MLB Fastball 12.21.07: Houston, Arizona, Baltimore and Oakland Making Deals
Posted by Neil Borenstein on 12.21.2007
Amidst all this Mitchell Report drama are important events in the world of baseball, such as three deals that went down in the shadows of this worthless steroid talk. Miguel Tejada, Dan Haren and Jose Valverde have all moved to new teams. Check out the latest edition of MLB Fastball for Neil’s thoughts on these trades!
Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports
Miguel Tejada looks to add a spark to the Houston Astros' lineup.
Lost among all of the worthless coverage of The Mitchell Report (including last week's edition of MLB Fastball) were three big trades. The Houston Astros acquired shortstop Miguel Tejada from the Baltimore Orioles and José Valverde from the Arizona Diamondbacks, while the 2007 NL West champion Diamondbacks landed starting pitcher Dan Haren from the Oakland Athletics.
The Astros might have been a bit deflated after seeing Tejada named in the pointless document previously mentioned. But they shouldn't be because he will provide a spark that any team finishing in fourth place and 12 games out of the playoffs could use.
Tejada is not the player he once was and the Orioles did give up five players to get him. But a change of scenery that Tejada has wanted for years could give him just what he needs to become the threat he was more consistently in his first seven seasons with the Athletics than in the previous four with the Orioles.
Tejada has racked up quite a few accomplishments over the course of his 11-year career. He was a four-time All-Star at shortstop and a two-time AL Silver Slugger recipient. Perhaps his crowning achievement came in 2002 when he was named AL MVP in his second-to-last season with the A's.
Tejada's displeasure with the Orioles has been known for quite a while. His request for the team to bring in more big-name players has fallen on deaf ears and I think his play has suffered just a bit as a result. By all means, he is still one of the best players in baseball, at least at the shortstop position. However, he hasn't had a 30-home run season since joining Baltimore in 2004, and his consistent decline in long ball production is a bit disappointing. Essentially, he hasn't really lived up to the hype over the past three years that he set for himself in his last four seasons in Oakland and first in Baltimore. One more season with the Orioles, and it probably would have just gotten worse for him.
Now Tejada is with a team that not only needs him in its lineup, but isn't hesitant to bring good players in to build a competitive team Tejada was looking for in Baltimore. Whether he'll play shortstop or third base is still unknown, and how the steroid accusations will affect him is as well. However, for a team that was in the bottom 10 of the league offensively, where he plays in the field is irrelevant. His spark at the plate is what's needed. And a move from an unhappy situation in Baltimore to an opportunistic beginning with guys like Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee in Houston could just bring Tejada back to the form he had in his last few years with the A's and first with O's.
In order to obtain the services of the 31-year old, the Astros had to part with five players. Headlining those dealt back to Baltimore were outfielder Luke Scott and starting pitcher Matt Albers.
Scott, 29, is still a role player at this point and he did regress last season in his production. In almost doubling the amount of games he played in 2006 with 132, he slipped at the plate. He went from a .336 batting average in 2006 to .255 in 2007. He scored more home runs (18-2007, 10-2006), RBIs (53-2007, 30-2006) and runs (49-2007, 31-2006) last year, but considering the greater workload he carried, the improvement was not enough. Scott will probably never be a superstar. But if he can revert back to what he did in 65 games in 2006 and stretch that pace out over a full season, he might become a decent everyday outfielder in Baltimore.
Albers might be the bigger acquisition since the Orioles could use starting pitching, especially if they choose to deal Erik Bedard, which I think would be really foolish unless they get an offer they simply can't refuse. Albers, 24, started in 18 games last season and played in 31 overall. He compiled a 4-11 record with a 5.86 ERA and 71 strikeouts. He had a rough go at it all year last season, which shouldn't be surprising since he didn't play on a good team. He received most of his starts in the last two months of the season (10), and he should remain a starter in Baltimore, though he will probably be the No. 4 or 5 option.
The Orioles also acquired third baseman Michael Costanzo and pitchers Troy Patten and Dennis Sarfate.
The Diamondbacks made their own splash in the trade market on Dec. 14 when they acquired Haren from the Athletics for their starting rotation. Haren, who will compliment ace Brandon Webb as the No. 2 in the rotation, came with right-handed pitcher Connor Robertson. The Athletics received six players from Arizona, including pitchers Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland and Greg Smith; outfielders Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez and infielder Chris Carter.
Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports
Dan Haren will combine with Brandon Webb for a formidable 1-2 punch in Arizona.
Arizona also dealt their closer, José Valverde, the same day to Houston for infielder Chris Burke and pitchers Chad Qualls and Juan Gutierrez.
When the season starts, it's possible the Diamondbacks could pose one of the best 1-2-3 punches in the league. If health permits, Randy Johnson could return to their rotation in 2008, and I'm sure he would go in the three spot behind Webb and Haren. Doug Davis and Micah Owings will also have slots in the starting rotation, with Edgar González likely to see some time if Johnson doesn't return.
Of course, Haren's potential success with the Diamondbacks is based entirely on hype. That has not always been a winning formula for pitchers coming from Oakland.
The past three pitchers that performed extremely well for the Athletics did not pan out quite as well with their new organizations once they left. Both Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder were dealt by the A's following the 2004 season. Hudson played pretty well last season with Atlanta Braves, but his first two seasons did not exactly meet his hype. Mulder had a pretty good 2005 with the St. Louis Cardinals, but his previous two seasons have been marred with injuries and pretty lackluster even when he was healthy. As far as Barry Zito is concerned, the first year of his record seven-year, $126 million contract was an abomination. Though he had some flashes of brilliance throughout the season, $18 million a year commands a lot more than 11 wins, a 4.53 ERA and 131 strikeouts. Zito is probably in danger of losing his ace role to Noah Lowry, Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum, who aren't even in the same league, let alone ballpark, when it comes to salary.
Based on those three most recent examples, Haren could become just another bust. After all, his one really stellar season came last year and that was based on his 9-2 record from April to June. His record and ERA crashed in the last three months of the season. For the money he's making, Haren is definitely worth it. He'll see $4 million next season, $5.5 million in 2009 and $6.75 million in a club option that I fully expect Arizona will exercise when the time comes. Even mediocre pitching is hard to come by at that price nowadays, so a 15-game winner like Haren was last season is almost a steal. But I'm just not a fan of how Haren is being touted as an ace-quality pitcher, which he likely would be in Arizona if Webb weren't already filling that role.
Oakland didn't really get anything amazing in return. They got some nice young players who I'm sure the Athletics will turn into decent talent and then either trade away or allow to walk via free agency once they make too much money for general manager Billy Beane to deem acceptable, which is probably like $5 million at this point.
Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports
José Valverde hopes to become the Astros' full-season closer after three players saw significant save time in Houston last season.
Arizona's other deal is not one I completely understand. They dealt away the league's save leader in 2007 for a bit of infield depth and two pitchers not nearly as valuable combined as Valverde. It seemed like a deal to make a deal, and now the Diamondbacks need to delve into their bullpen for a new closer.
Valverde made 47 saves last season with a 2.66 ERA. He is going to fill the Astros' closer spot, which was previous held by Brad Lidge. Lidge was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on Nov. 7 in a five-player deal headlined by outfielder Michael Bourn going back to Houston. Valverde should be a step up from what Houston experienced last year, having Dan Wheeler, Lidge and Qualls receive most of the save opportunities – all of which are now playing elsewhere.
The Diamondbacks will have a competition to find their new closer. Right now, it's believed Tony Pena is in the lead for the spot. However, Brandon Lyon and Qualls can give him a run for his money by the time the season starts. My anticipation is that they will all get an opportunity, but Lyon will receive the, well … lion's share over the course the season.
In Houston, with three of the big 2007 bullpen arms in other cities, a bit of a facelift has been initiated, with Valverde leading the charge. There's no doubt he will close, or at least start the season as the closer. But what is his supporting staff in relief shaping out to be?
Houston is lacking a bit in the bullpen. Valverde is a great ninth inning option, but the guys that are going to get him there are not very high-caliber. Geoff Geary, who was obtained in the Lidge trade, is decent. Free agent pickup Doug Brocail should be a nice seventh inning option. Oscar Villarreal, obtained via trade with Atlanta, is a good mid-relief option. But each of those players will slump a bit during the season, and I don't think there's really much outside of them to get the job done. This is not a very exciting bullpen, and I don't think it will translate any differently in ball games. I really think this bullpen has the potential to struggle, and the team might need to hope starters like Roy Oswalt and Chris Sampson can go deep into games.
Out of all three of these teams, the Astros did make the best improvements, though. They've been active, bringing in a big bat, a solid closer and some bullpen arms that will have to work hard to be good but may surprise me. Baltimore got some depth players, but nothing special, while Oakland sold off another starting pitcher while getting nothing in return, like they've been known to do. Now, Haren needs to prove in Arizona that he can shake that recent ex-Athletic stigma Hudson, Mulder and Zito have exemplified. If he can, Arizona will have a dominant 1-2, or perhaps 1-2-3, punch in their rotation, which will be handy in defense of their NL West crown.
Send all comments, questions, and suggestions to br7qbsteelers@yahoo.com.
