there is a little bit of promise there.

i hope its announce soon who they traded for the suspense is killing me............

someone i know was actually saying that on WEEI they were saying the red sox traded saito to the rockies

dotel?

Anyone know who it is yet?

Why is the comment section not coming up??

Yea so i cant view anyones comments?

Is there a reason I can't see any comments in any topic?

The Rockies got Betancourt.

What would the Indians want for him from the Rockies system?

The Indians television station (Sportstime Ohio) just reported on their post game show that the Indians trade Betancourt to the Rockies for Connor Graham a Hi Class A pitcher. 7-4 with a 3.14 ERA.

Damn it! I was hoping Qualls for EYJ. I love his speed.

If the Rockies didn't include Young in this deal, they might be able to add another reliever. Pending salary and all that of course.

Where do I pick up my cookie?

Posted by: SuzysMan | July 23, 2009 at 02:47 PM

You don't. But I would head down to Vegas while your guesses are still correct.

Not that bad of a pickup.

single A pitcher for Betancourt is more like it. you guys thinking EYJ can be had for as little as Saito or Betancourt are smokin good stuff.

What's wrong with Barmes?

Posted by: Townie | July 23, 2009 at 02:54 PM

Awful plate discipline, hitting is due to good pitches being thrown to him because Helton and Hawpe are behind him.

He's a damned good defender though.

It's a decent move, and an okay return for the Tribe...adding any pitching to the system is a good thing.

Betancourt in Texas could bomb, however. He does nothing but throw high and outside...if he doesn't strike a guy out, there's a pretty good amount of fly balls as a result. Those could start leaving the park there, pretty fast...

Nice to see Connor Graham get a little closer to "home." He's from Bowling Green... went to school at St. John's High School.. played college ball at Miami (Ohio) University. I was actually a coach of a high school team that beat him a time or two :o)

Best of luck to Connor!

Great to see the Rockies be pro-active with their bullpen, unlike my favorite AL team the Twins! Even if Betencourt isn't up to '07 performance, he's still better than Rincon (ironically, a Twins cast-off) and good insurance with Corpas a potential season ending on DL.

I meant Colorado, above...was thinking home runs and got distracted.

"Many scouts compare Young to Willie Harris, as a utility guy with speed and some on base skills.

EYJ really isn't that special."

Shhhh... Don't tell that to any of the GMs who like him or to my fellow Rockies fans.

"This isn't Jacoby Ellsbury at second base."

As a Rockies fan, I sure hope not. I'd like to think that Young will be able to at least crack a .340 OBP over the course of a full season at some point in his career. I would be extremely disappointed if he ends up with Ellsbury's numbers at the plate. (I'll take Ellsbury's SB numbers, of course.)

"Yeah, I don't really understand how Young got so much hype so quickly. I mean, he looks an awful lot like his father, which is obviously has something to do with it, but this guy has some major questions surrounding him."

Isnt it puzzling?

And the thing is, he isnt nearly as good as his father but treated almost as if he is to be twice the player. I’m kind of surprised so many people even know his name anyway. I am floored that they will be disappointed when he doesn’t end up being as good as Ellsbury.

“It's cute that you guys heart Ellsbury so much, and he's a great defender and SB guy, but the fact is he's not good at the plate. His walk rate is too low for a leadoff guy and he doesn't have the pop to hit effectively anywhere else in the lineup, other than maybe 9th in an AL lineup.”

Hate to break it to you, but Ellsbury showed better discipline/pitch recognition, contact and more power then Young while being a year younger each step of the way. So if you feel that way about Ellsbury, then I am not sure what to tell you. Also, no one said anything about liking Ellsbury – he was just a comparison.

“That's very interesting. Too bad it's not true. They both started in high A at 22 and AA at 23. Ellsbury got promoted in the middle of each of those seasons, but he wasn't "a year younger each step of the way."

Check again

AA = 22 for Ellsbury, 23 for Young

AAA = 23 for Ellsbury, 24 for Young

“Young outslugged him at high A and AAA”

For High-A, the California League is an extreme hitters league, the Carolina League is dominating for pitchers. To give you a better idea, here is the League Average line for each league over the year each played, and what the players did.

.271/.344/.426/.770 – Average California League hitter in 2007
.291/.359/.430/.784 – Eric Young Jr.

.257/.335/.384/.719 – Average Carolina League hitter in 2006
.299/.379/.418/.797 – Jacoby Ellsbury

Then, AAA Colorado Springs is kind of like the AAA version of Coors field. The Average player (Pitchers included) is hitting .289/.361/.421/.782 there right now. Young is at .300/.381/.423/.804

You can now see two seasons of production at the plate hovering around the average for Young. Figured we would go for the Trifecta real fast
.271/.343/.411/.754 – Average 2008 Texas League line (Pitchers included)
.279/.355/.413/.768 – Average 2008 Tulsa Driller (Pitchers included)
.290/.391/.392/.784 – Eric Young
((but don’t worry, he hasn’t kept up this peak BB%. Nor was it shown the year prior))

“and had a better walk rate at AA and AAA. You were close though.”

Microscopic difference in BB, and more then a third higher on the SO side.

“Although it's far from a sure thing, all I'm saying is I hope Young ends up being more than a massively overhyped (probably due to his 2007 WS performance, not to mention the uniform he wears) 2 tool guy. That's all.”

Two questions on this. “Due to his 2007 WS performance”? Did you start talking about someone else here one me? And yes, “massively overhyped” is more appropriate (like we said at the beginning). He is not the prospect fans try to make him out to be. If he was, then scouts would be making him out to be something special! They arent. They say Willie Harris. And they say it all the time. And Willie Harris is a career .247/.328/.348/.676 hitter in the major leagues.

Keep your enthusiasm if you like, that is fine. But don’t get too excited, and you at least recognize that the facts don’t back you up to this point at all. If he is to be more then a one tool guy (not too sure what the second would be) then he has to start showing he is more then an average minor leaguer pretty quickly.