D-Backs trade Lopez to the Brewers

[PoolBoy]

http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com...t_id=5946320&vkey=news_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari

 

[Shzm13]

ST. LOUIS -- The D-backs and Brewers completed a trade Sunday that sent second baseman Felipe Lopez to Milwaukee in exchange for a pair of Minor Leaguers.
Lopez, who will be a free agent following the season, hit .301 for the D-backs and was one of their most consistent hitters.
Arizona will receive right-handed pitcher Roque Mercedes and outfielder Cole Gillespie.
Mercedes was 1-1 with a 1.08 ERA in 29 relief appearances in the Florida State League, while Gillespie hit .242 with seven homers and 27 RBIs for Triple-A Nashville.
The D-backs are expected to call up infielder Ryan Roberts to take Lopez's place at second.

Soo a decent pitching prospect and a minor league scrub.

Meh, we shouldve traded Davis instead. : /

 

[azsportsfan01]

Soo a decent pitching prospect and a minor league scrub.

Meh, we shouldve traded Davis instead. : /

You do realize that scrub is the Brewers 11th ranked prospect? While I don't think he has a future with the D-Backs I do expect him to be dealt for someone else at some point in the next year or 2.

 

[boondockdrunk]

http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com...t_id=5946320&vkey=news_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari

Cole Gillespie? Yikes. He has always seemed to underachieve in the minors, leading some to question whether he will make it past being a Triple-A player. He has batted .267 in 2007 (Single-A), then .281 (next year in Double-A), and has really struggled this year by batting .242 in Triple-A. And his bat is his calling card, as he has a below average arm as well as speed and moderate defensive instincts. He has potential but at 25 he is running out of time.

This year is Roque Mercedes's first coming out of the bullpen exclusively, and thank goodness he is no longer starting. I have not seen worse numbers since Russ Ortiz was pitching for us. This is Mercedes fifth year in the Brewers' organization and he still has not gotten out of Single-A. He is also 23 years old... meaning he was just an add in. Look at these career numbers.... muff.

My question is why make this specific deal? Why not wait until right before the trade deadline to unload Lopez for something more substantial? There were a number of other teams interested in Lopez who could have offered something better than this. I really do not see the logic in trading Lopez (who was a one year rental) for a 4th Outfielder (who management will continue to sit behind Chris "My batting average is barely higher than Dan Haren's ERA" Young) and a piece of bullpen fodder.

Edit: It appears as if Roque Mercedes was on the trade block because the Brewers were concerned about losing him in the Rule 5 draft.

 

[az240zz]

If, what is said above, is true this was a wasted opportunity, I think we could have and should have gotten better than this for Lopez.

Looks like another bad move by our socalled touted GM.

 

[devilalum]

You do realize that scrub is the Brewers 11th ranked prospect? While I don't think he has a future with the D-Backs I do expect him to be dealt for someone else at some point in the next year or 2.

These "scrubs" that get picked up in these deals have been scouted thoroughly by the organization. Dbacks scouts must see some potential or they wouldn't waste their time.

 

[boondockdrunk]

I recently read that Lopez's trade value was drastically impacted because of his laziness on the field and bases (I really do not think I need to provide examples). In addition, talks between Boston and Arizona are apparently on going with a deal of Eric Byrnes for Julio Lugo. If this deal goes through (which I really hope it does) Lugo would man 2nd. However, if it does not, expect Ryan Roberts and Augie 'Mini Serloin Burger' Ojeda getting some starts until the team eventually calls up Rusty Ryal.

 

[overseascardfan]

I recently read that Lopez's trade value was drastically impacted because of his laziness on the field and bases (I really do not think I need to provide examples). In addition, talks between Boston and Arizona are apparently on going with a deal of Eric Byrnes for Julio Lugo. If this deal goes through (which I really hope it does) Lugo would man 2nd. However, if it does not, expect Ryan Roberts and Augie 'Mini Serloin Burger' Ojeda getting some starts until the team eventually calls up Rusty Ryal.

I think you hit the nail on the head about the Lugo deal. Trading Byrnes for Lugo made no sense with Lopez here now it makes perfect sense. MIL got the better end of this deal.

 

[Gaddabout]

MIL got the better end of this deal.

It's a talent loss but the D-Backs just improved their clubhouse.

 

[Ryanwb]

Getting semi-decent long term return out of a guy who's been on the roster for about 4 months and would have left as a free agent is fantastic

 

[brutus1303]

Cole Gillespie? Yikes. He has always seemed to underachieve in the minors, leading some to question whether he will make it past being a Triple-A player. He has batted .267 in 2007 (Single-A), then .281 (next year in Double-A), and has really struggled this year by batting .242 in Triple-A. And his bat is his calling card, as he has a below average arm as well as speed and moderate defensive instincts. He has potential but at 25 he is running out of time.

This year is Roque Mercedes's first coming out of the bullpen exclusively, and thank goodness he is no longer starting. I have not seen worse numbers since Russ Ortiz was pitching for us. This is Mercedes fifth year in the Brewers' organization and he still has not gotten out of Single-A. He is also 23 years old... meaning he was just an add in. Look at these career numbers.... muff.

My question is why make this specific deal? Why not wait until right before the trade deadline to unload Lopez for something more substantial? There were a number of other teams interested in Lopez who could have offered something better than this. I really do not see the logic in trading Lopez (who was a one year rental) for a 4th Outfielder (who management will continue to sit behind Chris "My batting average is barely higher than Dan Haren's ERA" Young) and a piece of bullpen fodder.

Edit: It appears as if Roque Mercedes was on the trade block because the Brewers were concerned about losing him in the Rule 5 draft.

Gillespie started this year in high rookie ball and hit 350. He's now in AAA for the first time in his career and is hitting 240, but I would think that he has a lot of potential and room for improvement.

 

[Gaddabout]

Getting semi-decent long term return out of a guy who's been on the roster for about 4 months and would have left as a free agent is fantastic

Great point. Mgt is not incompetent.

 

[devilalum]

Great point. Mgt is not incompetent.

Eric Byrnes???

 

[boondockdrunk]

Gillespie started this year in high rookie ball and hit 350. He's now in AAA for the first time in his career and is hitting 240, but I would think that he has a lot of potential and room for improvement.

That was a 12 game rehab assignment in Single-A... hitting .349 against inferior competition does not make him a better prospect. He would have been at least three to four years older than those he was playing against.

The more telling statistics are those that he put up against his own peers (i.e. in Triple-A), where he has played for 75 games this season.

His Career Stats

The simple fact is that Gillespie is an outfielder who has a consistently high OBP%, and that is about it. If he does not improve his average and power numbers, he will only be a fourth outfielder. His defense is nothing to write home about and it will need to be his bat that carries him.

Next year will be critical to his development. At 25, Cole needs to have a much better second half of the season to make him an appealing candidate for the Diamondbacks moving forward. If he doesn’t stick around the big league club next year, he might just be regulated to being an occasional call up.

 

[Gaddabout]

Eric Byrnes???

It wasn't a great deal even guessing that Byrnes would be playing at the level he was when he signed, but no one could have predicted he would sink as low as he has.

Even good mgt gets stuck with bad deals and I'll give them a pass on this one considering the conditions under which they signed him -- dealing with the massive Colangelo debt while trying to keep the only marketable everyday star and face of the franchise. The good news is it was only a 3-year deal, not some crazy long-term package that handicaps the team for a decade. So they suffer but it's not going to kill them forever.

I have issues with Byrnes. I think he's a horrible micromanager. He has no business being so involved with field decisions the way he does, and I think A.J. Hinch was given that contract only because Byrnes wanted more control of the clubhouse. Whatever.

In terms of his and his staff's ability to assess talent and make semi-smart moves, I think Byrnes is on the better side of the average and maintains merit in keeping his job. They've made some bad moves (giving up too early on Carlos Quentin for example), but they also got Dan Haren on a reasonable contract. If you see that as Quentin for Haren, it's hard to argue it was such a bad move. Haren's currently the best starter in baseball -- in a season without Webb.

For now, anyway.

In this economy in this market, the D-Backs need someone who can really manage the payroll and acquire talent on the cheap. I think the team will come out of this OK because Byrnes has a clue about that.

 

[DWKB]

Eric Byrnes???

Eric Byrnes was a unilateral decision made by a man who is now in San Diego's FO. If you want to blame JB for not having the balls to tell his boss to screw off because he was young and a novice at his job I guess you've got a point.

It's frankly sad that Josh Byrnes has to wear the Byrnes signing around his neck with this fan base that firstly called for it, and secondly doesn't even realize the political situation that brought it about.


As for the Lopez trade: Lopez isn't as valuable as his current stats would lead you to believe and Gillespie isn't a poor a player as has been made out here.
For instance, last year he was the #5 ranked prospect for the Brewers by BA, although he's not a slugger, his 38 2B in 462 AB last year in the Southern league shows that he can drive the ball when he makes contact. He's not going to be an All Star, but he should be able to contribute to the ML team in the near future.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Eric Byrnes???

Let me address this once and for all.

DAN HAREN

Nuff said. I will take 10 Eric Byrnes deals to 1 Dan Haren type deal every day of the week.

Get off Josh Byrnes back. He will eventually get this thing going in the right direction.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Eric Byrnes was a unilateral decision made by a man who is now in San Diego's FO. If you want to blame JB for not having the balls to tell his boss to screw off because he was young and a novice at his job I guess you've got a point.

It's frankly sad that Josh Byrnes has to wear the Byrnes signing around his neck with this fan base that firstly called for it, and secondly doesn't even realize the political situation that brought it about.

Ding ding ding.

I am not even sure if you are specifically a Dbacks fan DWKB but you are more knowledgable about the team then half of the people posting so keep it up.

 

[Gaddabout]

Nuff said. I will take 10 Eric Byrnes deals to 1 Dan Haren type deal every day of the week.

I won't. I think a decent organization is allowed to make mistakes like that once a decade, but you can't continually make mistakes on everyday players. They have a greater impact on the success of the team than a pitcher who throws every five days -- even one who's been as good as Haren.

I think they made a smart decision not giving Hudson a lot of money and I think they made a smart decision cashing in on Lopez before he bailed. If they can now somehow move Byrnes for anything that will produce now or later, they will have had a very good year fixing their worst mistake.

I think the next move is moving Mark Reynolds to first base full time and addressing third base and left field somehow.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I won't. I think a decent organization is allowed to make mistakes like that once a decade, but you can't continually make mistakes on everyday players. They have a greater impact on the success of the team than a pitcher who throws every five days -- even one who's been as good as Haren.

I think they made a smart decision not giving Hudson a lot of money and I think they made a smart decision cashing in on Lopez before he bailed. If they can now somehow move Byrnes for anything that will produce now or later, they will have had a very good year fixing their worst mistake.

I think the next move is moving Mark Reynolds to first base full time and addressing third base and left field somehow.

The point is we haven't had 10 Eric Byrnes deals. As DWKB pointed out above that was a move made by ownership and the fans and the subsequent Quentin trade (although he hasn't been able to prove he can stay healthy which was the issue with him here) are the two biggest mistakes.

The Haren trade and his subsequent deal should set the franchise up for a the next 5+ years.

Josh Byrnes has made some mistakes but the good outweigh the bad.