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Transaction Oracle— A Timely Look at Transactions as They Happen
Sunday, April 04, 2004
Los Angeles Dodgers
Acquired OF Milton Bradley from the Cleveland Indians for OF Franklin Gutierrez.
The Dodgers needed a hitter, so that’s what they went out and got. Bradley’s not Bonds material, but the Dodgers offense was so bad last year that marginal offensive runs have nifty value and it’s not like Juan E’s arrival was going to be a huge help.
The Indians didn’t come out of this empty-handed, far from it, despite their announcement that they had to trade Milton before the season started. Gutierrez is a very interesting prospect with a lot of talent. 282/345/513 isn’t jaw-dropping, but a 20-year-old doing that in Vero Beach is mighty impressive. He had a great cup of coffee in AA ball and should start there this year. Young outfield depth is a plus for the Indians, so they won’t surh him.
Dan Szymborski
Posted: April 04, 2004 at 09:07 PM | 21 comment(s)
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This is therefore a pretty good deal for the Dodgers even if he only pinch hits, and he's capable of doing more than that.
Sit on the bench, where he belongs.
Stop, my sides, they're killing me. Oh, I can't take it, you're too much.
Nice projections though.
Hey STIFFY,
I'll be here to mock your every move. OH... I forgot. You don't move, you're statuesque! :-) ...
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He didn't get playing time because the A's are overloaded with AAAA talent, and it was other guys getting the major league ABs.
Remeber that over the last two years when Grabowski was hanging around witht he A's they have had Greg Myers (2002) and Adam Melhuse (2003) as AAAA lefty catchers, who hit quite well in their limited time. There wasn't much need for Grabowski.
He should be quite usefull at the major league level, there just wasn't room in Oakland. Especially in LA, where a (potentially) league average lefty bat could be a significant improvement.
...I forgot to mention the following lefties around the diamond holding Grabowski back: Chavez at 3B, Hatteberg and Durazo at 1B, Long, Singleton, and McMillon in the OF. That's why he wasn't gettting the ABs.
Not a star, but a potentially useful player. Especially for the Dodgers, who had no lefthander on the bench. Plus Grabowski (and now Jayson Werth) can be an emergency catcher, allowing Tracy to use Lo Duca or Ross as pinchhitters, if need be. Basically, he adds significantly to the Dodger bench.
Last year was probably the first healthy one Frasor's had since his surgery, and he looked very good. But he was going to be the #2 or 3 reliever for the Dodgers in AAA (behind Colyer and possibly Brazoban) so he was tradeable. He has three options left, so the Jays should get good use out of him for the next few years at least.
Also hes a Springfield, IL area guy so I have to root for him.
I think the Jays could've gotten more for Werth, but this might be a payoff for some other past/future favor, so I guess it's understandable on that level.
Ouch!
It's been a bit spottier lately. With the new site stuff and previews to look over and projections to double-check, I've been a bit hit-and miss.
The Romano for Antonio Perez trade is a big win for the Dodgers, imo. Perez gives the Dodgers depth in middle infielders in AAA, and if Cora flounders again with the bat may become the Dodger starting 2b by this summer. Romano had a nice spring, but over the past few years basically looked like a decent backup - and the Dodgers had traded for a better one earlier this week. In effect, they've traded Jason Frasor for an upgrade in backup outfielders and Antonio Perez, which is an excellent trade.
Encarnacion, Bradley, Green, Beltre, LoDuca isn't *that* bad as an offensive core... and to think I got excited for a second.
I guess it all comes down to a question of whether you'd rather have Roberts or Ventura in the lineup. I'd say Roberts, especially since without him the Dodgers lack anything resembling a leadoff hitter. (Actually, Bradley would be the closest thing to it.)
I'm still waiting for the Graham Koonce trade so we can dump Ventura.
Since when is someone who plays seven positions and puts up a 105 OPS+ not a good player?
He ain't the second coming of Babe Ruth, but he is an excellent player and a commodity of some value.
That said, I'm still happy with this trade from L.A.'s perspective.
I wouldn't go overboard just yet. It's starting to resemble one, but it ain't there yet, not by a long shot.
For this season, things still need to go right for the Dodgers, but their offense could be up to snuff again. If Bradley plays close to as well as last season, but without the injuries, and Green (who apparently will play first) rebounds, and Encarnacion does okay, and the catching combo stays fresh (more likely now that Lo Duca will get real days off, instead of playing first) and Beltre can hit for a full season, the Dodgers should be solid offensively. A lot of ifs, but today at least the odds went down appreciably.
Actually, I was wondering what people thought of the quality of his defense at various positions. No question this trade is stupid, but it could help the M's a little this year if his defense is strong enough.
That was a big part of the reason why he was traded. The Dodgers picked up Jose Hernandez as a nri this offseason, and he can actually play shortstop for an extended period, and his average offense is better than Cabrera's too. Plus Hernandez wouldn't have gotten the Dodgers two pitching prospects.
Now it could be argued that Cabrera would improve defensively with more regular playing time, although it's unlikely that the improvement would be that huge. But even if Cabrera improved some defensively, he is likely to regress offensively, and Cora is likely to improve at least some from his off year - and if not, well, the Dodgers traded for a second baseman likely to be better than either of them anyway.
That's my move!
Seriously though, one of the great songs of all time.
I think that list is dead on. The only name that springs to mind as a possible addition is Chuck Tiffany. The June 30th date suggests to me that at least 1 2003 draftee is on the list; I believe Andy LaRoche signed later in the summer so I assume he's not on it.
If the PTBNL is one of these three (or four) this is a very good deal. I was worried that the Indians would wind up with Duchscherer or something like that (and I like Duchsherer) but this is a good talent haul. Plus it gives Escobar an opportunity to be play most everyday at the major league level, while also allowing Crisp to get some time aas a 4th OF.
From what I've read, Shapiro seems to suggest that DePodesta made the offer on Sunday, but it seems... prescient that he had just traded two AA outfielders in the last week.
The fact that Shapiro was able to generate this sort of a talent haul when he had to trade Bradley, combined with getting the Mets to pay (reportedly) over $1 million for Ricky Gutierrez, I think bodes well for the possibility of getting rid of Lawton, and/or getting something for Omar (if he waives his no-trade). I realize there are other GMs with more of a history of success, but I don't know that I'd want any other GM for my favorite team.
Good point, and one I probably failed to consider, as I have been in such a ?Trade Lawton? place for the last few months (years?). While being in that place, I also envisioned Bradley as being a part of your 2005 Indians.
Now that I?ve given it more thought, I still think that there?s value in trading Lawton, assuming we get enough financial relief back. And I feel that way for two reasons:
1) Finances. For the sake of argument, let?s say at the 2004 trading deadline Shapiro trades Lawton for a 26 year old backup A ball catcher. The Tribe picks up all of Lawton?s 2004 salary, while the acquiring team agrees to pay all of his 2005 salary (as an aside ? is this realistic? Dunno, but probably depends on how well Lawton plays this year). Net gain to the Indians - $ 7 M in 2005, money that can be used to sign a Free Agent this offseason.
2) We still have some OFs that can use the time in LF, and would benefit from the experience. Escobar, Crisp, Ludwick, Luis Garcia, and Sizemore come to mind ? one of whom will have to be the starting CF for the remainder of the year. Now if all of these names are struggling in Buffalo or Cleveland or are hurt, I wouldn?t leap into trading Lawton; I also wouldn?t trade Lawton and say, pick up 13 of the 14 million still owed to him. But if my situation manifests itself ? and assuming Lawton is healthy (big assumption) I think it?s likely ? I would make the trade. The acquiring team ? for $7M ? gets 1.5 seasons out of a pretty decent OF, with very good on base skills and decent pop.
I feel the same way about trading Vizquel, although I realize there are some PR implications to th
I feel the same way about trading Vizquel, although I realize there are some PR implications to that; Peralta or Phillips would have to be doing awesome in Buffalo.
I know you were all on the edge of your seats wondering about that.
Omar I think is untouchable, unless the team has tanked by the deadline and fans are simply apathetic. That's obviously not a good thing--I really wish he hadn't screwed up his physical. Guillen isn't any worse and makes like 40% of Purple Suit Man.
Rotating Ludwick-Escobar-Crisp through one outfield spot is unreasonable, and Sizemore-Gutierrez-Cooper are going to be knocking on the door awfully soon. Corey Smith is still a horrible defensive thirdbaseman, and he might need to be moved to the outfield. After Aubrey is ready, we might want to put Broussard in the outfield.
I personally expect three of Crisp/Sizemore/Escobar/Gerut/Ludwick/Smith/Cooper/Gutierrez/Broussard to be better than Lawton by 2005. Lawton remaining in the lineup now hurts our ability to figure out which three.
Trading Lawton nowish would be for Crisp/Escobar/Ludwick. We need to find out if they can really play, because we've got 2 great outfield prospects inbound. Lawton eats ABs that could provide valuable information.
You've got to be kidding!
Cabrera .770 OPS 105 OPS+
Even if you downgrade the value of Cora's defense, it still was huge. Cabrera is a fine utility player, but he really doesn't field well enough to be a regular middle infielder, at least as far as I've seen.
So in terms of Cabrera and Cora, we have Cora with a down year at the bat still being as valuable as Cabrera, having a career year, thanks to defense. And I trust Cora's defense to be as good going forward more than I trust Cabrera's offense to stay as high. For that matter, I expect Cora's offense to be at least a little improved - not that that's saying very much.
Not that EITHER should be a long term solution at second. I'm hoping that Antonio Perez gets off to a good start in Vegas and gets a shot. The scouts say he is very good defensively at second, although I don't think he showed it last year in his fairly brief opportunity.
I hope it's not Paul Young...I hated that damn "Everytime You Go Away" song.
C'mon M's fans, I realize they may be overpaying here but for the longest while the complaint against the Ms was that they were too stingy with their stable of solid minor league arms. Now they deal some of the lesser ones and they get shot at, although not wholly undeservingly.
I'd rather see the M's hoard their arms than trade them for replacement level players (especially if they refuse to play the replacement level player over a below replacement level one).
By why do you (and Eric, and others) insist on evaluating Cabrera based on last year alone? Why do you ignore the rest of his record? At the age of 31, in almost 1000 plate appearences, he's posted a career OPS+ of 71--including his pretty good performance last year. Good and flexible defense is necessary for him to attain the level of replacement player.
I'm guessing Billingsley wasn't on the list, because we would've taken him if he was.
Hanrahan, Brown, and like Delwyn Young or Abercrombie.
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