Saturday, December 18, 2004
Merry Christmas
The Cardinals traded Danny Haren, Kiko Calero, and Daric Barton for the A's Mark Mulder. Holy crap. This came out of nowhere. After Oakland traded Hudson to Atlanta and Clement signed with Boston (I hate them so much), I thought our chance of really upgrading the rotation were slim to none. And I figured there was no way the A's would give up a second pitcher.
There are some concerns with Mulder's hip. He was not good in the second half last year. But I really can't believe the trade would go through if he wasn't fully checked out. Billy Beane may be revered as a demi-god GM, but Jocketty's not going to take someone's damaged goods.
The loss of Haren isn't the greatest; he's young, cheap, and mostly reliable. He would have filled Williams' slot in the rotation or been in the pen. And I'd like to see who's going to take the spot starts and long relief Haren took care of last year. Barton's a great prospect. As a 19 year old catcher in A ball, he hit .313/.445/.511. I believe there was some concern with his glove, but he's 19. Clearly, he can hit. But he's 19. He would have to switch positions; Molina's the catcher for a while and the corner infield is taken care of. It's not great to give up our highest rated prospect, but it's not the same as a AAA 22 year old. Calero was great; he's the one I think the team will miss the most. Will Mike Lincoln or a Reyes take his spot?
So the Cardinals' rotation looks to be:
Mulder
Carpenter
Marquis
Suppan
Morris (Ankiel if Matty isn't ready for April?)
That ain't not bad.
Mulder's 27 and gets $6 million next year and a team option of $7.25 million for 2006.
There are some concerns with Mulder's hip. He was not good in the second half last year. But I really can't believe the trade would go through if he wasn't fully checked out. Billy Beane may be revered as a demi-god GM, but Jocketty's not going to take someone's damaged goods.
The loss of Haren isn't the greatest; he's young, cheap, and mostly reliable. He would have filled Williams' slot in the rotation or been in the pen. And I'd like to see who's going to take the spot starts and long relief Haren took care of last year. Barton's a great prospect. As a 19 year old catcher in A ball, he hit .313/.445/.511. I believe there was some concern with his glove, but he's 19. Clearly, he can hit. But he's 19. He would have to switch positions; Molina's the catcher for a while and the corner infield is taken care of. It's not great to give up our highest rated prospect, but it's not the same as a AAA 22 year old. Calero was great; he's the one I think the team will miss the most. Will Mike Lincoln or a Reyes take his spot?
So the Cardinals' rotation looks to be:
Mulder
Carpenter
Marquis
Suppan
Morris (Ankiel if Matty isn't ready for April?)
That ain't not bad.
Mulder's 27 and gets $6 million next year and a team option of $7.25 million for 2006.
