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Archives for August 2007

Omar Minaya Trade Profile (Mets)

By Tim Dierkes | August 5, 2007 at 7:00am CDT

Omar Minaya’s made so many trades in recent years that I decided to break up his trade profile into two posts.  I covered his 25 deals as the Expos’ GM here.  Minaya jumped to the large-market Mets in 2004, and by my count has made another 25 trades.  Download new_york_mets_minaya.xls; it should be Minaya’s entire trade record.

Minaya kicked off the new year in 2005 by sending backup catcher Vance Wilson to the Tigers for infielder Anderson Hernandez.  The Mets already had Mike Piazza and Ramon Castro on hand to catch that year.  Wilson went on to become a 150 AB-a-year backup for the Tigers with mixed results, while Hernandez has gotten a few cups of coffee as a glove man.  I’ll call it a wash.

Not thrilled about switching to right field to accomodate Carlos Beltran, Mike Cameron requested a trade in January of 2005.  Though Cameron was coming off wrist surgery, the Diamondbacks had interest.  The A’s liked him too, and a deal was on the table that would’ve brought Eric Byrnes and saved the Mets $2.5MM to use on Carlos Delgado.  The Mariners, Pirates, Astros, Tigers, and Rockies were in on Cameron as well, but Minaya couldn’t get anything done.  Cameron rescinded his trade demand in March and reluctantly moved to right field.  The Padres, Orioles, and Yankees all expressed interest in Cameron that summer, with even Gary Sheffield on the table.  But Cameron’s Mets career ended in August after a terrible collision with Beltran.  We’ll pick up this story later in the post.

Minaya had to go with a glove man at first base in ’05, getting Doug Mientkiewicz from Boston for a first base prospect who never panned out plus some cash.  Minky was the backup plan after Minaya failed to sign Carlos Delgado.  A torn hamstring injury and a back bruise limited Mientkiewicz’s playing time, but he turned out to be a pretty lousy Plan B.  Mets’ first basemen hit just .227/.303/.391 on the season.  Delgado, meanwhile, was a seven-win player for the Marlins.  The Mets finished the season six games out for the Wild Card and seven games out for the division title, making the failure to sign Delgado loom large.

In March of 2005, Minaya sent catcher Jason Phillips to the Dodgers for southpaw Kaz Ishii.  The Mets couldn’t fix Ishii, and he was demoted in August after making 16 starts.  He’s since returned to Japan.  Phillips was no big loss, but Ishii didn’t help at all.

Minaya’s first year as Mets GM was not a success in terms of trades.  Cameron again asked for a trade in November of ’05, and Minaya sent him to San Diego for Xavier Nady.  Nady would later be used in one of Minaya’s best deals.  Swapping him for Cameron straight up was fairly even, though it would’ve been nice to add Akinori Otsuka as had been rumored.

A week later Minaya got his man, acquiring Delgado and $7MM from the Marlins for Mike Jacobs, Yusmeiro Petit, and Grant Psomas.  The Mets were essentially on the hook for $41MM over the 2006-08 period for Delgado.  Delgado, while currently a burden, had a nice ’06 and definitely helped the Mets get to the playoffs.  Minaya pretty much sold high on Petit and Jacobs.  Even though two-thirds of Delgado’s tenure may be less than acceptable, I have to call the trade a success.

Minaya hit up the Marlins again in December, getting Paul Lo Duca instead of signing Ramon Hernandez or Bengie Molina.  Pitcher Gaby Hernandez was the main piece for Florida.  I think Hernandez will reach the Majors in 2008 and could settle in as the Marlins’ #4 starter.  But Lo Duca was solid in ’06 and it’s another win-now move.  I consider it a good trade for both clubs.

Minaya’s roll continued when he got Duaner Sanchez and Steve Schmoll from the Dodgers for Jae Seo and Tim Hamulack in January of ’06.  It was the perfect sell high on Seo, and I have to admit I thought he was going to be pretty good in ’06.  Sanchez was a very good late-inning reliever until his July injury.

Another gem: Minaya snagged Jorge Julio and John Maine from the Orioles for Kris Benson later in January.  As you know, Maine blossomed into a legitimate cheap #2 starter (actually #1 might be fair; he’s been the seventh best starter in the NL this year according to VORP).  Huge win for Minaya. 

Better still, Julio was spun into Orlando Hernandez.  El Duque will miss a start here and there, but he’s been excellent for the Mets. 

By June, Minaya had almost no choice but to unload Kaz Matsui.  While he’s had some success for the Rockies, I wouldn’t argue that he could be succeeding as the Mets’ second baseman right now.  I just don’t think New York worked for him.

In July of 2006, Minaya made a minor move to get Ruben Gotay from the Royals for Jeff Keppinger.  Both players seem to be over their heads this year, but who knows, either guy could have a decent career.  I’ll call it even for now.

Another huge steal came on deadline day last year, as Minaya traded Nady for Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez.  The Pirates had given up on Perez, but he’s already back to form with the Mets. Three-fifths of the current rotation came via shrewd trading by Minaya.

Minaya was active in August as well, getting Shawn Green and Guillermo Mota.  The trades were helpful, and nothing of value was surrendered.

The 2006 season ended a success.  Since then, though, Minaya’s made only three major trades and all appear questionable.

In November, he sent Heath Bell and Royce Ring to the Padres for Ben Johnson and Jon Adkins.  Bell’s been awesome this year, with a 2.49 ERA in 61 innings for the Padres.  He’s now Trevor Hoffman’s setup man.  You can argue that the Padres always do this with relievers and it’s their home park, but Bell has a 1.93 ERA on the road this year so the potential’s been there all along.  I’m sure the Mets would love to have him back.

A few days later Minaya sent hard-throwing relievers Henry Owens and Matt Lindstrom to the Marlins for lefties Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick.  Owens has been hurt much of this year, but Lindstrom has been decent.  Vargas and Bostick have not impressed.  This one’s too early to call but the Fish have the early advantage.

In December Minaya acquired a live bullpen arm in Ambiorix Burgos from the Royals for starter Brian Bannister.  Burgos throws hard; he definitely is the upside play.  But Bannister, while less of a scout’s dream, has thrown 100 solid innings for the Royals this year.  Hindsight is 20/20, but if Bannister received the 13 starts that went to Mike Pelfrey, Jason Vargas, Chan Ho Park, and Dave Williams this year, the Mets would probably have a couple more wins. 

The only deal I can find made by Minaya this calendar year was the minor acquisition of Jake Gatreau (that deal is oddly absent from MLB.com’s transaction log, so leave a comment if I’ve missed any other 2007 trades by the Mets).  Minaya added many players via trade in 2006, but seems content to go to battle with the group he’s got this year.  They’re the best team in the National League, so who am I to question his inactivity?

Omar Minaya had a fine run making trades from November ’05 to August of ’06.  He’s in a bit of a slump, though, and the results of his Mets tenure have been a mixed bag overall.

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New York Mets GM Trade Profiles Omar Minaya

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Bonds And #755

By Tim Dierkes | August 5, 2007 at 1:37am CDT

An interesting fact occurred to me today after noticing Barry Bonds cranked #755 off Clay Hensley.  Hensley tested positive for performance enhancers back in April of 2005.  Seems more fitting than if Bonds had nailed one off Greg Maddux.  Sometimes we forget the little people busted for performance enhancers.  Fortunately Baseball’s Steroid Era is keeping track.

Is it possible that Bonds could crank #756 off a once-juiced pitcher too?  Probably not, unless he enters a long slump until the Giants face the Brewers on the 24th.  In that case he could nail one off Derrick Turnbow. 

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San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds

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Diamondbacks Acquire Joe Kennedy Off Waivers

By Tim Dierkes | August 4, 2007 at 3:19pm CDT

UPDATE: According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, there are some indications that the Diamondbacks intended some of these claims as blocks and didn’t want the players.

Josh Byrnes has a growing collection of August waiver pickups, adding Joe Kennedy today to go with Byung-Hyun Kim and Jeff Cirillo.

Kennedy provides another credible back-end rotation option for the Diamondbacks, and he cost only money (about $880K remains on his contract this year).  I like the strategy here.  Who knows, the Diamondbacks might not be done yet.  Guys like Armando Benitez, Kyle Farnsworth, and Sammy Sosa could receive the same salary-dump treatment (not that Sosa is earning much). 

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Arizona Diamondbacks Joe Kennedy

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Orioles Interested In Fernando Cabrera

By Tim Dierkes | August 4, 2007 at 12:30pm CDT

The Indians have ten days to waive, trade, or release 25 year-old reliever Fernando Cabrera.  By my count they’ll need to do something by Friday.  The best option would be to work out a trade, and the Orioles called to inquire.

The O’s would have to put Cabrera on the 25-man roster, or else try to pass Cabrera through waivers themselves.  It would make more sense to carry Cabrera than Paul Shuey, so this shouldn’t be a problem.

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Baltimore Orioles Cleveland Guardians Fernando Cabrera

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Jack Wilson Will Waive No-Trade Clause

By Tim Dierkes | August 4, 2007 at 11:01am CDT

Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson has a six-team limited no-trade clause, but he recently let the team know that he’ll waive it for any deal.  Apparently he just wants out of Pittsburgh. Dejan Kovacevic isn’t sure if the team has placed him on waivers yet.  But I’m sure they will and he should get through unclaimed.  As far as I’ve read, almost every player in baseball is put on waivers in August just to mask those that the team is actually trying to trade.  There’s no risk to this because you can pull a player back if he’s claimed.

Kovacevic says talks with the Tigers about Wilson are still ongoing.  Bucco Blog had heard that Jair Jurrjens and Brent Clevlen were involved also.

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Detroit Tigers Pittsburgh Pirates Jack Wilson

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Diamondbacks Claim Byung-Hyun Kim Off Waivers

By Tim Dierkes | August 3, 2007 at 7:14pm CDT

Not only did the D’Backs snag Jeff Cirillo today, but they brought back an old friend in 28 year-old hurler Byung-Hyun Kim.  The Diamondbacks traded Kim to the Red Sox for Shea Hillenbrand back in May of 2003.  With Yusmeiro Petit and Micah Owings filling out the back end of the rotation, the Diamondbacks needed to add some depth.

I like that the D’Backs are willing to spend a few bucks to strengthen the back end of their roster.  Kim will make approximately another $800,000, and the Marlins were happy to be free of it.  Kim’s always posted a nice strikeout rate; maybe the Diamondbacks can help him regain some semblance of control.

I was just talking to a coworker about how the Diamondbacks are in first place with very little star power.  Brandon Webb is probably the only player on the roster currently considered elite.  Eric Byrnes leads the team with an .871 OPS.  Doug Davis is their #2 starter, but they still have the fifth best starting pitching ERA in the league at 4.17.  The bullpen’s been about equally as good.  They’re about middle-of-the-pack in defensive efficiency.  How is this team 10 games over .500? 

Some portion of it has to be luck.  The Diamondbacks are 60-50 in real life but have a Pythagorean record of just 51-59.  They’ve got a 23-15 record in one-run games.  This might explain why all of Baseball Prospectus’s playoff odds reports give a better chance to both the Dodgers and Padres.    

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Arizona Diamondbacks Byung-Hyun Kim

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Mariners Still Talking Extension With Guillen?

By Tim Dierkes | August 3, 2007 at 6:49pm CDT

According to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, the Mariners are offering something like two years plus an option to right fielder Jose Guillen.  Guillen is hitting .286/.357/.439 as the Mariners’ #3 hitter.

Back in mid-July, I speculated that it might require something like three years and $36MM to retain Guillen.  Guillen still has a decent shot at 100 RBI.  I think that still holds some weight among decision-makers, like it or not.  Guillen’s actually probably a touch below average offensively for a right fielder. I’m not sure what to make of Guillen’s platoon split – he’s been far better against lefties this year but had the opposite split in 2005 (his last full season).  By most accounts Guillen’s a plus on defense. 

It’s clear that the future Mariner outfield will have Ichiro Suzuki and Adam Jones playing regularly.  They’re locked in with Raul Ibanez and Jose Vidro in 2008, seemingly filling the DH spot.  The odd man out seems to be 23 year-old right fielder Wladimir Balentien.  Wlad’s had two awesome months out of four at Triple A this year, leaving him with a nice .308/.378/.561 line with 24 homers.  The Mariners seem to view him as expendable, apparently offering him for Octavio Dotel.  If they sign Guillen through 2010, Balentien will find himself in many more trade rumors this winter.   

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Seattle Mariners Jose Guillen

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Minor Moves: Cirillo, Elarton, Clayton

By Tim Dierkes | August 3, 2007 at 6:32pm CDT

Some minor moves occurred recently.  Let’s catch up.

  • The Diamondbacks claimed 37 year-old infielder Jeff Cirillo off waivers from the Twins.  I still remember when Cirillo was a perennial .320 hitter and regular third baseman for the Brewers and Rockies.  This looks like a salary dump, with the Twins not wanting to pay the $550,000 or so due to Cirillo for the remainder of the season. 
  • The Indians signed Scott Elarton to a minor league contract.  Elarton was last semi-useful in Cleveland back in ’05, when he posted a 4.61 ERA in 181 innings.  Currently, southpaw groundballer Aaron Laffey is looking to secure the fifth starter job.
  • The Blue Jays designated Royce Clayton for assignment.  Looking for an aging backup shortstop with no discernible talents?  Clayton is your man.
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Arizona Diamondbacks Cleveland Guardians Jeff Cirillo Royce Clayton Scott Elarton

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Jack Wilson May Still Be Dealt

By Tim Dierkes | August 3, 2007 at 4:02pm CDT

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported yesterday that the Tigers and Pirates continue to discuss shortstop Jack Wilson.  Passing Wilson through waivers shouldn’t be a problem; no team would want his entire contract dumped on them.  Kovacevic describes the current state of the deal:

"One source intimately familiar with the matter said that a deal was virtually done Tuesday and that the Pirates would receive two of Detroit’s top six prospects, including an unnamed pitcher ready to join the major-league staff. But the sides haggled on how much of Wilson’s contract the Pirates would pick up, the source added, and the delay was on."

Kovacevic’s report doesn’t mention it, but there has to be more going to Detroit than just Wilson.  Probably one of the Pirates’ relievers, a group that was oddly retained at the deadline.  Such an addition might compel the Tigers to take on most or all  of Wilson’s contract.  But who are the two prospects?  Bucco Blog believes they’re starter Jair Jurrjens and outfielder Brent Clevlen, and Jake provides a scout’s take.  Jake is not a fan of such a trade.

Personally I think Jurrjens would be a fantastic return on Wilson if he becomes a #3-4 starter one day.  Clevlen seems a long shot to me to realize his potential.  The two prospects might not become Pirates until after the season, as they might not pass through waivers.

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Detroit Tigers Pittsburgh Pirates Brent Clevlen Jack Wilson Jair Jurrjens

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Nats Just Messing With Reds On Dunn?

By Tim Dierkes | August 3, 2007 at 9:46am CDT

John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer has an interesting tidbit today: did Jim Bowden engage Wayne Krivsky in talks about Adam Dunn just to string him along and waste his time?  Fay’s source says Bowden never intended to trade for Dunn, but strung Krivsky along in some sort of childish maneuver.

The Reds still have a pending grievance regarding reliever Gary Majewski, who they believe was damaged goods when they received him.  Is bad blood lingering, or can the two clubs play nice? Chris Needham doesn’t buy Fay’s story.

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Cincinnati Reds Washington Nationals Adam Dunn

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