Vazquez/Young Perception At The Time
ESPN's Rob Neyer recently posted a mailbag question about the Javier Vazquez–Chris Young trade between the White Sox and Diamondbacks. On December 14th, 2005, the White Sox sent Young and the unwanted salaries of Orlando Hernandez and Luis Vizcaino to Arizona for Vazquez and cash. Neyer's reader began his question with:
Kenny Williams was roundly criticized back in 2005 for trading highly regarded 5-tool uber-prospect Chris Young to D-backs for often underachieving Javier Vazquez.
Cue the sound of screeching brakes…was Williams really roundly criticized on December 14th, 2005? This is where the MLBTR archives come in handy. It's cool to see how we evaluated trades the day they were made. Here's the post. I liked the deal as a win-now move for the Sox. MLBTR was only a month and a half old, so the post only has 15 comments. But there was no criticism of Williams.
How about South Side Sox, which opened its doors in April of '05? They seemed in favor of the deal, as did Ken Rosenthal in an excerpt found here. Sox Machine also liked the trade, and both blogs noted that Vazquez was a bargain compared to A.J. Burnett's newly-signed five-year, $55MM deal. Let's get an opinion from the other side with AZ Snakepit, which also started in 2005. The post's author, Jim McLennan, was "both enthusiastic and somewhat concerned" about the trade.
It seems to me that this trade was mostly properly evaluated when it was made. The Sox would eventually miss Young, but not in 2006. I think Neyer's commenter's general point was that Young hasn't been quite as good as advertised, with a career OBP of .301 in two-plus seasons.
Brayan Pena Clears Waivers
Who wants a 27 year-old switch-hitting catcher who hit .303/.376/.462 at Triple A last year? No one, apparently. According to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel, Royals catcher Brayan Pena cleared waivers and was assigned to Triple A Omaha. This marks Pena's fifth trip to Triple A. In their 2007 Handbook, Baseball America suggested Pena's defense was at least decent. In a world of $2MM backup catchers, it's surprising Pena wasn't picked up.
Discussion: Free Agent Risers
The season is about 17% over at this point, and certain 2010 free agents have seen their stock rise dramatically. A few examples: Jason Varitek, Russell Branyan, Nick Johnson, Orlando Hudson, Andruw Jones, Erik Bedard, and Danys Baez. In your opinion, which future free agent has done the most to improve his value in the season's first month?
2010 Options: Los Angeles Angels
The Angels do not have any 2010 options. Instead, they're faced with a slew of key free agent situations after the 2009 season:
- Vladimir Guerrero. Guerrero played in eight games this year before hitting the DL for a torn pectoral muscle in his chest. He could return in late May. Vlad will be 35 when he begins his next contract. It's hard to envision more than two years, and even matching his '09 salary of $15MM would be questionable. Guerrero has had an incredible Angels career, but this might become a tricky situation.
- John Lackey. Lackey is also a tough one. He wanted A.J. Burnett money, but he'll make his season debut in mid to late May due to a forearm strain. If he finishes strong he'll still do well, but will it be with the Angels?
- Chone Figgins. Ken Rosenthal wrote about Figgins' future on April 29th.
- Bobby Abreu. Abreu is on a one-year deal with a $5MM base salary. He's hitting .363/.427/.418 in 103 plate appearances, with zero home runs and 11 steals. It's odd, but it works. Will Abreu be open to a similar one-year deal again?
- Kelvim Escobar. Escobar is looking at a possible June return from shoulder surgery. Maybe he has a few more 190 inning seasons left in his arm, or maybe he should market himself as a closer. Like Lackey, Escobar's second half will determine his price tag.
Rosenthal On Mariners, A’s, Putz
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- The Mariners and A's are not thinking about selling off veterans at the trade deadline. Both clubs plan to go for it.
- Tough decision for the Mets after the season: do they exercise J.J. Putz's $9.1MM option for 2010? Cot's Baseball Contracts says it's an $8.6MM club option with a $1MM buyout.
- Rosenthal says one GM views the recent DL trips for Dontrelle Willis, Chien-Ming Wang, and Daisuke Matsuzaka as possible abuse of the system.
- Will Barry Zito continue to be decent this year? His control and groundball rate have been much improved and his average fastball velocity is up by 1.6 mph. The .250 BABIP doesn't figure to last though. Zito is owed $87.5MM for 2009-13, plus he has an $18MM option for 2014 that may vest.
2010 Options: Minnesota Twins
The Twins do not have any 2010 options. They do, however, have to start thinking about their course of action for Joe Mauer. 2010 is the last year of Mauer's deal; he'll earn $12.5MM. From Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe on March 8th:
While the Minnesota native would like to stay in the Twin Cities, he is expected to receive offers in the $20 million- to $25 million-per-year range. The [Red] Sox are expected to be front and center if Mauer is available.
It had been suggested by Charley Walters on March 6th that the Twins had scheduled a meeting with Mauer's agent, presumably to discuss an extension. Walters had written in December that the Red Sox were "already salivating over Mauer."
Mauer had surgery to remove a kidney obstruction in January, and was initially expected to be ready for the start of the regular season. However, discomfort lingered into March and he was diagnosed with inflammation of the sacroiliac joint. Mauer returned to action on May 1st, smacking a home run off Sidney Ponson. Mauer has also dealt with hamstring and knee issues in the past. He'll turn 28 in April of 2011 when he begins his next contract.
Discussion: Best Signing Under A Million Bucks
Let's hear your picks for the best signing under $1MM guaranteed this year. Contenders may include Jamey Wright, Jason Isringhausen, Rocco Baldelli, and David Eckstein. Click here and scroll down to see the full list.
Odds & Ends: Crow, Matsuzaka, Harrington
Links for Monday…
- I hosted a fantasy baseball roundtable question: what is your single biggest regret so far?
- Talking real baseball, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has his list of possible offseason-related regrets.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America says Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers will make their independent league debuts today. MLB.com's Bill Ladson says the Jim Bowden-less Nationals haven't ruled out taking Crow at #10, and they'll scout him today.
- Kirk Kenney wrote about the possibility of Stephen Strasburg skipping the minors.
- David Waldstein of the New York Times discovers how the Seibu Lions spent the $51.1MM posting fee from Daisuke Matsuzaka.
- Sadly, Tony Jackson was let go by the L.A. Daily News. Diamond Leung talks about Jackson, while Jon Weisman notes that the Dodgers are now down to two full-time beat writers.
- Weisman also writes about the Saturday night gathering involving Kim Ng and others.
- ESPN's Amy K. Nelson has an excellent story on Matt Harrington, who is out of baseball now.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball looks at a bunch of young players who were locked up through their arbitration years.
2010 Options: Kansas City Royals
Today let's take a look at the 2010 options facing the Royals.
- Coco Crisp – $8MM club option with a $500K buyout. Crisp, 29, is off to a .242/.354/.463 start in his first 115 Royals plate appearances. He also leads all center fielders in UZR/150. It seems likely that the Royals will exercise Crisp's option.
- Miguel Olivo – $3.25MM mutual option. Olivo's big issue was playing time, but he's split the plate appearances behind the plate evenly with John Buck. Olivo hits lefties and catches Zack Greinke, but that may not be enough to justify the Royals exercising their side of the 2010 option.
Heyman On Strasburg, Pedro, Byrd
Let's take a look at the latest from SI.com's Jon Heyman.
- Heyman's on Twitter!
- Heyman runs through the surprise contenders and decides which teams are the real deal.
- The Nationals, as you know, have decided to draft Stephen Strasburg.
- Heyman learned from Yankees GM Brian Cashman that "the Yankees can't seriously consider Pedro Martinez or Paul Byrd until they're pitching somewhere." Heyman talked to another GM who estimated each player would need a month to get ready. Byrd told Yahoo's Tim Brown he needs just two weeks in the minors.