With a new season comes new trades. And many of you thought it was safe to deal again, trading away players without thinking of what the consequence might be. Well, you were wrong. The ATR is back to dissect deals for a second year. Anyway, enough prattling about me, let’s get to the deals.
San Francisco receives 1B Pedro Guerrero
St. Louis receives 1B Greg Walker, SS Greg Gagne and San Francisco’s first round Amateur draft choice in 1984.
This deal saddens me. I had expected Guerrero to spend his entire career as a Cardinal, perhaps even retiring to manage them when all was done. Alas, that dream and a small part of me died when this deal was made. Guerrero is one of the best young hitters in the league, so any deal involving him must return a large haul. Amazingly, the Cardinals did well in this deal. Walker is by no means, a first rate player, but there are many worse options at first base in this draft. Gagne is a shortstop and he could play on the major league level, but will almost certainly never be an All-Star. Most importantly, the Giants had a horrible 1983, which means that the Redbirds get the seventh selection in a very deep draft. A player like Kirby Puckett or Jose Rijo would be a good choice. Amazingly, despite trading away their best player at his peak, the Cardinals got a good deal out of it.
Winner: St. Louis
San Francisco receives C Charlie Moore
St. Louis receives C Jamie Quirk, 2B John Hale and SP Mike Mason
Both sides felt that they did so well the day before, they went back to the well to make another deal. The Giants add one of the most underpaid players in the CDL in Charlie Moore. He’s only 30, draws walks and hits for a decent average. Considering the current state of catching, he could be an All-Star. In return for Moore, the Cardinals received an interesting package of talent. Quirk is a warm body with a good glove. Hale can play 2B or the OF. He’s a solid bench player when he hits .220, but a pretty poor one when he hits .160. You could take gambles on worse players. Mike Mason is the star of the deal for St. Louis. He’s a pitching prospect who pitched 84 mediocre innings last season. If he takes a step forward, which is a maybe at best, considering he is 25, then the Cardinals made an alright deal. If Mason doesn’t step up…then this deal will not weather the test of time well. Either way, the Giants did better in this deal.
Winner: San Francisco
San Diego receives MR Scipio Spinks
Baltimore receives SS Rafael Belliard and San Diego’s second round Amateur draft choice in 1984.
This is a curious deal for both teams. Spinks has been one of the best relievers in the CDL since the early 1970s. Baltimore is nearing the end of a success cycle and has legitimate playoff hopes this season. So, to trade away an excellent reliever coming off one bad year for a mid-second round pick doesn’t make a lot of sense, since Spinks almost certainly has more value to the Orioles. Conversely, the Padres finished 17 games out of a playoff spot last season and are still in a talent acquisition phase. Giving up a second round draft pick for Spinks doesn’t seem like the kind of move the Padres should be making. Oh, I didn’t forget about Rafael Belliard, but since he is a non-factor, I’m dismissing him at the bottom. Anyway, sometimes you see a deal where neither team improved their situation and this is one of those times.
Winner: San Diego
New York (N) receives 3B Luis Salazar and SP Claude Rainey
Boston receives New York (N)’s second round Amateur draft choice in 1984.
Another curious trade, but one that makes more sense than the one above. The question one has to ask themselves about this deal is whether they would have one mediocre to average player (what you would expect to get at middle of Round 2) for 5 years or two of these players for one year, with the option to resign them. Rainey has the potential to be a back of the rotation starter, but will the Mets think he is worth the $3,000,000 or so that he will ask for. That may depend on whether or not he finally turns the corner this season. Luis Salazar is a third baseman in decline, who will ask for a lesser salary. He will never hit 20 triples in a season again, but he’s a handy utility player to put on your bench to spell three or four regulars and he isn’t the worst pinch hitter you could come up with. I like Rainey and think he will go from spot starter to fourth starter this season, which explains my decision, but this is a deal of preference, which makes it hard to analyze.
Winner: New York (N)
Cleveland receives SP Bill Butler
Baltimore receives Cleveland’s second round Amateur draft choice in 1984.
The Indians are making an all-out attack on the AL East this season. Adding Lynn McGlothin and Bill Butler bolsters their pitching staff and if the Orioles keep dealing away their older players for small trinkets of talent, this might be their year. Butler had a fine year last season and I see no reason why he won’t enjoy the same success this season. What is puzzling about this deal is that it leaves the Orioles woefully short on pitching. Leibrandt returns mostly unharmed from last year’s injury and forms a nasty front three with Eckersley and Rogers, but after that, the Orioles’ pitching gets thin fast. I think that these small deals might place one too many obstacles in the path of the Orioles repeating as AL East Champion. Remember, you heard that here first.
Winner: Cleveland (I too dream of getting front line starting pitchers for second round draft picks.)
The mood in Toronto seemed positive today as the new GM of the Toronto Blue Jays Shaun McCready held his first offical news conference today. When asked what the city of Tornoto had to look forward to Shaun stated "We have a lot of work ahead of us here but I think we have the potential to build a winner here and eventually bring a championship to the people and the city of Toronto". Shaun was also asked about a time frame as to when the fans could look forward to a winning season for the first time in frachise history. Shaun replied by stating "I don't want to put an exact date on when things are going to turn around, obviously it isn't going to happen over night, but hopefully this season the fans will see a difference and come out the the ballpark and check out what we have to offer". Shaun finished the news conference on a positive note adding "With the young talent we have on our ballclub such as Andy Vanslyke and Harold Reynolds not to mention what I think is a minor league with untapped potential I hope to see a change for the better in the near future".