July 29, 2009
Philadelphia Phillies acquire: LHP Cliff Lee and OB Ben Francisco
Cleveland Indians acquire: RHP Jason Knapp, RHP Carlos Carrasco, SS Jason Donald, and C Lou Marson
With the greedy and incompetent Blue Jays GM J.P Riccardi wanting way too much for Roy Halladay, Phils rookie GM Ruben Amaro went out and got the second most desired tradable starter in the majors in 2008 AL Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee. Lee is not having a Cy Young caliber year, compiling a 7-9 record with 3.04 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. However, he’s been hot since the All Star break going 3-0 with a 1.44 ERA. It will be interesting how he pitches at homerun friendly Citizens Bell Park. His batted ball percentages this year are as good as last season:
2008 – GB:45.9%, FB:35.1%
2009 – GB: 43.1%, FB: 35.7%
This suggests that he’s still mainly a ground ball pitcher, as he’s throwing his cutter and changeup way more this year than ever before (CT: 8.5% and CH: 17.7), preparing him for the ‘launching pad’ in Philly.
What’s also interesting is that now the Phillies can go into a series and throw four lefties at you, which is extremely rare in today’s game. It will cause managers to set their lineups differently, and probably negate the effectiveness of some of the better left-handed hitters they’ll face down the road in the playoffs.
Amaro should get major kudos for standing pat and not giving in to Riccardi’s ridiculous demands. Lee is a very accomplished pitcher who figures to pitch well Citizens, and give another veteran presence in the rotation going into the post-season. This deal makes them the odds on favorites to win the World Series.
For the Indians, GM Ron Shapiro should also receive high marks for getting another boatload of very good prospects at the trading deadline. He’s been doing it since 2002 when he traded RHP Bartolon Colon to the Expos for OF Grady Sizemore, 2B Brandon Phillips, and LHP Cliff Lee. He also obtained promising first baseman Matt Laporta and C Carlos Santana last year in separate deals.
This year he nabbed who most scouts believe was the Phillies best pitching prospect in 19 year-old RHP Jason Knapp. Compared to Roy Halladay, he’s been plagued by arm/shoulder problems since signing last year. However, he’s shown a great fastball that sits around the 94-95mph range, and has topped out at 98mph. His huge 6’5” 215 pound frame leads you to believe he could pack on a few pounds and add to that premium velocity. Right now he’s primarily a fastball/curveball pitcher, but if he can harness a 60-65 rated changeup, he could be a very dominant frontline starter. RHP Carlos Carrasco has been a disappointment since his breakthrough 2006 campaign in AA where he went 12-6 with a 2.26 ERA and 159K/65BB ratio. He’s been hovering around the .500 mark as a pitcher, and as an overall competitor ever since. He sports a low 90s two-seam fastball, and a plus changeup that he’ll throw anytime in the count with a very good biting curve with good tilt. One encouraging thing about Carrasco is if you look at his peripheral numbers this year AAA (his second full season there), is that while he’s maintained his high K/9 rate (leads the IL with 112K’s) and cut down his BB/9 rate substantially from years past. If he can learn how to pitch out of trouble he can turn his career around and morph into a Zambrano-type pitcher. Catching is at a premium these days, and Shapiro did well in getting Lou Marson, who profiles to being a very solid hitting catcher with good leadership qualities. Don’t be surprised if he even makes an all star team or two like Jason Kendall did in his early years with the Bucs. The last player in the deal is slick fielding SS Jason Donald, who isn’t having a great year at the plate this year hitting .235/.296/.333, but previous campaigns have shown that he can hit in the upper levels of the minors. His current struggles can be attributed to some injury problems that he’s had to deal with, but he figures to be a Jack Wilson type player anyways. His bat is just secondary to his overall game.
July 29, 2009
San Francisco Giants acquire: 2B Freddy Sanchez
Pittsburgh Pirates acquire: RHP Tim Alderson
With the Giants leading the NL Wild Card race by .5 a game, GM Brian Sabean took the okie-doke and made a deal he’ll regret in the very near future.
2B Freddy Sanchez definitely filled a need, and lets remember, he’s a former NL batting champion and a very solid hitter and fielder who’s committed just 18 errors in the last three seasons. He’s currently sidelined with a minor knee bruise injury, but he should be back soon and will inject some life into the Giants soft lineup. Sanchez is a career .300 hitter will probably hit second in the order to take advantage of his contact hitting ability (84% contact percentage). He has a $8M club option for 2010, and we can see him getting an extension, as the Giants have nothing of note coming up in the system at second base. It’s a good chip, but at what cost? And are the Giants really playoff contenders? They should’ve saved this aggressiveness for next year and beyond.
Pirates fans should be elated that they received a top 50 minor league prospect for a solid player who really didn’t fit their long term plans. The lanky 6’7” 215 RHP Tim Alderson was the Giants 1st rd pick (22nd overall) in the 2007 Draft. Since signing, he’s racked up a 20-6 record in two levels. He seems to always make the right pitches whenever he’s in trouble, which is rare because he rarely walks anyone. Alderson pitches more to contact sporting a low 90s fastball that has some tail on it, along with a good changeup and a plus/plus curveball. He’s as smart as they come pitching to contact, and keeping his fielders involved and minimizing his pitch counts. In order to succeed in the Majors he’s going to have to trust his changeup more. Right now he’s similar to a Aaron Sele, and we could definitely see him being a very good #2-#3 starter on an elite pitching rotation.
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