Hache Man
"Seven Days Without Gambling Makes One Weak"
Re: Fantasy Baseball News 2007
The Morning After
While doing my usual morning read-through of the newspapers covering each team, the post-deadline reactions all reeked of frustration and disappointment. Whether buyers or sellers, it seems like nearly every team wanted to get more done at the trading deadline than they were able to. I got the sense that many negotiations simply ran out of the time, to the point that a slew of trades would probably take place if baseball somehow issued an additional 24 hours to deal.
Instead, the biggest trade essentially took place Monday, with the Braves and Rangers simply making their Mark Teixeira-for-prospects swap official in the hours leading up to Tuesday afternoon's deadline (you can read my analysis of the Teixeira deal in yesterday's Daily Dose). While there was far less action than expected this year, we still have an interesting set of trades to breakdown in the wake of the deadline.
* The Red Sox came up empty in their bid for Jermaine Dye when the White Sox declined their final offer of Wily Mo Pena and Craig Hansen, but managed to improve what was already perhaps the league's premiere bullpen by acquiring Eric Gagne from the Rangers. Given what the Rangers were rumored to be asking for from other teams in exchange for Gagne, the seemingly modest package that the Red Sox parted with to get him is somewhat surprising.
Kason Gabbard has pitched well in 66.2 career big-league innings, but profiles as a mid-rotation starter at best and was far from a highly thought of prospect until recently. David Murphy was a first-round pick back in 2003, but his mediocre minor-league track record suggests that he's destined to end up as a fourth outfielder or platoon starter. While not household names, Gabbard and Murphy are guys who many fans are at least familiar with.
The third player in the package for Gagne is a relative unknown named Engel Beltre, a 17-year-old outfielder who was considered one of the top international players available last year before signing with the Red Sox for $600,000. Beltre is a very long way from the majors and has yet to convert his talent into on-field performance in rookie-ball, but his tremendous upside is the reason why the Rangers were willing to accept a package that's light on well-known prospects.
Manager Ron Washington said Tuesday that he plans to split closing duties between Joaquin Benoit, C.J. Wilson, and Frank Francisco. Benoit seems like the clear-cut favorite for saves based on his performance and stuff, but it was actually Wilson who converted the first post-Gagne save Tuesday. Meanwhile, Gabbard leaving Boston means that Jon Lester should stick in the rotation even after Curt Schilling returns from the disabled list in the coming days.
As for Gagne, Boston agreeing to guarantee the remaining $3.6 million in bonuses that he could have earned as a closer in Texas apparently convinced him to waive his no-trade clause to become Jonathan Papelbon's setup man. Gagne's fantasy value takes a massive hit, but he remains one of the game's top setup men and figures to get a few save chances down the stretch when the Red Sox choose to give Papelbon the occasional day off.
* After pulling off the blockbuster trade for Teixeira, general manager John Schuerholz moved to improve the Braves' bullpen by acquiring Octavio Dotel from the Royals and former right-hand man Dayton Moore. Several teams indicated that they felt their offers for Dotel were stronger than what the Royals ended up receiving for him, hinting that perhaps Moore chose to take Kyle Davies in large part because of his familiarity with him from their time together in Atlanta.
Specifically, the Royals and Mariners are said to have discussed a Dotel-for-Wladimir Balentin deal, although conflicting reports make it unclear which side passed. Whatever the case, Davies will immediately step into the Royals' rotation with a tough matchup Friday against the Yankees. A one-time top prospect whose stock has dropped dramatically thanks to injuries and poor pitching over the past two years, Davies remains a potential mid-rotation starter long term.
Dotel joins Bob Wickman and Rafael Soriano in the Braves' bullpen, essentially taking over for the injured Mike Gonzalez in the three-headed, late-inning monster. While he's technically still the closer, Wickman was and is clearly the weak link, and there were reports that the Braves offered him to the Yankees for Kyle Farnsworth. Dotel figures to begin his Braves career in a setup role, but it certainly wouldn't be shocking to see him with some save chances before long.
Meanwhile, Dotel's departure clears the way for Joakim Soria to take over as the Royals' closer. Soria went 10-for-13 converting saves when Dotel was sidelined earlier this season and was picked to reclaim the job over Zack Greinke. With a 2.44 ERA and 51-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 44.1 innings, Soria has pitched very well all season and definitely has the raw stuff to be successful with ninth-inning duties.
* Pittsburgh's acquiring 32-year-old Matt Morris and the $19.5 million he's owed over the next two seasons is an odd move, and it's likely that they'll be vastly overpaying for a 4.50 ERA because the switch won't help Morris hold off his ongoing decline any. To get Morris, the Pirates sent Rajai Davis to the Giants, where he figures to platoon with Dave Roberts in center field. Davis doesn't profile as an everyday player, but has 50-steal potential if he can find regular at-bats.
AL Quick Hits: Sporting a 1-10 record and 8.87 ERA over his last dozen outings following another brutal start Tuesday, Jose Contreras is in danger of being pulled from the rotation ? Alex Rodriguez failed to homer Tuesday, but the Yankees tied a franchise record with eight homers while blowing out Contreras and the White Sox ? Cleared to begin baseball activities, Michael Cuddyer (thumb) is on track to come off the disabled list when eligible Friday ? Reggie Sanders has been diagnosed with another torn hamstring, so the Royals are expected to recall Joey Gathright from Triple-A ? Gary Matthews Jr. smacked two homers and two doubles Tuesday, going deep for the first time since June 17 ? Phil Hughes (hamstring) is scheduled to come off the shelf to start Saturday ? Jamie Walker picked up his fourth save Tuesday, combining with Chad Bradford to record the final six outs ? Manager Bob Geren said Tuesday that the A's have no plans to place Eric Chavez (back) on the DL ? After failing to acquire a veteran hitter before the trading deadline, the Mariners are reportedly close to recalling Adam Jones from Triple-A.
NL Quick Hits: Having lost his starting job thanks to a .156 batting average since mid-June, Rickie Weeks is reportedly headed to Triple-A in a surprising move ? As expected, the Mets placed Carlos Beltran (oblique) on the disabled list Tuesday and will turn to Lastings Milledge as their starting center fielder ? [URL="http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=MLB&id=3586"]Chad Tracy[/URL] (knee) was out of the lineup Tuesday and may miss Wednesday's game as well after receiving two synthetic gel injections ? An MRI showed no new damage, but Randy Wolf (shoulder) has been shut down for two weeks and reportedly could be done for the season ? Tom Glavine tossed six innings of two-hit, one-run ball Tuesday against the Brewers, but failed to record his 300th career victory ? After another strong minor-league rehab appearance Tuesday at Double-A, Kerry Wood (shoulder) could join the Cubs' bullpen as soon as Thursday ? With both Shane Victorino (calf) and Michael Bourn (ankle) heading to the shelf Tuesday, the Phillies may be forced into a Greg Dobbs-Jayson Werth platoon in right field ? Xavier Nady left Tuesday's game after aggravating a hamstring injury.
The Morning After
While doing my usual morning read-through of the newspapers covering each team, the post-deadline reactions all reeked of frustration and disappointment. Whether buyers or sellers, it seems like nearly every team wanted to get more done at the trading deadline than they were able to. I got the sense that many negotiations simply ran out of the time, to the point that a slew of trades would probably take place if baseball somehow issued an additional 24 hours to deal.
Instead, the biggest trade essentially took place Monday, with the Braves and Rangers simply making their Mark Teixeira-for-prospects swap official in the hours leading up to Tuesday afternoon's deadline (you can read my analysis of the Teixeira deal in yesterday's Daily Dose). While there was far less action than expected this year, we still have an interesting set of trades to breakdown in the wake of the deadline.
* The Red Sox came up empty in their bid for Jermaine Dye when the White Sox declined their final offer of Wily Mo Pena and Craig Hansen, but managed to improve what was already perhaps the league's premiere bullpen by acquiring Eric Gagne from the Rangers. Given what the Rangers were rumored to be asking for from other teams in exchange for Gagne, the seemingly modest package that the Red Sox parted with to get him is somewhat surprising.
Kason Gabbard has pitched well in 66.2 career big-league innings, but profiles as a mid-rotation starter at best and was far from a highly thought of prospect until recently. David Murphy was a first-round pick back in 2003, but his mediocre minor-league track record suggests that he's destined to end up as a fourth outfielder or platoon starter. While not household names, Gabbard and Murphy are guys who many fans are at least familiar with.
The third player in the package for Gagne is a relative unknown named Engel Beltre, a 17-year-old outfielder who was considered one of the top international players available last year before signing with the Red Sox for $600,000. Beltre is a very long way from the majors and has yet to convert his talent into on-field performance in rookie-ball, but his tremendous upside is the reason why the Rangers were willing to accept a package that's light on well-known prospects.
Manager Ron Washington said Tuesday that he plans to split closing duties between Joaquin Benoit, C.J. Wilson, and Frank Francisco. Benoit seems like the clear-cut favorite for saves based on his performance and stuff, but it was actually Wilson who converted the first post-Gagne save Tuesday. Meanwhile, Gabbard leaving Boston means that Jon Lester should stick in the rotation even after Curt Schilling returns from the disabled list in the coming days.
As for Gagne, Boston agreeing to guarantee the remaining $3.6 million in bonuses that he could have earned as a closer in Texas apparently convinced him to waive his no-trade clause to become Jonathan Papelbon's setup man. Gagne's fantasy value takes a massive hit, but he remains one of the game's top setup men and figures to get a few save chances down the stretch when the Red Sox choose to give Papelbon the occasional day off.
* After pulling off the blockbuster trade for Teixeira, general manager John Schuerholz moved to improve the Braves' bullpen by acquiring Octavio Dotel from the Royals and former right-hand man Dayton Moore. Several teams indicated that they felt their offers for Dotel were stronger than what the Royals ended up receiving for him, hinting that perhaps Moore chose to take Kyle Davies in large part because of his familiarity with him from their time together in Atlanta.
Specifically, the Royals and Mariners are said to have discussed a Dotel-for-Wladimir Balentin deal, although conflicting reports make it unclear which side passed. Whatever the case, Davies will immediately step into the Royals' rotation with a tough matchup Friday against the Yankees. A one-time top prospect whose stock has dropped dramatically thanks to injuries and poor pitching over the past two years, Davies remains a potential mid-rotation starter long term.
Dotel joins Bob Wickman and Rafael Soriano in the Braves' bullpen, essentially taking over for the injured Mike Gonzalez in the three-headed, late-inning monster. While he's technically still the closer, Wickman was and is clearly the weak link, and there were reports that the Braves offered him to the Yankees for Kyle Farnsworth. Dotel figures to begin his Braves career in a setup role, but it certainly wouldn't be shocking to see him with some save chances before long.
Meanwhile, Dotel's departure clears the way for Joakim Soria to take over as the Royals' closer. Soria went 10-for-13 converting saves when Dotel was sidelined earlier this season and was picked to reclaim the job over Zack Greinke. With a 2.44 ERA and 51-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 44.1 innings, Soria has pitched very well all season and definitely has the raw stuff to be successful with ninth-inning duties.
* Pittsburgh's acquiring 32-year-old Matt Morris and the $19.5 million he's owed over the next two seasons is an odd move, and it's likely that they'll be vastly overpaying for a 4.50 ERA because the switch won't help Morris hold off his ongoing decline any. To get Morris, the Pirates sent Rajai Davis to the Giants, where he figures to platoon with Dave Roberts in center field. Davis doesn't profile as an everyday player, but has 50-steal potential if he can find regular at-bats.
AL Quick Hits: Sporting a 1-10 record and 8.87 ERA over his last dozen outings following another brutal start Tuesday, Jose Contreras is in danger of being pulled from the rotation ? Alex Rodriguez failed to homer Tuesday, but the Yankees tied a franchise record with eight homers while blowing out Contreras and the White Sox ? Cleared to begin baseball activities, Michael Cuddyer (thumb) is on track to come off the disabled list when eligible Friday ? Reggie Sanders has been diagnosed with another torn hamstring, so the Royals are expected to recall Joey Gathright from Triple-A ? Gary Matthews Jr. smacked two homers and two doubles Tuesday, going deep for the first time since June 17 ? Phil Hughes (hamstring) is scheduled to come off the shelf to start Saturday ? Jamie Walker picked up his fourth save Tuesday, combining with Chad Bradford to record the final six outs ? Manager Bob Geren said Tuesday that the A's have no plans to place Eric Chavez (back) on the DL ? After failing to acquire a veteran hitter before the trading deadline, the Mariners are reportedly close to recalling Adam Jones from Triple-A.
NL Quick Hits: Having lost his starting job thanks to a .156 batting average since mid-June, Rickie Weeks is reportedly headed to Triple-A in a surprising move ? As expected, the Mets placed Carlos Beltran (oblique) on the disabled list Tuesday and will turn to Lastings Milledge as their starting center fielder ? [URL="http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=MLB&id=3586"]Chad Tracy[/URL] (knee) was out of the lineup Tuesday and may miss Wednesday's game as well after receiving two synthetic gel injections ? An MRI showed no new damage, but Randy Wolf (shoulder) has been shut down for two weeks and reportedly could be done for the season ? Tom Glavine tossed six innings of two-hit, one-run ball Tuesday against the Brewers, but failed to record his 300th career victory ? After another strong minor-league rehab appearance Tuesday at Double-A, Kerry Wood (shoulder) could join the Cubs' bullpen as soon as Thursday ? With both Shane Victorino (calf) and Michael Bourn (ankle) heading to the shelf Tuesday, the Phillies may be forced into a Greg Dobbs-Jayson Werth platoon in right field ? Xavier Nady left Tuesday's game after aggravating a hamstring injury.