The Price Of Pierre
You already know how I feel about Juan Pierre. What’s the deal with the three pitchers the Cubs shipped over to get him?
Renyel Pinto is a 23 year-old southpaw with a plus changeup and 94 mph fastball. While ranked the Cubs’ 6th best prospect by Baseball America before the 2005 season, he’s now dropped out of the top ten. If you look at Pinto’s numbers the last couple of years, he’s mastered Double A but can’t crack Triple A. However, he’s gotten only about 30 innings in Iowa as an opportunity. Pinto prevents home runs well and strikes people out, but is a bit generous with the walks.
Ricky Nolasco is a 23 year-old righthander with a low 90s sinker and a good curveball. Nolasco was ranked just 19th among Cubs prospects before the ’05 season, and was upgraded to 7th overall after this performance in Double A this year. The Cubs pushed him up to Iowa for 40 innings in ’04 and he didn’t fare well. Nolasco has pretty good control and nice strikeout numbers. He was to be sent to the Rangers for Rafael Palmeiro in 2003, but Palmeiro vetoed the deal.
Cubs fans might be a little more familiar with Sergio Mitre, as he’s thrown 121 uninspiring innings in the big leagues. Mitre has looked OK at Iowa, but has been never been able to translate success save for a brilliant 16 inning stretch this year. He might be able to crack the back end of Florida’s rotation in due time.
To sum it up, the Cubs didn’t really give up any can’t miss prospects in this trade.
Juan Pierre To Cubs Complete
670 The Score in Chicago and RotoWorld are reporting that the Cubs have finalized their deal for center fielder Juan Pierre. Left-handed starter Renyel Pinto and two other unknown prospects will head to the Marlins in the deal.
The trade was originally reported by Bruce Levine on ESPN Radio 1000 on November 14th. After speaking with Bruce, MLBTradeRumors.com was able to narrow the possible prospects down to a list of five pitchers.
The Cubs hope Pierre can bounce back after posting his lowest OBP since his rookie season. Pierre’s game is reliant upon his ability to get on base. He’s a subpar defender; Pierre posted the worst range factor in Major League Baseball in 2005 among regular center fielders.
The Marlins continue to stack up promising young pitchers as their fire sale continues. Pinto struggled mightily in six Triple A starts, but did an admirable job in 129 Double A innings this year. The stint in Triple A Iowa was his second failed attempt at that level. Pinto continues to be plagued by his high walk rate, but hasn’t yet gotten a fair shake in Iowa.
Baseball America ranked the 23 year-old righthander 6th among Cubs prospects entering the 2005 season. He has a good changeup, lively fastball, and deceptive delivery.
Luis Castillo To The Mets
Our suspicions from yesterday have been confirmed: Luis Castillo is definitely on the trading block. Many sources mention the Mets’ interest in the second baseman.
The names we’re hearing coming back from the Mets are shortstop Anderson Hernandez and/or second baseman Jeff Keppinger (via the Palm Beach Post). Alex Gonzalez won’t be returning to play shortstop in Florida, and the Marlins are less than confident in their top prospect at the position, Robert Andino. If the Mets would give up Hernandez, the Marlins would probably pull the trigger.
While Yusmeiro Petit is probably out of the question, the Mets could part with young righthander Gaby Hernandez. Hernandez looked fantastic in A ball in 2005 while still a teenager.
Luis Castillo is a top ten second baseman and perfect top-of-the-order hitter. His defense is superb and he’s due $5MM in 2006. The Mets aren’t the only team interested in his services – the Red Sox, Cardinals, and Twins are all in the running.
Thanks to Ben K.
Beckett Trade Nearly Done
It’s being reported in the Dallas Morning News that John Danks will be the prospect sent over by Texas and the deal is near completion.
While lefthanded, Danks doesn’t have the same upside as his Double A Frisco teammate Thomas Diamond. Both starters struggled in 2005. Danks gave up a ton of hits, while Diamond had major control problems.
Click here to see our 2006 projections for Josh Beckett as a Texas Ranger.
Beckett and Lowell for Blalock
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the huge blockbuster that might go down today. Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post told us late last night:
"In what could be the first step of a major housecleaning in Florida, the Marlins and Rangers are close to completing a trade that would send Beckett and Lowell to Texas for third baseman Hank Blalock and a top pitching prospect, two baseball sources said Friday night.
The Marlins are asking for either left-hander John Danks, Texas’ first-round pick in 2003, or right-hander Thomas Diamond, the team’s first-round pick in 2004."
The article goes on to say that the deal could fall apart if Texas refuses to include either pitching prospect. My guess is that the Marlins are demanding Diamond, who has a higher ceiling than Danks and could project as a #2 starter.
Both pitchers had lackluster years after being bumped up to Double A.
This may signal a widespread salary dump for the Marlins. We’ve all heard the rumors around Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca, and Juan Pierre. One name I haven’t heard much is Luis Castillo. You have to figure Castillo is on the market as well with a weak 2B free agent class.
Juan Pierre To The Cubs: Update
Yesterday, Bruce Levine reported that the Cubs are in the "final stages" of a trade for Marlins center fielder Juan Pierre.
This afternoon, I was able to get in touch with Bruce to obtain a little more info on the deal. It seems that the Marlins are still a little shaky on this deal; they’re not sure whether to hold out and target top-tier prospects or to pull the trigger now just to dump Pierre’s salary.
Also, Levine confirmed that Rich Hill will not be part of any deal for Pierre. Levine said the Marlins are indeed looking for young pitching. As a refresher, here are some top hurlers from the Cubs’ minor league system who may be available:
Jae-kuk Ryu
Ricky Nolasco
Sean Marshall
Renyel Pinto
Angel Guzman
Chicago’s recent trade history with Florida has had mixed results. Most would agree the Cubs made out like bandits getting Derrek Lee for Hee Seop Choi, but that trade was motivated very much by salary concerns.
The Marlins’ unloading of Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca for Dontrelle Willis worked out in their favor, although Clement was an integral part of the Cubs’ 2003 playoff run.
Juan Pierre To The Cubs
Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post has been floating Juan Pierre rumors for some time now. The Yankees have backed off, but apparently the Cubs are still very interested.
ESPN Radio’s Bruce Levine is reporting that the Cubs are in the "final stages" of a trade for Pierre. Levine claims that the Cubs would only surrender minor leaguers in the deal. Corey Patterson is not expected to be involved.
No names were mentioned, so it’s open to speculation. I doubt Pierre could bring in a jewel like Felix Pie or Brandon Sing. Top Double A West Tenn pitchers from ’05 included Jae-kuk Ryu, Ricky Nolasco, Sean Marshall, and Renyel Pinto. Angel Guzman has looked decent in the AFL.
Nolasco had a fine year in Double A after a rough turn in Triple A Iowa the previous year. Given Ryu’s questionable behavior in the past, he could be paired with Nolasco in the deal. Jermaine Van Buren is expendable as well. We’ll wait to see if Bruce Levine can expound upon the minor leaguers involved.
The 27 year-old Pierre’s stock dropped considerably in 2005. He posted a career-low .326. His defense was far from spectacular as well, but Pierre hasn’t really been a good defender for years. Pierre’s value as a leadoff hitter is very dependent on his OBP, so Hendry is banking that he can reach base 37% of the time as he did in 2004.
Durability is a point in Pierre’s favor. He’s played every single game for the last three seasons. Pierre is also somewhat affordable, although that could change after arbitration.
Thanks to Brian B. for the tip.