Cuban outfielder Alexei Bell recently held a showcase in Mexico, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The 32-year-old has long been a prominent player on his home island, and recently departed in search for an opportunity in the majors. Thirteen MLB clubs sent someone to watch his workout, per Rosenthal: the D-Backs, Dodgers, Phillies, Royals, Blue Jays, Giants, Yankees, Marlins, Cardinals, A’s, Red Sox, Padres, and Reds.
Here are a few analytical links to consider as camp opens:
- Dave Cameron of Fangraphs has rounded up the ten worst offseason transactions to go with his prior list of the ten best. The top spot on each list involves the same swap. He also issues demerits for the Rockies’ signing of Gerardo Parra and subsequent trade of Corey Dickerson, the Royals’ decision to give big money to Ian Kennedy, and the Orioles’ re-signing of Chris Davis.
- You can find Baseball America’s updated listing of the ten best prospects for each team right here. Looking past the premium names that appear on league-wide lists gives a better sense of the depth of a system, of course, and quite a few players will ascend over the coming year. BA’s J.J. Cooper examines some of the top names that fell just shy of that outlet’s top-100 list.
- ESPN.com’s Keith Law has also provided a top-ten list for every organization’s farm, with a narrative breakdown of the system as well. It’s well worth a read, but does require an Insider subscription.
I also think the dbacks trade was bad for them. I feel like getting rid of really good players in the farm is not a good thing to do if you want to set up for the future. I have a feeling the dbacks will try to rebuild in a few years
What ace would they have got for that package exactly? The only two that had any indication of being moved Sale and Gray that package would be laughed at. Saying they could have got better when nothing better was available seems stupid. Goldschmidt and Pollock are both 28 it isn’t like they are 23 and under control for 5 years the Dbacks have a small window to maximize both and went for it.
It depends what you mean by big window. Including 2016, Goldschmidt is under contract for 3 more seasons (and one more on a team option). and Pollack for 3 more as well. Same situatuin with Shelby Miller. So I get it, but it was a massive price to pay, And I agree that the Segura trade was horrible.
They might not have gotten more for that package but they definitely could have gotten the same for a MUCH lesser package. Rival execs have stated multiple times that Inciarte had a very serious market and they were offered multiple #3 starters for just him. Instead they decided to add a stud spec and another solid spec for a different #3 starter for no reason. There’s no doubt that that trade was an unmitigated disaster. Easily the worst trade of the year and one of the worst trades in the last few years.
*multiple different offers involving #3 starters. Not multiple starters offered in the same package. 😛
Well I’ll believe La Russa/Stewart over unnamed Rival execs
Lol, well that’s ridiculous. They’ve proven over and over that they are wildly incompetent. I would take the word over any other executive in the game over Dave Stewart at this point.
Well it comes down to Talent evaluation, 30 years hall of fame manager nearly 20 years starting pitcher, I’m going to have to side with them over an Exec who probably only got a job for going to an Ivy league school. Trade value can not be put into a vacuum every one values things differently. So saying since A brought B it should also bring C, it just does not work that way. I am going to lean toward 50 years of experience knowing their own players better than any one.
So are you going to take that approach with just this awful transaction? Or every awful transaction that Dave Stewart has made? Because he’s building up quite a list of them in a short period of time.
None have gone bad they are all being woefully pre-judged, Toussaint is being treated like the second coming of Koufax and Swanson the next Derek Jeter. Neither has played above A ball
So every awful transaction then? Ok, just wondering. Thanks for clearing it up. How many more awful transactions will Stewart have to make before you agree that he’s incompetent? 3? 5? Even more?
Swanson could easily start on opening day. He won’t, but he was drafted on the fast track and will probably come up and turn into the next Correa for Atlanta, while AZ has Miller getting shelled in that park.
Just the worst trade in decades, don’t try and defend it.
I think Stewart got fleeced in that trade, but Swanson has neither the offensive nor defensive upside of Correa.
You cant say the Dbacks lost the trade yet. Theres also a very real possibility that Swanson and Blair turn out to be nothing special. Right now I do believe they overpayed for Miller but saying that Arizona lost already is just way premature. At least let the guy pitch first, maybe, just maybe, he’ll pitch like he did last year and you can put your foot in your mouth
Because LaRussa was a good manager does not make him automatically good in the front office. Nor does Stewart’s time on the mound make him a good GM. It’s like assuming that because Hanley has played SS, he will be a good Outfielder. Or that because Ted Williams could hit, he would make a good manager. It just doesn’t work that way. It is a different job than the one they were great at. Looking only at their history in their current positions, I would want a second opinion, rather than accept just theirs.
Could have gotten Carasco or Archer for that package. Probably could have gotten Salazar or Odorizzi for less also.
Were you in the GM office? How do you know the Indians did not decline the same package? They did not want to trade any of their pitchers they said it all season long and none moved. Just as Oakland and Chicago teams are not trading cost controlled TOR arms.
Archer was never made available in any trades so not sure what you are even talking about there.
Neither was Miller.
Probably could have gotten Archer or Carasco for that package. Or given up a little less and gotten Odorizzi or Salazar
AZ could have easily have gotten Archer with that same package, strongly agreed.
I didn’t say they could have gotten better. I think arizona got fleeced because they traded away some very good prospects. Like the one guy said, this could haunt them for years to come. They already got an ace out of grienke. And he might even decline in a few years.
Who cares who was available? That doesn’t justify horribly overpaying for a #3. That was IMO the most one sided trade in a while, more so than the Addison Russell trade.
Th Dbacks could have signed Gallardo or traded for Wade Miley. Both pitchers aren’t much worse than Miller.
There’s also the fact of Blair possibly being very good, and if he puts up comprable numbers to Miller in the bigs this year nad AZ misses the postseason, then Stewart absolutely should be fired.
I agree, but you have to give them credit for at least trying to win. More than you can say for a lot of teams.
Every team wants to win. What team doesnt? Every team has different ways at trying to have a winning season. There’s the rebuilding, there’s the money spender, and there’s the padres/dbacks. The padres spent a lot before the 2015 season. Everyone thought that the pitching was great but needed offense. Look at where they’re at now. I think the same will happen to the dbacks. But if they win more game, that’s awesome
Other than the half dozen rebuilding teams in the NL, every single team has built their 2016 team with their eyes fiercely focused on making the playoffs and winning. And the rebuilding teams are focusing on winning in the not so distant future. No team doesn’t try to win, if not now, then absolutely later.
Literally every team in the American League could make the postseason this year.
The worst part of the Miller deal is that it doesn’t even make the Dbacks the favorites in the division. After everything they’ve done this winter, they’ve gone from the 3rd best team in the division to the….3rd best team in the division. The Dodgers and Giants are still significantly better.
240 million and 160 million dollars payroll will tend to make you favorites. The Dbacks are about half the payroll of the Giants.
So this makes it…..more reasonable to sell your young players at 50 cents on the dollar? Ok, I get it now.
This isnt a video game their is no set value for any thing
I’d bet money you’ve never seen Swanson or Toussaint play a single game either
In person? Ummmm, no I haven’t. Nor have 99.9% of fans. That’s why we have video and that’s why we have scouts and that’s why we have scouting reports. I’ve read multiple different scouting reports from multiple different, well regarded, unbiased scouts and everyone agrees that the Dbacks got screwed in both deals. Everyone. The only people who don’t agree are DBacks fans in denial and various other ignorant fans who don’t know what they’re talking about. Oh, and Dave Stewart. No well regarded scout or executive in the sport has called them good deals for the Dbacks, especially the most recent one. What you’re doing is taking the word over a GM with a very rocky record over the word of every smart person in the game who has given an opinion. Which, I mean, is your prerogative, I guess.
I will take that bet – please lets make that bet – I love making money.
As I figured you are basing all of your opinions off prospect rankings which are hardly accurate, the people who make prospect rankings generally do not have jobs in baseball if they were such amazing scouts they’d be employed. I am going to let Shelby Miller at least throw a pitch in a Dbacks uniform before forming judgements 5 years too soon.
I could also see that package as being more than enough to get Cashner and Ross from the Padres. It can easily be said that Stewart did not shop around. Imo Atlanta caught wind of what Stewart was offering Miami for Fernandez and figured that since they have taken Stewart to the cleaners before they would call and offer Miller for the same package. Atlanta making the call and pushing Miller on Stewart and him accepting without thinking is the only reason i can think of for such a bad deal. Had the Indians, Rays, Padres or just about any team with good young pitching caught wind of that deal for a low#2/high#3 would have been blowing his phone up. Defending this trade at all shows a complete lack of baseball knowledge. You can not use the prospects are just prospects analogy because he gave up a very solid MLB starting OF who many execs have said had a strong enough market on his own to bring back a good #3. The prospects here where merely to sweeten the pot. Incarte for Miller would have been a solid trade for both teams. Getting Blair and Swanson for free made Stewart one of the worst GMs of all time. His 20 years of pitching experience qualifies him as a pitching coach possible manager. It in no way makes him a qualified GM.
The Dbacks front office is so bad. It’s really unfortunate because they took over a team that was in a pretty good spot. TLR and Stewart have set the franchise back 5 years.
Wasn’t the same thing said about Kevin Towers?
Yes, but Kevin Towers unfortunately got stuck with a team decimated by injuries and he stood by Gibson longer than he should. If he was still running the team they would be in a lot better shape. Touissant Diaz and Swanson would still be with them. I doubt he would have paid that kind of money for Greinke. I could see him going the Giants route and signing Samardzija and Cueto instead. Getting an ace and a low #2/high #3 for the same money Stewart gave Greinke. Then trading Incarte for yet another #3 would have gave them a great rotation with lots of depth. Plus, they would still have their prospects. Stewart isn’t fit to clean Towers office.
Bad trade , for ender inciarte alone the DBacks could have had Mark Appel. Just a seriously bad trade, other teams are laughing at the DBacks front office for this bad trade and the DBacks fans who support it , accept it was a bad move, then the healing can start. Saying this was a good move is like saying the Astros release of JD Martinez was a good move. I’m just laughing reading all of this its just so , funny ahhahagahgaggvvghhhaaa hahahahahahahahadfghahahfgcrbbg
They would have been laughed at if they had traded Ender for Appel, too. He should have more return than a prospect that hasn’t lived up to the hype.
Sure thing , I completely agree. I’m just saying in the worst case scenario they could have done better.
As a Cubs fan, if Theo had given up so much (e.g. Baez, Almora and McKinney) for Miller, he would have been hung from a lamppost on Clark and Addison…..and, paying Grienke so much at his age for so many years, he would have been tarred and feathered at the same time. I feel bad for the Dbacks for giving away their future for a chance to win now.
Exactly and well put. I think it would have been closer to giving up Soler, Russell and Edwards for Miller. I am surprised the Cubs didn’t attempt to trade for Incarte. If Stewart had to include Swanson and Blair for Miller, clearly Stewart didn’t value Incarte much. Imo Baez for Incarte with the Cubs tossing in a middling prospect would have been fair. But since its Stewart they might have gotten Incarte for Hendricks.