Yanks & Red Sox(?) Add Bats At Trading Deadline
Posted by Steve L. on July 31st, 2009 · Comments (24)
Reports say that the Boston Red Sox have traded for Victor Martinez.
To counter that move, Yankees G.M. Brian Cashman has called up Shelley Duncan.
O.K., I’m joking a bit here…but the player moves have been reported.
Still, that made me laugh.
According to the Fox report, neither Buchholz nor Bard would be part of the deal. How can Cleveland give up their best player and not get back Boston’s top two prospects? I know Mark Shapiro’s an idiot but, really?
So, if its true – and Masterson is the guy from the major league roster who goes, what do my Yankee friends think? Let’s assume that V-Mart is going to play 5 days a week – spelling Youkilis, Papi, Lowell (Youk switching over) and Varitek on some sort of rotation or based on who is ice cold at a given time. Is this a game-changer?
No doubt Martinez hits, and probably hits pretty well at Fenway. Its still not making him an everyday guy though, so in that way its not a huge change in the lineup. If he could play RF and put Drew on the bench, that would change the lineup.
Bottom line for me is I am OK with the cost, as no one knows what Hagadone turns out to be, and while Masterson had value for his flexibility, after his struggles this year, I wasn’t so sure if those Derek Lowe comparisons were apt. To reach that level, he’d have to show better results as a starter.
For next year it will be interesting to see how V-Mart is used. Do they dump Lowell on whoever will take him (Henry picking up the salary or most of it)?
From ESPN:
“The Red Sox would send right-hander Justin Masterson, 23-year-old left-hander Nick Hagadone of Class A Greenville and a third prospect to Cleveland in exchange for Martinez, sources told ESPN.”
That’s a comically poor return for Victor Martinez. Cleveland doesn’t know what it’s doing and should be ashamed of itself. Masterson is a relief pitcher. You trade the best hitter at the deadline for a freakin’ relief pitcher?
I don’t understand why Cleveland settled for this package. They know that Boston is desperate for hitting. Had to include Buccholz and/or Bard.
FWIW, Masterson has the ability to start, he was relieving for the Sox due to their depth.
Having said that, nice move for the Sox. On top of that, they were able to flip LaRoche for Kotchman.
Adam LaRoche for Casey Kotchman? Sox got a steal there.
ken wrote:
I don’t know if it’s accurate to say that, the Red Sox were 4th in the league in runs per game, a touch behind the Rays.
I don’t understand why Kotchman is a steal. LaRoche strikes me as a better hitter, and he’s still a third-string first baseman now. If he has options and can be sent to Pawtucket, fine. Otherwise, why do the trade? They need to make a bullpen move now anyway, so either Kotchman gets flipped too or he must be eligible to be optioned down. I am thinking Bowden gets the call to replace Masterson.
And by the way, those two prospects were first round picks with a lot of upside. Granted there’s no such thing as a pitching prospect, but these are highly regarded young pitchers. If they live up to their potential, this trade could look very different in three years.
Kotchman is a ball player. You’ll see. You’ll like him.
FWIW, Masterson has the ability to start, he was relieving for the Sox due to their depth.
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Debatable that Masterson has the ability to start. He’s a 5th starter at best and better suited to a middle relief role.
Indians are poorly run and ought to be ashamed of themselves.
When will I see? Does he play first over V-Mart when Youk sits or plays 3B?
FoxSports is saying that Kotchman is great with the glove and the Sox would have better defense if he played first and Youkilis went to third, and then V-Mart gets most of his ABs at catcher and DH.
The only reason this makes sense to me is if Theo figures that he can get Lowell through waivers. No one would claim him unless they want him because he’s owed a lot of money for next season. I’m not saying he’d be easy to trade, but if Theo decided to cut ties and was willing to pay enough salary, its the one way to clear this logjam of starting players.
But what I still don’t get is that they traded for a guy who is an everyday player without clearing space on the roster for him to play, then added another everyday player to create an even bigger logjam.
Before the deadline:
1B: Youkilis, LaRoche
3B: Lowell, Youkilis
DH: Ortiz
C: Varitek
After the deadlin:
1B: Youkilis, V-Mart, Kotchman
3B: Lowell, Youkilis
DH: Ortiz, V-Mart, Kotchman(?)
C: Varitek, V-Mart
Its more of a cluster-you-know-what than before!
MJ wrote:
He was a decent starter last year before they moved him to the pen, where he was ultimately getting critical outs as one of the most important bridges to Papelbon (in other words, not your average middle-reliever). Granted this year he regressed, but he is still only 24, and has been stuck in a swing-role in the majors.
How can you be complaining about logjams when the Cleveland Indians just let you rape them for the ridiculously low cost of a middle reliever?
Who cares what you do with Lowell and Varitek. Eff ‘em both. Boston’s best team is one that has Youk and V-Mart in the lineup every day.
He was a decent starter last year before they moved him to the pen, where he was ultimately getting critical outs as one of the most important bridges to Papelbon (in other words, not your average middle-reliever). Granted this year he regressed, but he is still only 24, and has been stuck in a swing-role in the majors.
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Meh…most scouts see him as a back-end guy. He’s certainly a valuable arm in the bullpen and I’m not knocking him. I’m simply saying that V-Mart should cost more than a freakin’ 4th starter type (ceiling) who is better suited to a 2-inning relief appereance every couple of days.
MJ wrote:
I wouldn’t dismiss him as a 5th starter just yet. I think he may be starting for the Indians. On top of that, I don’t think Martinez is as good as you think.
Raf wrote:
he kills the yankees though, and now he’s going to get an opportunity to kill them even more
Martinez is a whole lot better than Varitek with a bat, and he certainly isn’t bad behind the plate. I bet he gets the lion’s share of the starts as catcher, and Varitek ends up on the bench. Boston only brought Varitek back this year because they couldn’t find anyone else during the spring.
OnceIWasAYankeeFan wrote:
Seems pretty obvious to me that it’s all about depth. And it cuts into Lowell’s, Varitek’s and Ortiz’s playing time.
This is no different from the mixing and matching the Red Sox did in the mide-late 90′s
I don’t think Martinez is as good as you think.
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Explain.
Any catcher that has a career 118 OPS+ is every bit as good as I think, especially when you consider that he deepens Boston’s lineup.
MJ wrote:
He has been catching less games, and even this year his OPS has been declining month by month
1.082
.881
.802
.530
To boot, he’s coming off a bad year.
Steve Lombardi wrote:
I dunno about that, they seem to be pretty close from a WAR standpoint.
Raf wrote:
Yeah, when I saw his June and July numbers, I realized he’s going to fit right in with the rest of the shlubs.