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Best Prospects To Be Traded Recently

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With so many top prospects untouchable these days, let's take a look at the ones who were traded last offseason or this summer.  We'll use the preseason top 100 lists from Baseball America and ESPN's Keith Law unless otherwise noted.

Traded This Summer

  • Justin Smoak (1B), by Rangers to Mariners in Cliff Lee deal.  The Mariners reportedly chose between Smoak and Jesus Montero of the Yankees as the centerpiece of the Lee trade.  Smoak was rated #13 by BA and #9 by Law before the season.
  • Brett Wallace (1B), by Blue Jays to Astros for Anthony Gose.  This was the second time in about seven months Wallace was involved in a prospect-for-prospect deal.  BA had him at #27 and Law at #20.  Wallace remained in the #26-50 range in BA's midseason rankings.
  • Wilson Ramos (C), by Twins to Nationals for Matt Capps.  Ramos was ranked #58 by BA and #42 by Law, and moved up in BA's midseason rankings despite an uninspiring Triple A performance.  That doesn't mean they value Ramos more highly now, though – the midseason list is weaker than the offseason one due to prospects graduating to the Majors and 2010 draftees being left off.
  • Dan Hudson (SP), by White Sox to Diamondbacks in Edwin Jackson deal.  Hudson was at #66 by BA before the season, but fell outside of Law's top 100.
  • Generally speaking the stock of these traded players dropped at least a little since they cracked preseason top 100 prospect lists.  Hudson might be the exception, as he proved he could hold his own at Triple A. 

Traded In The Offseason

How about players who were considered top 100 prospects before the 2009 season, traded within the last year?  Michael Main (SP), James McDonald (SP), Andrew Lambo (OF), Daniel Schlereth (RP), and Aaron Cunningham (OF) fit the bill.

Alex Anthopoulos’ First Year

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Alex Anthopoulos took over as general manager of the Blue Jays on October 3rd, 2009.  Though he might make a few moves in August, most of his first year is in the books.  Let's review his major moves.

  • Signed John McDonald to a two-year, $3MM deal – 11-25-09.  Fair price for the defensive whiz.
  • Signed Alex Gonzalez to a one-year, $2.75MM deal with a club option – 11-26-09.  Anthopoulos parlayed Gonzalez's strong start into a trade with the Braves for Yunel Escobar and Jo-Jo Reyes (the Jays also gave up Tim Collins and Tyler Pastornicky).
  • Signed John Buck to a one-year, $2MM deal – 12-16-09.  Buck was well worth the price, as he is having a solid year and made the All-Star team.  He's currently on the DL with a thumb injury.  Anthopoulos chose not to trade Buck in July, so he has to hope the catcher's Type B status holds up.
  • Acquired Kyle Drabek, Travis d'Arnaud, and Michael Taylor from Phillies for Roy Halladay and $6MM – 12-16-09.  Flipped Taylor to the Athletics for Brett Wallace.  Drabek tossed a no-hitter in Double A this year and has done a solid job overall.  D'Arnaud has been generating impressive scouting reports, wrote Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein in June.  Wallace we'll get to later.
  • Acquired Brandon Morrow from the Mariners for Brandon League and Johermyn Chavez – 12-23-09.  Morrow had an incredible 17-strikeout one-hitter on Sunday; he's got the best strikeout rate of any starter this year.  The move was difficult to understand from the Mariners' point of view at the time it was made.
  • Signed Kevin Gregg to a one-year, $2.75MM deal with two club options – 2-5-10.  Credit Anthopoulos for realizing Gregg would have a decent year if his fluky home run rate returned to normal.  As with Buck, the jury is still out on whether Gregg can be converted to cheap, young players.
  • Signed Jose Molina to a one-year, $1MM deal with a club option – 2-19-10.  Another solid free agent signing.
  • Signed Adeiny Hechavarria to a four-year, $10MM deal – 4-13-10.  Signed as a free agent out of Cuba, Hechavarria has a big league-ready glove and is hitting a little bit at Double A.
  • Acquired Fred Lewis from Giants for cash – 4-15-10.  Hard to complain about Lewis' .272/.335/.444 line so far, especially given the price.
  • Signed Adonis Cardona to a $2.8MM deal – 7-13-10.  Anthopoulos remained aggressive on the international free agent front, setting a record for a Venezuelan amateur with the righty's deal. 
  • Acquired Yunel Escobar and Jo-Jo Reyes from Braves for Alex Gonzalez, Tim Collins, and Tyler Pastornicky – 7-14-10.  Anthopoulos bought low on Escobar at a time most clubs might not have even realized the shortstop was available.
  • Acquired Anthony Gose from Astros for Brett Wallace – 7-29-10.  If you're going to nitpick one Anthopoulos move, it's probably this one.
  • As for the draft, the Jays have signed three of their top four picks, with negotiations for first-rounder Deck McGuire expected to go down to the wire.  Yesterday ESPN's Keith Law wrote that the Blue Jays had a "strong haul" in the draft. 
  • Blue Jays fans couldn't ask for more from Anthopoulos' first year.  He's been aggressive on international free agents and in the draft, savvy in regular free agency, and shrewd on the trade front.  It was surprising to see the Jays retain Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, Gregg, and Buck at the trade deadline, but those players may bring draft pick compensation after the season. 

2011 Vesting Options Update

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We began the season with nine potential vesting options for 2011, but they're dropping like flies.  With Alex Cora and Magglio Ordonez now off the board, we look at the remaining three:

  • Trever Miller, Cardinals.  The lefty needs 45 appearances for his $2MM option to vest, and he's made 41 on the season.  He could lock in next year's salary within a week, though a DL-worthy left arm or shoulder injury changes this to a club option. 
  • Darren Oliver, Rangers.  Oliver needs 59 appearances for his $3.25MM option to vest, and he's got 46 so far.  Barring injury, he'll get there.
  • Ramon Hernandez, Reds.  Hernandez needs 120 games for his $3.25MM option to vest.  He's played in 65 so far.  The Reds have only 50 games remaining, so we can cross this one off the list.
  • An honorable mention goes to Billy Wagner, whose $6.5MM option vests with 50 games finished.  Wagner has finished 46 so far.  However just last month he repeated his desire to retire after the season.  Having a guaranteed salary for 2011 might not sway Wagner, since he would've made at least that much on the free agent market anyway.  But what if he finishes the season just shy of the fourth spot on the all-time saves leaderboard?  He's currently 12 away from John Franco, who finished with 424.
  • Also of note is Scott Podsednik, who needs 525 plate appearances to be able to void his $2MM club option.  Pods is 41 PAs shy of that mark.

Odds & Ends: Gibbons, Anderson, Pirates, Francoeur

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Sunday night linkage..

Brewers Owner Not Keen On Free Agent Pitchers

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Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the club needs to improve its pitching.  Based on recent history, Attanasio seems more inclined to improve the team's pitching through trades than free agency.

After signing Randy Wolf to a three-year, $29.75MM contract and Doug Davis to a one-year, $5.25MM pact (including the $1MM buyout), the Brewers went on to own the third-worst ERA in the National League.  According to Walker, "that experience made Attanasio reconsider whether signing free agent pitchers works."  Of course, the last time that Attanasio signed off on a trade for a star pitcher, the results were very different.

"When you look at all of the trades, CC [Sabathia] was a once-in-a-decade trade for any team," the owner said. "Very few of these deadline trades actually make a difference. You can look at the record on that and see what they do."

Attanasio also said that it is a "foregone conclusion" that the club will lose money this year after experiencing a 9.2% drop in attendance, the second biggest decline in the NL next to the Mets.  It will be even more difficult for the club to reach agreement with Prince Fielder on a contract extension with such a hit to the bottom line.

Eric Chavez Again Considering Retirement

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Athletics third baseman Eric Chavez is pondering retirement, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Chavez, who is trying to recover from two bulging disks in his neck, told the newspaper in an e-mail that he is considering calling it quits.

"I've pondered retirement," the 32-year-old said. "I'd lie if I said I didn't. The truth of the matter is that I don't know what I'm going to do."

Chavez has undergone two back surgeries and three shoulder surgeries in an effort to rejoin the A's.  His most recent setback occurred in May when he suffered a neck injury, one that he was determined to bounce back from.

The six-time Gold Glove third baseman was relegated to designated hitter this season where he hit .234/.276/.333 with one homer in 33 games.  According to Baseball-Reference, Chavez has earned more than $75MM in his career, thanks in large part to the six-year, $66MM extension he signed with Oakland in March of 2004.

Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Blue Jays, Morrow, Delgado

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Some links to check out as Brandon Morrow just misses no-hitting the Rays…

Brewers Looking At Keepers, May Try To Trade Fielder

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The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt has some updates for Brewers fans as the organization looks to the future. It appears that Corey Hart's recent three-year extension may only be the beginning as the Brew Crew tries to set itself up for future success.

The Brewers will offer an extension to Rickie Weeks, who's enjoying a fine rebound season after an injury-shortened 2009. The former number-two overall pick is hitting .272/.368/.485 with 23 home runs and seven steals on the year. His speed numbers may be down, but Weeks still remains a power/speed combination and an offensive force at second base. Weeks will need to replace his agent, and once he accomplishes that, an extension will be offered.

One player who the Brewers likely won't be able to agree with is Prince Fielder. The Scott Boras client was offered an extension in the neighborhood of five years and $100MM, but the Brewers completely cut off talks when they learned he was seeking nearly double that amount — likely looking for a deal similar to Mark Teixeira's eight-year, $180MM contract. Haudricourt says that the Brewers won't advertise it for now, but they're likely to shop Fielder this offseason to bolster their rotation.

Losing Fielder leaves a hole in the offense, but it's possible the club is looking to replace him with Mat Gamel, or move Hart to first base and place Gamel in right field. As Haudricourt points out, Hart was drafted as a first baseman, and his 6'6" frame is conducive to the position.

It's possible that Lorenzo Cain dethrones Carlos Gomez as the club's everyday center fielder. The Brewers were clearly looking for more than Gomez's .286 OBP when they traded J.J. Hardy to Minnesota for him this past offseason.

If Milwaukee does indeed try to make Fielder available, there will be no shortage of suitors. While the free agent market does feature Adam Dunn, the majority of others consist of injury risks, fading stars, players coming off career years, or some combination of the three.

Chuck Greenberg Talks Rangers

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Jeff Wilson of Dallasnews.com conducted a Q&A with Chuck Greenberg regarding some of the changes that Rangers fans can expect with the new ownership. Here's some of the highlights:

  • The Rangers are very happy with Nolan Ryan, Jon Daniels, and Thad Levine on the baseball side of things. Greenberg says that financially, they have the resources to make the club competitive.
  • The Rangers would like to re-sign Cliff Lee following the 2010 season, and "keep their players," says Greenberg. He doesn't get into specific names aside from Lee, but one can presume that names like Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz are topping the list.
  • The extra $30MM Greenberg's group spent in purchasing the club will have "zero" effect on retaining players and improving the stadium. The purchase and improvement of the organization were budgeted for separately.
  • Greenberg praises the work of manager Ron Washington and says the players "love playing for him." Ultimately, however, the managerial decision for 2011 and beyond will be the responsibility of Daniels and Ryan. The duo also supports Washington, according to Greenberg.
  • Taking over in August isn't ideal timing, says Greenberg. They'll be limited in their ability to implement changes for the time being, but want to focus on sending the message to fans that their ballclub will be in good hands.

Dodgers Designate Garret Anderson For Assignment

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The Dodgers have designated Garret Anderson for assignment according to the team's official Twitter feed. The move frees up a roster spot for Jay Gibbons, who had his contract purchased from the team's Triple-A affiliate.

The 38-year-old Anderson hit just .181/.204/.271 in 163 total plate appearances this year, though he was slightly better in 52 pinch-hitting appearances (.240/.269/.360). The Dodgers signed him to a minor league deal worth $550K back in March, and are still on the hook for his salary for the remainder of the season.

Gibbons, 33, was mashing to the tune of a .347/.375/.594 batting line with 28 doubles and 19 homers in 376 Triple-A plate appearances this year. He spent last season with the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League, and hasn't appeared in the big leagues since 2007. The lefty swinger spent time at first and in both corner outfield spots this year, so he should step right into Anderson's role and provide an immediate upgrade.

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