Trading On Up

Jason Michael Barker

With Monday's trade deadline come and gone, it's naturally time to take a step back and assess which teams are better off in the short-term, which are better off in the long-term, which are screwed in the short-term but have good long-term prospects, which hurt their future in an attempt to win now, and which have nary a prayer today, tomorrow, or even next year.

Got all that? Fear not -- everything will become clear when you read about the Baltimore Orioles.

Unfortunately, I can't offer a unique or insightful take on what the Orioles did over the past week. While I applaud their efforts to ditch such older, high-priced veterans as Will Clark and B.J. Surhoff, it's worth noting that the players they got in return are neither particularly good nor even particularly young.

Their return on Mike Bordick was minimal, unless the player to be named later turns out to be Mike Piazza. Melvin Mora is a utility man, nothing more. The two pitchers they received -- Leslie Brea and Pat Gorman -- aren't top prospects by any stretch of the imagination, and Mike Kinkade can hit a little but lacks a position on the field.

I understand the rationale behind trading Charles Johnson, who wasn't going to re-sign, and Harold Baines, who's just plain old. But while it's always nice to pick up three minor league arms in exchange for two players who were going to walk at the end of the year, the Orioles didn't manage to dip into the best arms the White Sox have (and still have) in their system.

Perhaps most amazing is that the Orioles were able to get Luis Rivera from the Braves in exchange for B.J. Surhoff. Why the Braves gave up more for Surhoff than the Mariners gave up for Al Martin, a superior player, is beyond me. Though it's worth noting that Rivera has had injury problems in the past and hasn't pitched well in the minors since returning from the disabled list early in the year.

Finally, Baltimore traded Will Clark for Jose Leon, a younger version of what the Orioles already have at third base -- a woefully inadequate Ryan Minor. The real tragedy of all this is that Clark being traded should have opened up a spot for Calvin Pickering, who should have been in the majors the last two seasons. Pickering, however, tore a thigh muscle last month and is out for the year. He's still young enough to have a career, but he'll have to overcome weight problems and the reputation he has for being "uncoachable."

The Mets, who added Bordick from said Orioles, did very well for themselves at the deadline provided they don't actually sign him to the long-term deal GM Steve Phillips has been talking about. Other than getting their Rey Ordonez replacement, the Mets added two quality complimentary players in Rick White and Bubba Trammel without giving up much in return (Jason Tyner and Paul Wilson).

The Devil Rays, on the other hand, traded perhaps their best two (and least known) relievers in White and Jim Mecir. Normally I wouldn't advocate trading away good cheap relievers, but the D'Rays got a top pitching prospect, Jesus Colome, from the A's in exchange for Mecir. Colome is just 20, was pitching very well at AA before the deal, and was clocked at 99 MPH last season.

Tampa Bay wasn't done quite yet, however, and picked up another good prospect (Brent Abernathy) and a PTBNL from Toronto for Steve Trachsel and Mark Guthrie. This one makes sense for both clubs, actually, as the Blue Jays desperately needed a starter if they hoped to keep pace in the division and the wild card race. The Devil Rays could have helped themselves even more by trying to dump Greg Vaughn and Vinny Castilla for prospects, making room for the aforementioned Trammel and prospect Aubrey Huff, but that would have made too much sense.

Why do the Marlins need Henry Rodriguez? They didn't give up much to get him, but that isn't really the point. It makes you wonder if they picked him up with the intention to move him immediately for a prospect, but couldn't find any takers before the deadline.

Speaking of not finding any takers, what happened to Rondell White's trade value? One minute the Yankees, Red Sox and Mariners are all interested in his services, then next thing you know the Cubs have given up merely a mediocre rookie pitcher for him. Either White's past injury problems and his current injury must be a tad more serious that the Expos are letting on, or Montreal was asking for too much and panicked at the last minute.

The Rockies-Dodgers trade (why does LA need Tom Goodwin?) doesn't merit much attention, other than pointing out a prospect whose career, for the time being, is essentially over. Had Randey Dorame been traded to any other organization I would have said "watch out for this guy," as he's very young, very left-handed, and has pitched well the past two seasons in the Dodger farm system. Instead, he'll suffer the same fate as any other Colorado pitching prospect, hoping each day to be traded somewhere, anywhere, else.

Finally the Indians, who I think, did the best job over the past week with the exception of re-acquiring Wil Cordero. In trading Richie Sexson and company (Paul Rigdon and Kane Davis, yawn...) to the Brewers, they moved an overrated power hitter for a quality reliever (Bob Wickman) and two potential starters (Steve Woodard and Jason Bere).

Woodard -- I've always been a fan -- has great control and is young enough to have a good career, and at least he's not in Milwaukee anymore. Bere, on the other hand, is something of a tease. He'll put two good starts together and you think he's back to what he once was, but then he gets shelled and you remind yourself not to think that ever again. If the Tribe catches him on a hot streak, he'll certainly be an improvement over the 20-odd pitchers they've run out there this season.

Jason Michael Barker -- I've always been a fan -- has great control and is young enough to have a good career, and at least he's not at the UW any more. And unlike Bere, he's not really a tease. Why not congratulate him for that at jmb@strikethree.com.

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