Jack Torrance - contributing reporter
Hindsight is 20/20, while it will be a few seasons before we know how well these deals worked out for both teams, let's go ahead and take a look back at a few deals that were made this season, and there were many of them this year - 25 to be exact.
Top Traders:
- 7 - New Orleans, Salt Lake City
- 6 - Colorado Springs, Houston
- 5 - Atlanta
All grades are just for this season alone, with the understanding that looking back in 4-5 seasons that grades could drastically change with prospects or one year rentals that didn't end in a championship or extended playoff run.
Jacksonville (87-75) set Davey Perez (SP) to Colorado Springs (52-110) for prospect Wade Blair (SP). Perez spent just 8 starts in Colorado Springs before he was shipped off to Chicago (81-81) along with $4.8M for prospect Grover Koplove (RP). Perez was pretty solid this year with a very serviceable WHIP and ERA between the two ballclubs but he's a free agent after this season so we'll see what happens. Blair rests in AAA and looks like a minor league lifer, but we'll see what Jacksonville does. Kopelove will be similar to Blair and a minor league lifer.
Jacksonville - TBD. Colorado Springs - TBD. Chicago - A-.
Huntington (107-55) deals Hick English (LF) and Efren Solis (SS) to Boston (77-85) for Felipe Ortiz (2B). After a small stint in AAA, Ortiz was called up to the majors where he received nearly 450 at-bats, adding 13 HR and 24 steals with a .257 average. Solis wasn't great but he filled a need and was rather solid defensively. English had some issues on the base path similar to Solis but crushed 29 homeruns with 92 RBI. His strikeouts were a bit of trouble and was limited to a .244 average.
Huntington - B-. Boston - B+.
Atlanta (114-48) acquired prospect Jorge Sosa from Montreal (83-79) for Esmil Polanco (2B/RF). In limited at-bats around the diamond Polanco was decent but nothing more than a filler. He enters Arb2 so the prices is quickly going up for a rebuilding team.
Atlanta - TBD. Montreal - C+
Houston (108-54) sent former S54 Fireman of the Year and 2 time All-Star Darby Hatcher (RP) to Chicago (81-81) for $3.5M + Sherman Hawkins. The money covered all but $300k of Hawkin's S57 deal but Houston will be on the hook for at least one more season before having to decide to accept the mutual $4.6M S59 contract. All for Hatcher who had fallen out of favor in Houston. In the oops department, Chicago didn't put him on the 40 man all off-season and ended up losing him to the Rule 5 draft.
Houston - A-. Chicago - F.
New Orleans (96-66) finally deals prospect Anthony Cunningham (1B) to Houston (108-54) for Arismendy Costilla (SP) + $2.5M of his $7M S57 salary. NO takes on the Mutual $7M to keep him around for S58. But neither player would last all season with their new club. Houston then traded Cunningham along with Anderson Toussaint (CF) + Brian Polo (SP) + Kent Blackwell (C) + Chase Watson (SS) + Chris Holmes (RP) to the rebuilding Colorado Springs (52-110) for Trent Hawksworth (RP) + Tony Lim (SP) + $2.5M of his $8M deal. He's on the books for S58 at $8M with a mutual for $9.6M in S59. He was a great addition to the Houston rotation, going 11-5 over 27 starts with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Hawksworth was released and eventually picked up by Huntington. For CS, Blackwell is a defensive minded catcher who hits a little higher than his weight. Watson is a defensive minded Shortstop who for his bat actually had a pretty decent year hitting .254 with 106 singles and 1 XBH, a double. With limited speed looks like he'll be a singles hitter his entire career. I heard he's ugly too, no wonder so many singles. Holmes spent the year in AA but doesn't look like he'll crack the rotation - although CS is rebuiding and an L could mean a spot up the draft board; so never say never. Staying with the trend, Toussaint is a defensive minded Centerfielder who hit 16 HR in 280 AB to a .243 average. Not awful, but he did strike out 76 times to his 24 walks. Cunningham hit a somewhat respectable .274 with 11 HR and 16 SBs; nearly 1/3 of his hits were extra base hits. He learned quite well from Jorge Johnson. Polo was quickly shipped to Jacksonville (87-75) plus $3.8M of his $5.1M contract. His 3.88 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 22 starts going 8-6 weren't half bad. Going back to Colorado Springs was Francisco Silva (SP) + Mendy Zhang (1B) + Matt Ransom (RP). Zhang stayed in the minors at AAA. Silva made 24 starts with 5 bullpen appearances but did so very poorly might I had. Ransom was placed on waivers not long into his CS career and was claimed by Tacoma.
Let's break this down even easier for who got what. Much later into the season when New Orleans felt they had too much pitching (can you really ever have too much?), they traded Costilla to Salt Lake City (96-66) for Dicky Chang (CF) + Mac Villarreal (DH). Villarreal is nothing more than prospect depth for an NL team whose minor leaguers thankfully use the DH. Chang filled in at LF after Martin was traded and looks to eventually take over CF from Yan Ozuna when he leaves in FA. This was a long play that judging by their playoff games hurts not having Costilla in the rotation this season.
New Orleans - Chang (CF) + Mac Villarreal (DH) + $2.5M
Houston - Tony Lim (SP)
Colorado Springs - Cunningham (1B) + Toussaint (CF) + Silva (SP) + Zhang (1B) + Ransom (RP) + Blackwell (C) + Watson (SS) + Holmes (RP)
Jacksonville - Brian Polo (SP) + $3.8M
Salt Lake City - Arismendy Costilla (SP)
New Orleans - B-. Houston - A. Colorado Springs - B. Jacksonville - B. Salt Lake City - A-
Vancouver (89-73) sends groundball starter Ted Suppan (SP) to New Orleans (96-66) who at the start of the seaon was in great need of pitching for defensive backup Yoervis Macias (SS). In a bonehead move, NO forgot to put him on the 40 man so he was selected by the Santa Fe franchise in the Rule 5. The same team that finished 7 games behind NO in the standings. Suppan went 14-13 for Santa Fe but did so with some very rough stats. Macias saw some time due to the injury bug and filled in well for Vancouver when they needed it.
Vancouver - B+. New Orleans - F
Vancouver (89-73) dealt prospect Jose Pulido (SP) to Pittsburgh (59-103) for Albert Calderone (P). Pulido spent time in the minors while Calderone split time between the rotation and the bullpen, 12 starts in 30 games, going 5-8 with 2/2 saves, a 1.60 WHIP, and a 6.01 ERA. Curious if he'll be brought back next year, but I guess that's for the off-season to show us.
Vancouver - C+. Pittsburgh - TBD.
Tacoma (73-89) moves S54 Rookie of the Year and former DITR Nash Washington (RP) + Norm Henry (RP) to Anaheim (76-86) for prospect P.T. Silverio (RP) who was a $2M IFA signing. Henry had a fantastic year out of the pen, a 1.26 WHIP and 1.38 ERA, saving 13 of 13 chances over the course of 49 appearances. Washington had another solid year as well, a 1.31 WHIP, 3.79 ERA going 8-6 saving 4/9 games over 88 appearances and 161 innings. That's quite a bit of usage out of the pen for the two. We'll see how the prospect pans out in the years to come.
Tacoma - B+. Anaheim - TBD.
Anaheim (76-86) shifted Geronimo Trinidad (1B) to Atlanta (114-48) for Miguel Rivera (RP). This deal was huge for Atlanta has Trinidad hit .316, 6/19 in the post season but also .296 over the season - 80/270. Every role player counts, especially when you win a championship! Rivera had a pretty decent year out the bullpen for the Diablos, going 5-4, saving 9/9 with a 3.52 ERA. That's good for an ERA+ of 115; nets him as 15% above league average. Though it was a down year from his previous 4 ML seasons, never having an ERA above 3.02 or whip above 1.17. We'll see where Rivera goes from here.
Anaheim: A-. Atlanta: B+.
Chicago (81-81) offered prospect Rip Carver (RP) to Washington DC (60-102) for Mike Karsay (SP). Carver made a little growth this season but isn't look like he'll ever make the majors. Next year will likely be his deciding factor. Karsay was a believe average pitcher, giving up a 1.62 WHIP and 4.72 ERA, going 5-6 over 17 starts before a major injury got him likely derailing his career. Not much to this trade as it likely didn't move the needle on the outcome of either team.
Chicago - B. Washington DC - TBD.
Atlanta (114-48) picks up another 1B in Dee Valle (1B) from Washington DC (60-102) for Fautino Salas (RP) + prospect Andres Berrios (SP). Valle was the highest rated 1B according to the blog, nearly doubling the second best option. Berrios spent time again in High A to somewhat decent numbers, we'll keep an eye on his growth next season. Salas on the other hand saved 33/41 opportunities for the Nationals, with a 1.13 WHIP and 3.60 ERA; 120 ERA+ rating. Seems a good trade of needs for the two franchises.
Atlanta - A-. Washington DC - A-
Tokyo (80-82) deals $5M + Abdul Melton (RP) to Atlanta (114-48) for Jackson Benson (C). The money covered all of Melton's contract, who pitched well out of the pen in 42 games (2 starts) for the Champion Expos. Good for a 1.34 WHIP, 4.85 ERA. Not great numbers but he did go 6-1 over that stretch. Benson hit his first year of Arbitration and received nearly full time at-bats, of .288 avg, 34 hr, 70 r, and 94 rbi. Feels like Atlanta should have gotten more for Benson, who really belongs in the AL where he can DH occasionally as he's not the best catcher out there.
Tokyo - A. Atlanta - C+.
Atlanta (114-48) deals prospect Ender Almadova (3B) to Washington DC (60-102) for Rocky Steenstra (3B) + $4M. Once again the money covers the player Atlanta is receiving's payroll. Can't complain about a free player! As a 21 yr old, Almadova made very little growth over the season and doesn't look to ever make the majors. Steenstra only appeared in 104 games, with just as many ABs but he was more of a security blanket in case another starter went down.
Atlanta - A. Washington DC - TBD.
Salt Lake City (96-66) finally moves former S55 #1 pick Ewell Little (P) who had been on the market since the deal he was received from Columbus + former S52 #12 pick Benny Ward (LF) to Dover (62-100) for former S55 #2 pick Bret Cooper (CF) + former S51 #24 pick Ralph Hillenbrand (DH). Hillenbrand was immediately promoted to the major league club where he hit .300 with 30 HR, 75 r, 97 rbi in just shy of 500 ABs. Cooper was later packaged in a deal to Tacoma but we'll cover that shortly. Little remains in the minors and seems never saw a single inning after being traded to Dover? Makes you ask, why trade for them if you aren't going to let him develop. Ward on the other hand didn't see any growth but saw lots of time at the ML level, hitting .296 with 25 hr, 56 r, and 68 rbi. Back to the Cooper swap, he was sent packing as the only player headed back to Tacoma (73-89) for Giancarlo Gutierrez (SS) + Vladimir Domingo (RP) + Mac Villareal (C). Of those players, only Domingo was kept and saw 17 games out of the pend, with a 0.87 whip, and 3.55 era for the team. MUCH better than how he was performing for Tacoma at the time. I believe he enters Arb1 next season, so we'll see what happens. In separate deals just days apart, Gutierrez (SS) was flipped to New Orleans (96-66) with Mike Lobstein (SP) + Roger Stinnet (LF) + Rubi Pujols (SP) + $2.2M for former S53 Co-MVP and constant 200H palyer Juancito Martin (LF) + Josh Hunt (3B). The blog has written about how New Orleans flubbed the deal, Martin had another 200 hit season hitting .332 for the year with 20 hr and 25 sb, while Hunt struggled once going over to SLC but still managed another 100+ rbi season with 35 hr on a .264 average. Stinnett is signed through S59 and produced similar to Hunt's down year without as many stolen bases and less of a glove - taking Martin's place in the OF. Gutierrez likely had a career year once coming over to NO but shouldn't be expected to continue those numbers next year. He'll be under control for quite a few years but doesn't have what it takes to cover Short, so a weak hitting 3B it is. Lobstein appeared in 16 games, as NO went to a tandem rotation, his 1.23 whip and 4.13 era were an improvement on his season with SLC. Under control for one more year, his age 36; we'll see what he continues to do for this Hurricane Dodging team. Lastly, Pujols who made his ML debut this season faired about the same as Lobstein, again in a tandem rotation. Hopefully they figure the rotation out next year.
SLC - A+. Dover - C. Tacoma - TBD. New Orleans - C-.
Oklahoma City (98-64) deals prospect Paulo Rodriguez (LF) to Colorado Springs (52-110) Marshall Banks (SS) + $2.2M. The 2.2M more than covered salary of the defensive gem and former 2x Gold Glove SS. Colorado Springs fans are excited to see Paulo called up next year to the majors to see what he can do for the club as they hope he becomes the next Jorge Johnson. Not likely, but the fans can hope it!
OKC - A. CS - TBD.
Chicago (81-81) sent prospect Grover Kopelove (RP) to Colorado Springs (52-110) for Davey Perez (SP) + $4.8M. Another Cobbfather deal where the player's salary (Perez) was covered in the deal. Kopelove saw some decent growth this season but how much more will he have? This was his 4th professional season and has yet to make it above High A ball. Perez on the other hand is a FA after this season, but performed very well for a Chicago team over 26 starts - 1.28 ERA and a 3.87 ERA going 7-7. I'd say it's a win in sheading the contract, but they paid it; so it was just a dump for a dump on the CS side.
Chicago - A. Colorado Springs - C
Salem (91-71) sent Felipe Hernadez (X) to New Orleans (96-66) for prospect and former S56 #637 pick Socks McEwing (X). This one seems like a complete give away for Bourbon Makers. Perhaps the end to their season was karma driven for this trade? New Orleans has been all over the place but seemed to be in a phase of acquiring starting pitching, and Hernandez started 21 games, going 10-4 with a 1.21 whip, and 3.71 era for New Orleans; much improved from his Salem starts earlier in the season. He'll be a NOHD through S59, though a bit pricey of a contract if you ask us at the blog. His contract was loaded in the middle, so we'd adjust unless an injury happens the $5M S59 is probably worth picking up.
Salem - F?. New Orleans - A+
Houston (108-54) deals prospect and former S54 #91 pick Buster Schotts (CF) to Buffalo (86-76) for prospect and former S50 $189 pick Clay Brow (C). We'll ahve to wait either is called up to the majors to see how this one pays off for either team. Brow being an 8 year pro, is likely the first and seems a solid defensive backup with high pitch calling for a Space Cowboys team
Houston - TBD. Buffalo - TBD.
Houston (108-54) offered prospects S53 #76 pick Steven Walker (1B) + S53 #97 pick Erik Stanley (SS) to New Orleans (96-66) for prospect and DITR Willie Pena (C). Just like the deal prior he seems like a quality defensive replacement with high pitch calling. He'll be fighting Clay 'Eye' Brow for a ML slot next season. Walker isn't likely to turn into anything but maybe a defensive 1B replacement late in the game, Stanley won't stick at SS and doesn't have the bat for the majors. Might never see these two in a NOHD uniform at the ML level.
Houston - TBD. New Orleans - TBD.
Tacoma (73-89) sends $200k + Daniel Barrett (RP) to Salt Lake City (96-66) prospect and former S56 #19 pick Preston Jenkins (SP). Barrett enters Arb next season but should be a useful piece to the Punk! bullpen....if he can perform close to what he was doing in pitcher friendly Tacoma. The 1.81 whip and 6.05 era that he did in 14 games in SLC won't cut it. We'll see what Jenkins does in pitcher friendly Tacoma.
Tacoma - TBD. SLC - B-.
Charleston (66-96) deals Lyle Whitehill (SP) + $1.2M to Salt Lake City (96-66) Sven Peters (2B). Whitehille performed great in Utah, with a 1.19 whip and 2.79 era over 12 starts going 8-2. He's a Free Agent next season, his age 37 season so we'll see if SLC decides to bring him back or not. Either way it was a great run that even saw him winning a post season game. Peters while seeing a few seasons prior at the ML level was in AAA for SLC and continued play at that level for Charleston. We'll see if he's promoted to start the season next year or not.
Charleston - TBD. SLC - B+.
In the final deal of the season we see Felipe Vargas (3B) from Tacoma (73-89) go to Jacksonville (87-75) for prospect and former S49 #118 pick Glenn Dalesandro (RP). Vargas is signed cheaply through S61 at a $1M per season.
Tacoma - TBD. Jacksonville - B.
That about does it for S57's trades.