Trans-STRAT-ctions V
By Joe Harder - Guest Writer
01/16/2009
Transactions that might matter to your Strat team
RHP John Smoltz, 41 years old, to Red Sox. Should get some wins with this solid Boston team, but those don’t matter that much in Strat. His career WHIP is 1.17, and it has hovered right around that his last three years as a full-time starter (though he threw only 28 innings last season).
RHP Derek Lowe, 35 years old, to Braves. Lowe has averaged 15 wins and 208 innings pitched over the last eight seasons. Generally a steady starred starter in Strat, had a 1.13 WHIP last year, and is six years younger than Smoltz.
RHP Trevor Hoffman, dob: 10/13/67 to Brewers. No longer invincible, becomes the Brewers’ new closer. Against righties he will still have his moments, but his card will be somewhat unplayable against lefties (.341 on base against and .532 slugging percent against versus lefties in 2008). Still, he’s got a job, and already had adapted beyond his flame-throwing years, so you may want to take him late for whatever he has left.
RHB Rocco Baldelli, dob: 9/25/81 to Red Sox. Oh please, oh please, as a relatively new Baldelli owner, I’m hoping he can finally achieve the promise that seemed to be there before the myriad injuries. Still young, turning twenty eight during the 2009 season during which he will likely be a fourth outfielder in Boston. At this point in his recovery from “treatable channelopathy,” which had been misdiagnosed as mitochondrial disease, he still becomes fatigued quickly from on field activities, but presumably this will improve over time with treatment. You don’t want him in Rotisserie because of the limited playing time, but you may in Strat. Mashes lefties and plays respectable, if quite limited, corner defense with his 2008 card. He’ll likely make my team. I’m pleased that I got him just before last year’s draft as a sweetener in my acquisition of Mike Redmond (c-2 with positive clutch) for Ryan Madson and sweetener Freddy Garcia (subsequently cut by the other owner).
RHB Gabe Kapler, dob: 7/31/75 to Rays. Kapler had a monster year in his return to the major leagues in limited duty last year, murdering lefties at a .354/.379/.622 clip (okay, so he doesn’t walk much). In my league, his 242 at bats plus walks would translate to sixty plate appearances, just over one per game. If you need a lefty masher, he may be the guy, and could produce just as well at the Trop, as the wrong side of a DH platoon/occasional outfielder, but he is 34, and he didn’t play in the majors in 2007.
RHP Mark Prior, dob: 9/7/80 and RHB Chris Burke, dob: 3/11/80 signed minor league deals with the Padres. Both used to be good, as did the Padres, but not so much now. Prior hasn’t thrown an effective major league inning since 2005, but is on an early track to report to spring training with the other pitchers, and if healthy is probably still one of the best. Burke earned a 1b-3, 2b-3, lf/rf-3, 3b-4, and ss-4 for his utility work last year with Arizona, but didn’t reach the Mendoza line, so is probably unplayable for you (though, if you have Giambi at first, as I do, you need some kind of defensive 1b). Only twenty-eight, he came up with some hype, and is in the competition to start at second for the Padres, as well as play the outfield against tough lefties (according to G.M. Kevin Towers) so may be worth a flyer.
Thirty-somethings that probably won’t affect your league much
LHB Mark Kotsay, dob: 12/2/75 re-signed with Red Sox. Interesting, given that his performance dropped off significantly after he came over from the Braves. Career .337 on base percentage, with a slugging percent just over .400, he is insurance against Baldelli’s inevitable injury, which in the Red Sox’s nightmares follows the inevitable injury to J.D. Drew.
LHB Alex Cora, dob: 10/18/75 to the Mets. Not a good defensive shortstop, will compete for the utility role on the Mets. Though he has had decent on base at times, including .378 against righties last year, he provides little pop, with only a .364 slugging percent that way, and is abysmal against lefties.
RHP Guillermo Mota, dob: 7/25/73 to Dodgers. Mota’s ten year career has routed him through Montreal, Los Angeles, Florida, Los Angeles, Florida, Cleveland, New York (Mets,) Milwaukee, and back to Los Angeles. Hits were down slightly, walks were up slightly, and strikeouts were stable between 2007 and 2008, but his era in ’08 was more than one and a half runs better than in ’07. Don’t be fooled. His WHIP was actually slightly worse, 1.40 versus 1.37, neither of which is particularly playable as a setup man in games you care about.
RHP Bartolo Colon, dob: 5/24/73 to White Sox. The first hit he gives up in 2009 will be the 2000th of his career (with 2014-1/3 innings logged so far). I predict it will be in the first inning of his first start, and will be followed in his second start by his 700th career walk (he’s eleven away). If the White Sox are banking on him for much, they may be disappointed, but if you are going to pick a Colon, better Bartolo than the one I drafted a few years ago, Roman, who sports a career major league era of 5.03 to go with his 1.49 WHIP, and was arrested and suspended two years ago for felonious assault on a minor league teammate.
RHP Tim Redding, dob: 2/12/78 to Mets. Career 5th (or 6th) starter joins the Mets with, at the moment, expectations as more a third or fourth starter, after ace Johan Santana and the over-reaching #2 Mike Pelfrey and #3 John Maine. Perhaps Oliver Perez will be signed, and it’s possible that Citi Field will be a more extreme pitcher’s park than Shea was, but to expect too much from the 31 year old Redding will affect the Mets, and likely you, if you take him too highly. Career WHIP actually worse than Roman Colon’s 1.49.
RHP Takashi Saito, dob : 2/14/70 to Red Sox. Better against righties, but respectable against lefties, Saito has continued a successful U.S. follow-on to his Japanese baseball career. Won’t get many save opportunities with Boston, but could vulture some wins and be a productive reliever for Boston next year, and maybe your team as well. He will be 39 when the season starts, though.
Willie Bloomquist, dob: 11/27/77 to Royals. Prototypical utility player is an of-3, 2b/ss/3b-4 with 2008 cards, providing some speed and solid on base against lefties. However, he’s substandard versus righties, and it’s pretty easy to find an of-3 who, unless you need the infield versatility, will be better overall for you.
RHP Tyler Walker, dob: 5/15/76 signs with Mariners. In 2007 Walker had fourteen and a third awesome innings for the Giants. In his career, he’s had 214-2/3 other innings that were decidedly less so.
Minor dealings
RHP Russ Ortiz, dob: 6/5/74 signed a minor league deal with Astros. Did not pitch in the majors in 2008. Do not, I repeat, do not make the mistake I made by having this Ortiz on your team…perhaps I was hoping to get a quantity discount on fantasy uniform letters, with Big Papi already on the squad.
RHB Craig Monroe, dob: 2/27/77 signed a minor league deal with Pirates. I drafted Monroe as a rookie when he had huge positive clutch. That was his Strat career high point so far, as even in the years he showed moderate power in semi-regular time, his on base against righties was always abysmal.
LHB Jay Gibbons, dob: 3/2/77 signed a minor league deal with Marlins. Career on base percentage of only .314, but has hit twenty or more homers three times.
RHP Yhency Brazoban, dob: 11/6/80 signed a minor league deal with Dodgers. Another possible set-up man, along with Mota. Has thrown nine and two-thirds major league innings the last three seasons, with horrid results, but maybe you (and the Dodgers) need extra batting practice pitchers.
LHP Shawn Estes, dob: 2/18/73 signed a minor league deal with Dodgers. I had no idea that Estes had even pitched last year, though he logged 43-2/3 innings with the cellar-dwelling Padres, following a lost 2007 season and six innings in 2006. He did manage just over one inning as a reliever last year, and is tolerable against lefties, so maybe he can help you as a specialist lefty out of the pen, if he qualifies.
RHB Chris Gomez, dob: 6/16/71 signed a minor league deal with Orioles. Three of his top four on base years were with the Orioles, but with Cesar Izturis as the everyday shortstop, playing time may be limited, if he even makes the squad.
RHB Angel Berroa, dob: 1/27/78 signed a minor league deal with Yankees. Berroa will compete with Cody Ransom for 2009 utility role. Ransom has a good card for 2008, but watch them in Spring Training to see whether Berroa’s presence hurts Ransom’s future value.
RHB Marcus Giles, dob: 5/18/78 signed a minor league deal with Phillies. Utley seems pretty entrenched to me, but maybe Marcus and Nomar (if they sign him) can play cards in the clubhouse or something.