When Detroit sent their portly vegetarian first-baseman to Arlington yesterday for keystoner Ian Kinsler, each team got a fielder. The Rangers got Prince, a 30-year-old basher with on-base skills and seven years of lottery winnings left on his contract. The Tigers got a 32-year-old second baseman with mad leather skills, a nice bat and quick feet on the basepaths.
It's a straight-up deal, a star for a star. And the big winner is, Jurickson Profar. The Rangers' second base uber-prospect can now step out of Kinsler's shadow and demonstrate his skills. At 20, he spent half-a-season showing he belonged in The Show despite bouncing among positions like a yoga instructor.
For that reason, this deal makes sense for Texas. Their Kinsler money lands Fielder, who replaces the steroid-pumped bat of free agent Nelson Cruz, and Profar cushions the blow at second. Their big concern is the $138 million they'll owe their new slugger through his age-36 year. Fielder comes off a down season and four years of declining walks. But as Ranger GM Jon Daniels noted, Prince is untouchable without the down season. And the walks may be an artifact of batting behind the league's MVP: the other team can't walk both of them.
With this trade, the Tigers get all the colors straight on their Rubik's cube, even though Kinsler's peak ended in 2011. Absent 32-year-old free agent Omar Infante, they had a big black hole facing them at the keystone and a logjam of big-boned DH types playing the field. The swap allows them to limit Miguel Cabrera's damage with the glove by rolling his spherical self back to first, add hitting and base stealing at second and find a third baseman who can actually play the hot corner. That's prospect Nick Castellanos raising his hand out there in left field.
Kinsler has $62 million coming through his age 36 season, plus $30 million the team is sending to Texas to offset some of Fielder's pay. (That figure is already included in the amount the Rangers will owe Fielder.) He is also damaged goods following a season with the fewest walks, worst base-stealing and lowest OPS of his career. That said, he was credited with 4.9 wins against replacement, which is basically All-Star level. The Tigers took on much less risk and improved their feng shui by moving the parts to their correct places.
It would be great to see more of these kinds of trades and fewer salary dumps, veterans for prospects deals and headache swaps. It's one trade we'll be able to look back on and determine who got the better of it.
Showing posts with label The Show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Show. Show all posts
21 November 2013
05 May 2009
He's A Switch Hitter Too
You may have heard about Pat Venditte, the switch-pitching reliever for the Class A Charleston RiverDogs. You may have heard about him because CBS News has done a shout out on him and YouTubers worldwide are all a-twitter about how he goes both ways, not that there's anything wrong with that.
Venditte is a Creighton product now in his second year of minor league ball. He wears a unique six-fingered glove that allows him to change hands from batter to batter. As you might expect, he throws southpaw to lefties and right-handed to righties. The South Atlantic League had to create special rules for his match-ups against swith-hitters. (The batter gets the advantage.)
Venditte is a phenomenon, but he's also a phenom. Unaffected by all the buzz, Venditte is buzzing through the minors after chopping down college opponents. In his first year of pro ball for the Yankees' Low-A team on Staten Island, he surrendered just 13 hits in 33 innings, walking 10 and mowing down 42 en route to 23 saves. His 0.83 ERA earned him selection as Short Season Pitcher of the Year.
The 2009 season is young, but it's already clear that Venditte belongs at Double-A. In 12 innings he's whiffed 21 batters and has yet to give up an earned run.
Now, objects in your mirror may be closer than they appear. Venditte, who turns 24 in June, is a man pitching to 19-year-old boys at this level. Ther are no 24-year-old prospects in Single-A. He needs to maintain his dominance through Triple-A -- and do it soon -- if he has any hope of making the majors. Batters who can't hit like-handed pitchers have been filtered out by the upper levels, which will force Venditte to succeed on the basis of his pitches, not his novelty.
Will Venditte make The Show? We can only hope. Because oh, what a show it would be.
b
Venditte is a Creighton product now in his second year of minor league ball. He wears a unique six-fingered glove that allows him to change hands from batter to batter. As you might expect, he throws southpaw to lefties and right-handed to righties. The South Atlantic League had to create special rules for his match-ups against swith-hitters. (The batter gets the advantage.)
Venditte is a phenomenon, but he's also a phenom. Unaffected by all the buzz, Venditte is buzzing through the minors after chopping down college opponents. In his first year of pro ball for the Yankees' Low-A team on Staten Island, he surrendered just 13 hits in 33 innings, walking 10 and mowing down 42 en route to 23 saves. His 0.83 ERA earned him selection as Short Season Pitcher of the Year.
The 2009 season is young, but it's already clear that Venditte belongs at Double-A. In 12 innings he's whiffed 21 batters and has yet to give up an earned run.
Now, objects in your mirror may be closer than they appear. Venditte, who turns 24 in June, is a man pitching to 19-year-old boys at this level. Ther are no 24-year-old prospects in Single-A. He needs to maintain his dominance through Triple-A -- and do it soon -- if he has any hope of making the majors. Batters who can't hit like-handed pitchers have been filtered out by the upper levels, which will force Venditte to succeed on the basis of his pitches, not his novelty.
Will Venditte make The Show? We can only hope. Because oh, what a show it would be.
b
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