Pirates All In; Dodgers Gamble Big - Gary Armida's Blog

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Gary Armida's Blog

Pirates All In; Dodgers Gamble Big Stuck

Posted on July 25, 2012 at 09:49 AM.

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If you go to bed early, you likely missed that the Pittsburgh Pirates not only made a deal to strengthen their rotation for the remainder of the season, but also made a commitment until after the 2014 season. It is a clear signal to their fans that the Pirates are taking this run seriously and are at the point where they expect to compete over the next five seasons. It doesn�t matter if they gave up too much to get Wandy Rodriguez; it is good for Baseball to have the Pirates competing not only on the field, but in the race to get better before the trade deadline.

And, even if you go to bed at a late hour it is possible that you missed the Miami Marlins trading Hanley Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Marlins are no longer re-tooling their roster. They are in fire sale mode, which is disappointing considering their winter free agent spending spree. But, this is what the Marlins do. It�s easy to say that it was time for Hanley Ramirez to go; it surely was a couple of seasons ago. But, the Marlins have dealt three of their better players and are shopping ace Josh Johnson. They are doing what they normally do without the whole winning the World Series thing.

With Cole Hamels reportedly re-signing with the Phillies and Alex Rodriguez on the disabled list for the next six weeks, the trade market is getting more interesting by the day. Tuesday night into Wednesday morning was just another reason why baseball is the greatest sport.

The Houston Astros trade Wandy Rodriguez and cash considerations to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Rudy Owens, Colton Cain, and Robbie Grossman.

The Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow has certainly torched his roster. One can say that the Astros have been in rebuild mode for a number of years, perhaps since they dealt Lance Berkman to the Yankees. But, trading Berkman and Roy Oswalt was about saving money and not being able to re-sign them. But, Luhnow�s rebuild has been about selling off any player who isn�t in the long term plans of the organization. Wandy Rodriguez was the latest to go. For the default ace, the Astros received three prospects. None of the prospects are elite level, but they add to the talent base that Luhnow has worked hard to build this month.

The most interesting prospect acquired is outfielder Robbie Grossman. The 22 year old switch hitter has a skill set that few hitters his age bring to the table. Last season, in high A-ball, Grossman hit .294/.418/.451 with 34 doubles, 2 triples, 13 homeruns, 56 RBI, and 24 stolen bases. Grossman walked 104 times compared to 111 strikeouts. This season, in double-A, he is currently hitting .262/.374/.403 with 20 doubles, 4 triples, 7 homeruns, 35 RBI, and 9 stolen bases. He has walked 58 times and has struck out 78 times. A young hitter who can draw walks has value. The Astros are void of high end offensive prospects so adding someone of Grossman�s skillset does help. He doesn�t project to be a star, but a player who can get on base and has some power is an asset.

Rudy Owens is a 6�3� southpaw is who 24 years old and in his second season at triple-A. After a dominant year at double-A, Owens struggled at triple-A during the 2011 season. This season has been much different. In 19 starts, he has pitched 119 innings and has posted averages of 8.6 H/9, 0.8 HR/9, 1.9 BB/9, and 6.5 K/9. He's not elite, but he has demonstrated excellent control and the ability to keep the baseball in the park. A middle to back end of the rotation candidate, Owens could see some time in Houston this season. His strikeout ability may prevent him from having sustained success, but his control makes him an interesting pitching prospect. Colton Cain is another 6�3� southpaw pitching prospect. The 21 year old is pitching at the High-A ball level and has demonstrated a very good hit rate (7.6 H/9), a solid walk rate (2.9 BB/9), and a decent strikeout rate (7 K/9). He is still years away from reaching Houston, but his work thus far in his three year career is intriguing. The Astros didn�t get elite talent, but they have continued a remarkable re-stocking of their farm system that has been barren.

The Pirates exchanged three of their mid-level prospects for the 33 year old southpaw Wandy Rodriguez. Rodriguez has been the de facto ace for the Astros, but he will slide into the third or fourth spot in the Pirates rotation, a role he is better suited for. This season, he is 7-9 with a 3.79 ERA in 130.2 innings. He is averaging 9.2 H/9, 0.9 HR/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 6.1 K/9. While his hits allowed is up and his strikeouts are down, Rodriguez is still a quality Major League pitcher. His 3.77 FIP demonstrates that he is pitching as well as his ERA indicates. Hitters are making about three percent more contact against him this season, but his velocity hasn�t diminished.

Rodriguez will help bolster a rotation that has carried the Pirates throughout the season. The durable left hander also helps insure that the Pirates can remain in the race in case one of their pitchers such as AJ Burnett or Erik Bedard miss time. The Pirates still need to add a bat to stay in this race, but adding a solid pitcher pitcher who is familiar with the league and who has had success within the division is important. Even more significant is the fact that the Pirates have acquired a player who will be with them for 2013 and 2014. They will pay about $17 million of the $30-plus million Rodriguez is owed, assuming that Rodriguez exercises his player option in 2014. It is a signal that the Pirates are no longer sellers and that they have a core of talent in place to win on a regular basis. They may have slightly overpaid for Rodriguez, but they had to improve the team to stay in the race. Adding a durable pitcher does that. This isn�t the same type of thing they did last year when they traded for Derek Lee and Ryan Ludwick. They made a commitment and didn�t let money get in the way.

The Miami Marlins trade Hanley Ramirez and Randy Choate to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Nathan Eovaldi and Scott McGough.

The Dodgers are in desperate need of offense. They rank 12th in the National League in runs scored and 15th in on base percentage. They are now 1.5 games behind the Giants for the division lead. With Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier back, the Dodgers needed offense. In theory, they addressed that need with the surprise acquisition of Hanley Ramirez. It was only a few years ago when Ramirez was said in the same breath as Albert Pujols. Many were asking if Ramirez was the better player. But, the 28 year old is on a three year decline and is hitting just .246/.322/.430 with 18 doubles, 2 triples, 14 homeruns, 47 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. This is the same player who hit .313/.385/.521 from 2006 through 2010. Some will point to the position change while others will simply say that Ramirez�s time ran out in Miami the minute he walked after a ball a couple of seasons ago and then Manager Fredi Gonzalez removed him from the game. But, it goes beyond that; Ramirez strikeout rate is at a career high while his walk rate is at a career low.

The Dodgers are hoping that Ramirez will rediscover his approach and performance at the plate under Manager Don Mattingly, the polar opposite of Ozzie Guillen. They will also hope that not having to be the star will have a positive impact on him as Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw already have the star roles locked up. Ramirez is no longer the face of a franchise and perhaps that can help him. He�s young enough that he can rediscover his swing and approach. He�s young enough to re-dedicate himself. The Dodgers are choosing to believe that he can and will. If he does, the middle of their order is potent with Kemp, Ethier, and Ramirez. At their best, that trio is as good as it gets.

Make no mistake--the Dodgers are gambling. They took on all of Ramirez�s salary for the next two seasons, which is $31.5 million plus his remaining salary this season. They are gambling on a player with a poor reputation. Mattingly will have to figure out where to play him. Ramirez regressed at shortstop, which is why the Marlins were willing to move him to third base. He�s been awful at third base this year too. Mattingly will have to balance ego and team needs with this decision. With Dee Gordon on the disabled list, Ramirez could return to shortstop, which should make him happy. But, long term, he should be their third baseman. The Dodgers needed offense. They take a big reward, big gamble with the talented Ramirez. Another positive is that this is a clear indication that the Dodgers are no longer the Frank McCourt small market types. New ownership will spend and risk.

The Marlins are taking criticism for their fire sale, but this trade actually helps them in a number of ways. They�ve cleared Ramirez�s salary and his attitude. It was time to part ways. In retrospect, they waited too long. But, they also got some talent back. Scott McGough is a hard throwing 21 year old reliever who is averaging 10 strikeouts per nine innings during his first season and a half in the Minors. But, the real get is Nathan Eovaldi, who is just 22 years old.

In 16 Major League starts over the past two seasons, Eovaldi is just 2-8, but with a 3.77 ERA. In 88.1 innings, he�s allowed 88 hits, 37 walks, and has struck out 57 batters. His fastball sits around 94 MPH and he elicits swings and misses on 14.3 percent of all pitches thrown in the strike zone. He is a groundball pitcher (1.68 GB/FB) and has had success at each level of the Minor Leagues that he pitched. He has skipped the triple-A level. With Jacob Turner and Eovaldi acquired in the past couple of days, the Marlins are once again building a young, potentially dominant staff. The deserve heat for selling off the team again, but they are acquiring talent. One would hope that the savings from Ramirez�s deal will be reinvested in the team next season.

Comments

# 1 dorian813 @ Jul 25

I like the Marlins fire sale this go around. Hanley may get his swing back but I doubt it was going to happen with the Marlins. Josh Johnson has the talent but so did Kerry Wood and Mark Prior and Johnson seems to be headed toward a career of injuries that will leave people saying what he could've been. The other guys are good role players but not team builders.

# 2 DubTrey1 @ Jul 25

I will go with what the Astros are doing right now. Why not"

- Its not like we are tearing up the NL Central. With a move to the AL next year, I am hoping some of the many young arms and bats we have will break thru as being good MLB ready & productive guys. With the change in league, we at least have one more guy that can leave runners on base that is not a pitcher by job title.

Anyway, I am pleased so far - and as for the prospects, I see mentioned on here that none of them are elite, but I would like to point out that a few of them are at least the top 7 prospects for their respective clubs at the time of trade. Hey, I am reaching onto anything I can here. Is it time for football yet? man we suck.