Sample size be damned, let's take a look at the players who are off to slow starts after being dealt in the offseason:
- Javier Vazquez: Vazquez has struggled mightily so far in his return to New York. In five starts, the 33-year-old has an ERA of 9.78 with 7.8 K/9 and a ghastly 5.9 BB/9. Something is definitely off with Vazquez, as the velocity on his fastball has dipped from 91.1 mph last season to 88.9 mph this year.
- Melky Cabrera: How about the Braves' end of the trade? The Melk Man is hitting .195/.287/.221 so far in 88 plate appearances. Cabrera has been a great value in years past, but at this rate he won't be worth his reasonable $2.6MM salary for 2010.
- Juan Pierre: It seemed as though the White Sox acquired Pierre from the Dodgers on the cheap this winter, both monetarily and talent-wise. Los Angeles is on the hook for $10.5MM of the $18MM owed to the speedy outfielder in the next two seasons. However, after having one of the best offensive seasons of his career in 2009, Pierre has an OPS of .447.
- Curtis Granderson: Somehow, the Yankees have the third highest winning percentage in the majors and two players on this list. Granderson has a slash line of .225/.311/.375 thus far and will look to boost those numbers when he returns from the DL. Meanwhile, Austin Jackson is doing quite well in Detroit.
- Julio Lugo: I told y'all we'd see Julio again. The right-handed batter is OPSing .274 for the O's this season. However, it should be noted that Lugo has made just 30 plate appearances thus far this season. That's a rather diminutive sample size, even for a month-old season.
- Kevin Kouzmanoff: The A's picked up Kouzmanoff in a deal with the Padres in January. The third baseman has started in 24 of Oakland's 26 games this season and is hitting .245/.284/.319.
What other traded players have struggled thus far in 2010?
Not too thrilled with two Yankees being on the list.
Yankees, 8 games above .500 and Boston, 3 games below .500.
Does it really matter?
Yeah considering we’re still 1.5 games behind the Rays.
what list??
what list??
Kouz will be fine
That would depend on your definition of “fine”. Kouz is the ultimate free swinger, it’s as if he’s allergic to taking a pitch. He’s a dead pull hitter, has huge holes in his swing on the inside and outside corners, and is a slow starter. He won’t start hitting until mid June, and will only give his team 4-6 weeks of real run production. Even then, he’ll still hit .250 for the year and lead the team in GIDP.
That would depend on your definition of “fine”. Kouz is the ultimate free swinger, it’s as if he’s allergic to taking a pitch. He’s a dead pull hitter, has huge holes in his swing on the inside and outside corners, and is a slow starter. He won’t start hitting until mid June, and will only give his team 4-6 weeks of real run production. Even then, he’ll still hit .250 for the year and lead the team in GIDP.
Milton Bradley….224/.325/.388…Also, has been dropped lower in the lineup, flipped the bird to a Texas fan, and had a case of Chicago-itis where he had a mysterious injury for 3 games against the White Sox.
No, no – it’s cool man. This is the year where he puts it all together, remembre?
That’s right! LOL! Thanks for reminding me. Isn’t this the 7th consecutive year where he finally puts it all together? 😉
Aki Iwamura definitely struggling through his first month with the Pirates… .221/.320/.326
He’s never been a hitting maniac, but has usually hovered around an OPS+ of 100, but he has a OPS+ of 74. He seemed to have a strangehold on the leadoff spot for the Buccos until the last week, which saw Milledge and McCutchen taking some turns in the leadoff role.
Agreed. Not only is his offense lacking, but his defense has been atrocious. He couldn’t even pivot today to turn a double play and he almost cost them a game in Milwaukee by not reaching a slow roller up the middle. I might rather see Walker come up and play second, he couldn’t be any worse than Aki is right now.
That would be good, I’d rather experiment with Walker like we did with Delwyn Young last year, then keep letting Aki stink it up. Although, that’ll never happen because of his salary. He’s drawing a lot of walks, but I’d rather finally see what we do, or don’t have in Neil Walker with some regular AB’s. If he fails, then keep him as a utility guy give LaRoche some time at 2nd and have Young or someone else keep the seat warm for Alvarez.
Aki Iwamura definitely struggling through his first month with the Pirates… .221/.320/.326
He’s never been a hitting maniac, but has usually hovered around an OPS+ of 100, but he has a OPS+ of 74. He seemed to have a strangehold on the leadoff spot for the Buccos until the last week, which saw Milledge and McCutchen taking some turns in the leadoff role.
Carlos Gomez anyone?
Carlos Gomez anyone?
How about JJ Hardy at .228/.283/.359
I know he was around there last year, but the Twins had to expect more when they traded for him.
His defense has been superb, and he’s showing some HR power. I think his defense is making up from his bat, and the general sentiment in these parts is he’s doing well.
You have to realize, we’re accustomed to Punto and Casilla up the middle…
How about JJ Hardy at .228/.283/.359
I know he was around there last year, but the Twins had to expect more when they traded for him.
JJ Hardy has been pretty weak so far for the Twins. I remember some calls for him being the solution to the Red Sox’ shortstop “woes” last season. I doubt BoSox fans regret not acquiring him now.
JJ Hardy has been pretty weak so far for the Twins. I remember some calls for him being the solution to the Red Sox’ shortstop “woes” last season. I doubt BoSox fans regret not acquiring him now.
I remember those Yankee fans (almost none were from this site) that thought Vazquez would be one of the top 3 starters in the majors and why the Yankees had a better rotation than the sox.
The Red Sox rotation better start pitching though…they aren’t looking like a top rotation right now. Although Lester and Beckett had their best outings in their last appearances. Buchholz has been good most of the year. Dice-k looked horrible though. Still lots of improvement needed to live up to the expectations.
I thought Dice K did alright. With 2 outs in that big inning he threw a good breaking ball that adam jones topped down the 3rd baseline and beat out. Had he got that out it would have only been 4-2 (think) and he would have been able to go another inning. So tough to take his outing from the box score.
I thought Dice K did alright. With 2 outs in that big inning he threw a good breaking ball that adam jones topped down the 3rd baseline and beat out. Had he got that out it would have only been 4-2 (think) and he would have been able to go another inning. So tough to take his outing from the box score.
The Red Sox rotation better start pitching though…they aren’t looking like a top rotation right now. Although Lester and Beckett had their best outings in their last appearances. Buchholz has been good most of the year. Dice-k looked horrible though. Still lots of improvement needed to live up to the expectations.
I think that’s something you could be just making up. I’m on baseball and Yankee forums a lot, and I have not read or seen 1 comment of a Yankee or any baseball fan saying Vazquez would be the in the top 3 in the majors.
If you’ve been on ESPN forums you’d know what I’m talking about.
If you’ve been on ESPN forums you’d know what I’m talking about.
I think that’s something you could be just making up. I’m on baseball and Yankee forums a lot, and I have not read or seen 1 comment of a Yankee or any baseball fan saying Vazquez would be the in the top 3 in the majors.
I never saw “top 3 starts in the majors”, but most Yankee fans were optimistic that he’d repeat his Atlanta performance. I think everyone in the world besides Cashman and his bobbleheads saw this train wreck coming miles away. Most of us already had lawn chairs and popcorn, gleefully awaiting the approaching disaster. And yet, it’s been even more gloriously-painful than anyone could have hoped.
that is exactly what I think about it. Although I did see fans who thought Vazquez would be a 3.00 ERA guy in the AL east with 16+ wins and 200 ks. Which they thought would be worth more than lackey (and probably would if it were true)
I remember those Yankee fans (almost none were from this site) that thought Vazquez would be one of the top 3 starters in the majors and why the Yankees had a better rotation than the sox.
Chris Getz at .179/.238/.179 (but in only 39 ABs)
Chris Getz at .179/.238/.179 (but in only 39 ABs)
Melky appears to be picking it up a bit. He had three rbi’s today.
Plus while he may be struggling offensively his defense has been really good in LF/CF.
Plus while he may be struggling offensively his defense has been really good in LF/CF.
Half of the Yankees team is slow starters and they are still doing good. Kind of crazy
Half of the Yankees team is slow starters and they are still doing good. Kind of crazy
Well thats what the Yankees front office gets for being stupid with Javier. “Hey! Lets bring back a so-so pitcher who had a good year, maybe it will be better this time!” ummm, no. what a bonehead move, now they will have to move him to the pen and get another starter.
And to Yankee fans, dont complain about 2 under-performing players, you know in the end you will win the division anyway, what does it matter?
Chone Figgins? .209 Avg 14 Runs 0 HR’s 7 RBI 7 SB
Cancel Figgins, he was a free agent pick up. But should be on the top in that list at least.
Lots to say about this list …
— How has Melky provided “good value” in the past? Sure, when you make nothing any production is good. However, you are looking at a corner outfielder who has a career OPS of just over 700 (2200+ PA’s). His defense (at least according to UZR/150) is league average. I’m much more shocked that Atlanta considered him a starter than I am of his early performance.
— Juan Pierre … another great one. The only people that thought this was a good idea are also still thinking that Andruw Jones is for real. Everyone else knew this was going to be a train wreck. Pods offers the same type of production for about $1.5m.
— Curtis Granderson – time will tell but maybe Detroit needs a lot of credit on this one. Did they sell low or did they believe that Granderson’s slip in play from 07 to 08 to 09 was a broader trend? I’m still waiting on that 40HR season that Yankee fans told us was going to happen with Granderson hitting lefty in that ballpark.
— Vazquez is a little surprising. Of course, he wasn’t going to pitch like he did in 2009. However, expecting an ERA around 4.5 – 5.0 seems entirely reasonable. He has time to turn it around but you have to wonder if he just has a major mental block when playing in NY. Similar to Jeff Weaver. The guy was solid, but not spectacular, in Detroit. He heads to NY and gets bombed (ERA near 6). Then goes to LAD and puts up 2 years of a low 4’s ERA.
Let’s not forget Melky was basically a throw-in. Vizcaino is killing
How about Scherzer and E Jackson. Who would have thought Ian Kennedy was the best pitcher in that trade.. 😉
Vazquez is at his best when he is not in the major spot light and is not looked upon as an ace
Nobody knew he was that great last season EVEN with the Braves….yet when he goes to NY (again) he flops (again)
His experiment there has failed miserably (again)