Shortstop JJ Hardy was traded yesterday from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Minnesota Twins for CF Carlos Gomez.
Gomez turns 24 on December 4th, and was once a heralded prospect for the New York Mets, and the central player in Johan Santana deal. While he has superior speed, and defensive abilities; Gomez has a .638 OPS in his first 1,017 Major League at-bats. The biggest current knock on his skills, is that he is a free-swinger with limited plate-discipline.
Pie will turn 25 in February, and as Oriole fans know, was once a very heralded prospect for the Chicago Cubs. Unlike Gomez who sulked due to his lack of playing-time, Pie was consistently pointed out by coaches like Terry Crowley for working hard to improve. Pie did improve as the year progressed, and his opportunities increased. He finished 2009 with a .763 OPS, giving him a cumulative .688 OPS for his 512 career Major League at-bats.
Like Gomez, Pie has great athletic skills, and covers a lot of ground in CF.
I can not answer who Brewer General Manager Doug Melvin views as the better talent, but it is hard to believe that he holds Gomez in much higher esteem. So presumably, if the O’s had been interested in moving Pie for Hardy, that could have been an option. If Melvin did have Gomez ranked appreciably higher than Pie, perhaps the O’s would have had to add a secondary player to the deal.
I am not knocking the O’s for not making this ‘imaginary’ deal, but I would be interested in the thought-process of the leadership within the Warehouse.
Despite recent reports of the O’s having full-confidence of Reimold being healthy for Spring Training, the O’s want Pie around as a safety-net. Perhaps the O’s do envision trading Luke Scott this off-season, with Reimold moving to DH, and Pie taking over in LF.
Those are all things I could understand. Where I would be puzzled, is if the O’s valued Ceasar Izturis over Hardy.
Izturis will turn 30 in February.
In 2006, Izturis played in just 54 games.
In 2007, Izturis played in 110 games.
In 2008, Izturis played in 135 games.
In 2009, Izturis played in 114 games.
For his career, he has 3,552 career at-bats, with a lifetime .629 OPS, inclusive of a .298 on-base%. He is a a strong defensive SS, that has trouble staying on the field, and can not get on-base. He also is only under contract through the 2010 season.
Hardy turned 27 in August.
For his career, he has 2,075 career at-bats, with a lifetime .751 OPS, inclusive of a .323 on-base%.
Twins General Manager Bill Smith stated yesterday,”He’s got a strong arm. He’s got good range and he’s got power.” “He had a bad year this year. We’ve talked to a lot of people and we have a lot of opinions in our organization. We’re all on board that this was a good acquisition for us.”
Hardy is younger, a much better offensive player, and has defensive skills of his own. Most importantly, Hardy spent 20 days in the minors during 2009. This cost him a year of service time, and therefore delayed his eligibility for Free Agency until after the 2011 season.
If you read this blog, you know that I am a supporter, and fan of of Felix Pie. I can make rationale arguments of why you would not have traded him for Hardy. Personally, I would have made that move, if the option had existed.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.