The ultimate goal of any trade is to make your team better. GMs always seek the holy grail of the “win-win” deal, the one that makes both teams better. Economic realities and deals that build for the future can confuse this, but the 2007-08 winter might be remembered for two of the biggest win-win deals in baseball history.
The Rays and Twins shocked a lot of people when they traded Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan for Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and Jason Pridie. Both teams might end up in the playoffs, but the Rays appear to have gotten a slightly better deal. Garza became an ace-level starter with a 35.3 VORP while Bartlett was named team MVP with a 13.3 VORP. That doesn’t mean the Twins got shafted. Young (14.2 VORP) played a pivotal role, while Harris surprised many with his play at short (9.6 VORP.) Harris also benefits if you include defense, putting up a 4.3 WARP1 that outshines Bartlett’s 3.4, which might stun those that rave about Bartlett’s defense.
That would be a heck of a deal for both teams, but it doesn’t compare to the Josh Hamilton for Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera deal that the Rangers and Reds pulled off. Volquez became the team ace with a 44.6 VORP while Herrera made it to the majors as well. Hamilton became everybody’s All American and totalled 55.3 VORP, which doesn’t include any bonus for his HR derby showing or the positive press the Rangers got from his story.
We’ll have a lot of trade talk starting soon, but GMs will be hard pressed to put together win-win deals like these. They’ll sure try though!
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Speaking of trades, I did a small off-the-cuff contest in UTK yesterday, asking people to come up with their best trades. “MrBattafaglia” won with his Cain Cliff Lee for Fielder (plus parts) deal that totaled 18 out of 30 from the judges. It’s important to note that all three said they probably wouldn’t even think of a deal that rated less than a 5 and that such a deal would only be a starting point. They also agreed that a trade that’s an 8 would be the one they’d likely pull the trigger on. Putting deals together, let alone a win-win, is tough work.
I think my Overbay for Washburn swap came in second - but I would like to point out that I also recommended that teh Jays try to get the M's to pitch some of Washburn's salary back as part of the swap (Washburn is slated to m ake around $3M more than Overbay in '09.
Congrats to MrBattafaglia
Sorry--didn't mean my post to bash you so much as to point out that ideas get around these days. I obviously don't know if you read Buster or not, and anyway, who really cares? It's a fun contest, not anything of real importance.
Yeah, thanks for doing this Will. I also re-prioritized my day. Lots of fun and I learned a bunch of cool stuff. This would be very very popular if you made it a regular feature (and didn't hide it in UTK.)
The Volquez-Hamilton trade was a win-win only in the sense that a bald man trading Rogaine for a silver-handled comb is a winner.
The Rangers need another bat like I need another wife. Their offense could take them to the playoffs if they could manage to identify and keep a couple of decent starters. In Volquez, they had at least one piece of the Holy Grail, but they auctioned it off for yet more power hitting.
Josh Hamilton is a nice story, but a pennant would make baseball fans in Dallas a lot happier.
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I think my Overbay for Washburn swap came in second - but I would like to point out that I also recommended that teh Jays try to get the M's to pitch some of Washburn's salary back as part of the swap (Washburn is slated to m ake around $3M more than Overbay in '09.
Congrats to MrBattafaglia