Transaction Analysis, August 15-18, 2002
by Chris Kahrl
Acquired OF-R Mark Little from the Mets for a PTBNL, and assigned him to Tucson. [8/16]
A nice easy pickup for the Snakes, made all the nicer by their need for a spare outfielder.
The Sidesnakes' outfield isn't loaded with potential big league Snakes: Micah Franklin is more
of a DH these days, Doug Devore isn't exactly a prospect, which really only leaves James Mouton.
Little is a better all-around player than Mouton, so he goes straight to the front of the line
in case anything happens to any of the big league outfielders. Presumably, he'll come up before
September 1, coincidental with placing one of the backup catchers on the DL, and thus keeping
everyone eligible for the postseason roster.
Activated C-R Javy Lopez from the DL; placed C-R Henry Blanco on the 15-day DL
(strained oblique), retroactive to 8/12. [8/16]
Is it just me, or have a really high number of catchers seen their offensive number crater this
season? Glove men like Einar Diaz, Gary Bennett and Bengie Molina have plummeted down to Matheny
territory, but well-regarded offensive catchers like Ramon Hernandez, Charles Johnson, Jason
LaRue, and yes, Javy Lopez, have all done worse than expected as well. Combined with the usual
"contributions" of guys like Brad Ausmus or Joe Girardi or Brent Mayne, or the
continued entropic spirals of Todd Hundley and Jason Kendall, you're left with a divide
between the nine or ten good regular catchers, and a bunch of situations which didn't pan out
as well as you would have expected. Overall, catcher is now the weakest offensive position in
the majors, well behind second and short. It all adds up to another way of saying that Jorge
Posada and Mike Piazza tower over everyone else. It seems strange that something involving
baseball in New York would go under- or uncommented upon, but the Big Apple has baseball's
best catchers, and it falls short of being an overdone story?
Anyway, Jason LaRue's only 28, and Ramon Hernandez 26; both have fallen short of expectations
before, probably requiring adjustment of the expectometer. But Lopez and Charles Johnson are
both 31, which means they're well down the road towards the decline phase of their careers,
and both have carried heavy workloads behind the plate. Johnson did have a great first half
in 2001 to build on his outstanding 2000, but he struggled in '98, '99, and for the last year
and a half. He isn't done, but expecting anything like 2000 again would be a longshot. Lopez
is, by comparison, even more frightening. He's on a four-year slide that doesn't seem to be
bottoming out. He was still useful as recently as last season, but his fragility on top of
his decline pretty much demands that the Braves add a quality backup for 2003 (Lopez has a
player option for next season, and it would border on miraculous for him not to exercise it).
Sadly, Henry Blanco isn't it. He's a nifty catch-and-throw guy, but he's also about to turn
31, and his career highs are a .320 OBP (in Coors) and a .394 SLG. The odds that he'll ever
top either in a 200 at-bat season are pretty remote.
Activated SS-R Mike Bordick from the DL; optioned 1B/3B-R Jose Leon to
Rochester. [8/17]
Mike Bordick's return
won't add much to the team's offense, but defensively, he's still a better shortstop than Melvin
Mora on an everyday basis. Getting him back is almost certainly good news for an extreme
groundball pitcher like Scott Erickson in particular, and Travis Driskill and (if/when healthy)
Sidney Ponson to a lesser extent.
What Bordick's return does to the lineup is another thing altogether. He effectively pushes
Mora back into the mix of players in the first base/outfield/DH pool, already crowded because
of
the returns of Jeff Conine
and Chris Richard from the DL.
With Jay Gibbons, Marty Cordova, Gary Matthews Jr., and Chris Singleton all looking for at-bats,
that's seven players to squeeze into five lineup slots. Sitting Singleton and Conine as often as
possible would make the most sense; Matthews and Mora can each play center effectively enough,
while Conine no longer hits well enough to merit full-time play at first or DH. Pushing Singleton
into a bench role while restricting Conine to a platoon role with Richard or Gibbons would make
the most sense, but
with over $9 million committed to Conine through 2004,
I suspect that his paychecks and solid citizenship will keep him in the lineup much more than that.
Acquired LHP Shawn Estes and cash from the Mets for LHP Pedro Feliciano, OF-R
Elvin Andujar and two PTBNLs; placed RHP Scott Sullivan on the 15-day DL
(shoulder tendinitis), retroactive to 8/10. [8/15]
Placed UT-R Brandon Larson on the 15-day DL (broken toe); transferred RHP Luis
Pineda from the 15- to the 60-day DL; recalled OF-R Ruben Mateo from
Louisville. [8/16]
Shawn Estes
joins Scuffy Moehler
and Ryan Dempster
as Jim Bowden and the Reds try to retool their rotation on the fly while trying to remain in
contention. Estes had made four quality starts in his last five before joining the Reds, so
maybe he's got Doyle Alexander '87 potential, but that would require turning Nelson's blind
eye to certain issues. First, Estes is notoriously fragile and unreliable. Pitching in
pitcher's parks in his entire career, he's even further removed from his 1997 signature season
than Dempster is from his 2000 breakout or Moehler from his 1998 peak.
The Reds do need the help, however. They've only gotten five quality starts in seventeen
games this month, one by Jared Fernandez, and the other four by these three merc amigos,
while only going 8-9. Heightening the suspense is that the Cardinals have only managed to
go 10-9 this month.
Fortunately, Estes didn't cost that much to acquire. Elvin Andujar is 22, a year older than
originally advertised, and while he's promising, he's also yet to play in a full-season
A-ball league. Pedro Feliciano is an interesting lefty reliever in a world full of
interesting lefty relievers. The two PTBNLs aren't supposed to be top prospects.
Returned RHP Bob Wickman on the 15-day DL (strained elbow), retroactive to 8/11;
optioned RHP David Elder to Buffalo; recalled RHPs Jerrod Riggan and
David Riske from Buffalo. [8/15]
Perhaps Bob Wickman won't be adding to his save total after all. The bad news is that
is that the Tribe seems locked in to trying to let Mark Wohlers close. This is one of
those silly reflexive decisions, where the veteran gets the role because he had it
once upon a time. But in terms of Wohlers' skills, this is a really bad idea. Wohlers
can get saves, but it has to be against selected lineup combinations against specific
opponents with lots of righthanded hitters either due up or in the lineup in general.
Otherwise, Wohlers' wildness creates the potential for big innings, and his problems
with leaving his stuff up against lefties generates instant big innings. At best, to
be charitable, Wohlers can be an adequate part of a closer-by-committee, as the
Indians browse through everybody in the bullpen. Instead, he's going to be turkeyfied
by some jacktastic good times faster than you can say 'Tom Niedenfuer.'
Claimed RHP Jason Beverlin off of waivers from the Indians and optioned him
to Toledo; designated RHP Erik Sabel for assignment. [8/16]
As valuable acquisitions go, this is admittedly better than picking up Girls Gone
Wild 17: Pocatello Party Time! with those valuable Scouting Department
discretionary funds. Given a choice between Erik Sabel's persistent failures with
mastering the splitter, and Jason Beverlin's all-around adequacy, the Tigers made
the right choice. Whether either of them would still be on the 40-man roster come
December is an open question; the Tigers should save slots to participate in the
Rule 5 draft as aggressively as possible. Perhaps they're hoping to make a good
impression on Beverlin to convince him to stick around as a NRI next spring.
Activated C-R Charles Johnson from the DL; optioned RHP Blaine Neal
to Calgary. [8/16]
There's only
$25 million and three years to go, so CJ will be the Poster Fish for years to come,
especially with Jeff Torborg doing a swell job of eliminating the alternative guppies.
The added misfortune is that they overlooked the opportunity to either showcase or
simply play Ramon Castro for his own good. As a result, the only beneficiary of this
situation was Mike Redmond, who deserves good things, but not on the level that it
handicaps the organization's ability to make Castro a more obvious commodity.
Optioned RHP Jim Mann to New Orleans; activated LHP Carlos Hernandez from
the DL. [8/17]
For those of you keeping score, the latest permutation to the Astros rotation is that
they're running with Wade Miller, Roy Oswalt, Carlos Hernandez, Kirk Saarloos and
Peter Munro, with Dave Mlicki thankfully shoved aside. Mlicki gave the 'Stros one
quality start in five outings, and that was against the Pirates, the weakest offense
in the league. So, while Gerry Hunsicker and Jimy Williams have been frustrating for
all of the things they've done to keep runs off of their side of the scoreboard,
they're evening things out by going into the stretch with their best rotation.
Considering that starting pitching is already an advantage that the Astros hold over
the Cardinals and Reds, maximizing that advantage is probably the best thing they
can do. Happily, they don't have to resort to the broken-down like the Cardinals,
or the disposable like the Reds. Instead, they're going with four homegrown talents
and a nifty waiverbait snag in Munro.
Having lost Shane Reynolds
and seen Mlicki's impact minimized by injury, it couldn't have worked out much better
than it has considering that Miller and Hernandez have both had to miss significant
time.
Activated RHP Kevin Brown from the DL; placed RHP Giovanni Carrara
on the 15-day DL (strained forearm), retroactive to 8/12. [8/15]
The hope is that Kevin Brown can contribute in the bullpen, but for the same reason
that this wasn't really an option for David Cone--the inability to bounce back and
pitch with any frequency--you need to worry about how well it will work out for Brown.
It does allow Jim Tracy to duck angering Omar Daal again by bumping him out of the
rotation. It lets Newscorp feel like their Foxbux are being spent on something they
can see.
The Dodgers are not picking up ground on the Snakes, but they are leading the Giants
in the wild card, so it seems strange that they would make a move that smacks of
desperation like this does. Paul Shuey shouldn't be terrible for the next six weeks,
and Jesse Orosco and Bloody Paul Quantrill have been handy helpers for Eric Gagne's
outstanding season in the closer's role. The pen hasn't been great (and it misses
Daal), but it has room to improve without the Dodgers trying to get some bang for
the bucks being spent on Brown.
Activated LHP Jimmy Osting from the DL; optioned RHP Ruben Quevedo
to Indianapolis. [8/16]
At long last, the Brewers will get to take a look at Jimmy Osting in the rotation,
but seeing Ruben Quevedo have to go down represents yet another failure in what
has been an unremitting saga of failure for the Brew Crew. He's given up six or
more runs in seven of his last thirteen starts. He's got conditioning issues,
and consistency issues, and he's made himself unpopular in his two previous
organizations, but he's also pitching in a bandbox for a bad team, and a flyball
pitcher with a lousy outfield defense. The most galling aspect of his performance
is perhaps how badly he's pitched on the road: 67 runs allowed in 76.2 IP? With
twenty home runs allowed? It isn't like he's made all fifteen of his road starts
in Coors Field.
Quevedo's failure to make progress can't be all Dave Stewart's fault, or Quevedo's
fault, or Davey Lopes, or Jerry Royster. It's the organization, top to bottom, and
the responsibility lies with everyone from Dean Taylor on down.
Activated RHP Mike Jackson from the DL; optioned RHP Kevin Frederick
to Edmonton. [8/15]
Optioned OF/1B/3B-R Michael Cuddyer to Edmonton; recalled C/1B-R Matt
LeCroy from Edmonton. [8/17]
The happy circumstance of the Twins' organization is that they can flit back and
forth between their choices. Do they want Michael Cuddyer or Matt LeCroy to be
their primary right-handed bat off of the bench? When they reach the postseason,
they can afford to carry both when they cut back down to ten pitchers, but in the
meantime, they get to go back and forth between the two, letting one play regularly
in the PCL while the other takes a couple of weeks spotting for lineup regulars.
LeCroy gives them a third catcher, a righthanded-hitting caddy at first for Doug
Mientkiewicz, and a DH platoon mate for David Ortiz, while Cuddyer gives them
someone to fill in at second, third, or either outfield corner.
Activated OF-R Wil Cordero from the 15-day DL; optioned 2B-B Henry
Mateo to Ottawa. [8/16]
Placed RHP T.J. Tucker on the 15-day DL (sprained back). [8/18]
Erg, if there's an unhappy development, it's that losing Wil Cordero creates
outfield playing time for Sibling Guerrero and Jose Macias. At least Macias
has slugged unusually well, but Sibling has no business being on a 25-man
roster. The only sense in keeping him is as a gambit to coax Vlad Guerrero to
sign an extension for beyond 2003, and what are the odds that the 29 Expos
co-owners will sign off on that instead of bidding on his services themselves?
Purchased the contract of INF-R Alex Arias from Columbus; optioned
RHP Mike Thurman to Columbus. [8/17]
Yee-ha, more cannon fodder for the YES network's ever-gripping reality programming,
like Pinstriped Elimidate, Yankee Fifth Wheel, Snappy Flappy WB
Yank-tastic Booty Call, and of course Jerry Springer, where Alex Arias
concedes he's married to his midget transsexual uncle. Oh, and keep the Red Sox
in the rear view mirror all the while.
Someday, when the Yankees aren't winning, the obnoxiousness of their trappings
will evaporate as quickly as the Mets' swagger did in the early '90s. But in
the meantime, we all have to grin and bear it.
Traded LHP Shawn Estes and cash to the Reds for LHP Pedro
Feliciano, OF-R Elvin Andujar and two PTBNLs. [8/15]
Recalled LHP Mike Bacsik from Norfolk; traded OF-R Mark Little
to the Diamondbacks for a PTBNL. [8/16]
Scratch starter number two. Joe Sheehan's argument for why, before the season,
he felt the Mets could/should/would finish last
seems to be working out. The argument was that they'd fall short of contention (check),
trade some of their veteran starters (check), and have nothing to work with down the
stretch... which hasn't quite worked out yet. The most combustible starters are gone,
as you probably could have expected: they've bumped Jeff D'Amico to the pen after he
tanked and they've dumped Shawn Estes, which gets them down to the big three of Pedro
Astacio, Steve Trachsel, and Al Leiter, or the three guys who mattered the most from
the get-go, still in place and still pitching well. Swapping Estes and D'Amico for
John Thomson and Mike Bacsik isn't such a bad thing for the Mets rotation; it's still
the team's most fundamental asset.
It did cost them Jay Payton, however,
leaving them even more short-handed in the outfield to get there.
Did they get anything for their investment in Estes? I mean, sure,
they only lost
extremely replaceable players to get Estes in the first place; Desi Relaford is a
good utility infielder, but you can usually beat the bushes and find another one of
those, and Tsuyoshi Shinjo's only assets come in promotions or leather. So for that,
they got three-quarters of a season from Shawn Estes, and four Red tadpoles. One of
them is actually an ex-Dodger; Pedro Feliciano is a lefty reliever with the usual
command and junk. Elvin Andujar is 22 and does a decent job of getting on base and
hitting for power, but he also hasn't gotten out of short-season ball yet. Do the
math: 23 in full-season A-ball, 24 in advanced A-ball and/or Double-A, 25 in Double-A
or Triple-A... he either has to rocket through the system, or he's going to be an
organizational soldier. Who the PTBNLs will be isn't that big of a deal; the Mets
need depth for the organization, and the Reds have a lot of semi-useful minor league
hitters.
Placed LHP Ron Villone on the 15-day DL (elbow tendinitis); purchased the
contract of RHP Al Reyes from Nashville. [81/6]
Life without the Opening Day starter shouldn't be too heavy an emotional load for
the Pirates at this stage of the season.
The Todd Ritchie trade
yielded better options than their putative top starter from last year, so the Pirates
are better off all-round.
As mentioned in this space,
Ron Villone was already a waste of a roster spot at this stage of the season. Al Reyes
might not be an up-and-coming prospect, but if the Pirates had no reasonable
expectation of rooting around and finding a use for Villone, they might at least
find a way to make Reyes useful. They'll also get to spend the next six weeks
(if played) looking at whether or not Brian Meadows or Bronson Arroyo can be
the next Todd Ritchie. Don't hold your breath.
Not to mention Al Reyes is potentially a very handy reliever. At Nashville
this season, he was his usually hard-to-hit self, allowing only 40 hits in
66.2 IP, while showing improved command with a 90:20 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Interestingly enough, he's managed to hit nine batters, almost leading the
Sounds; given that he's allowing fewer than three walks per nine, that looks
like a lot of purpose pitches. Given that he still throws hard, he's worth a
look-see, on the off chance that he can become the club's next cheap bullpen
asset.
Placed RHP Bobby J. Jones on the 15-day DL (strained back), retroactive
to 8/11; recalled LHP Mike Bynum from Portland. [8/15]
Placed LHP Bobby M. Jones on the 15-day DL (forearm contusion);
recalled RHP Dennis Tankersley from Portland; placed LHP Kevin
Walker on the 15-day DL (elbow tendinitis) retroactive to 8/12; purchased
the contract of RHP Jonathan Johnson of Portland. [8/17]
I know I join Padres fans everywhere when I state my shock and disappointment
to see the world headquarters of Bobby Jonesery suddenly transformed into a
Bobby Jones-free workplace. I'm sure this will befuddle Bob Jones believers
everywhere, but this won't hurt the Pad people. Taking another spin with
Dennis Tankersley is a good thing, insofar as there's not going to be any
other way to help him get over his storied rookie jitters than to desensitize
him. Call it immersion, tough love, whatever, getting him out there in the
increasingly low-pressure environment in San Diego is probably the best thing
they can do under the circumstances.
As a result, the Padres rotation is now a glimpse of the future, now that the
Joneses and the Jarvises and their ilk are out of the way. Beyond Brett Tomko,
you've got the young quartet of Tankersley,
the soon-to-be-reactivated Oliver Perez,
Brian Lawrence, and Jake Peavy. They've been touted in the past, and I'll tout
them as much as I can any group of twentysomething pitchers, and they still
look like a group that could run with the Cubs in terms of young starting
pitching talent. And since
the Padres don't have Bruce Kimm calling the shots,
while the Cubs' flamethrowing threesome of Mark Prior, Kerry Wood and Matt
Clement might float some people's boats, there's reason to believe the Pads'
group will turn out better.
Activated RHP Jay Witasick from the DL; placed RHP Manny Aybar
on the 15-day DL (strained hip flexor). [8/16]
In terms of impact moves, this won't be touted as one of them, but that
isn't quite fair. The Giants' bullpen is the third-best in the league according
to Michael Wolverton's
Reliever Evaluation Tools,
and Jay Witasick has been an important component of that success. So has Felix
Rodriguez's recent encouraging bounceback, and making Aaron Fultz go away,
and nabbing Scott Eyre.
Generally speaking, it's a deep pen, one of the team's hidden strengths.
Losing Manny Aybar for the moment isn't too big a deal; he should be ready
to go if/when somebody else breaks down, and he was already contributing
since his callup.
Acquired RHP Ismael Valdes from the Rangers for 2B-L Jermaine
Clark and LHP Derrick Van Dusen. [8/18]
Pat Gillick got something he desperately needed. As things stand now, Valdes
is their second-best starter behind Jamie Moyer. Chief Garcia will undoubtedly
get started ahead of Valdes in a playoff rotation, but the real ripple effect
is that the Mariners can now duck starting James Baldwin in October, instead
running with Joel Pineiro as their #4 if they don't bump him back into some
high-leverage relief role. Better yet, they managed to acquire one of the
thirty best starters in the game for two B-list prospects, who while they're
both worthwhile, aren't exactly premium talents. To get a quality starter
they needed for the kind of chattel any farm system ought to be able to
produce on demand is as tasty as a free meal.
Optioned RHP Jesus Colome to Durham; repurchased the contract of
RHP Lee Gardner from Durham; transferred RHP Ryan Rupe
from the 15- to the 60-day DL. [8/18]
Look, at this stage of the game, there are really only two questions to worry
about as far as the D-Rays are concerned: will a strike wreck their shot at
110 losses (and do they have what it takes to do it in fewer than 162 games?),
and
what happened to all those Jason Tyner bobblehead dolls?
Having already decided that trying to build a set of the political leaders of
Europe in 1914 would be a vanity I should not indulge, I'd be really unhappy if
I didn't fill my tchotchke bill with the ultimate expression of Devil Ray-dom.
Just to think on all those Jason Tyner bobbleheads, gathering dust in some
Florida warehouse filled with surplus tinned beef from the Spanish-American
War, it's almost enough to make you moderately interested.
Placed INF/OF-L Frank Catalanotto on the 15-day DL (broken hand);
recalled 1B/OF-R Jason Hart from Oklahoma. [8/17]
Traded RHP Ismael Valdes to the Mariners for 2B-L Jermaine Clark
and LHP Derrick Van Dusen. [8/18]
Ismael Valdes is sort of the ultimate rental. Because of unfair
characterizations that he's somehow less manly than Bob Feller for not
healing himself with a combination of branding irons, leeches, and whiskey,
he ends up being pretty cheap as quality pitchers go, and he's almost always
unable to receive anything more than a short-term offer.
So you don't wind up with a Hampton-sized albatross,
you get a quality starter for a short-term drive on contention, and...
well, as the Rangers know now, when it doesn't work and you don't
contend, he's an easy chit to flip to somebody who is contending.
So what about the swag? Derrick Van Dusen is sort of the latest
iteration of the always popular Glavineus portsideia: although
less expensive than a Dutch tulip, if this always-fickle flower
blossoms, you've got yourself a heck of lefty starting pitcher,
able to crank out quality starts and deal four pitches for strikes.
If he doesn't pan out, well, you were only taking a flyer for a
couple of months of Ismael Valdes' time, and the draft choice he
may or may not bring you through the vagaries of the Elias compensation
system.
As an added bonus, the Rangers got Jermaine Clark. At 26, he's no
spring chicken as second base prospects go, but hitting .266/.370/.375
(with 60 unintentional walks in 443 plate appearances) while stealing
29 bases in 43 attempts makes him an interesting potential platoon
partner for Mike Young at second base. Getting a pair of useful minor
leaguers for Valdes at this stage of the season, and with his impending
free agency, is a good enough minor accomplishment.
Add the season-ending injury to Frankie Catalanotto as the latest
small disaster to afflict the Rangers this season. As a result, they
don't get to peddle him for good stuff, they have him making $2.3
million this year with a tender/non-tender decision to make, and they
don't know where he fits in for next year: second, instead of Young
or Clark? The outfield, where the Rangers already have
contracts galore rotting? Adding Jason Hart to the big league roster
at least gives them a direct opportunity to get an early read on his
future on the 40-man. He hasn't been a Custian disaster in the
outfield. His numbers in the minors only translate to a
.251 Equivalent Average
in the majors, far short of what you want from someone who'll be playing
first, left or DH, but he has smacked lefties around to the tune of .331
while slugging .624, so he might have a role as a platoon partner.
Placed OF-B Jose Cruz Jr. on the 15-day DL (sprained ankle),
retroactive to 8/10; placed RHP Chris Carpenter on the 15-day
DL (shoulder looseness); recalled RHP Mike Smith and OF-L
Pedro Swann from Syracuse. [8/15]
The bad news in Toronto is the Jays are still stuck with a thirteen-pitcher
roster. In part, that's because of injuries, but a
complicating factor goes back to last winter. Because of the late
changeover in the front office, the Jays entered the minor league
free agent market late, and after already being handed the farm
system that Gord Ash had run down, J.P. Ricciardi has been left
with some pretty slim pickings in the upper levels of his
organization. Add that to several injuries to top prospects,
and you've got a limited number of position players to draw upon.
Carlos Delgado and Jose Cruz Jr. should both be back from the DL
before the end of the month, so they'll be back up to thirteen or
fourteen hitters before the end of next week. In the meantime,
that leaves them with a bench that relies on Dave Berg and Tom
Wilson as the moving parts among ten semi-regulars. That leaves
Pedro Swann and Brian Lesher as the lefty-righty bats on the bench
to use as pinch-hitters for Ken Huckaby or (temporarily everyday)
right fielder DeWayne Wise.
Who else could they call up? Unfortunately, because of injuries
throughout the organization, they have to leave somebody at
Syracuse, otherwise Jayson Werth, Glenn Williams, or Chad Mottola
might get more consideration. But beyond Werth (who has to help
the SkyChiefs finish their season by catching because of the
shortage of people in the organization who can catch, exacerbated
by the recent injury to Kevin Cash), Mottola and Williams are
journeymen no more or less critical than Swann and Lesher, and
pumping too many non-roster bodies onto the big league roster
could end up costing the Jays somebody on waivers. So the
twelve-hitter roster is really just an adaptation to injuries and
the exigencies of the present, while maintaining a loyalty to the
future. In the meantime, they get to load up Wise's playing time, to
decide if he'll still be on the 40-man in December, which is at
least some sort of benefit.
Meanwhile, the pitching staff makes for an odd group. You've got
the five-man rotation of veterans Esteban Loaiza and Steve Parris,
young star Roy Halladay, and journeymen Pete Walker and Justin Miller.
In the pen, you've got the pair of top relievers, Kelvim Escobar and
Cliff Politte, and the pair of lefties, Felix Heredia and Mark
Hendrickson. And after that, you've got the four projects: Rule 5
draftee Corey Thurman, and promising young once-and-future starters
Luke Prokopec, Mike Smith and Scott Cassidy. With so many arms around,
everyone needs innings, and the window of opportunity for dealing
Loaiza or Parris is getting pretty slender if it hasn't already been
bricked over. Why not treat the last couple of months as an extended
spring training? Pete Walker is already considered a long reliever
who should only be a starter in circumstances such as these. Beyond
Halladay, why not junk normal usage patterns, reserving Escobar for
save usage (given he'll bleat if used in any other way), and giving
the other eleven pitchers relatively balanced workloads? The lefties,
Heredia or Hendrickson, aren't even situational specialists. The Jays
could repeat an experiment that has gone unrepeated since Tony LaRussa
gave it a spin in Oakland in 1993, keeping in mind that it didn't
really work out too well then in the week that it was tried.
Chris Kahrl is an author of Baseball Prospectus. You can contact him by
clicking here.
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