Talkin' Trades

Jason Michael Barker

Trades are one of my favorite things to write about, so of course I was happy to see at least a few deals go down this week at the general managers' meeting in California. I have this image in my head of each GM setting up a little booth, like you might see at a craft fair or trade show.

Gord Ash yells out, "Shawn Green must go!"

"I've got a five-tool Mondesi!" Kevin Malone answers from across the room.

Their eyes meet, some cheesy music plays, and like magic, the deal is done. Similarly, Pat Gillick has a nice shiny Griffey on display. One by one, the other GMs approach, offering assorted trinkets, only to be turned away, for their offers are not enough.

Beginning with the most recent deal first, here's a look at the week in trades:

To St. Louis: RHP Pat Hentgen, LHP Paul Spoljaric
To Toronto: LHP Lance Painter, C Alberto Castillo, RHP Matt DeWitt
This is the Blue Jays' second big deal in four days, having sent Shawn Green to the Dodgers for Raul Mondesi on Monday (more on that deal below). Simply stated, Toronto needed to free up some money in order to pay Mondesi, who is scheduled to make about $44M over the next four seasons. Hentgen was to make $6M in 2000, making him expendable.

In Hentgen, the Cardinals get (when he's healthy) a pretty good pitcher. The problem is that he hasn't been quite right since averaging 265 innings in 1996-1997. In 1998 he managed to make 29 starts and avoid a major injury, but posted a 5.17 ERA and allowed 208 hits in 177 innings. He rebounded last season with a 4.79 ERA, and pitched much better in the second half of the season.

Hentgen has struck out less than five batters per nine innings over the past two years, which isn't a very good sign in terms of future success. Still, the change of leagues should serve him well in the short term, and I expect him to turn in a decent season for the Cards in 2000.

The deal looks even better on the St. Louis end when you consider what they gave up to get Hentgen -- not very much. Painter, a lefty reliever, isn't a bad pitcher by any stretch, but he certainly won't be confused for Billy Wagner or John Rocker. He'll likely be the top southpaw in the Toronto pen next season with the expected departure of Graeme Lloyd. Castillo hit .326/.341 (OBP/SLG) in 255 at-bats last season, and at age 29 isn't likely to show sudden improvement. DeWitt, 22, is something of a control freak -- in 296.1 innings the past two seasons, he walked just 77 batters, while striking out nearly seven per nine innings. He's a decent prospect, but not a star by any means.

Despite questions about Hentgen's health and effectiveness, the Cards did a good job with this trade, improving the state of their pitching staff. Toronto didn't really accomplish much other than a simple salary dump, which probably was their goal anyway.

To Philadelphia: RHP Andy Ashby
To San Diego: RHP Carlton Loewer, RHP Steve Montgomery, RHP Adam Eaton
In many ways, this deal resembles the aforementioned Hentgen trade:Philly gets a pretty good pitcher without giving up much in return, while the Padres dump nearly $6M in salary. The Phillies look to have a pretty good starting rotation with Ashby, Curt Schilling, Paul Byrd, Robert Person and youngster Randy Wolf, although that alone won't be enough to compete with New York or Atlanta in the NL East.

Ashby has been very consistent over the past three seasons, and is a good bet for 200 innings and an ERA of somewhere between 3.50 and 4.00. That may not sound like much, but there are a number of teams who would love to have a pitcher of his caliber in the number two or three spot in their rotation. At 32 he isn't all that old for a pitcher, and I think he still has several good seasons left in him.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia didn't give up very much to get him. Loewer has a 5.68 ERA in 212 career innings, and he's already 26. He might benefit from a change of scenery -- he'll certainly benefit from pitching in one of the better pitcher's parks in baseball. Montgomery is a run-of-the-mill right-handed reliever, but nothing special.

The best thing to come out of this deal for the Padres might just be Eaton, who began the year at A-ball but finished it pitching at AAA. Despite 13 mediocre starts at single-A Clearwater (5-5, 3.91, 1.52 WHIP in 69 innings) he earned a promotion to AA, where he pitched even better in 12 starts, putting up a 2.92 ERA while increasing his strikeout rate and cutting his walk and hit rate. He then made three starts at AAA, allowing 17 hits and six walks in 21 innings. Just 21 and a 1996 first round draft pick, he might not be all that far from the majors, particularly with a rebuilding organization like San Diego.

I find it a bit surprising that the Padres couldn't get more for a pitcher like Ashby, particularly when you know there are clubs like the Indians and Mets looking for starting pitching. In terms of trade value I think they would have been better off holding onto Ashby until July and then dealing him to a team desperate for pitching to make that late-season pennant push, but when you're looking to cut costs that doesn't save nearly as much in salary as does dealing him before the season starts.

To Toronto: RF Raul Mondesi, RHP Pedro Borbon
To Los Angeles: RF Shawn Green, 2B Jorge Nunez
How often do we see trades that wind up hurting both clubs? This one's a prime candidate. The Blue Jays wouldn't put up the money to re-sign Green, so they instead traded him for Mondesi. The only problem? Toronto then picked up two option years on their new right fielder, meaning Mondesi will make $44.5M over the next four years, so they didn't really save much in the way of salary at all. Meanwhile, the Dodgers now have nearly $200M tied up in two colors (Green and Brown, get it?) over the next six seasons. Sure, Rupert Murdoch is loaded, but that's bad business any way you slice it.

Green and Mondesi are two players going in opposite directions. Mondesi is regarded as a tremendous talent, but has done little to improve himself as a baseball player. Given his physical skills, if he ever improves his plate discipline he could have a huge season. He hasn't exactly shown signs of improvement, however, and is already 28. Green, on the other hand, improved each season in baseball, finally breaking through with a huge 1999 thanks in large part to a career-high 66 walks. (It's amazing what a little patience and selective hitting will do for you. Just ask Sammy Sosa.)

In the end the Dodgers got the better end of this one, but only slightly, for dumping the underachieving and disgruntled Mondesi. It remains to be seen if Green will continue to improve or if he has peaked, however, and last I checked the Dodgers had bigger problems than production in right field.

about the author

We attempted to trade Jason Michael Barker for Griffey this week, but when Pat Gillick demanded we throw in the office supply of Velveeta, we had to decline. Offer opinions on how ten cases of Velveeta might improve the M's outfield at jmb@strikethree.com.