When the offseason started, we figured it would be headlined by a pair of MVP caliber bats (Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder) and a Japanese import (Yu Darvish). While those three certainly garnered their fair share of attention, the winter was mostly dominated by trades involving young, high-upside pitchers with multiple years of team control remaining.
The Doug Fister trade seemed to get it all started. The Mariners sent him and David Pauley to the Tigers for Francisco Martinez, Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush, and Chance Ruffin at the trade deadline. Four similar young, high-upside starters with multiple years of contractual control remaining were traded this offseason. Here are those deals, presented chronologically…
- Athletics trade Trevor Cahill (and Craig Breslow) to the Diamondbacks for Jarrod Parker, Collin Cowgill, and Ryan Cook.
- Padres trade Mat Latos to the Reds for Edinson Volquez, Yasmani Grandal, Yonder Alonso, and Brad Boxberger.
- Athletics trade Gio Gonzalez to the Nationals for Brad Peacock, A.J. Cole, Tom Milone, and Derek Norris.
- Mariners trade Michael Pineda (and Jose Campos) to the Yankees for Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi.
Each trade involved multiple young players going the other way, including at least one top 100 prospect according to Baseball America. Which team got the best return for their young hurler?
While the Padres got the best haul, I also think the Reds got the best arm.
I completely agree with that assessment. I also think the Reds traded away pieces that they had an abundance of and were able to take the sting away from dealing all those prospects as well.
I really wish the A’s could have gotten Rendon. No clue why they did not push hard for him, since they REALLY need 3B help in the organization.
I really doubt the Nationals would’ve given him up. Without him, they got a fine haul.
Also, he couldn’t have been traded until Feb. 15
they could have the nats could have sent him as a PTBNL and announced him on the 15th thats what celeveland did with drew pomerantz
He couldn’t have been a PTBNL until February 15, a player cannot be traded until a year passes after they sign their first professional contract. PTBNL’s must be announced within 6 months after they’re traded. Since February 15 would have been 6 months after he was drafted, that’s the earliest he could’ve been a PTBNL.
Also, no way the Nationals would have traded Rendon in the Gio package as that would be a huge overpay.
no, he couldn’t have been traded (even as a ptbnl) because he signed on august 15th, and a drafted/signed player can’t be officially traded until a year after he officially signs.
to go along with that, a ptbnl player has six months to be chosen, or something like that, so the earliest rendon could’ve been traded was feb 15th.
on top of that, he’s the nats second best prospect, and even at that time had a future home regardless of a zimmerman extension or not. there was no way the a’s could’ve gotten him
No way the Nats would give him up now.
there was no way the a’s could’ve got him even if he was eligible to be traded, unless maybe they wanted to include weeks, and yeah…no.
As do I. I think if Latos can handle pitching in that bandbox, he will be awesome. Hopefully for Cincinnati, those maturity questions we have heard about are in the past.
“I think if Latos can handle pitching in that bandbox”
On the flip side.. Any pitcher who has had success in Petco, Chavez Ravine, Safeco or a couple of other grand canyons around the league is a risky acquisition, especially wh those stadiums are the only places they have had success as a home stadium.
what about the dan haren trade? Angels gave up skaggs
Pretty sure that wasn’t this offseason, nor any offseason for that matter.
Dude… that was like 2 years ago lmao…
First of all Anthony Rendon cannot be traded. Not until 2013.
Also, I have no idea, who got the best of the trades, because I don’t know any of the prospects involved. I will say that the A’s should have won. As to whether they did only time will tell.
The one pitcher I am curious about is Chance Ruffin, I saw him pitch against the Reds the other week and he looked pretty good to me, but it was only one inning.
No, Rendon can be traded in August 2012. He signed last August; he can be traded a year later. He can be traded as a PTBNL 6 months earlier than that.
The best trade package is what the Athletics got for Cahill. When the Diamondbacks find out that he needs arm surgery, due to his poor wind up/delivery they’ll realize that they gave up too much.
Athletics got the best package simply because Cahill isn’t that good.
it would’ve been a better package if instead of cowgill the a’s got a true prospect like wheeler or eaton. i voted gonzalez because they got a potential future ace, two guys who are for sure gonna be in the majors this year at some point, and a potentially solid backstop, and because i’m a total homer.
Someone had to say it.
is this poll about the biggest steal, or the biggest return? the padres got the most talent in their deal, but i think the a’s made a better deal when they traded cahill
A’s made out like bandits on that deal. But I’m not a particularly big fan of Cahill.
You beat me to it. I was about to post the same thing, haha.
I guess I could add this though, even though ERA isn’t always the best measurement:
Latos ERA (2009-2011): 4.62 (50.1 Innings) 2.92 3.47
Gio’s ERA (2009-2011): 4.63 2.97 4.16
Gio has only really had one standout year (2010), while Latos has had one great year (2010) and one above average year (2011, which had injuries holding him back and he recovered to have something like 10 or 15 starts giving up 2 runs or less to end the season). Latos is simply the better pitcher right now, and not just because I’m a Reds fan. The numbers don’t lie, espcially since both are comparable because of their former home park being extremely pitcher friendly.
National League = Pitcher bats = no DH, except a handful of games. I fail to understand why so many don’t look at that. For every Carlos Zambrano who can hit, there is another Daniel Cabrera that swings like he is chopping wood.
These 2 are *both* decent pitchers, but remember that for the most part, AL pitchers go to the NL to extend their careers.. Ted Lilly, Derek Lowe.. I could go on for awhile.
Both are better than decent players, and I never said that either were bad. It’s just Latos is better RIGHT NOW. Yes, a DH does cause Gio’s ERA to be slightly higher, but there is no was it causes it to be .69 higher (in 2011). Gio has had one great year, but he needs to majorly improve on his walks if he wants to regain 2010 form. Latos has less concerns with his K/9, BB/9, etc. at the moment.
^Was supposed to be a reply to josh bresser. This has happened to me a couple of times already, even though I definently pressed “reply” before typing the post.
Edit: It did it again…. Facepalm
That happens sometimes with at least 1 browser when you make multiple comments on the same topic 🙂
Yonder Alonzo is going to be an absolute beast.
It’s got to be the Latos or Gio trade. Both were great hauls. I think the A’s got best value though with 4 potentially good/solid major leaguers. Pretty close though.
I think most people misunderstood this poll. It’s not asking who got the better young pitcher (i.e. Gio, Lator, Pineda or Cahill). It’s asking which team got the best package in return. The Latos and Gio trades should account for 85% of the vote. Pineda and Cahill were weak in comparison.
Exactly. There’s really no way the Cahill or Pineda trade would be the best.
I largely agree, but there are other factors, such as the needs of the team and the quality of the pitcher being traded. Cahill is, well, not very good, and the A’s got 4 prospects in return.
In Seattle’s case, they fulfilled a team need. They desperately needed a bat, and they got the best young bat in the game. Votes going there are going there because people think so highly of Montero.
Taking into account that Latos is a better pitcher than Gio and thus rightfully commanded more, the Pads and A’s got an equally good deal, as did the Reds and Nats.
The Padres got more certainty and a higher floor, while the A’s got more upside.
The Reds traded Volquez, who is GARBAGE, just wait and see. Cannot find the plate, ever.
Grandal and Alonso were blocked by Votto and Mesoraco
Boxberger is a RP, who is unproven
The Reds have Neftali Soto and Donald Lutz at 1B, future Votto replacements
We got Latos to put behind Cueto in the rotation, we made the right decision, gave up alot, but it had to be done.
The Reds farm system is STILL very strong
So? They were still very solid prospects. (With the exception of Volquez)
I voted the Padres, but I didnt realize that Latos is only 24. The prospects they got back are 23-24 also, plus Volquez who is 28. Since the Pads probly arent going to compete in the next couple years, it seems like they would have wanted to bring in some younger guys. LIke 20 or under.
Still you gotta think of the return of many solid pieces vs one potentially elite piece, assuming Latos is going to perform consistently.
The Padres have the top farm system in baseball and most of the top prospects are 1 year away. Guys like Wieland, Casey Kelly, Rhymer Liriano, Jaff Decker, Jedd Gyorko, Yasmani Grandal, Jeudy Valdez, etc, etc, are going to be ready for 2013. The Padres should have a steady pipeline of advanced prospects making them consistent winners for the next 7 years at least.
The best player traded in the pitcher packages is Jesus Montero. If you say the best player involved = the best package then it is the Mariners – no contest.
I had a similar thought. With prospects 1 really good prospect is better than a bunch of good prospects.
That trade could end up like the marcum trade.
Sure, if Pineda suddenly ages 7 years and develops serious shoulder problems. And Montero learns to play 3rd base really well.
lol so the only way to compare trades are if the pitchers are the same age and the prospects play the same position?
This was a sensational off-season for Beane. Maybe his best ever.
He flipped the mediocre Cahill for Parker, Cook and Cowgill, who will be a pretty good player in Oakland, his doubters aside. The return on Gio was outstanding. Throw in Smith, Reddick, Norris and Brandon Allen to replace the walk-trollers (Barton, Carter) at 1B and you might actually have a watchable, if not somewhat competative team in Oakland for a change.