Red Sox snag Salty from Rangers; Dodgers, Padres, and Braves busy prior to Deadline
The Rangers gave up on Saltalamacchia, and the Red Sox hope they rue the day.
The Boston Red Sox have been the definition of injury-prone. Because their roster has been so depleted, relatively unknown players have seen a lot of action and, unfortunately, have struggled. Journeyman Darnell McDonald and cast-off Bill Hall have combined to hit .243 this season in 423 combined at-bats. Eric Patterson, a .224 career hitter, is 12-50 with the team after being acquired last month. Catcher Kevin Cash is hitting .178 in 47 at-bats. And recently designated for assignment Jeremy Hermida batted just .207 over 158 at-bats.
That is 678 at-bats, nearly 20 percent of Boston’s total as an offense. And none of those players should have even been called upon, let alone log that much play-time. The team is getting healthy. Victor Martinez is back. Josh Beckett has returned and is pitching well. Jed Lowrie is in the lineup everyday after a long bout of Mono. And Jacoby Ellsbury is nearing his return. Still, even though getting those four back is like acquiring impact players at the deadline, Boston felt adding another bat wouldn’t hurt.
After doing nothing on Friday, the busiest day of this trading period, they made their first move, acquiring someone whom they have their eye on for many years, 25-year old catcher Jared Saltalamacchia for minor leaguers Roman Mendez and Chris McGuiness, a player to be named later, and $350,000. Saltalamacchia got off to a great start in his major league career, shining as a Atlanta Brave before big-league pitching caught up to him. The Braves traded him to Texas as part of their trade for Mark Teixeira midway through 2007, his first season in the majors, and he struggled thereafter.
There is a lot of pop in his bat, but whether the power can translate into a well-rounded offensive player remains to be seen. He’s still very young, and Boston’s Fenway Park is fairly hitter-friendly with the Green Monster in left and the short-porch in right. Three players and cash for him means Texas thought highly of him, and the Red Sox hope parting with such a package will pay off.
He won’t play everyday, as Martinez is their everyday catcher and first base is Kevin Youkilis’s territory, but he could give those two a day off as well as designated hitter David Ortiz, giving manager Terry Francona plenty of directions to go in on a gamely basis.
The point of this acquisition is to give Boston a youthful bat with power that is ready to be unleashed. He’s a tremendous upgrade over Cash and Dusty Brown, two catchers forced into duty recently due to injuries, and could be a long-term solution if the team does not re-sign Martinez, who is a free-agent after the season.
Sometimes, a change in scenery is all a player needs to find himself. Boston hopes this is the case for Saltalamacchia, who has only managed to hit .251 for his career with a terribly low .313 on-base percentage. His long last name will be a nuisance to spell out time and time again, but if I have to, that means he’s making an impact. And Boston certainly could use some production from their journeyman-filled bench.
Rick Ankiel fills a definitive need for the Braves, giving the team a power-hitting center fielder.
Meanwhile, three national league teams also improved as the deadline came and passed. The Atlanta Braves, which currently sit atop the National League East by three games, acquired Rick Ankiel and reliever Kyle Farnsworth from the Kansas City Royals for Jesse Chavez, Gregor Blanco, and Tim Collins.
Ankiel, pitcher turned hitter with a great story to tell, has missed a large chunk of the season due to injury, but has swung a hot bat upon returning from the disabled list. He’s hitting .367 over his last eight games after missing the better part of two and a half months.
The trade is an excellent one, as Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes:
“Ankiel can fill the Braves’ black hole in center field. He brings some power (having his 25 homers in 2008), even if he’s currently hitting only .261 with four homers. Farnsworth, who was briefly a lights-out closer for the Braves in 2005, has been strong out of the bullpen this season (3-0, 2.42).
They fit what the Braves need and what this team has become. The roster lacks star power, but makes up for it in depth, aggressiveness and chemistry. They just needed a boost lately, with Philadelphia rising, the lineup settling and Troy Glaus looking more and more like a one-month wonder.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers, which, unlike the Braves, are behind in the divisional race, made aggressive moves in an attempt to keep their hopes alive. They are currently 7 1/2 games back of division-leading San Francisco after Pat “The Bat” Burrell’s two-run, eighth inning shot propelled the Giants to victory today.
Theriot, along with Ted Lilly (not pictured), could be enough to get the Dodgers back in the NL West race.
The acquisitions of starting pitcher Ted Lilly and second baseman Ryan Theriot from the Chicago Cubs could help point them in the right direction. To acquire two solid players such as Lilly and Theriot, the Dodgers traded Blake DeWitt, and minor leaguers Brett Wallach and Kyle Smit to the Cubs, and the price appears small given what Lilly and Theriot can bring to the table.
Lilly hasn’t been given much run support, as he has only three wins in 18 starts, but he carries a 3.69 ERA to Los Angeles and has always been fairly dependable. Theriot is having a pretty strong season despite his poor .310 on-base percentage, as he is batting .284 as primarily a singles hitter. His ability to get on base, or lack thereof, isn’t an upgrade over what the Dodgers currently have, but his speed should prove useful, especially when put with newly-acquired Scott Podsednik’s atop the batting order.
The Padres, in between the Dodgers and Giants in division, were aggressive as well in their desire to catch the Giants and stave off the Dodgers. Worried that their light hitting and small-ball attitude in front of and behind star Adrian Gonzalez wouldn’t hold up for the long haul, San Diego traded for St. Louis Cardinals power-hitting right fielder Ryan Ludwick, who was supposedly expendable due to the rise of John Jay.
Joe Sheehan of Sports Illustrated isn’t thrilled about the Ludwick deal for the Cardinals, which obtained starting pitcher Jake Westbrook from the Indians to complete the three-team trade:
“The Cardinals misdiagnosed their needs, downgrading their offense in an effort to add a No. 4 starter in what is one of the most puzzling trades, deadline or otherwise, in years. Jake Westbrook is a command pitcher who doesn’t miss bats and who is coming off two lost seasons, which creates questions of durability as he heads towards an innings count he hasn’t reached since 2006. He is certainly the type of hurler that Dave Duncan has had success with, but that type is fairly common and, in a market that was clearly devaluing starting pitching, one that should have been available cheaply.”
Instead, the Cards chipped away at a marginal offense by dealing Ludwick, an above-average hitter and good defensive outfielder, to San Diego, which shipped a second-tier pitching prospect to Cleveland for Westbrook (and a third-tier one to the Cardinals to complete the deal). The Cardinals, fooled by Jon Jay‘s .446 batting average on balls in play and unable to see the problems in their infield, struck a deal that makes little sense for them. They can’t afford to lose Ludwick because Jay isn’t a long-term solution, just a tweener having the month of his life.”
A bad move by St. Louis is a fantastic one for San Diego. Ludwick, a steady hitter with solid range defensively, coupled with the acquisition of another veteran, offensively-oriented shortstop Miguel Tejada, should help the Padres considerably in their effort to provide protection for Gonzalez. The Padres have won this year behind a very surprising pitching staff and an offensive you can tell has been groomed by an understudy of Mike Scioscia, manager Bud Black. Their mentality on offense changes quite a bit with these two moves, but the veteran duo that has combined to hit .274 with 19 homers and 84 rbi’s this season should make it worthwhile as they try to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
The trade deadline has come and gone. The New York Yankees made moves that would have been good four or five years ago, trading for over-the-hill Lance Berkman and injury-prone relief pitcher Kerry Wood (or that might still be good and I, a Red Sox fan, refuse to accept it). The Red Sox actually did something that could not only propel them into the American League race but also have positive longterm effects. And the Braves, Dodgers, and Padres were rightfully aggressive as well, ending what was an eventful few days of trading.
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Players expected to be on the move that stayed put:
Adam Dunn (Washington Nationals)–He was linked to the White Sox, but a deal never formulated. He received a standing ovation when he came to bat in the first inning. My belief is that if he continues to hit well, the Nationals will do everything in their power to sign him to an extension. As of now, he is a free-agent after the season.
Jose Bautista (Toronto Blue Jays)–The 29-year old home-run leader drew a lot of interest for his pop and versatility, but though they are out of the playoff race, Toronto seems poised to keep him around longterm as well as relievers Kevin Gregg, Jason Frasor, and Scott Downs.
Brett Myers (Houston Astros)–The Astros decided to trade Roy Oswalt and Berkman, but in the end held onto the 29-year old Myers, whom many teams were interested in. The team is close to signing him to an extension through the 2012 season.
Kelly Johnson and Adam LaRoche (Arizona Diamondbacks): Like the Astros, the woeful Diamondbacks elected to trade some of their prime talent but held onto others. Dan Haren was traded, but the 28-year old Johnson and 30-year old LaRoche remain. The asking price was high for both, but I could see them clearing waivers and being picked up by contenders for the stretch-run.
