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Off-Season Transaction Grades
A breakdown the EHCC winter dealings
By Aves McShades / The QC Times
It’s been a busy off-season in the EHCC this year, quite possibly the busiest the league has ever seen. With that in mind, it would seem about time to review each trade, piece by piece, and examine who the winners and losers have been. A team by team review will be forthcoming following this piece as well. Without further ado, on to the trades!
October 13, 2005
Golden Trades:
OF – Jeff Francoeur
Las Vegas Trades:
1B – Jason Giambi
OF – Hideki Matusi
2006 4th Rd. Major DP
Golden : A-
Las Vegas: B+
Analysis: A pretty good trade for both teams, with neither really losing too much. Las Vegas picks up a young, talented outfielder in exchange for two older, but no by no means finished, players. Both Giambi and Matsui should make up for the loss of Francoeur’s offensive output and then some, and Golden can pick up a pretty good player with the draft pick as well. A pretty good deal for both clubs.
November 26, 2005
Rakeville Trades:
2006 1st Rd. Minor DP
2006 2nd Rd. Minor DP
Weymouth Trades:
2007 1st Rd. Minor DP
2007 2nd Rd. Minor DP
Rakeville: B
Weymouth: B
Analysis: This trade made some sense, as Rakeville is pretty loaded with young talent anyway, and can use a year off from minor league picks. Additionally, both men are/may be indisposed during crucial scouting periods for these drafts, so swapping the picks works for both squads.
December 8, 2005
Las Vegas Trades:
2006 3rd Rd. Major DP
Rakeville Trades:
RP Derrick Turnbow
Las Vegas: B
Rakeville: B-
Anaylsis: Ho-hum. Las Vegas probably makes out a little better in this deal just for the fact that Turnbow was probably a late 2nd Round pick in this year’s draft anyway, so rather than take a chance on missing out on a reliever that could be good for 25+ saves, they went out and got him earlier. Rakeville does okay getting something for someone they likely would have dropped anyway.
December 8, 2005
Las Vegas Trades:
SP – Greg Maddux
1B/3B – Shea Hillenbrand
OF – Willy Taveras
2006 5th Rd. Major DP
Golden Trades:
SP – Brad Halsey
SP/RP – Dave Williams
2006 2nd Rd. Minor DP
Las Vegas: C
Golden: B-
Analysis: A little bit of a head-scratcher. This trade didn’t really do much to improve Las Vegas, except in stockpiling minor league draft picks. Halsey and Williams aren’t of much value on their own, and certainly not worth what Las Vegas gave up. However, Maddux probably wasn’t going to net much these days anyway, so getting youth, even if they aren’t very good players in their own right, was probably the smart move. Maddux is owned as a regular in fantasy baseball these days because of his name only, and isn’t keeper material, even in a league as deep as this one.
That said, Las Vegas gave up a pretty good young player in Willy Taveras. Tavvy, as he has been affectionately dubbed, has been projected by some analysts to be a young Juan Pierre, and could reach that potential as early as next year. With the lack of players who can score 100 Runs and steal 50 bases in fantasy baseball, Tavvy is a good bet to become the most valuable player exchanged in this trade, if he isn’t already. Meanwhile, stockpiling Major DP’s and multiple position players is just good business. Shea Hillenbrand is one of those guys who usually begins the year on waivers but is the first guy picked up when a star goes down.
December 12, 2005
Las Vegas Trades:
OF – Jonny Gomes
2006 4th Rd. Major DP
Bridgewater Trades:
2006 1st Rd. Minor DP
Las Vegas: B+
Bridgewater: D+
Analysis: Don’t get me wrong; Jonny Gomes is a very good player. However, he is a very good player who spent most of the season available for the taking for any team who desired him. Las Vegas picked him up late in the year for just this purpose, some shrewd foresight by GM Dogg. Bridgewater gets a + to go with their D simply because they don’t seem to have much value for Minor League picks, despite the fact that it netted them NL ROY winner Ryan Howard, therefore it probably didn’t hurt their plans for the future much to let that pick go.
December 23, 2005
Bizton Trades:
2B – Alfonso Soriano
OF – Jason Bay
2006 1st Rd. Minor DP
Receives:
SP – Adam Eaton
SP – Bartolo Colon
2B – Bill Hall
2006 1st Rd. Major DP
Golden Trades:
SP – Brad Penny
SP – Adam Eaton
2B – Bill Hall
Receives:
2B – Alfonso Soriano
2006 3rd Rd. Major DP
Las Vegas Trades:
SP – Bartolo Colon
2006 1st Rd. Major DP
2006 3rd Rd. Major DP
Receives:
OF – Jason Bay
SP – Brad Penny
2006 1st Rd. Minor DP
Bizton: D-
Golden: A
Las Vegas: A+
Analysis: My only question is did Las Vegas GM Howe Dogg actually put the gun to Bizton GM Biz Brown’s head, or was the implicit threat of said gun enough to get him to sign off on the deal? Are you kidding me? This has got to be the worst trade I’ve seen in a professional sports league since the Celtics traded FOR Vin Baker. Just an awful, awful, AWFUL trade for Bizton. Let’s review:
Bizton gives up arguably the best fantasy 2B in baseball as well as one of the best young OF’s in fantasy baseball, and, as if that weren’t enough, gives up a 1st Rd. Minor League Draft Pick, for all 260+ lbs. of Bartolo Colon (not to mention each of his 33 years on this planet, with his gimpy back tossed in no extra charge), the wildly overrated Bill Hall, Adam Eaton, who, after a trade to the launching pad in Texas, can expect to see his already shaky ERA balloon to almost 5.00, and a low 1st round pick in a thin major league draft. Wow. I’m not sure if GM Dogg deserves an award or to be shanked in prison while serving time for grand theft after that trade.
As for Golden, well done to GM Comtois for piggybacking on a good deal while giving up little to net an outstanding fantasy player at a weak position.
December 23, 2005
Tijuana Trades:
2006 2nd Rd. Major DP
Tokyo Trades:
SP – Jonathan Papelbon
Tijuana: B
Tokyo: B
Analysis: This seems about right, although Tijuana could really end up a big winner in this deal if Papelbon earns a spot in the Red Sox rotation. A minor, low-risk move for both teams.
December 27, 2005
Las Vegas Trades:
SP – Aaron Harang
C/3B – Brandon Inge
RP – Derrick Turnbow
SP – Jerome Williams
1B – Todd Helton
Haverhill Trades:
OF – Barry Bonds
SP – Ben Sheets
SS – Jose Reyes
Las Vegas: A+
Haverhill: F-
Analysis: Okay, seriously, whoever illegally sold Las Vegas GM Howe Dogg those firearms is now a wanted man. How else to explain him talking a hapless Swingers club into trading away 3 of their only 4 tradeable assets, 2 of whom are well under 30 and the third is the greatest hitter of all time? And he got absolute garbage for them. Garbage. Todd Helton is the prize of the bunch, if you can call an aging power hitter at the deepest fantasy position coming off the worst season of his career a prize. Turnbow is a good player, but you do not give up valuable commodities for relief pitchers, as a general rule. Especially RP’s from Milwaukee, which has had 3 different closers each of the last 3 years. Not exactly what I’d call a safe bet to continue that production. Inge is a very overrated fantasy player; his production could be approximated by Michael Barrett or Bengie Molina quite easily, if not surpassed. Harang and Williams are garbage. Period. An awful trade by Haverhill, who clearly has no idea what they are doing. These are the kinds of trades that get teams contracted.
December 27, 2005
Las Vegas Trades:
OF – Barry Bonds
2006 1st Rd. Minor DP
Rakeville Trades:
3B – David Wright
Las Vegas: A
Rakeville: B
Analysis: Another great move for Las Vegas, and a nice coup for Rakeville as well. Las Vegas gets the best young 3B on the market while Rakeville picks up what they consider to be the missing piece to their championship puzzle, while also recouping the pick (slightly higher, in fact) that was used to select Wright in the first place. If Bonds does in fact lead Rakeville to a championship, this grade would certainly become an A. Until then, however, I have to believe that Rakeville could have received a little bit more for the premier 3B in the EHCC. In fact, Rakeville probably could have cut the middle man out of this and gotten Barry Bonds for the corpse of Rickey Henderson and a bag of Doritos, if only anyone could get a hold of Haverhill but GM Dogg (and here is betting that he had to make like Sir Edmund Hilary climbing Everest to do so—can’t you just picture Haverhill GM Germain sitting at the top of a mountain in a Buddhist monastery meditating and giving away his good players to anyone who showed the courage and fortitude to find him? “My son, you have traveled long and far, endured many trials and tests, and yet have carried on. For this, I present you with 22 year old Jose Reyes, and his 70 stolen base potential. All I ask for in return is a pitcher…a pitcher of no real value, but with a funny name. Ahh…Harang…you may go my son. Fare thee well…”). In any event, a pretty good move for both teams. I think Rakeville would have been better off trading away Blalock and holding onto Wright though. He’s a superstar in the making.
December 27, 2005
Las Vegas Trades:
3B – Aramis Ramirez
SP – Brad Penny
2006 2nd Rd. Minor DP
Receives:
RP – Brad Lidge
2007 1st Rd. Minor DP
2006 2nd Rd. Major DP
Golden Trades:
RP – Brad Lidge
OF – Hideki Matsui
SP – Jeff Suppan
2007 1st Rd. Minor DP
2006 2nd Rd. Major DP
2006 6th Rd. Major DP
Receives:
3B – Aramis Ramirez
SP – Brad Penny
RP – Billy Wagner
2006 6th Rd. DP
Tijuana Trades:
RP – Billy Wagner
Other Stuff…to be honest, I’m not even sure whose draft picks were whose in this trade.
Receives:
SP – Jeff Suppan
OF – Hideki Matsui
2006 6th Rd. Major DP
2006 2nd Rd. Minor DP
Las Vegas: B
Golden: B+
Tijuana: C+
Analysis: It’s very difficult to analyze this trade, since I’m not even sure that the teams involved knew whose draft picks were going where. But it certainly wasn’t a blockbuster, despite the number of pieces involved. The only team that seemed to really improve from the trade was Golden, who picked up a pretty good pitcher in Penny, a fantastic 3B in Ramirez, and made a lateral move at closer with the acquisition of Wagner while losing Lidge. The trade made sense for Vegas, who now needed to make way for David Wright at third base and was able to stockpile some more draft picks while also acquiring one of the top closers in the game. I’m not sure why Tijuana wanted to get involved with this deal, as Matsui is a slight upgrade in the outfield, but not really a difference maker. I can understand wanting to unload an aging closer in Wagner while his value is still high, but why get so little in return? And why not get somebody younger? They picked up a minor league draft pick, but Tijuana has shown little initiative to either get younger or make good use of such picks, so it’s a bit of a head scratcher why they would make this move. But, then again, that’s pretty much the case with most of Tijuana’s trades. A mediocre deal all around.
December 30, 2005
Quebec City Trades:
SP – Jeff Weaver
OF – Jose Guillen
2B/SS – Mark Ellis
2006 4th Rd. Major DP
2006 7th Rd. Major DP
Bizton Trades:
SS – Jhonny Peralta
SP – Hayden Penn
Quebec City: B+
Bizton: B
Analysis: This was a trade that made some sense for both teams. Bizton was able to clear the way for up and coming SS B.J. Upton, expected to secure a starting role in 2006 for Tampa Bay, and acquire some help in other areas as well. The addition of Weaver continues Bizton’s quest to upgrade their starting pitching, while Guillen replaces most of Peralta’s pop, albeit in the outfield. Ellis is an underrated utility man for a fantasy club and can be a decent stopgap while Upton learns his role, and draft picks are draft picks. For The QC, this trade was an opportunity to get younger and move some dead weight. Peralta is a great up and coming player, and if he can replicate his success from last year in 2006, Quebec City may have gotten quite a steal. Penn has a lot of potential, but has yet to do anything at the major league level. This grade could end up an A for Quebec City if everything falls into place. Overall, a good, low-risk high-reward move.
December 31, 2005
Quebec City Trades:
SP – Tim Hudson
SP – Mark Mulder
OF – Gary Sheffield
2006 2nd Rd. Major DP
Las Vegas Trades:
OF/1B – Adam Dunn
SP – Oliver Perez
SP – Scott Olsen
SS – Joel Guzman
2006 2nd Rd. Minor DP
Quebec City: B+
Las Vegas: A
Analysis: This was a “no-turning back” move for The QC, who has now officially made the shift from contender to rebuilding. Obviously the players involved make this trade a winner for Las Vegas, who, after all the movement this off-season, is the clear front-runner for next year’s EHCC title. Hudson, Mulder, and Sheffield are all players who have proven year in and year out that they are solid players who bring the goods to the table. For that proven value, Quebec City made out pretty well in the potential department. Dunn is clearly already a star who will put up 30+ homeruns and 100+ RBI’s year in and year out, in addition to being a fan favorite in Canada. But the real intrigue lies in the youngsters. Olsen and Perez are two young lefties whose potential has been touted throughout baseball. Guzman, though still a very young minor leaguer, has great potential. One analyst said of Guzman, “[the] 21 year-old SS looks like the next A-Rod,” and others have compared his potential to that of Miguel Cabrera. If Guzman pans out along with the pitchers in this trade, Quebec GM Pat Renaud may have pulled off a steal. For now though, the upper hand belongs to Las Vegas. The EHCC Championship is theirs to lose.
January 1, 2006
Golden Trades:
2B – Alfonso Soriano
3B – Chipper Jones
2006 1st Rd. Major DP
2006 3rd Rd. Major DP
2006 2nd Rd. Minor DP
Weymouth Trades:
SP – Bronson Arroyo
SP – Randy Johnson
2B – Robinson Cano
3B – Troy Glaus
2006 1st Rd. Major DP
2007 1st Rd. Major DP
Golden: B-
Weymouth: B
Analysis: Not a terrible trade for either club, but not really a great one either. Weymouth gets the upper hand by a slight margin in this one, as they unload some excess players, stock up on draft picks, and get arguably the best second baseman in the game. Golden gets older, for sure, in this move, but Randy Johnson could still have something left in the tank. Glaus from Chipper is a lateral move, and Bronson Arroyo is an okay player to have, though not really keeper material. However, Cano from Soriano is a major downgrade, and if Golden GM Mike Comtois thinks he’s getting a younger version of Soriano, he’s wrong. For that reason, Weymouth gets the best of this trade, though Golden certainly could have done much worse.
January 1, 2006
Las Vegas Trades:
2008 2nd Rd. Minor DP
Golden Trades:
2006 2nd Rd. Minor DP
Las Vegas: C
Golden: C
Analysis: Whatever.
January 1, 2006
Quebec City Trades:
RP – Armando Benitez
SP – Jason Schmidt
SP – Kelvim Escobar
C – Paul Lo Duca
Golden Trades:
OF – Willy Taveras
SP – Brad Penny
RP – Chad Cordero
2006 4th Rd. Major DP
Quebec City: B+
Golden: B
Analysis: A pretty good trade from both sides. Golden gets two potentially great starters in Schmidt and Escobar, though both are coming off of lackluster years. If they can deliver on their potential, Golden will have two front of the rotation guys. However, losing Taveras will hurt in stolen bases very badly. Losing Cordero isn’t a huge blow as they picked up Billy Wagner earlier this off-season. However, Cordero is only 23 to Wagner’s 34, and if he can hold up and continue his ascension into the top tier of closers, this trade could become lopsided in retrospect. For now, it’s a fairly even trade for both sides. This trade is actually pretty typical of each team’s differing philosophies. Golden is taking a “win now” approach and has spent the off-season gathering proven players, albeit some with more than a few miles on the treads, whereas Quebec City has gotten younger and less experienced with each deal. We’ll see which philosophy wins out in the end.
January 2, 2006
Quebec City Trades:
RP – Keith Foulke
Bizton Trades:
2006 4th Rd. Major DP
Quebec City: C+
Bizton: B+
Analysis: A pretty good deal for the Markies (something they sorely needed this off-season), not as much for The QC. Foulke gives Bizton more pitching, and someone who is expected to start the season as a closer, which should equal some saves for the Bizton club. Giving up only a 4th Round draft pick to secure saves is asking little; Foulke probably would have been a late second or third round pick in the open draft. The QC probably could have gotten a little more for him, but given the new presence of Chad Cordero to go along with K-Rod, and the youth movement, pretty much made the 33 year old Foulke expendable. A 20 man roster cut was likely, so The QC did well to get something for him now, even if it wasn’t quite market value.
January 8, 2006
Bizton Trades:
SP – Barry Zito
2006 1st Rd. Major DP
Las Vegas Trades:
SP/RP – Brad Halsey
SP – Chris Young
SS – Chris Nelson
Bizton: D-
Las Vegas: A
Analysis: Ouch. Bizton gets hosed again this off-season. Giving up a 27 year old former Cy Young award winner for garbage will not win Bizton GM Biz Brown any awards, and certainly not any titles. Throwing in a 1st Round draft pick for the right to throw away a good player just compounds this poor deal. The prize in this trade for the Markies is Chris Young, who had some success last year in his rookie campaign, and should be able to build on that success with his recent trade to San Diego, a much more pitcher-friendly park than his previous home in Texas. However, this does not make him anywhere near as valuable as Zito, and I don’t see Young ever being the pitcher Zito is, was, and will be. However, his acquisition in this trade keeps the Markies from receiving and F-. Brad Halsey is garbage and doesn’t merit 20 man roster status and was almost certainly going to be dropped by the Doggs prior to rosters being due. Nelson, once a top 3 prospect in Colorado, has seen his stock plummet with a lackluster year in the minors and went from being rated a top 3 prospect by Baseball America to only the 10th best prospect in Colorado. This is in addition to being blocked at the major league level by Clint Barmes. Don’t expect much from Nelson anytime in the future though. He has Damian Jackson written all over him.
An anonymous source allegedly overheard Las Vegas GM Howe Dogg as saying, “I didn’t think he’d accept it. I figured I’d throw it out there and he’d reject it flat, but maybe we could negotiate it. But he just accepted right away, so I wasn’t going to argue.” Dogg then laughed and yelled, “2006 EHCC Champions, bitch!”
After another terrible trade by Bizton, and you have to wonder what is going on in that front office. It might be time to fire the whole scouting department. Just awful.
That’s all the action from the trade front for now. Expect some more major moves as we get closer to the deadline for 20 man rosters. In the meantime, enjoy the exciting hot stove action (and watch out for Howe Dogg…the warrant has been issued, but he has yet to turn himself in).
Aves McShades writes for The QC Times. Keith Foulke interviewed to become his assistant last week, but was turned down when McShades found out he is from San Diego, much too close to the Mexican border for his liking.
