The Cardinals have remained busy and according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney has acquired Matt Holliday from the A's for Brett Wallace, Clayton Mortensen and Shane Peterson. The A's added 1.5 million to the deal, presumably to get Wallace thrown in.
Cardinals Side: Great pick up for St. Louis. Holliday is a much better fit in the NL and can now slot in LF and give the Cards a pretty strong OF in Holliday-Rasmus-Ludwick (who is hitting .391-.449-.681 in the 2nd half) with Rick Ankiel a pretty darn good 4th OF. I think this acquisition makes the Cardinals the favorite in the Central, with the Cubs many hitters playing below expectations and the Brewers inability to acquire an arm.
Athletics Side: Well, now the Hairston acquisition makes sense. Orlando Cabrera was also rumored to be part of this deal as Billy Beane was hoping to install Cliff Pennington at SS, but the acquisition of Lugo ruined that. The A's got some of the best that the Cards system has to offer.
Wallace was the prize of this system that everyone wanted and Beane will likely now move him to 1st since Eric Chavez is firmly entrenched at 3B when healthy. Here is a detailed scouting report on Wallace:
http://tkbaseball.blogspot.com/2009/07/futures-game-us.html
Mortensen is highly regarded despite not putting up earth shattering #'s at any stop. The 24 year old is pitching at Memphis this year and is 7-6, 4.37 in 105 innings, posting 34 walks and 82 strikeouts. According to Baseball America, he pitches with a sinker at 90-93, a hard slider and a developing changeup.
Peterson is currently getting his 1st crack at AA and the 21 year old hasn't disappointed. He started the year at High A and hit .298-.367-.428 with 10 SB's. Now at AA, he is hitting .284-.338-.405 in 74 at bats. He is 6-0, 195 and is a L/L, so he sounds like a potential 4th OF at worst and is making great progress through the system.
Analysis: The Cards get the best bat on the market as a rental while the A's get a package of prospects back. The question the A's need to ask themselves is if they won the deal of Carlos Gonzalez, Huston Street and Greg Smith for Brett Wallace, Clayton Mortensen and Shane Peterson. I don't think they did, as Gonzalez is still putting together the tools to be a starting MLB OF and Street has been a godsend for the Rockies. Meanwhile, I personally question Wallace's ability to be a 20-25 HR guy, which he has to be to be a solid starting corner infielder with his defense and I don't think Mortense or Peterson will have that type of impact. That being said, if the Cardinals do not make the playoffs, the A's win simply because it will be hard for the Cards to offer 16 million in arbitration just in case he accepts. If the Cards make the playoffs, they win the deal easily.
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8 years ago
Interesting observation to take it back to the Colorado deal. I think you are right, when you look at it that way - it doesn't appear to be a win for the A's. And, if the Cards win the Division, everyone is happy in SL.
ReplyDeleteI think the trade evened out, referring to the Colorado trade and what St. Louis gave the A's. Street would be making money that doesn't make sense for the A's to be paying, and Gonzalez is solid, but I'm not sold on him yet. He's only 23, but he doesn't have patience at the plate and isn't as much of a threat on the bases as I thought he would be. Meanwhile, the A's are getting Wallace who is a high OB/contact guy and I believe will be 20+ homers. I agree he will move to first and might not have the power for the position, but I'm big on OB/contact hitters(see James Loney). My opinion is that Wallace will be better than Gonzalez if it is possible to compare the two since they play in completely different parks and positions.
ReplyDeleteYou have to remember, Loney is a plus defender, Wallace will be lucky to be league average. Got to remember that the A's play in a cavern. I just don't think he will hit for a ton of power after watching the futures game (granted, 2 AB's).
ReplyDeleteGonzalez is young and it is in-arguable that he has more tools (he is faster, stronger arm, better defense), but Wallace's hit tool is far advanced. I just don't think there is a ton of value in a .300 hitting, 15 HR, below average 1Bmen.
There is value in a .315, 25 HR, .385 OBP, average 1B hitting at the Coloseum. Plus, aren't they getting ready to build a new stadium? His defense can't be that bad if they still have him playing 3rd. Plus, isn't Gonzalez in LF?? Not much value there with the numbers he puts up. Aren't you looking for power out of LF? He's plays great defense for a LF, but if you are saying Wallace doesn't put up the numbers for a 1B then can't you say the same about Gonzalez in LF?
ReplyDeleteWell, I think his average is right where you have it, his power is down in the 15-20 range and his OBP is closer to .400. However, he is 6-0. There aren't that many good 6-0 tall 1B and he doesn't show great lateral mobility. Remember, he was playing 3rd because he wasn't going to play ahead of Albert, not because he was a whiz there.
ReplyDeleteAnd you make a very good point about Gonzalez. I keep evaluating him as a CF as opposed to a LF (do the same thing with Gerardo Parra, who I also love). I just would rather have Gonzalez's speed and defense with a lighter stick then Wallace's better stick and on base ability, but below average speed and defense.