Josh Hamilton to TEX, Edinson Volquez and Daniel Herrera to CIN

[molitor fan]

Interesting deal, and one that may allow the Reds to deal Homer Bailey in a trade to the Orioles for Bedard. Volquez is a top level guy.

 

 

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/baseball/rangers/stories/122207dnsporanglede.3b085d1a.html

[And That]

There goes Gwynn to the Rangers, I guess. And I can never understand why the Rangers would trade pitching they didn't have to. Hamilton could be a great offensive asset, but all the offensive assets in the world aren't going to help them with that pitching staff. It almost seems like they are trying to outdo the Astros. ERA's truly are bigger in Texas. The only thing that could make the situation more absurd is moving the Rays to San Antonio.

 

Besides, I hear they could have had Gabe Kapler back for cheap.

[aracko]

I love the deal for the Rangers. My humble opinion of it is that Hamilton proved he can hit and hit well on the major league level. Volquez hasnt shown anything yet.

 

 

I do carry Volquez on my fantasy team so I do agree that he has top stuff. But so did John Danks.

[TooLiveBrew]

Why have the Reds been so eager to unload Hamilton? That's made zero sense to me. This deal looks solid, but his name has been 'available' since the end of the 2007 season. Confuses me.

[twobrewers]

Why have the Reds been so eager to unload Hamilton?

Griffey, Dunn and top prospect Jay Bruce.

 

Someone had to go.

 

Edit: I forgot about Ryan Freel. They have plenty of OF depth, and sold high.

[Boy Jeenius]

Exactly what I was going to ask TLB. They were quite anxious to move him, despite his breakout year. On the other hand, Cincy turned a rule 5 pick into a solid, solid pitching prospect. Big picture, I'd take that every time.

[rluzinski]

Hamilton had a great year but only had 300 AB. He still has something to prove.

[NievesNoNO]

Seems like a fair deal, but not a smart one for Texas. When will this team figure out that offense alone can't get you where you want to go. On the other hand it seems that Cincy is finally coming to that realization.

[Boy Jeenius]

2 years ago, all the talk of Texas' future was "DVD" Diamond, Volquez and Danks. They were going to grow by sticking with their young pitching. Already 2 of them are gone and Diamond is still a prospect on the cusp. I guess they just never will get it, no matter who's in charge.

[JohnBriggs12]

There goes Gwynn to the Rangers, I guess. And I can never understand why the Rangers would trade pitching they didn't have to. Hamilton could be a great offensive asset, but all the offensive assets in the world aren't going to help them with that pitching staff. It almost seems like they are trying to outdo the Astros. ERA's truly are bigger in Texas. The only thing that could make the situation more absurd is moving the Rays to San Antonio.

 

Besides, I hear they could have had Gabe Kapler back for cheap.

 

Forget Gwynn, this deal frees up Texas to deal Catalanotto to Brewers for a replacement for Volquez who had been listed in Texas' rotation. It will be Catalanotto/Kapler platoon in left (my prediction) for Brewers.

[aracko]

I am pretty positive diamond blew out his shoulder and needs to get back from that.

[Fatter than Joey]

Why have the Reds been so eager to unload Hamilton?

 

He is a 26-27 year old OF with less than 300 ABs they sold him when his value was at its highest.

 

That's made zero sense to me.

 

The Reds need pitching -- Volquez bumps another craptacular pitcher into the toilet. The Reds have Jay Bruce.

 

I think from start to finish the Reds did a great job with Hamilton.

[danzig6767]

Nice job by the Reds to get Hamilton for nothing and turning him into a good needed arm.

[DrWood]

I dunno. Hamilton could be a .900 OPS guy for the next 6 years, while playing good in the field, too.

[colbyjack]

Volquez has rised through the minors and has succeeded at the AAA level with a taste of the big-leagues, but he's far from a finished product. The shine on his star has faded the past two years, and while he still has a golden arm, going from Texas to Cincy isn't exactly going to help him as far as ballparks are concerned. Hamilton at least is proven in limited opportunities, and has proven that his talent and work ethic are strong enough to make up for past obstacles.

 

This deal actually reminds me of the Rob Bell for Ruben Mateo trade that the Reds and Rangers pulled off a few years ago, with neither once super-prospect having an impact at the big-league level. In theory it's a good deal for the Reds, dealing from strength to address a clear weakness, but we shall see...

[TheBrewer]

If I was the Reds GM I would've tried to deal Griffy who's aging and expensive over Hamilton.. now in a year or less Griffey and Dunn will be gone.. the pitcher they acquired hasn't done much yet agreed. While Volquez hasn't been as bad as Ben Hendrickson was for the Brewers, it shows how the minors are different from the majors, I'm suprized they couldn't have gotten someone a little more proven for him

[TooLiveBrew]

I had the same thought about Griffey & Dunn, TB. That's what confused me when I posted at #3. Griffey's done a nice job of logging more time in the last two years, but is always an injury concern - and Dunn is gone nearly for certain by either the 2008 trading deadline, or after the season. Sure, the Reds have a nice OF prospect coming up, but Hamilton looks to have finally gotten himself together - and while I agree he yet has more to prove, I'm not sure why the Reds felt like he was the one to deal.

 

You could've gotten more in return for either Griffey or Dunn, and especially with Dunn you're all but guaranteed to lose him next year.

[Oldcity]

It's tough to trade Hamilton, in my opinion. Bill James' projections, among others, are through the roof for him in 2008. I think a hitter like that is a better bet than a young pitcher.

[TooLiveBrew]

Interesting mention on James's projection of him for next year, Stevo. For those curious, it's .305/.382/.598/.979. That's a tad high for my taste - he slots him with a .293 ISO, which seems a bit high, but certainly isn't implausible. Fwiw, he projects 410 ABs for 2008, as opposed to a 'full' season north of 500. Just to clarify, one reason I think the SLG%/ISO is high is due to Hamilton's 24.4% FB/HR rate. That's way too high to be anything sustainable - even in a hitter's park. No way he slugs .598 next year.

[Oldcity]

I agree it's a bit high, as I don't really think he'll hit for a .305 average, but still. That's a lot to give away for a pitcher with very limited success in the majors.

[twobrewers]

You could've gotten more in return for either Griffey or Dunn, and especially with Dunn you're all but guaranteed to lose him next year.

Dunn received a full no trade clause when they picked up his option for this year. So they pretty much had to trade Griffey or Hamilton. I wonder if they were maybe hesitant to trade an icon like Griffey. (They do have a 16.5m option next year on Griffey as well.)

 

But I do agree, it doesn't seem like they got the biggest return for a player with as high of a ceiling as Hamilton.

[TooLiveBrew]

Ahh... didn't realize that about Dunn's no-trade clause - thanks. Even still, any player can choose to waive a n-t-clause if he so chooses. You may be on to something about them being hesitant to trade Griffey, plus he's done a nice job staying on the field lately - and you know what you'll get with Griff.

[hauser42]

2 years ago, all the talk of Texas' future was "DVD" Diamond, Volquez and Danks. They were going to grow by sticking with their young pitching. Already 2 of them are gone and Diamond is still a prospect on the cusp. I guess they just never will get it, no matter who's in charge.

They are prospects and have not proven any thing yet. Rangers got a younger OFer who at his worst is a solid regular OFer for them. Many pitching prospects never make it so teams are smart to trade them when they have value before they loose the value.

[ILuvDaBush]

I think the endless supply that the Dodgers have marched out is the best testament. Chadd Billingsley is their only home-grown prospect in their rotation, unless you consider Kuroda to be "home-grown". He's about as home-grown as my Mota.

[mothershipconnection]

Very interesting trade, and it'll all hinge on Hamilton IMO. Perhaps the Reds just wanted to trade him once he established value and were afraid of the risk of keeping a guy with a self-destructive past. No matter how far behind him that all seems, you always would have to have the possibility of a relapse in the back of your mind. Volquez is a good prospect, but I think Texas wins if Hamilton continues his recent success and keeps his head out of his heinder.