Quick Hits: Kotsay to the Braves, Indians are now…uh…Progressive?

 The Oakland  Athletics have agreed to trade CF-L Mark Kotsayto the Atlanta Braves in exchange for RHP Joey Devine and Jamie Richmond, pending a physical examination for Kotsay in Atlanta.

Kotsay, 32, will serve as a short-term solution for the win-now Braves as the A’s have agreed to pay over $5 million of the $7.33 million remaining in the final year of a three-year contract extension signed with the A’s in 2006.

I like this move for the A’s who have already tradedRHP Dan Haren and OF/1B-S Nick Swisher in their rebuilding efforts.  They may still move 2B-R Mark Ellis, RHP’s Joe Blanton, Huston Street, Rich Harden and maybe even franchise-face 3B-L Eric Chavez before Spring Training, or early in the 2008 season.

Oakland General Manager Billy Beane has done a great job of rebuilding a farm system that was thin.  Now, their farm system is among the best in the game.  Still, as Blez of Athletics Nation points out, the problem the A’s now face is as much a result on a lack of emphasis on scouting and player development, as portrayed (perhaps exaggerated) in Michael Lewis’ Moneyball, as anything.

As for the Braves, Kotsay will offer a decent lead-off candidate and center field defense if his back holds up, stepping in for long-time Brave centerfielder Andruw Jones.  Kotsay has had trouble staying healthy and in the past three seasons has hit .267/.321/.388.

—————————-

I’m of the belief that the Cleveland Indians are long overdue for a mascot change.  Chief Wahoo is a gross sterotype of Native-Americans, but now to change the name of their field from Jacobs Field to Progressive Field is just strange to me.  David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks points out this irony. 

—————————-

John Sickels rates the Cleveland Indians’ and Colorado Rockies’ farm systems.

Oakland A’s Rebuilding, Trade Nick Swisher to ChiSox

I have to apologize for the long break. Not even a happy New Years message. I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Regular posting shall resume. On to the A’s.

The Oakland Athletics have agreed to send Nick Swisher to the Chicago White Sox for CF Ryan Sweeney, LHP Gio Gonzalez and RHP Fautino De Los Santos. With this move, the A’s have committed to their rebuilding effort fully having traded their two biggest assets in Haren and Swisher, both young and cheap, but neither will fit into their plans for 2010 when they move into their new stadium in Fremont.

Swisher, 27, will be entering his prime and a shift from a pitcher’s park to US Cellular field, a home run hitter’s park, will bode well for him. A solid, on-base driven .900 OPS isn’t out of the question and will provide a significant move for a White Sox team that ranked last in the majors in OBP in 2007. He is set to play center field unless the White Sox pull the trigger and trade 1B Paul Konerko.

Of the package the A’s received, Gonzalez is the prize. The lefty combines a fastball that sits 92-95 with a curve ball with sharp downward break that sits in the low 80’s. Both are regarded as plus pitches. He also has a change up that is quickly improving and will be an important pitch for him at the big league level. He will likely start the season in AAA with the hopes of getting a shot at the rotation in 2008.

Fautino De Los Santos looks like a good find to help bolster Oakland’s lower minors. He will likely start the season in AA.

Ryan Sweeney doesn’t offer much promise as a major leaguer and that’s been fairly evident from his two brief stints. His best season was an .802 OPS in 2006 but he took a step back in 07. Still, he may be able to provide Oakland with a young, cheap outfielder for the years of rebuilding and beyond.

When all is said and done, the White Sox are a little misguided to think they will be able to beat the Cleveland Indians and the Detriot Tigers, but Swisher is a nice addition provided they believe they will compete.

—————————–

Quick Hits

Rumors are nothing more than rumors but a Paul Konerko for Howie Kendrick and Ervin Santana would be a bad move for the Angels. Kendrick is young, cheap and probably already a better hitter than Konerko at second base. Here’s saying Kendrick is the second best 2B in the majors after Chase Utley. The Angels do need a power bat but that would also make defensive wizard 1B Casey Kotchman expendable.

If I were a Major League GM, I’d take a flier on Ervin Santana who would benefit from a change of scenery.

—————————–

The Florida Marlins agreed to terms with Jorge Cantu on a minor league contract. I like this move because Florida is really proving to their fan base that they are committed to winning in Florida. Between Jose Castillo and Cantu, if you combine all their counting stats and add up their rate stats, they might exceed Miguel Cabrera’s production at third.

Detroit Tigers Extend Willis; What About Miguel?

The Detroit Tigers have agreed to terms with left-handed pitcher Dontrelle Willis on a 3-year $29 million contract extension through the 2010 season. There is also an incentive clause which will pay Willis an additional $500,000 if he wins a Cy Young Award. In 2007, Willis made $6.45 million with the Florida Marlins and was set to get a raise in arbitration. Willis would have been a free agent following the 2009 season.

Willis, 25, is coming off of the worst year of his career, pitching 205.1 innings with a 5.17 ERA with 146 strikeouts, 87 walks and 29 home runs with a 10 – 15 record. However, in five seasons with the Marlins, Willis is 68-54 with a 3.78 ERA in 1022.2 IP, with 757 strikeouts and 344 walks.

With Willis, the Detroit Tiger’s rotation will look like this for 2008:

Justin Verlander, RHP -200 IP – 3.80 ERA – 160 K – 70 BB

Jeremy Bonderman, RHP – 180 IP – 4.00 ERA – 180 IP – 60 BB

Dontrelle Willis, LHP – 200 IP – 4.50 ERA – 140 IP – 70 BB

Kenny Rogers, LHP – 80 IP – 4.60 ERA – 40 K – 20 BB

Nate Robertson, LHP – 160 IP – 4.80 ERA – 90 K – 50 BB

Justin Verlander took a step forward in 2007, increasing his K/9 from just shy of 6 to 8.2. That’s what happens when you throw a fastball that sits 95 – 98 mph and hits 100 mph with the slow curve and now a decent circle change. If he remains healthy again in 2008, he will be one to watch. Bonderman, still only 25 years-old, is coming off a disappointing 2007 season that was affected by inconsistency and an elbow injury. At worst, his pitching should be in line with his 2005-06 level. He may finally put it all together this season and ascend to the true ace many (including myself) believe he will be but the injury is bad news. This season, Kenny Rogers will be 43 years-old and only pitched 63 innings in 2007, so they’ll need him to eat up some innings along with Robertson at the back of the rotation because they don’t have many viable options.

Willis is a polarizing pitcher–he is viewed with a great deal of skepticism amongst the statistical community, but he is popular in the media as a former 20-game winner and a major contributor to the Marlins 2003 World Series. I tend to take somewhat of a middle ground when it comes to Willis. Is he the superstar he was in 2005? Surely not, but he isn’t as bad as his numbers reflected last season either. He’s young, durable so far and has decent stuff and is a lefty. He’s an asset to the Tigers even with the extension. After all, he’d probably have been the best pitcher on the market this off-season including Curt Schilling because of innings pitched (although there are no bad one-year deals) and they got him below market value through only his age 28 season.

More importantly, he will step into a team with a much stronger defense than he had last season with with the Marlins without defensive butchers like Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla up the middle and Miguel Cabrera in the infield (oh, wait–Miggy is still there). He also has Granderson patrolling center–one of the better defensive center fielders in the game. Poor defense helps explain his 3.29 BABIP (see McCracken) in 2007, which should see a decline in 08.

My only complaint is they should explore extending Miguel Cabrera before any other player. The deal was a steal but that doesn’t change the endgame. That is a must for them but it may not happen this season.

Diamondbacks Acquire Dan Haren from Oakland Athletics for Six Players

The Arizona Diamondbacks, who were the National League West division leaders in 2007 with a league-leading 90-wins, prepared themselves to stay in the hunt with the re-vamping Los Angeles Dodgers and National League Champion Colorado Rockies for 2008 by acquiring Dan Haren from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for six players.

In Haren, the Diamondbacks are adding an ace to a pitching staff that was fourth in the National League with a 4.13 team ERA. Haren finished 2007 with a career best 15-9 record with a 3.07 ERA with 192 K’s and 52 BB’s in 222.2 IP, good for an ERA+ 137. Haren pitched 2007 in the pitcher-friendly McAfee Coliseum and with the A’s great defense behind him, so moving to Chase Field, his 2008 numbers should be more in line with his 2006-07 performance. However, last year’s improvement does represent a steady improvement Haren has been making over the past three seasons in his command and overall poise as his strikeout rate and homerun rate have steadily improved.

Haren is an aggresive pitcher who attacks hitters with a fastball that sits around 92 mph and occasionally hits 94 mph. He also features a plus split-finger fastball that sits around 86-88 mph as well as a curve ball and change up that are both decent pitches that he locates well. He will step in behind Brandon Webb to form a formidable one-two punch.

Arizona general manager, Josh Byrnes, in an interview with KTAR radio, has this to say of Haren: “He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball, he’s a starter who pitches a lot of innnings, has been durable. He’s the right age and he’s under contract for three years.” Haren is owed $4 million in 2008, $5.5 million in 2009 and has a club option in 2010 for $6.75 million, making him a bargain for the Diamondbacks.

The six players sent to Oakland in the deal include LHPs Brett Anderson, Greg Smith and Dana Eveland, along with OF Carlos Gonzalez and Aaron Cunningham and 1B Chris Carter.

In Gonzalez, the A’s are getting the Diamondbacks #1 prospect, according to Baseball America’s organizational Top-10 list. He hit .288/.336/.478 with 17 home runs in 500 ABs between AA and AAA in 2008. He rated as the organization’s best power hitting prospect, although his plate discipline still needs work. He may end up playing for Oakland as soon as early 2008. Anderson was Arizona’s second round pick in 2006 and is a few years away, but he had a strong showing in his pro debut, posting a 3.07 ERA between A ball and advanced A ball with a 125 Ks and 21 walks in 120.1 IP. He was rated by Baseball America as the D-Backs #3 prospect going into 2008 and as the organizations best control pitching prospect as well as possessing the best slider. Cunningham and Carter rated as the organization’s 7th and 8th best prospects respectively.

This move was made in conjunction with trading closer Jose Valverde to the Houston Astros for RHP Chad Qualls and 2B/OF Chris Burke. Valverde was set to get a pay raise in arbitration after leading Major League Baseball with 47 saves and was under club control for 2008-09.

In Qualls, they get a reliable bullpen arm who will be under control for Arizona for another three seasons. Burke once looked like a promising second base prospect with plus speed and great plate discipline, but he never got to take over at secondbase with incumbent Craig Biggio sticking around until this past season before retiring. He will step in as a utility player and possible replacement for Orlando Hudson, who is in his final year before hitting free agency. It will be interesting to see if Burke can reach the potential many saw for him a few years back, now 28, coming off a rough 2007 season and averaging only around 330 ABs for the past three seasons.

On trading Valverde, Byrnes had this to say:

“The two deals work hand-in-hand. The only hesitation with the Oakland deal was it reduced our depth and flexibility which served us so well. The Houston deal brough that right back. It’s hard to replace Jose Valverde, but we have the kind of guys who can do it. On some level, we have to believe in talent and often success in the 7th and 8th inning can translate into success in the 9th.”

In 2008, the Diamondbacks rotation will look like this:

1. Brandon Webb, RHP

2. Dan Haren, RHP

3. Doug Davis, LHP

4. Randy Johnson, LHP

5. Micah Owings, RHP

This looks like a pretty solid rotation and with the depth the Diamondbacks have, their rotation will stack up with that of the Dodgers and Padres. Their bullpen will be in flux, with the closer uncertain but may look something like this:

1. CL – Tony Peña, RHP

2. SU – Chad Qualls, RHP

3. SU – Brandon Lyon, RHP

4. MRP – Juan Cruz, RHP

5. MRP – Doug Slaten, LHP

6. MRP – Dustin Nippert, RHP

7. LRP – Yusmeiro Peit, RHP

Their bullpen may run into some trouble as some at the back-end of the rotation like Pena and Lyon had performances in 2007 that were well ahead of their strikeout and walk rates.

Still, with the addition of Haren, the Diamondbacks are set to make a run at a Championship for the next two or three seasons as their youth movement and rebuilding efforts have culminated, leading up to this team. They will be a team to watch in 2008.

 

For more information on the trade, be sure to check out Jim McLennan’s write up over at AZ Snakepit–always a great read on all things Diamondbacks.