Trevor Bauer Traded For Didi Gregorius

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Diamondback Jay

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I think it's fair to say Derek Jeter never had a .288 OBP on ANY level, never mind in AAA ball.
 

Diamondback Jay

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I've been a member of this board for almost 9 years now. Posted quite a few times, and I'd like to believe, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the Diamondbacks, I've tried to always avoid the "this deal sucks, fire the GM" arguments. In fact, I've often smiled upon moves that generally were looked down upon by the ASFN community.

However, I absolutely cannot put a positive spin on this trade, no matter how hard I try. In fact, the moment I found out that Bauer was being sent to Cleveland with Gregorious as the main piece coming back here, I felt ill.

Yes, Trevor may have ruffled a few feathers with Miguel Montero. Yes, he may be a bit of a headcase. You know what else he is? A damn talented pitcher, who has CY YOUNG potential. I'm willing to deal with headcases when they have this kid's upside. Yet, now if/when we see him become that top of the line pitcher, it will be somewhere else, because KT didn't like the guy? Sorry, but here's reality. Didi Gregorious may be a nice guy. He may be a hustler. He may be beloved in the dugout, and even offer to rub Miguel Montero's feet twice an inning. At the end of the day however to say he's worth ANYONE'S top prospect, let alone a pitching prospect who made the Majors in under a full season's worth of play is the mother of all stretches.

How about the fact that Cincinnati's 8th best prospect (he wasn't even the best SHORTSTOP prospect in their organization, that honor goes to Billy Hamilton; and Zack Cozart isn't exactly a dinosaur at 27 and coming off a fine 2012) hit a whopping OBP of .288 in Louisville. Mind you, Chris Young (who 90 percent of this board couldn't wait to send packing) had a .311 OBP last year. Next to Gregorious, Young looks Joey Votto-esque.

Oh and as for the "he's a great defensive SS" stuff I've been hearing online? He committed 40 errors in the last two seasons. That's not great by any stretch.. In fact, that's pretty lousy.

I am well aware Arizona had a void at SS. However, I had grave concerns going into the off-season that KT was going to grossly overpay for one. Sadly, my concerns proved real. I honestly would have rather gone in to 2013 with Pennington at SS than overpay for one. Need a vet? Go sign Ronny Cedeno. Keep him there for a few years until Owings is ready. Sounds quite a bit better than overpaying and giving up a stud pitcher for one, ESPECIALLY one who had a .288 OBP in AAA ball.

I honestly hate pessimism, but this trade is awful and one I can't begin to even THINK of trying to justify.
 

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He barely eeked out a .700 OPS as a 22 year old in AAA. Even if his glove is as advertised, that essentially makes him a de-aged Johnny McDonald. Let that sink in for a while.
 

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Upon further review, this trade is an embarassment. Shame on you Towers.
 

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He barely eeked out a .700 OPS as a 22 year old in AAA. Even if his glove is as advertised, that essentially makes him a de-aged Johnny McDonald. Let that sink in for a while.

I was thinking the same thing.

The Dbacks already have a stud defensive SS who can't hit. McDonald. Why trade ONE OF THE BEST PROSPECTS IN BASEBALL for a younger McDonald?

I'll root for him to do well but this is just an awful, awful trade.

First Parker, now Bauer.
 

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At least I saw the justification of the Parker for Cahill deal. You traded a 23 year old minor leaguer for a 23 year old proven commodity, who had a modicum of success already on the MLB level.

I have NO justification for this.. I'd be willing to stop short of saying, there's not another GM in BASEBALL who would trade one of baseball's top pitching prospects who tasted the bigs in less than one full season after being drafted at the ripe young age of 21 for a no-hit, defensive specialist. None. Or hell... They already got him on the roster... Johnny McDonald.
 

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It's like there's a contest in the Valley right now to see who can anger their fans the most. Suns/Cardinals/Coyotes/Diamondbacks
 

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It's like there's a contest in the Valley right now to see who can anger their fans the most. Suns/Cardinals/Coyotes/Diamondbacks

Sad thing is, other than this mother of all crap trades, the Diamondbacks have quietly had a nice post-season. McCarthy, at 7 million a season, was a bargain. So were Chavez and Hinske at 4 million combined. Trading Young and getting Heath Bell with the Marlins footing a large portion of the bill was nice too. The Wheeler trade was iffy, but not a complete baffler.

This though? This sunk the battleship.
 

JS22

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There has got to be more to the story. Bauer must have done SOMETHING to cause this type of trade. Otherwise it just makes zero sense.
 
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There has got to be more to the story. Bauer must have done SOMETHING to cause this type of trade. Otherwise it just makes zero sense.

Maybe is wanted a personal catcher and with what Miggy is making, you cannot give him 20% of the season off.
 

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I've been a member of this board for almost 9 years now. Posted quite a few times, and I'd like to believe, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the Diamondbacks, I've tried to always avoid the "this deal sucks, fire the GM" arguments. In fact, I've often smiled upon moves that generally were looked down upon by the ASFN community.

However, I absolutely cannot put a positive spin on this trade, no matter how hard I try. In fact, the moment I found out that Bauer was being sent to Cleveland with Gregorious as the main piece coming back here, I felt ill.

Yes, Trevor may have ruffled a few feathers with Miguel Montero. Yes, he may be a bit of a headcase. You know what else he is? A damn talented pitcher, who has CY YOUNG potential. I'm willing to deal with headcases when they have this kid's upside. Yet, now if/when we see him become that top of the line pitcher, it will be somewhere else, because KT didn't like the guy? Sorry, but here's reality. Didi Gregorious may be a nice guy. He may be a hustler. He may be beloved in the dugout, and even offer to rub Miguel Montero's feet twice an inning. At the end of the day however to say he's worth ANYONE'S top prospect, let alone a pitching prospect who made the Majors in under a full season's worth of play is the mother of all stretches.

How about the fact that Cincinnati's 8th best prospect (he wasn't even the best SHORTSTOP prospect in their organization, that honor goes to Billy Hamilton; and Zack Cozart isn't exactly a dinosaur at 27 and coming off a fine 2012) hit a whopping OBP of .288 in Louisville. Mind you, Chris Young (who 90 percent of this board couldn't wait to send packing) had a .311 OBP last year. Next to Gregorious, Young looks Joey Votto-esque.

Oh and as for the "he's a great defensive SS" stuff I've been hearing online? He committed 40 errors in the last two seasons. That's not great by any stretch.. In fact, that's pretty lousy.

I am well aware Arizona had a void at SS. However, I had grave concerns going into the off-season that KT was going to grossly overpay for one. Sadly, my concerns proved real. I honestly would have rather gone in to 2013 with Pennington at SS than overpay for one. Need a vet? Go sign Ronny Cedeno. Keep him there for a few years until Owings is ready. Sounds quite a bit better than overpaying and giving up a stud pitcher for one, ESPECIALLY one who had a .288 OBP in AAA ball.

I honestly hate pessimism, but this trade is awful and one I can't begin to even THINK of trying to justify.

100% correct.
 

Gaddabout

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I've been a member of this board for almost 9 years now. Posted quite a few times, and I'd like to believe, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the Diamondbacks, I've tried to always avoid the "this deal sucks, fire the GM" arguments. In fact, I've often smiled upon moves that generally were looked down upon by the ASFN community.

However, I absolutely cannot put a positive spin on this trade, no matter how hard I try. In fact, the moment I found out that Bauer was being sent to Cleveland with Gregorious as the main piece coming back here, I felt ill.

Yes, Trevor may have ruffled a few feathers with Miguel Montero. Yes, he may be a bit of a headcase. You know what else he is? A damn talented pitcher, who has CY YOUNG potential. I'm willing to deal with headcases when they have this kid's upside. Yet, now if/when we see him become that top of the line pitcher, it will be somewhere else, because KT didn't like the guy? Sorry, but here's reality. Didi Gregorious may be a nice guy. He may be a hustler. He may be beloved in the dugout, and even offer to rub Miguel Montero's feet twice an inning. At the end of the day however to say he's worth ANYONE'S top prospect, let alone a pitching prospect who made the Majors in under a full season's worth of play is the mother of all stretches.

How about the fact that Cincinnati's 8th best prospect (he wasn't even the best SHORTSTOP prospect in their organization, that honor goes to Billy Hamilton; and Zack Cozart isn't exactly a dinosaur at 27 and coming off a fine 2012) hit a whopping OBP of .288 in Louisville. Mind you, Chris Young (who 90 percent of this board couldn't wait to send packing) had a .311 OBP last year. Next to Gregorious, Young looks Joey Votto-esque.

Oh and as for the "he's a great defensive SS" stuff I've been hearing online? He committed 40 errors in the last two seasons. That's not great by any stretch.. In fact, that's pretty lousy.

I am well aware Arizona had a void at SS. However, I had grave concerns going into the off-season that KT was going to grossly overpay for one. Sadly, my concerns proved real. I honestly would have rather gone in to 2013 with Pennington at SS than overpay for one. Need a vet? Go sign Ronny Cedeno. Keep him there for a few years until Owings is ready. Sounds quite a bit better than overpaying and giving up a stud pitcher for one, ESPECIALLY one who had a .288 OBP in AAA ball.

I honestly hate pessimism, but this trade is awful and one I can't begin to even THINK of trying to justify.

I think we agree that a B+ or A- catcher signed to a long-term deal still <<< than an idiot pitcher with a hundred million dollar arm.

I think the D-Backs felt they lacked the ability to cash in on that. Community relations before winning with that group, always.
 

Diamondback Jay

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I think we agree that a B+ or A- catcher signed to a long-term deal still <<< than an idiot pitcher with a hundred million dollar arm.

I don't know. I'd take the 100 million dollar arm. That's just me though.

Also, why can't you have both? I mentioned the idea of a personal catcher for Bauer. Isn't like they'd have to park Montero on the bench. Put him at 1st every five days. Give Goldschmidt a break. Might actually preserve Montero's career for the long run and make him a more versitile option than he already is, which is an good one to begin with.

I think the D-Backs felt they lacked the ability to cash in on that. Community relations before winning with that group, always.

That's the part where some of the hire ups failed then. Community relations are relatively easy to make good with when wins are coming. Bauer becomes a 17-18 game winner in the next two-three years, watch how quick ill will dies.
 

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I don't know. I'd take the 100 million dollar arm. That's just me though.

Also, why can't you have both? I mentioned the idea of a personal catcher for Bauer. Isn't like they'd have to park Montero on the bench. Put him at 1st every five days. Give Goldschmidt a break. Might actually preserve Montero's career for the long run and make him a more versitile option than he already is, which is an good one to begin with.



That's the part where some of the hire ups failed then. Community relations are relatively easy to make good with when wins are coming. Bauer becomes a 17-18 game winner in the next two-three years, watch how quick ill will dies.

I think the odds are more likely that Bauer flames out and never fulfills his incredible potential. I don't wish ill will on the kid at all... However, there enough evidence in play to suggest he has a very steep, uphill battle ahead of him due to the mush between his ears...

Lots of great arms in baseball... not a lot of great arms attached to bodies with great heads. Time will tell of course, but for me - I like what Towers did here...
 

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I like the trade. They were higher on Skaggs and Corbin clearly. Bauer mouths off on twitter about not wanting to change his mechanics. That combined with his massive control issues might have done it. Give Gregorius a chance.
 

Diamondback Jay

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I think the odds are more likely that Bauer flames out and never fulfills his incredible potential. I don't wish ill will on the kid at all... However, there enough evidence in play to suggest he has a very steep, uphill battle ahead of him due to the mush between his ears...

Lots of great arms in baseball... not a lot of great arms attached to bodies with great heads. Time will tell of course, but for me - I like what Towers did here...

How? The guy DOMINATED in the minors and needed less than a full season to make it to the bigs. That doesn't appear to be a guy too restricted by lack of gray matter. Hell, Bryce Harper was labeled immature ln every level of baseball he has played, including high school. I would hate to think the organization gave up on a potential Cy Young Award winner and a guy who in short sample sizes has shown he is more than capable of doing this over maturity. Kids do grow up over time.

Sure, Didi Gregorious is likely going to be a great teammate and I am sure he is a swell guy. However, look at his much bigger body of work and you will see that it is more realistic that Bauer will make Arizona look stupid for trading him for a slap hitter with poor OBP numbers but decent defense. You go sign guys like that off the garbage heap. You easily could have signed Ronny Cedeno to do the same thing for a million bucks, if that. You don't trade a guy who was recently a top 3 pick and has quickly established himself as one of baseball's elite pitching prospects in a short period of time for that kind of player, yet KT did just that.
 

82CardsGrad

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How? The guy DOMINATED in the minors and needed less than a full season to make it to the bigs. That doesn't appear to be a guy too restricted by lack of gray matter. Hell, Bryce Harper was labeled immature ln every level of baseball he has played, including high school. I would hate to think the organization gave up on a potential Cy Young Award winner and a guy who in short sample sizes has shown he is more than capable of doing this over maturity. Kids do grow up over time.

Sure, Didi Gregorious is likely going to be a great teammate and I am sure he is a swell guy. However, look at his much bigger body of work and you will see that it is more realistic that Bauer will make Arizona look stupid for trading him for a slap hitter with poor OBP numbers but decent defense. You go sign guys like that off the garbage heap. You easily could have signed Ronny Cedeno to do the same thing for a million bucks, if that. You don't trade a guy who was recently a top 3 pick and has quickly established himself as one of baseball's elite pitching prospects in a short period of time for that kind of player, yet KT did just that.

KT made this move with a number of solid supportive reasonings. He said today they had Skaggs ranked above Bauer. They are expecting Hudson back at the all-star break. In short, they feel very confident and loaded with respect to starting pitching. KT also said that they are building the team around great pitching and defense. And DiDi is universally viewed as THE top defensive SS prospect. If things pan out the way he believes, they won't need a heavy hitting SS as much as they'll need a great glove.
He also pointed out that, since they absolutely needed to address the SS position either this season or next, he looked at what was going to be available and made this move in part, because he can control DiDi over the next 6 years. All of the other top FA prospects would only bring 2 years of control.
Lastly, I have no doubt that a major part of this trade is about Bauer and his head issues, as well as his issues with teammates (it's not just Miggy).
So, who knows... Bauer might go on and become the next Roger Clemens for all I know. But, in all honesty I believe than can only happen IF he seriously crashes and burns quickly. He's the kind of person who desperately needs to fail in a spectactular way before he see's the light. If that doesn't happen, I feel pretty certain he will never come close to fulfilling his promise...
 

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Congratulations Arizona!!!!!! We now officially have the MOST HORRIBLE ran franchises in all of sports. I think I'm just going to give up on sports. SMH.
 
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Congratulations Arizona!!!!!! We now officially have the MOST HORRIBLE ran franchises in all of sports. I think I'm just going to give up on sports. SMH.

You are joking, right?
 

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The D'backs didn't trade Bauer for Gregorius.

They gave away a head-case for a light hitting defensive shortstop who might be ready for the Majors later in the season.

Were they justified in giving up on Bauer? Only the D'backs front office knows.

Was it to satisfy Montero, who would have had to deal with that head-case every fifth game? And, if so, was it a good move overall? A "yes" answer seems just as valid as a "no" answer to ASFN posters. Again, only the D'backs front office knows.
 

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http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kevin_Towers&oldid=527723804

Kevin S. Towers (born November 11, 1961 in Medford, Oregon) A former San Diego Padres employee, Towers successfully completed his secret mission to destroy the rival Arizona Diamondbacks by trading Chris Young, Trevor Bauer, Matt Albers, and Bryan Shaw for 2 shortstops that can't hit, Tony Sipp, Heath Bell, and Lars Anderson. Towers then tried to confuse the Diamondbacks fans and cover up his tracks by claiming one of these shortstops that can't hit is the next Derek Jeter, while laughing at the Diamondbacks for paying him millions of dollars a year to destroy the team from the inside. Let's not forget his trade of Jarrod Parker, Collin Cowgill, and all-star rookie relief pitcher Ryan Cook for a poor man's Brandon Webb in Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow. Breslow was later flipped for Matt Albers and Scott Podsednik, Albers flipped to Cleveland and Podsednik refused his assignment to Triple-A and re-signed with that he was traded from less than 1 week later.
 

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I don't care if Towers thought he had twenty elite pitching prospects, you still don't give them away like they're Halloween candy. "Overfilled" depth charts tend to sort themselves out. Nobody ever says "wow, we just have too many good starting pitchers."
 
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