February, 2012
Tuffy to the Bucs
With the Free Agent Reentry and Amateur Drafts concluded for 2012, now is the time teams look to wheeling and dealing to continue gearing up their rosters for a whole new run at the pennant. The most significant deal to date has the rebuilding Mariners and Pirates involved in a blockbuster which could shift he balance of power in the NL Central significantly.
Seattle sends (RF) Tuffy Rhodes to Pitttsburgh for pitching prospects Aribeth de Tylmerande and Carlos Thomas.
The 29 year old Rhodes enters his fourth season as a very good offensive player. After a sophmore slump in 2012 Rhodes once again got his OPS over .900 and brings considerable power to the Bucs lineup as well as a keen batting eye. Tuffy does have significant splits however as he is a monster against right handed pitching, and while his obp is respectable vs southpaws, his power takes a significant drop. He'll provide even more pop to an improved Pittsburgh lineup which also added 30 HR (SS) Bobby Doerr through free agency. The Pirates were 6th in OPS in 2012 and finished 16 games behind Milwaukee at 82-80, and this deal should contribute to improving both of those marks.
For the Mariners, this is a clear rebuilding deal. Seattle has gotten old and were relatively unimpressive both pitchingwise and offensively in 2012. Witha farm system that had been depleted due to the Mariners' constantly being in the championship hunt, GM Jess Raven has apparently decided to rebuild and get in a better position down the road once the M's have gotttten younger. The 21 year old de Tylmerande is a top flight pitching prospect and she showed off her considerable talents going 15-5 with a 1.91 ERA at Class A last season. The 20 year old Thomas was also impressive in A Ball in 2012, going 16-6 with a 2.98 ERA, but I think he's more of a back of the rotation starter of bullpen middle-long reliever type. Both players certainly figure into Seattle's longterm pitching plans, and as such this looks like a win-win deal for both ballclubs.
El Mat's Montreal Expos, which struggled mightily last season before turning it on at the end of the year to win the NL East, have been active early on in the trade market, making two deals -- interestingly enough one that might help them now and one that will help them down the road.
Montreal sends (P) Bill Webster and (P) Lou Pote to Milwaukee for (OF) Bo Ivy.
The Expos obtain yet another speedy outfielder in Ivy, one of the all-time greatest basestealers in AWBL history. With the loss of Tim Raines to free agency, Ivy may fill a considerable gap in the Montreal outfield -- though much of Raines value to the ballclub was his versaility and ability to move all over the place. The Expos give up veteran reliever Lou Pote and the 28 year old Bill Webster, who just never got a shot in the Montreal rotation.
It's unclear how much the Brewcrew will miss Bo Ivy. Bo had a very respectable .380 OBP last season and was 58/19 stealing bases. But Milwaukee added slugging (3b) Scott Hodges to their lineup through free agency, and Hodges was 20 points better at geting on base and over 100 points better in slugging. It's uncertain how much the 40 year old Pote has left in him, but the 28 year old Webster is no slouch and should certainly provide Milwaukee some help out of the bullpen at the very least.
Montreal sends (2b) Darrell Evans to the Chicago White Sox for (RF) Sal Horton.
Evans is a versatile young player with a potent bat and a good batting eye. He's got a solid glove and can play first, second and third, but never really got a shot in Montreal's run and stun offense. He should get plenty of opportunity to make that rebuilding White Sox team and at age 26 could be around when they finally get it all together.
Sal Horton is very young and at least four years away, but he has all the tools to be a very good player. He's fast, a great contact hittter with a good eye and gets on base at a great pace, and has far better than average power. He's better than average defensively though his arm is only slightly better than average. He's the perfect type of player for the system El Mat runs in Montreal.
All in all this is a pretty solid deal for both clubs as while Horton is the prototypical all around prospect, Evans looks like a very solid meat of the batting order type for the Pale Hose.
That's all the news for this time. So see you next time and remember, let's play two -- from both sides of the plate.
