Part 3: In Season 2002: A Bullpen switcharoo and a prayer answered

6th trade: To Philadelphia: Dan Plesac, Received Cliff Politte
The Phillies needed Plesac's left arm out of the bullpen and the Jays were happy to make their bullepn younger and cheaper yet again. Politte had an oustanding 2002 with the Jays, establishing a value of 15. Politte's total Win Shares over the two seasons was of 10 while Plesac had a better value than Politte in 2003. However the total VORP advantage went to Pollitte and he was cheaper so it ended up being a good statistical trade for the Jays. If you think of it logistically, Plesac's statistics may not be the most imporant thing when judging his value. His biggest value is getting big touch left-handed hitters out in close situations. Considering the lefty out of the Jays pen in 2003 was Trever Miller (VORP of 6.3, 4 Win Shares), this trade is a debatable good deal.

7th trade: To New York Yankees: Raul Mondesi, Received Scott Wiggins
This trade was purely a salary/bad attitude dump, for a great account of how this team actually went down, read Chasing Steinbrenner . The Jays rid themselves of a player who had worn out his welcome and gladly took on some of his salary ($6 million). This trade is possibly made worse for the Jays because of the return the Yankees received for trading Mondesi to Arizona . But all in all, this was Ricciardi ridding himself of another big salary and a player he felt was a mistake made by the previous administration. The fact that Mondesi barely produced as a Yankee (VORPs of 4.4, 16.4, Win Shares of 12,11) proves how much he was overpaid. Unfortunately, this trade was a necessary evil for the Ricciardi regime since the Jays ended up saving over $12 million. So all in all, this is a trade that made the Jays lose talent but gave them more payroll flexibility. Mondesi barely established a Yankee value of 1 VORP/$ million which says a lot about his value...But as exemplified by the photo, Mondesi's bullish attitude would be missed.

Later today, more analysis when I get home from work.