Phil Rogers…Phil Wood…Phil Ippic.
Also, national baseball writer Phil Rogers of the Tribune syndicate predicts in his Sunday column that the Nationals will sign free agent outfielder Vladimir Guerrero: “Washington has enough money to bring back the eight-time All-Star to his original franchise, making it more acceptable to trade Adam Dunn for some badly needed pitching.”
Hmmm. Interesting theory. Guerrero is a likely future Hall of Famer, coming off a season where he appeared in only 100 games, due to a number of nagging injuries, including a strained pectoral muscle. Out of those games, he played only two in the field, DH’ing in the rest. Most scouts who’ve seen Guerrero the past couple of years don’t believe he can be an effective defensive player anymore, despite his past reputation.
I have to ask why the Nats would want to sign an aging (35 in February) slugger who’s far more suited to playing bat in the American League? He made $15 million last year, and would likely want that much or more to sign with anyone. He’s not a first baseman, and trading Dunn would open a hole on the right side of the infield. Guerrero has never walked much, and even though his career OPS is somewhat higher than Dunn’s, how much does he really have left?
As for trading Dunn, who’s going to trade a top-of-the-rotation starter for him? I think you might get a handful of prospects, but the Nationals already have several high ceiling pitching prospects in their farm system. You can never have too many of those guys, I know, but if Dunn’s to be traded, I think you’ve got to get something of immediate value, not simply potential.
Repoz
Posted: November 24, 2009 at 03:13 AM |
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1. Juan V Posted: November 24, 2009 at 03:23 AM (#3395170)They do?
Ah, that's right. The company line is that we're loaded with pitching. Forgot about that. Time to trade some of that excess off. Who wants JD Martin or Colon Battlestar?
"To most professional scouts, "high ceiling" means simply "major league." Nothing more tnan that. So, with that definition, yes, most, not all, of the names you mention are considered high ceiling"
Oh. I guess every prospect in professional baseball is above average.
At least all the ones from Lake Wobegon are.
Why would the Nats get a good haul (be it prospects or ML players) for Dunn? He's only got one year left on the contract. Nobody else wanted him a year ago at 2/$20, you expect them to give up significant talent for him now?
If the Yanks let both Damon and Matsui go, I could see them being interested in Dunn. Maybe the Angels or Rangers. Detroit is apparently in cost-cutting mode, I suppose the White Sox might see him as a Thome replacement. I assume everyone in the NL will stay away.
"To most professional scouts, "high ceiling" means simply "major league." Nothing more tnan that. So, with that definition, yes, most, not all, of the names you mention are considered high ceiling"
Given the quality of their ML roster, I'd imagine the Nats have a lot of "high ceiling" prospects.
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