Trades lift the veil from a baseball front office regarding its philosophy and sophistication. The recent trade between Atlanta and Pittsburgh tells us that both franchises are moving in the right direction.
Deals involving players still in the larval stage are always hard to evaluate because what's changing hands is potential. In the Nate McLouth for three minor leaguers swap, we know what McLouth is, but few of us are in any position to make pass intelligent judgment on the others.
This much is clear, however: the days of Pirates brass grasping willy-nilly at bent straws is long gone. Ding dong the witch is dead. Not that happy days are here again -- the Bucs have another couple of losing campaigns in front of them -- but at least they have a clue. Trading players whose best days aren't ahead of them in order to stockpile prospects is a proven strategy. (See Marlins, Florida.) Whether these are the right prospects, we'll have to wait and see.
First, about McLouth and Atlanta. The Braves believe that Jordan Schafer is their future in center, but he's clearly not their present. He did a half-Mendoza with more strikeouts than at-bats (no, not really) in his 50 games with the big club before they did him the favor of returning him to the mother ship. The Mets and Phils have their issues, leading Atlanta GM Frank Wren to believe that his club can win the division this year with some wise personnel management. So he traded for a guy who is pretty clearly what he is: a .270 hitter with 30-home run power who can play a presentable center field. On the Braves, that qualifies as the superstar of the outfield when you consider the other flotsam and jetsam that washes up against Turner Field's walls.
By all accounts of the cogniscenti, McLouth's Gold Glove last year was a figment of the highlight reels and the imagination of baseball writers without imagination. They say he's a corner outfielder pressed into service, which is complimenting with faint criticism. McLouth is 27 and signed for three years at a reasonable price, making him an appealing catch for whom the Pirates hoped they could capture a windfall.
Whether they did is the open question. Gorkys Hernandez is an almost-ready outfielder with Brett Butler power. Charlie Morton is a promising pitcher, but so are lots of guys you never heard of. Jeff Locke, is a heat thrower who has yet to find the plate in Single-A. It could be, in the words of the Roches, a Big Nuthin'. It could pay dividends for years, just when the Pirates are ready to shine. What they gave up is a guy who will probably begin declining just when that time arrives.
So give the Pirates credit for their patience and recognition that you build a team from the bottom up. Give the Braves credit for striking while the iron is hot. Credit them further for demonstrating that sentimentality and winning are mutually exclusive, and dumping Tom Glavine in favor of better pitchers. Glavine is a HOFer and a good guy, but he's Atlanta's sixth, or maybe seventh, best pitcher. And that is not a guy who's going to help them win.
There's a decent chance that both these teams will lose more games than they win this year. But they both seem to have front offices who have the big picture in mind.
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