Saturday, October 28, 2006

Part 9: Offseason needs: a starter and a hitter

Good ending last night, see my post a little lower for the Cardinals evaluation.
Just a quick link, the GMs are going to discuss making it harder for the Wild Card to win it all.

17th trade: to Tampa Bay: Kevin Cash, Received Chad Gaudin
With too many no-hit, all catch catchers Ricciardi decided to ship one of them to Tampa Bay for young pitcher Chad Gaudin. Both players made near the minimum salary so this was essentially one of those baseball trades. Unfortunately, Gaudin completely faltered as a Blue Jay, establishing a VORP of -10.6 during his only season before being traded to Oakland . Cash did not perform much better in his season as a D-Ray, establishing a VORP of -0.9 but at the very least he performed better than Gaudin. The true value of this trade will depend on the player acquired for Gaudin, Dustin Majewski.

18th trade: to Arizona: Adam Peterson, Received Shea Hillenbrand
Needing someone to stabilize the designated hitter position and someone to help add some pop after letting Delgado walk, the Jays targeted Hillenbrand who had become expendable in Arizona. To do so, Ricciardi traded young reliever Adam Peterson who unfortunately hasn't had as much as a cup of tea since in the Majors since joining the Diamondbacks and was selected off waivers by the Tigers. Hillenbrand played well for the Blue Jays in 2005 and until his trade in 2006 while playing both corner positions and DHing a whole lot. Not known for his glove, he was often solid at either corner position. His VORPs during his two seasons with the Blue Jays was of 32.5 and 11.3 along with Win Shares of 15 and 5. Unfortunately for Jays fan, Hillenbrand left a bitter taste in their mouths on their way out by engaging in a locker room incident that has yet to be fully disclosed. He was subsequently traded along with Vinnie Chulk for Jeremy Accardo. All in all, this was a good trade by Jays management, acquiring a valuable bat while not giving up any player of consequence. Unfortunately, Hillenbrand will be remembered for his off the field actions instead of for his great bat that he brought to the team..

Last part of the Project comes later today!

No comments: