A’s Trade Former Top Prospects for Jed Lowrie

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Jonathan C. Mitchell

Jed

The Oakland Athletics, in a  move to bolster their major league roster, acquired shortstop Jed Lowrie and right-handed reliever Fernando Rodriguez from the Houston Astros in exchange for catching prospect Max Stassi and former top prospects Chris Carter and Brad Peacock.

The Oakland A’s signed Hiroyuki Nakajima to be their shortstop in 2013 but, before the trade, were slated to give second base duties to Scott Sizemore and third base duties to Josh Donaldson. With none of the three players mentioned above having a proven track record of success in the majors, adding someone like Lowrie, who can play all three positions, was something Billy Beane needed to do for his contending club.
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Baseball Notes for December 31, 2012

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Andrew Martin

Hanley

The holiday season slowed down the hectic MLB offseason, which had operated on full blast for more than a month. Although many free agents have signed with new teams, there is still a lot going on around baseball as 2012 comes to an end.

***It may be the week after Christmas, but it’s never too late to share stories of baseball and good will. Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times wrote about a young fan’s actions and experience of a lifetime while attending a Los Angeles Dodgers’ game earlier this year.

11-year-old Jack Baur (no, not the guy from 24) was sitting in the stands during an August game when he was struck by a bat that slipped from the grasp of Los Angeles third baseman Hanley Ramirez and ricocheted off another child. Fortunately, both youngsters were okay. Security immediately retrieved the bat to return to Ramirez, but new team owner Magic Johnson saw everything transpire and brought autographed balls to the two boys and made sure they weren’t hurt. It turned out that wasn’t the end of the situation. (more…)

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Mets Throw in the Towel for 2013

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Daniel Marino

Dickey

By trading R.A. Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays, Sandy Alderson has officially conceded that the Mets will be in a major rebuild mode and will not contend for the postseason in 2013. By dealing Dickey for a group that includes highly touted players Travis d’Arnaud, and right-hander Noah Syndergaard, Sandy Alderson did well in securing two potential impact players.

Despite not wanting to see Dickey dealt, I have to admit the deal makes sense from a baseball standpoint. But in the process, he traded away 15-20 wins that the 2013 Mets will not be able to recoup. Alderson is conceding the 2013 season, despite his assertion that the Mets are still wanting to win in 2013. Alderson has gone “old school rebuild” with the Mets, and is stockpiling young talent. The question we have to ask is: when will enough be enough, and when will the Mets start complimenting the young talent with major league players? (more…)

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Baseball Notes for December 17, 2012

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Andrew Martin

jham

The baseball offseason is a busy time. Really, no further introduction is needed for the notes from this past week.

***The hyperbole machine has been revved up to a fevered pitch now that the 2013 National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot has gone out and people have started debating the merits of various candidates. I will surely go into who I would vote for at a later time, but for now can offer up these thoughts: (more…)

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Bryan Shaw Overlooked in Indians-Reds-Diamondbacks Trade

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Jonathan C. Mitchell

BShaw2

The Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, and Arizona Diamondbacks completed a three-way trade yesterday that sent Shin-Soo Choo to the Reds, Trevor Bauer, Drew Stubbs, and Bryan Shaw to the Indians, and Didi Gregorious to the Diamondbacks.

The key components of this trade were Choo, Bauer, Gregorious, and Stubbs, for obvious reasons. Choo is an All-Star caliber player, Bauer is a top pitching prospect, Gregorious was highly coveted by Kevin Towers, and Stubbs in a plus defender in center. But Bryan Shaw, who has been completely overlooked, may be a better part of this trade than many people realize. (more…)

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The Reds Acquire Shin-Soo Choo in a Blockbuster Move

Posted on December 11, 2012 by johnczech

In an offseason that has saw the Tampa Bay Rays dump off frontline starters, Jeffery Loria selling anyone in a Miami Marlins jersey making any kind of money to the Toronto Blue Jays, the madness continued on Tuesday night.

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds and the Arizona Diamondbacks have completed a three team trade.

The Indians will acquire Trevor Bauer, Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw from the D-Backs and get Drew Stubbs from the Reds. The Reds receive Jason Donald and Shin-Soo Choo, and the Diamondbacks will get Tony Sipp, Didi Gregorius, and Lars Anderson. (more…)

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Rays Rob the Royals in Blockbuster Trade

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Jonathan C. Mitchell

WilMyers

The Tampa Bay Rays have traded James Shields and Wade Davis to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for the bat they have been in need of in top prospect Wil Myers while also adding even more prospects and pitching depth in Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery, and Patrick Leonard.

Wil Myers, my number two position prospect in all of baseball behind Jurickson Profar, has Evan Longoria‘s ceiling with the bat while adding a plus arm and above-average range in right field. Like Longoria, he will strike out, but he also has the potential to be a perennial 30+ homerun hitter with the chance to hit .300. (more…)

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Baseball Notes for December 10, 2012

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Andrew Martin

ZGreinke

If you happen to follow many baseball writers on Twitter, chances are your timeline was blowing up this past week. With MLB’s winter meetings taking place in Nashville, Tennessee, there was a lot of activity, as more free agents were taken off the market. Heck, there was even some trading going on. It was all part of the dance as we get closer and closer to the start of spring training.

***Perhaps the most shocking move to come out of the winter meetings was the Red Sox giving a three-year, $39 million deal to outfielder Shane Victorino. The Red Sox have publicly declared their new distaste in  giving out large contracts of lengths exceeding more than three or four years. Apparently they are content with grossly overpaying players on shorter-term deals. (more…)

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Phillies Overpay for Ben Revere

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Jonathan C. Mitchell

Revere

The Philadelphia Phillies, desperate for a center fielder, decided not to overpay in cash on a free agent like Michael Bourn and instead opted to overpay in trade to obtain Ben Revere from the Minnesota Twins who adds more young pitching to their organization. (more…)

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Rays Steal Yunel Escobar From Marlins

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Jonathan C. Mitchell

Yunel

The Miami Marlins, desperate to rid themselves of shortstop Yunel Escobar and his $5M salary, have dealt him to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for prospect Derek Dietrich in what looks like a steal of a deal for the Rays.

Yunel Escobar is coming off of his worst offensive season with a career worst 75 wRC+ and .300 on-base percentage. His career marks coming into the 2012 season were 109 wRC+ and a .366 OBP. In fact, from 2007-2011 Escobar had the seventh highest fWAR total among shortstops. (more…)

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