BBTF's Transaction Oracle Discussion :: Nats - Acquired Willingham and Olsen

Transaction Oracle
— A Timely Look at Transactions as They Happen

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Nats - Acquired Willingham and Olsen

Washington Nationals - Acquired LF Josh Willingham and P Scott OlsenEmilio Bonifacio, P P.J. Dean, and 2B-OF Jake Smolinski

A very nice pickup for the Nationals. Willingham is no star and is a poor bet to age well long-term, but he's a good, average bat for a team that couldn't find any, as practically every National but Cristian Guzman underperformed offensively this season. Perhaps Guzman still played well because he's a see ball-hit ball player that Lenny Harris couldn't screw up? Olsen's been disappointing and a general pain in the ass, but he's also just going to be 25 for 2009.

The Nats don't give up too much. Bonifacio is unlikely to hit enough to ever be a starter. Dean's very young and has a solid fastball/curve/change, but he's yet to pitch in a full-season league and a lot of guys like that fall off the radar as they move to the higher-A leagues. Smolinski is generally athletic and has a strong arm, but he's injured a lot, doesn't really have a defensive position he really excels at, and has displayed very little power so far. Dean in particular could come back to the haunt the Nats, but the odds are against it.

2009 ZiPS Projection - Scott Olsen
-----------------------------------------------------------------
            W   L   G  GS   IP    H   ER  HR  BB  SO   ERA   ERA+
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2009        8  13  33  33  192  207  101  27  64 127   4.73   93 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Opt. (15%) 12  10  34  34  208  200   88  26  57 155   4.19  115  
Pes. (15%)  6  12  27  27  151  180   94  24  59  90   5.60   78
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Top Comps:  Bill Travers, Randy Lerch

2009 ZiPS Projection - Emilio Bonifacio
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              AB   R   H  2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB   SO  SB   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS+
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009         545  67 138  20   4   2   45  34  109  28 .253 .296 .316   64 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Opt. (15%)   602  85 164  25   5   3   56  41  111  41 .272 .318 .346   78 
Pes. (15%)   525  47 126  17   3   1   39  30  108  24 .240 .280 .290   53 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top Comps:  Derrel Thomas, Luis Oforthreevas

2009 ZiPS Projection - Josh Willingham
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              AB   R   H  2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB   SO  SB   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS+
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009         424  60 112  24   3  18   64  47   93   3 .264 .356 .462  116 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Opt. (15%)   476  78 135  29   4  24   81  59   96   6 .284 .382 .513  136 
Pes. (15%)   378  40  93  19   2  14   50  38   91   2 .246 .332 .418   98 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top Comps:  Roy Sievers, Al Smith (the baseball player)

Dan Szymborski Posted: November 11, 2008 at 12:49 PM | 10 comment(s)
Related News: Florida, Washington

Reader Comments and Retorts

Go to end of page

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

Page 1 of 1 pages

1. Der Komminsk-sar Posted: November 11, 2008 at 01:24 PM (#3006891)

No comments on Olsen, Dan?
So - what salaries do we project for the two new Nats?

2. mcopeland Posted: November 11, 2008 at 01:33 PM (#3006901)

Bold projections.

3. zenbitz Posted: November 11, 2008 at 01:34 PM (#3006903)

4. zenbitz Posted: November 11, 2008 at 01:35 PM (#3006904)

Probably my most useful post ever

5. As foretold by the prophesy (JFSE) Posted: November 11, 2008 at 01:37 PM (#3006908)

That's a lot of </b>bolding...

6. zonk Posted: November 11, 2008 at 01:51 PM (#3006921)

Perhaps Guzman still played well because he's a see ball-hit ball player that Lenny Harris couldn't screw up?

I understand why career pinch-hitters like Lenny Harris get hitting coach jobs - but it would seem that such career paths don't usually turn out well. I'm thinking of Richie Hebner and Greg Gross among others.

I would think that the fundamental approach of a pinch-hitter - perhaps a role where a hacker of the Harris/Hebner/Gross type actually does make sense - wouldn't be well-suited to lineup and roster as a whole.

7. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: November 11, 2008 at 01:59 PM (#3006928)

"Luis Oforthreevas"

Argh, it burns.

8. ECBucs Posted: November 11, 2008 at 02:17 PM (#3006952)

At one time Hebner had the best plate discipline of anyone on the Pirates.

9. Who wants Teixeira dessert? Posted: November 12, 2008 at 12:00 PM (#3007508)

Willingham could certainly act like a ballplayer.

10. Sean McNally Posted: November 12, 2008 at 02:57 PM (#3007706)

Al Smith (the baseball player)

For a second, I thought Willingham was being projected as a darkhorse candidate against David Patterson in 2010.

Page 1 of 1 pages

You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.

<< Back to main

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Nats - Acquired Willingham and Olsen

Reader Comments and Retorts

Reader Comments and Retorts

Support BBTF

My Bookmarks

Hot Topics