Trade Review 2027 #3 - Pre deadline moves pt 2

[Ted]

After a busy week at work, I'll pick up moving backwards through last summer's deals. This is the second of a two part series (haven't written the first) that looks at the deals in thee month before the deadline, and includes two monster deals involving superstars.

Calgary/Las Vegas
Calgary receives:
RF Joaqin Alfonso (prospect) (I spent 20 minutes trying to find him in the HTML and can't, so he's an 18 year old lefty 5/7/7/6/5 6/5/5 defensive tools)

Las Vegas receives:
3B/2B Deion Jordan

[list][*]Alfonso is a decent 18 year old prospect. He can probably play average D, and looks like a AAAA type bat currently. He could easily develop into a platoon player, or with a good bump, into a regular.[/list]



[list][*]Jordan is a decent bench player. As a lefty 3B, he's okay as a platoon option as a slap hitter with some gap power. However, he is an atrocious defender at both 3rd and 2nd. He's definitely a backup or spot starter against righties.[/list]

This isn't a bad trade for Vegas. Part of the problem in doing these so late is that I don't know for sure if Vegas was filling in for an injury or exactly what the motivation is. Alfonso is nothing special to give up, but Jordan is pretty replaceable as well. Calgary gets something for nothing.

Grades
Calgary
Talent: C+
Organizational: A
Las Vegas
Talent: C
Organizational: C+


[hr]


Indianapolis/Calgary
Indianapolis receives:
CF Marcio Rocha
1B Jimmy Bennett
RP Walter Garcia
CF Antonio Duran (prospect)

Calgary receives:
CF Mario Soriano

[list][*]Marcio Rocha is a AAAA CF or ML backup. He just doesn't have the range for CF, or the batting tools for a corner OF spot. He is a good defensive backup at the corners, but that's about it.
[*]Like Rocha, Bennett is a AAAA player. He can't defend at first, can't hit lefties, and has a barely adequate bat for a position that needs to produce runs for most teams.
[*]Walter Garcia has control issues, and because of that is a sub par MR type.
[*] Duran, then, is the prospect in this list. He's a decent OF prospect, with good speed and power, and a glove that should be well above average in the corner OF spots. It remains to be seen if he can develop the tools to play center, but it looks like a long shot.He's a bit hard to project, as his contact could be anywhere from barely adequate for a righty bat to acceptable. His goo power and speed will help that play even if it is on the low end of ML caliber.[/list]



[list][*]Mario Soriano is one of the best CF and best leadoff hitters in the league. He's in his prime, and while it's true that slap hitting speedsters tend to age worse than their more patient power hitting counterparts, he should have many productive years ahead of him.[/list]

At first glance, I don't like this trade for Indy. Soriano is pure an simple, a hot commodity. His status as a rental does put a damper on his value, but the trade is essentially Soriano for Duran. The other players are of little to no value. Now, Indy had to move Soriano or extend him, and extending him may not have made sense depending on his asking price, so sometimes you have to take what you can get. Duran frankly concerns me. Seven contact righties can really struggle if they are low 7. I think Duran will be fine, but he's also young and has a long way to go. Indy has a real chance of getting next to nothing for Soriano. Of course, this is always the dilemma of a team that trades developed assets for prospects.

Grades
Indianapolis
Talent: B-
Organizational: C+
Calgary
Talent: A
Organizational: A


[hr]


Vancouver/Indianapolis
Vancouver receives:
2B Valeri Kharlamov
C Chad Lawrence

Indianapolis receives:
C Juan Cantu
1B/3B Patrick Lue
2B Jesus Martinez
C Andres Martinez (prospect)
LF Jared Davis (prospect)
3B Emilio Morales (prospect)
P Jose Rodruiguez (prospect)


[list][*]Valeri Kharlamov needs little discussion. He's in the discussion for top ten position players in the league. His abiltiy to hit right handed pitching from a very poor hitting position is a rarity. He's in his prime and will not be 30 until the middle of the 2030 season. He is only signed through 2028, and that's a small concern for a team acquiring him. The only scary thing about him is that his performance has declined the last couple years, although scouts haven't noticed a decline in his tools.
[*]Chad Lawrence is a superstar catcher. No one really knows why. Throughout his career scouts have rated his (undiminished at 31) tools as above average for his position at best, but no one told Chad. He has slugged 30 homers year after year, while posting both OBP and OPS at elite levels for his position. He combines this with a great presence behind the plate. He is on the wrong side of 30, but has shown no signs of age and compares favorably to many other catchers that have played well late into their careers.[/list]



[list][*]Juan Cantu is an okay option at catcher. He's a switch hitter, but struggles from the right sie of the plate. He's adequate defensively at best, and has never seen a pitch he doesn't like. He does possess reasonably impressive power, and seems liek the kind of guy who one out of three years will make some GM look like a genius.
[*] It's a shame Patrick Lue doesn't look like he'll be able to play 3B. His lefty bat would be well above league average, bordering on elite there. At first base, it's merely acceptable. He has good contact skills to go with very good power, can take a walk when he needs to, and while slow, isn't a snail. Perhaps more importantly, he's that rare lefty without a terrible split against left handed pitching. He's such a better hitter at third compared to first, that it may be worth punting defense at his position if you can find a shortstop with very good range.
[*]Jesus Martinez is another okay player. Like Cantu, he's a 26 year old switch hitter who maybe should give up hitting from the right side. At a weak position, he has reasonable hitting skills and has an acceptable to good glove. He's another player you would be okay with having in your lineup, but always looking for an upgrade.
[*]Andres Martinez has a sky high ceiling as a hitter. If he develops, he could be one of the best hitting catcher in the league. While he is a righty with mediocre contact ability for the ML level, he has exceptional power ability and can take a walk. On top of that, he has good defensive skills and should turn into a fine catcher. The scary thing is that his power is woefully underdeveloped for a catcher. He needs to make real progress in short order or could end up being a major bust.
[*]Left fielder Jared Davis will absolutely terrorize left handed pitching, but against righties his combination of poor contact hitting ability and lack of footspeed will keep him from ever hitting for average. He does have 25-30 HR power and it's possible his ability to take a walk will compensate for his average issues. He can't handle a lump at all though, and doesn't really have the defensive tools to play anything beyond an poor LF.
[*]Unlike Lue, Emilio Morales should at worst be an average 3B. He also has massive power. He'll swing and miss a lot and is a station to station runner which will curtail his on base ability, but has a chance to be a .280/.330/.520 guy. On the other hand he is only 17 and has a looooooong way to go.
[*]Jose Rodriguez is a 22 year old right who struggles against lefty hitters. He's also a bit low on the endurance side for a starter. Scouts think he has a little development left, and it will be interesting to see where that gets him. He does look like more of a middle relief type, although if he can't get a bit better against lefties, he may be stuck as a mopup guy or right handed specialist.[/list]

Ah, a Vancouver trade. I was growing bored of trying to grade trades without a ludicrous number of moving parts. Thanks Brett, although this did lack your typical handful of extra career AA types going each way for no good reason. Try to fix that in the future. Vancouver picked up two elite players who aren't rentals. That's expensive and they gave up a lot to do it. Lue simply looks like too good of a hitter to not find some way to be valuable. Martinez has real potential, but concerns about reaching it. Davis has flaws. Morales has the best upside of any of them, but it so far from it that you can't really have any confidence. Rodriguez is meh. The others are simply stopgaps that the Mounties replaced with stars. This is a very good trade for Vancouver. They did give up a TON of youth, but all of that youth has question marks. Indy didn't do too badly either. When you make these firesale deals, you always gamble on prospects developing. Of Lue, Morales, and Rodriguez, there's a good chance one of them is well above average for them for a good number of year, and at least one more will probably play some meaningful innings. Is that an acceptable return for two stars? Maybe not in a dollar for dollar sense, but it's hard to do much better.

Grades
Vancouver
Talent: A+
Organizational: A+
Indianapolis
Talent: A-
Organizational: B


[hr]


New Orleans/Louisville
New Orleans receives:
2B Pedro Sosa

Louisville receives:
$100,000 cash money

[list][*]Pedro Sosa is a 26 year old switch hitting 2B with a solid glove and decent hitting ability for his position. He's also a butthole and nobody likes him.[/list]



[list][*]Someone go add up all the times the genius has traded for cash. I'll be it's more than the next five teams combined. I'm gonna guess he has some kind of Scrooge McDuckian vault somewhere. Either that or he changes it all into $1 bills and rolls around in bed with it Indecent Proposal style.[/list]

Booooooooring. Sosa is a cancer. Not much risk for a flier I guess.

Grades
New Orleans
Talent: C+
Organizational: B-
Louisville
Talent: N/A
Organizational: I don't know if I'm qualified to grade the inner workings of Stu's mind.


[hr]


The end for this time. There will be some good trades in part 1, too.

[udlb58]

Love Part 2 before Part 1.

The biggest thing Indy has/had to decide in the Soriano trade is if the return is better than the draft pick they would get by letting him walk. In most years Duran is probably better than what you can expect to find in the 25-30 range they would be picking in.

In the other deal, if Morales ends up with an OBP within 50 points of his AVG, I'll eat my hat. Mould is a 4 eye and has always been around 30 points between AVG/OBP. Oh and Lindsey are 4s and they've always been around 25-30 points difference. Ronayne is a 3 and in 2026 as a starter, he had a difference of 20 points. Archer is a 3, and the same, 20-25 points difference. You need about a 6 (maybe high 5) to be 50 points higher in OBP than AVG. Morales is still above average and if he's .280/.300/.500 you'll take that at 3B

[recte44]

My owner wanted me to get a local player. So my choices were basically Bo Jordan, Luke Jordan or Deion Jordan. Deion was the cheapest and easiest to acquire, and he fit a need. Easy choice.

[Ted]

My owner wanted me to get a local player. So my choices were basically Bo Jordan, Luke Jordan or Deion Jordan. Deion was the cheapest and easiest to acquire, and he fit a need. Easy choice.

And now it makes sense

[bschr682]

Post Indy trade. Kharlamov struggled a bit and is scaring the shit out of me. It will take big time money to resign him and I have no confidence he is worth it. Lawrence however hit like a madman even in my canyon of a park. All the prospects I sent away have either bumped or held steady and developed a bit. I may end up regretting this.

[recte44]

Still thinking about the Kharlmanov trade and how the hell Fletcher didn't accept this offer that I had on the table for him:

For:
2B Valeri Kharlamov

You Get:
SS Lloyd Braun
2B Alfredo Bermudez
P Aymeric Marinelli (for salary reasons)
DH Bertram Hahn

Is it just me, or was that a way better offer than what he ended up taking?

[agrudez]

I mean, that is headlined by mediocre rhb prospects, too. Better, maybe... but still not good.

[bschr682]

Well Marinelli would have taken away from his goal of shedding salary and the trio of Davis, Morales, and Lue are better than Braun, Bermudez, and Hahn. I honestly don't know what you are seeing.

Out of those 6 prospects, rank them. I think hands down Lue is number 1. Morales 2. Braun 3. Davis 4 Hahn 5 Bermudez 6.

[Ted]

Well Marinelli would have taken away from his goal of shedding salary and the trio of Davis, Morales, and Lue are better than Braun, Bermudez, and Hahn. I honestly don't know what you are seeing.

Out of those 6 prospects, rank them. I think hands down Lue is number 1. Morales 2. Braun 3. Davis 4 Hahn 5 Bermudez 6.

I'm a bit more with Recte. I don't know that his offer is better, but I like Hahn and Braun a LOT better than Davis. I don't like 6 con righties with bad splits. Braun has a superior bat for a defensively excellent SS and Hahn is just a superior bat to Davis in every way possible. He's easily the best bat in this group if he develops (which is admittedly questionable). I'll agreed Lue is probably the best in the group (given him combination of age, development, skill), and Morales has the upside to pass him. Bermudez and Braun are sneaky good though, given they play at very weak offensive positions.

[recte44]

Brett, what logic is telling you those guys are better? I mean, Hahn is going to be an outright stud. Braun has a nice bat, and Bermudez is already an established above average major league starter.

This is why we do this, though, for all the differing opinions. It wouldn't be any fun if we all agreed.

[Chey]

It's close, though I'd give Brett's pitch the edge as well.

re: Lue, does anyone know if his left-handedness affects his ability to play third in-game? Is it already "baked in" to his position rating, or is he worse than a rightie with the same rating?

[bschr682]

Hahn is a right handed hitting DH. That has very little value in the league. If (and it looks like a huge if) he develops to his fullest, ok. Anything less (especially that contact) and he is borderline useless. That's the reason I have Davis over him because at the end of the day at least Davis can play in the field. Free agency is littered with DH's that would be better than Hahn.

Also I don't think Braun and Bermudez are that special. Braun has defensive chops for sure, but Bermudez seems completely irrelevant.

[Chey]

Hahn is a right handed hitting DH. That has very little value in the league.

I agree with you for the most part, but there's a certain irony to hear this come from the mouth of Mr. Pedro Burgos is a Stud.

[agrudez]

The whole conversation is moot anyway because both of those crappy, RHB laden offers were easily worse than mine. I think its dirty pool to post behind the scenes offers, though, so that doesn't add much to the conversation.

[Chey]

How so? If he no longer has the players involved, the only person whose hand its tipping is your own -- so if you want to back up your words, throw your offer on the table and let us be the judge.

[agrudez]

Because 1) The entire exercise, at this point, would only be meant to make Indy look bad and 2) It offers insight into Indy's thought processes that can potentially be taken advantage of in the future. If someone posted private trade negotiations with me I would be PISSED, so I'm not going to do it to someone else without their approval.

[Chey]

Some muckraker you are.

[recte44]

The only real reason I shared this one was to see if my player evaluation was completely flawed. Meant no offense to Indy or any other GM.

[udlb58]

The only real reason I shared this one was to see if my player evaluation was completely flawed. Meant no offense to Indy or any other GM.

I see the two trades as very similar (and Brett if Marinelli takes away from cutting salary, what about Martinez and the $24m he's owed?). It really comes down to how one views Bermudez, Braun, and unfulfilled potential.

There's always risk when acquiring any player, particularly prospects. Lue needs to gain that last point of contact and be able to hit .260-.270 otherwise he'll be a 3B who's bat doesn't carry his defense or a 1B who can be found on the scrap heap at any time. Same with Hahn, if he can't get to 7 contact or 9 power, he's not starting at DH on a title contender. Martinez could be a starting catcher, but he needs to develop 6 power to realize that and he's 22. Morales has the overall highest ceiling, but he's a teenager. Bermúdez and Braun are both slightly above league average at 2B and SS, which is a big plus, but neither are likely to be anything more than that. Rodriguez becomes intriguing if he can get to 7/7/6 vLHB and get an 8 somewhere against RHB.

But honestly, everyone is quick to point out a "bad trade" and complain about what they would have given, yet the player who's been battling Kharlamov for the designation of top 2B the last few years is on the block...

[7teen]

OK, someone enlighten me on the Sosa is a cancer thing as I must have missed this conversation or topic. Need to know since I just nabbed him on the Rule 5 from Louisville.