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Revisiting The Felipe Paulino For Clint Barmes Trade

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One month into the season, it looked like the Felipe Paulino–Clint Barmes trade would go down as a lose-lose deal. Paulino struggled through his first month with the Rockies and Barmes spent the first four weeks of the season on the disabled list while he recovered from a fractured left hand. 

But Paulino has put together his best season yet and Barmes recovered from his hand injury on his way to a strong campaign in Houston. Win-win trade? Not quite. The Rockies gave up on Paulino after 14 2/3 ugly innings, so the Royals are the ones who benefitted from the 27-year-old’s turnaround.

Paulino, who struck out 11 without walking a batter in seven innings of work on Saturday, has a 4.10 ERA in 107 2/3 innings since the Royals acquired him in late May. His fastball clocks in over 95 mph, just as it has every season of his career, and his peripheral stats are strong: 8.3 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 45.1% ground ball rate, 3.81 xFIP.

Considering that Kansas City only gave up cash considerations, the Paulino move looks especially favorable for the Royals. They need the pitching and can pencil the Dominican right-hander into their rotation going forward. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes estimates a raise from $790K to $1.6MM in 2012, so Paulino will remain affordable next year.

The Astros could use the pitching, but Paulino had his chances in Houston and the Astros needed a shortstop. For $3.925MM, Barmes has hit .249/.323/.388 with ten home runs. FanGraphs’ UZR suggests the 32-year-old plays above-average defense and their version of wins above replacement has Barmes as the 11th most productive shortstop in baseball this season (3.1 WAR).

He’ll hit free agency after the season and doesn’t project as a ranked free agent, so this may be all Houston gets out of Barmes. Even if he departs for nothing this offseason, the Astros will have done significantly better than the Rockies in this trade. It’s not that Colorado was necessarily going to keep Barmes – he was a non-tender candidate in the offseason – but the Rockies are the only team that didn’t profit from last November’s trade. The Royals ended up with a cheap, productive arm, the Astros got an affordable everyday shortstop and all the Rockies got was 14 2/3 innings of 7.36 ERA ball.

Minor Moves: Davis, Astros, Roemer

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Here are the latest minor moves…

  • The White Sox released Doug Davis, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. They had signed the veteran left-hander to a minor league deal in July.
  • Eddy has all of the other minor league transactions that took place between August 31st and September 6th. 
  • The Astros announced that they signed right-hander Alan Abreu as a non-drafted free agent out of Lander University. Abreu played primarily shortstop and center field in college, according to the Astros.
  • The D'Backs released right-hander Wes Roemer over the weekend, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Arizona released the former supplementary first round pick to clear 40-man roster space, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Roemer posted a 4.39 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 164 innings in the upper minors this year. He has a 4.44 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in five pro seasons.

Stark On Madson, Astros, Beane, Nationals

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MLB is building momentum toward two 15-team leagues with three five-team divisions per league, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. It doesn't appear that the players’ association will agree to expand the postseason unless owners agree to more balanced schedules and divisions, Stark reports. Here are the rest of his rumors…

  • It appears that the Tigers and Rays will pick up their options for Jose Valverde and Kyle Farnsworth, respectively, this offseason.
  • Two MLB executives predicted to Stark that Ryan Madson will sign a deal like the one Valverde obtained two winters ago: $14MM over two years plus an option.
  • Multiple teams have expressed concerns about Francisco Rodriguez’s off-field “baggage,” though K-Rod stands out as one of the best free agent relievers of the winter.
  • Stark hears that MLB has been slow to approve incoming Astros owner Jim Crane in order to apply leverage on Crane so that he’ll agree to move the Astros to the American League. Earlier today, Bob Nightengale of USA Today had a report that conflicts with Stark’s article.
  • Friends of Billy Beane say the A’s GM has legitimate interest in the Cubs GM job, though he has an ownership stake and lots of freedom in Oakland.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo will interview managerial candidates this offseason before deciding whether Davey Johnson will return as manager in 2012.
  • First base doesn’t appear to be a priority for Washington, but Rizzo says "you never want to say never” when it comes to possible offseason moves.

Astros Claim Lance Pendleton

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The Astros claimed right-hander Lance Pendleton off of waivers from the Yankees, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Pendleton, who was designated by the Yankees on Tuesday, spent Spring Training with Houston after they selected him from New York in last winter's Rule 5 draft. The Astros returned the 6'3" Houston native to the Yankees on March 27th when he didn't make the Opening Day roster.

The 27-year-old made his MLB debut for the Yankees in April and went on to post a 3.21 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9 in 14 innings. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 3.10 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 66 2/3 innings as a starter and reliever.

Heyman On Orioles, Cubs, Astros

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The Orioles may have trouble attracting GM candidates with stature, assuming president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail leaves after the season, Jon Heyman writes at SI.com. Owner Peter Angelos is involved in all the big decisions the Orioles make, sometimes making the calls himself. Angelos loves manager Buck Showalter and there’s some buzz that Angelos could make his manager the GM as well, as unlikely as that seems. Here’s the latest from Heyman:

  • Showalter was Angelos’ choice last year, though MacPhail appeared to be leaning toward current Mariners manager Eric Wedge.
  • Cal Ripken Jr. doesn’t appear to have interest in becoming a general manager and people close to the longtime Orioles shortstop say they can’t see him working under Angelos as a GM.
  • It’s hard to imagine Rangers executive John Hart agreeing to work under Angelos, unless he gets real autonomy.
  • Angelos wouldn’t like the idea of hiring a Yankee to turn his franchise around and it appears unlikely that Brian Cashman would leave New York for Baltimore.
  • Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine, who grew up rooting for the Orioles, figures to be a candidate for the job.
  • Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts has started calling around “in earnest” about possible GMs.
  • If the Astros move to the American League, MLB will add an extra Wild Card team next year.
  • Mets executives see Justin Turner as a utility player.

Ownership Notes: Dodgers, Astros, Selig

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Two of the least stable ownership situations in baseball can be found in Los Angeles and Houston. Here's the latest on bids for the Dodgers and Astros…

  • MLB's delay with Jim Crane's bid had nothing to do with switching leagues and "everything to do with his background," according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter links).
  • There won't be enough time to realign the leagues by 2012, so we aren't likely to see expanded playoffs next year, according to Nightengale.
  • An attorney for Dodgers owner Frank McCourt called Bill Burke's $1.2 billion bid for the Dodgers a "publicity stunt" in documents filed in court this week, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. McCourt remains intent on keeping the Dodgers, Shaikin reports.
  • Incoming Astros owner Jim Crane told Joe Holley of the Houston Chronicle that he's becoming frustrated with the slow pace of the ownership transfer and the public speculation about the reasons for the holdup. Crane also pointed out that his contract with Drayton McLane goes through November 30th, which means a deal has to be finalized by then unless the sides agree to extend the window.
  • However, as Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle points out, there are a thousand reasons to question the character of an incoming owner, so commissioner Bud Selig probably won't look kindly on Crane's comments.

NL Central Notes: Astros Sale, Mills, Cubs GM

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A couple notes regarding the Astros and Cubs, residents of the NL Central (for now).

  • MLB commissioner Bud Selig has already asked prospective Astros owner Jim Crane to move the team to the AL West if he's approved as owner, a source tells Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Crane's purchase of the Astros could still be approved even if he doesn't consent to the league switch, according to the source.
  • Houston second-year manager Brad Mills wants to remain with the Astros to see their young players mature and lead the team back to relevance, writes McTaggart. "When you have such a change like we've had, you'd like to see that through," Mills said. The Astros picked up Mills' 2012 option last season, and they hold an option on him for 2013.
  • The Cubs GM vacancy is a hot topic these days, so Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune has written up a power rankings of potential candidates. Leading the way is Andrew Friedman of the Rays.

Astros Notes: Scouts, Crane, American League

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The Astros have been around for 50 seasons and they have never lost 100 games. That's going to change this year, once Houston, now 48-95, loses five more contests. Here are today's Astros-related links, as Houston's fans look forward to having the first overall draft pick in 2012…

  • The Astros informed two scouts that their contracts won’t be renewed, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes. Rusty Pendergrass, who signed Hunter Pence, and area scout Lincoln Martin are gone, since the Astros wanted to go in another direction. 
  • Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says Pendergrass may be the hardest worker he has known and passes along a 2008 column about the scout who signed Pence, Ben Zobrist and others.
  • If Jim Crane's purchase of the Astros falls through, it won't be because of a refusal to move to the American League, Justice writes. It could be a factor in MLB's decision, but there are other, equally complicated issues to resolve.
  • Justice explains why moving to the AL wouldn’t be such a bad thing for Astros fans.

Selig Talks Playoffs, Retirement

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Commissioner Bug Selig told Yahoo's Jeff Passan that he still hopes to have another playoff team in each league by next year. However, many details have yet to be worked out and there are related issues such as realignment to resolve, so the chances of expanded playoffs by next year are "iffy at best," Passan writes.

The possibility of realigning the divisions relates closely to playoff expansion, so the Astros' ownership change affects the discussions. Incoming owner Jim Crane has softened his stance on moving his team to the AL West, Passan reports. Three AL West teams are in the Pacific Time Zone, but that didn't stop the Rangers from obtaining a lucrative TV deal, so Crane is entertaining the idea moving his new club to the American League.

Selig maintains that the upcoming collective bargaining agreement will be his last. “Even though a lot of people don’t believe it, I’m done Dec. 31 of next year,” he told Passan.  

NL Central Notes: Barmes, Cardinals, Cubs, Garza

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Let's take a look at some news out of the NL Central, where the Brewers hold a comfortable 10.5 game lead over St. Louis..

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