The Dbacks offseason thread

[Ryanwb]

As far as Baltimore, why is everyone on Bedard's jock? He is smallish for a pitcher, has a career ERA over 4.00 and is 12-18 in his career so far. Daniel Cabrera is Baltimore's top SP in my opinion.

I agree with your assessment of Bedard..... The d'backs need to try to get some pitching.. No way do I want to go into the season with Brandon Webb as our #1

 

[Rioss]

I agree with your assessment of Bedard..... The d'backs need to try to get some pitching.. No way do I want to go into the season with Brandon Webb as our #1

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5192008Financial and Position hurdles for Glaus

 

[Ryanwb]

We really have no need for Orlando Hudson and Miguel Batista is so 2001..... another salary dump I guess. We are also getting rid of our most potent bat in the lineup that we have given up on after one year (again).

Oh well, bye Troy

 

[boondockdrunk]

The rumor in Toronto is that we would trade Glaus for Hudson, Batista, and League. However, Glaus can block that trade and likely will.

Oh man... if another great trade (for us) is nixed because of a partial no-trade clause I am be... well... not happy.

 

[boondockdrunk]

The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Toronto Blue Jays are on the verge of completing a trade that would send Troy Glaus and a prospect to Toronto in exchange for pitcher Miguel Batista and second baseman Orlando Hudson, a person familiar with the talks told ESPN's Peter Gammons.

Arizona signed Glaus to a four-year, $45 million contract last offseason, but the Diamondbacks reportedly would like to free up money and the third baseman has been mentioned in trade talk throughout this offseason.

A trade also would free up Arizona's logjam at the corner positions. Chad Tracy could move from first base to third base, while Tony Clark and Conor Jackson, one of the organization's top prospects, could split time at first base.

The Blue Jays have made major upgrades to their roster this offseason, signing A.J. Burnett (five years, $55 million) and closer B.J. Ryan (five years, $47 million) for the pitching staff and trading for first baseman Lyle Overbay.

Glaus hit .257 with 37 homers and 97 RBI last season. Because of injury -- Glaus totaled only 34 home runs in both the 2003 and 2004 season -- he was limited to 58 games in '04 because of shoulder surgery, but last season Glaus appeared in 147 games, his most since his World Series MVP season of 2002.

As long as he stays healthy, Glaus is a bone fide 30-homer threat, having hit a career-high 47 in 2000, his third year in the majors.

Batista became expendable with the signing of Ryan. Toronto's full-time closer last season, Batista saved 31 games while going 5-8 with a 4.10 ERA.

Hudson, who turned 28 earlier this month, batted .271 in 131 games, with 10 home runs and a career-high 63 RBI.

Can't say that I like this. Only Hudson and Batista for Glaus AND a prospect. Hopefully this is just Gammons trying to jump on this and not real. Batista is making some good money for being a reliever, so we aren't dumping much. However, if the prospect is Hill and we get a PTBN (pitcher) then it is okay.

 

[devilfan02]

Jays would get Glaus, Prospect for Batista, Hudson
The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Toronto Blue Jays are on the verge of completing a trade that would send Troy Glaus and a prospect to Toronto in exchange for pitcher Miguel Batista and second baseman Orlando Hudson, a person familiar with the talks told ESPN's Peter Gammons.
Arizona signed Glaus to a four-year, $45 million contract last offseason, but the Diamondbacks reportedly would like to free up money and the third baseman has been mentioned in trade talk throughout this offseason.
A trade also would free up Arizona's logjam at the corner positions. Chad Tracy could move from first base to third base, while Tony Clark and Conor Jackson, one of the organization's top prospects, could split time at first base.
The Blue Jays have made major upgrades to their roster this offseason, signing A.J. Burnett (five years, $55 million) and closer B.J. Ryan (five years, $47 million) for the pitching staff and trading for first baseman Lyle Overbay.
Glaus hit .257 with 37 homers and 97 RBI last season. Because of injury -- Glaus totaled only 34 home runs in both the 2003 and 2004 season -- he was limited to 58 games in '04 because of shoulder surgery, but last season Glaus appeared in 147 games, his most since his World Series MVP season of 2002.
As long as he stays healthy, Glaus is a bone fide 30-homer threat, having hit a career-high 47 in 2000, his third year in the majors.
Batista became expendable with the signing of Ryan. Toronto's full-time closer last season, Batista saved 31 games while going 5-8 with a 4.10 ERA.
Hudson, who turned 28 earlier this month, batted .271 in 131 games, with 10 home runs and a career-high 63 RBI.

------------------

Orland Hudson Scouting Report



2004 Season

At one point in his career, there was a concern that Orlando Hudson and Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi couldn't co-exist. Yet there was Ricciardi last year, plugging Hudson for a Gold Glove, and with good reason: few players at his position showed the range on shallow flyballs of Hudson. But it was at the plate that Hudson made the biggest strides, becoming a much more integral part of the Blue Jays' offense.



Hitting

Hudson is a line-drive hitter who feasts on low balls, likes to use the whole field and last year showed surprising power from the right side. The Blue Jays managed to get him to lower his hands from the right side (shortening his swing) and keep his upper body more erect. Harder-throwing lefties still present a major problem for Hudson, and his swing lengthens noticeably against them, but he does a better job of staying in for the fight than he did earlier in his career. He has a tendency to rush himself at the plate, and that throws off his upper body.



Baserunning & Defense

The Blue Jays would like Hudson to show more aggressiveness on the basepaths and take advantage of his speed and athleticism. Hudson was a third baseman in his minor league career, and that arm strength serves him well at second, as well as on balls hit into the hole. He has quick feet and has become fearless on the double play. His development was one of the reasons that the Blue Jays put together the second-highest fielding percentage in the AL after tying for 11th in 2003.



2005 Outlook

Hudson never will produce the on-base percentages necessary for a leadoff hitter, but he is ticketed to be the everyday No. 2 hitter in the Blue Jays' lineup, especially now that he has upgraded his work from the right side of the plate. It's a sign of his growing reputation that he is a favorite trade target of other teams.


------------

This trade came out of nowhere. I don't understand this trade too much as the only positive is it free's up money. Batista is a good addition but nothing special. We have no need for Orlando Hudson and I hope Byrnes isn't thinking about using him as our leadoff hitter. He has a horrible career OBP and he strikes out nearly twice as many times as he walks. He does play good defense and is very cheap. I'm assuming the prospect we're trading is Koyie Hill- good ridance. I'm not sure what this means for Craig Counsell as they both play 2nd base and both hit in the 2 hole. You would think that there would be a better trade offer on the table than one involving a decent veteran pitcher and a average 2nd baseman who isn't really needed. At least we free up a ton of money and can really attack the FA pitching market next offseason.

 

[devilfan02]

Can't say that I like this. Only Hudson and Batista for Glaus AND a prospect. Hopefully this is just Gammons trying to jump on this and not real. Batista is making some good money for being a reliever, so we aren't dumping much. However, if the prospect is Hill and we get a PTBN (pitcher) then it is okay.

I have a feeling Batista will be in our rotation, not in the bullpen. Either way, I like him a lot and he is a good addition. I'm still don't understand why we would acquire Orlando Hudson ??????

 

[Kolo]

I have a feeling Batista will be in our rotation, not in the bullpen. Either way, I like him a lot and he is a good addition. I'm still don't understand why we would acquire Orlando Hudson ??????

Since Clayton left, I assume this means Counsel moves to ss, at least until Drew is called up this summer (hopefully). Hudson seems like a good fit--we had no long term solution at 2b, he's very good defensively, decent hitter, good character guy from what I've read, only 3 service years in the majors. I like this deal.

My mood may change when we find out which prospect is going to Toronto, though.

 

[boondockdrunk]

Since Clayton left, I assume this means Counsel moves to ss, at least until Drew is called up this summer (hopefully). Hudson seems like a good fit--we had no long term solution at 2b, he's very good defensively, decent hitter, good character guy from what I've read, only 3 service years in the majors. I like this deal.

My mood may change when we find out which prospect is going to Toronto, though.

Probably Hill. However, I still would love to get League in this deal. Toronto has been overpaying for everything this off-season and we need them to overpay for Glaus.

 

[boondockdrunk]

Apparently the deal is done. The trade is just pending a physical.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I'll hold off on judgment until we identify the prospect, but at face value I like the deal. Glaus hobbled around like he was 80 years old because of his constatnt injuries and because of this I doubted he would ever finish out his contract playing 3B. We got a good starter and a very talented 2B and dropped a huge contract. Good deal, now go find a CF.

 

[boondockdrunk]

I'll hold off on judgment until we identify the prospect, but at face value I like the deal. Glaus hobbled around like he was 80 years old because of his constatnt injuries and because of this I doubted he would ever finish out his contract playing 3B. We got a good starter and a very talented 2B and dropped a huge contract. Good deal, now go find a CF.

Don't you mean... now go find a CF and a starting pitcher?

 

[Kolo]

Don't you mean... now go find a CF and a starting pitcher?

On the CF, I think I heard Gambo and Ash say today there was a problem with the DeVanon deal, and now we're offering him only one year.

But I'll qualify that info--I've got a nasty flu bug and have been downing Robotussin all day like it's Jagermeister and I'm playing quarters in my dormroom circa 1992. If I'm wrong, that's why.

 

[devilfan02]

Since Clayton left, I assume this means Counsel moves to ss, at least until Drew is called up this summer (hopefully). Hudson seems like a good fit--we had no long term solution at 2b, he's very good defensively, decent hitter, good character guy from what I've read, only 3 service years in the majors. I like this deal.

My mood may change when we find out which prospect is going to Toronto, though.

This deals decent. What are we going to do in 1 or 2 years when Drew and Upton are up? I guess we'll worry about that later. Hopefully Counsell still has decent range and arm as I have not really seen him play SS in awhile

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Don't you mean... now go find a CF and a starting pitcher?

Assuming Batista will be a starter next year, that means we have currently on the roster Batista, Webb, El Duque, Halsey, Nippert, Ortiz, and Vargas all who can start games. Solid depth but nobody on the staff is a elite starter which are unavailable this offseason unless we trade Jackson or Drew.

 

[boondockdrunk]

Assuming Batista will be a starter next year, that means we have currently on the roster Batista, Webb, El Duque, Halsey, Nippert, Ortiz, and Vargas all who can start games. Solid depth but nobody on the staff is a elite starter which are unavailable this offseason unless we trade Jackson or Drew.

I see what you mean. I guess I just don't like the option of having Batista, El Duque, Ortiz or Vargas as the #4 or 5 starter.

 

[overseascardfan]

We have been fleeced twice this off season if the Glaus trade goes down as is. We get older w/ Hernandez and Batista, Vizciano is 31, and we don't get any immediate help (Chris Young, CF of future). We should have went for young pitchers like McCarthy, Chacin, and Towers. Glaus may not be mobile but he gets paid to hit and drive in runs not run bases. Vazquez will have an all star year w/ Chicago mark my words. There aren't any CF available now and we have no interest in trading or signing any good pitchers. Our offseason earns a "F" grade, season outlook 100 losses next year.

 

[boondockdrunk]

We have been fleeced twice this off season if the Glaus trade goes down as is.

We haven't been fleeced twice. You are saying that Glaus and Vazquez have more trade value than they actually do. Glaus is a big bat, but also has a large contract and is poor defensively. We get a good 2nd baseman in return and a pitcher who fills an immediate need. With Vazquez we got a great prospect in Young along with bullpen help. El Duque was just a throw-in. Like I have said before, Javier was a #4 pitcher who was being paid as a #1. Stop acting like he was a Cy Young candidate last year and just accept the fact that he isn't all that good.

By dumping these bloated contracts we are allowed to spend some money on young starting pitching in the next year. In addition, we also increase our defense by getting a GG caliber player at 2nd, have Tracy out of RF, and Green out of CF.

How on earth do you give the off-season a 'F' when we have addressed needs while trading from a surplus? Why would any of those teams even entertain trading the likes of McCarthy, Chacin, and Towers when they are already better than what we are offering?

Vazquez is not the #1 starter some people claim that he is and Glaus is not a season MVP candidate that others think he can be.

And I will take that bet: I say Vazquez will not be an all-star player AT THE END of the season. Perhaps he has another great first half, but then he will fade again. I predict that he will have 12-14 wins with an ERA around 4.00 (His career best are 3.24 for ERA and 16 wins).

 

[The Commish]

We have been fleeced twice this off season if the Glaus trade goes down as is. We get older w/ Hernandez and Batista, Vizciano is 31, and we don't get any immediate help (Chris Young, CF of future). We should have went for young pitchers like McCarthy, Chacin, and Towers. Glaus may not be mobile but he gets paid to hit and drive in runs not run bases. Vazquez will have an all star year w/ Chicago mark my words. There aren't any CF available now and we have no interest in trading or signing any good pitchers. Our offseason earns a "F" grade, season outlook 100 losses next year.

I couldn't disagree more. I think what people need to understand is that all of our moves are made for 2007. This year I think means very little to this organization in the grand scheme of things. The West is so weak that they can field a transitional team that can compete for the division. Think about when the Suns traded away Marbury and got virtually nothing. Why did they do it? Salary dump. They are getting out of contracts that were/are going to weigh down the franchise and gain flexibility in Free Agency. We have examined the Free Agent list and there aren't numerous big name players. But there are still enough worth the effort. Baseball America and various ESPN minds consider the DBacks farm system one of the Top 5 in the league when it comes to talent in the system. While you may get pissed at the team for not getting equal value in many scenarios, remember that flexibility for the future is worth something. We have solid prospects that will fill out our roster come 2007, and I think the organization is confident in the college pitchers they took in the recent draft. Chris Young will ultimately be our CF of the future too, so don't think we got nothing for Vasquez. On paper our moves are not making a lot of noise, but come 2007 we will have a good young team to field for half the cost. Just ask the Suns if the Marbury trade was worth it.

 

[overseascardfan]

We haven't been fleeced twice. You are saying that Glaus and Vazquez have more trade value than they actually do. Glaus is a big bat, but also has a large contract and is poor defensively. We get a good 2nd baseman in return and a pitcher who fills an immediate need. With Vazquez we got a great prospect in Young along with bullpen help. El Duque was just a throw-in. Like I have said before, Javier was a #4 pitcher who was being paid as a #1. Stop acting like he was a Cy Young candidate last year and just accept the fact that he isn't all that good.

By dumping these bloated contracts we are allowed to spend some money on young starting pitching in the next year. In addition, we also increase our defense by getting a GG caliber player at 2nd, have Tracy out of RF, and Green out of CF.



How on earth do you give the off-season a 'F' when we have addressed needs while trading from a surplus?

Vazquez is not the #1 starter some people claim that he is and Glaus is not a season MVP candidate that others think he can be.

Where is our CF (for the start of next year)? Are Hernandez and Batista an upgrade over Vazquez? Glaus is a big bat with a big contract you say, what are Manny Ramirez and Miguel Tejada. Guarantee that Ramirez and Tejada will net their teams a lot more than a Miguel Batista, whom we gave up two years ago, and Orlando Hernandez. We should have gotten in on the Prior sweepstakes or got McCarthy instead of Hernandez and Vizcaino. I guarantee that all publications will give us at least a D for offseason grades when they come out. Vazquez will not be an ace but he will have better #'s than the two pitchers we got. Glaus will have better numbers than this year. Analysts have said the Sox have gotten better and that the Jays are now the third best team in the AL East. What do we do when Drew and Upton are ready now that we have Hudson at 2B?

 

[overseascardfan]

I couldn't disagree more. I think what people need to understand is that all of our moves are made for 2007. This year I think means very little to this organization in the grand scheme of things. The West is so weak that they can field a transitional team that can compete for the division. Think about when the Suns traded away Marbury and got virtually nothing. Why did they do it? Salary dump. They are getting out of contracts that were/are going to weigh down the franchise and gain flexibility in Free Agency. We have examined the Free Agent list and there aren't numerous big name players. But there are still enough worth the effort. Baseball America and various ESPN minds consider the DBacks farm system one of the Top 5 in the league when it comes to talent in the system. While you may get pissed at the team for not getting equal value in many scenarios, remember that flexibility for the future is worth something. We have solid prospects that will fill out our roster come 2007, and I think the organization is confident in the college pitchers they took in the recent draft. Chris Young will ultimately be our CF of the future too, so don't think we got nothing for Vasquez. On paper our moves are not making a lot of noise, but come 2007 we will have a good young team to field for half the cost. Just ask the Suns if the Marbury trade was worth it.

Moves made for next year. That is very risky. Free agents are going to question coming here after we just gave up on Glaus after one season. Plus who are the big names next year, Zito, Garland. I bet that both the Sox and the A's trade them both and they sign extensions w/ their new teams before next year. Just like this year there won't be a lot of big name free agents because teams wil either lock them up or trade them for players that will actually help their teams.

P.S. the Sun's were only bad for half the season after the trade, they didn't have to go a whole season with that terrible team.

 

[The Commish]

Moves made for next year. That is very risky. Free agents are going to question coming here after we just gave up on Glaus after one season. Plus who are the big names next year, Zito, Garland. I bet that both the Sox and the A's trade them both and they sign extensions w/ their new teams before next year. Just like this year there won't be a lot of big name free agents because teams wil either lock them up or trade them for players that will actually help their teams.

P.S. the Sun's were only bad for half the season after the trade, they didn't have to go a whole season with that terrible team.

I guess you forget how athletes act. Money talks and weather talks. We signed guys last offseason after losing 117 games. Granted I agree that the Suns did it only for half of a season, but this doom and gloom talk is very reminiscent. I mean the Dbacks tied themselves down with this contract, and at least they are trying to fix it. I just don't understand what you want us to do? I mean Glaus is an overrated, oft-injured player who strikes out a lot and does not hit in clutch situtations, not to mention he commits tons of errors. Combine this with his ginormous contract and it becomes very difficult to get equal value in return. Personally I would rather get almost nothing in return and use the money somewhere else than getting another club's junk with a huge contract.

 

[Lefty]

I don't like this trade at all. I would rather get a pitching prospect than Batista. My guess is once this trade happens the Diamondbacks will then get Upton signed with the money they saved in trading Troy.

 

[overseascardfan]

I guess you forget how athletes act. Money talks and weather talks. We signed guys last offseason after losing 117 games. Granted I agree that the Suns did it only for half of a season, but this doom and gloom talk is very reminiscent. I mean the Dbacks tied themselves down with this contract, and at least they are trying to fix it. I just don't understand what you want us to do? I mean Glaus is an overrated, oft-injured player who strikes out a lot and does not hit in clutch situtations, not to mention he commits tons of errors. Combine this with his ginormous contract and it becomes very difficult to get equal value in return. Personally I would rather get almost nothing in return and use the money somewhere else than getting another club's junk with a huge contract.

Get players that will help us next year. I agree, Troy Glaus may be on the downside but you can't argue with the production (37HR's, 97RBI's). Batista and Hernandez combined for the same amount of wins as Javier Vazquez alone. Besides Zito and Garland there aren't alot of good young pitchers available next year so our best bet was to get players, preferably young pitching talent for these two players. Honestly, I would have asked for either Chacin or Towers who make less than Batista and are better. I think that the White Sox would have traded us Brandon McCarthy and Young for Vazquez. As far as equal value, they want Glaus, we didn't have to trade him be he was in demand same as Vazquez, so we could have named our price.

 

[BOB_Man24]

Get players that will help us next year. I agree, Troy Glaus may be on the downside but you can't argue with the production (37HR's, 97RBI's). Batista and Hernandez combined for the same amount of wins as Javier Vazquez alone. Besides Zito and Garland there aren't alot of good young pitchers available next year so our best bet was to get players, preferably young pitching talent for these two players. Honestly, I would have asked for either Chacin or Towers who make less than Batista and are better. I think that the White Sox would have traded us Brandon McCarthy and Young for Vazquez. As far as equal value, they want Glaus, we didn't have to trade him be he was in demand same as Vazquez, so we could have named our price.

I completly agree with you. This trade in particular is rediculous. I mean we have various needs but Batista is the best you can get? And is Hudson exacly ripping things apart, stealing bases, or getting on all that much? No. Then what is the point. You just traded your only real RBI threat for a pitcher we could have signed last year and mid-tier 2b. Boo...