Sox' trade idea - (ping: Gnork)

Gnork (et al), I replied to you in a different thread with the
following:

"Ok, Gnork, let's try to put together a deal that makes sense for
everyone involved. Here are the parameters:

1. Boston will end up with 11 pitchers, adding a position player.
2. None of the following will end up on the roster after this deal
(or deals): Timlin, Romero, Crisp, and Pena.
3. Certainly, other guys could be included in a deal (but not,
obviously, guys like Ortiz, Ramirez, Varitek, etc.).
4. The goal is to improve in the OF, the bench, and in the bullpen.
5. Mirabelli is not to be moved, whether you like it or not. He's
stuck there as Wakefield's personal catcher.

So those are the parameters. Put together a deal or two that make
sense for all parties involved. I'll try to think through the same."

Ok, so here's my shot at it. I'm looking for a team that is not in
the playoff race, has some good talent that might be available, and
who would be willing (eager?) to dump some salary. So here's my
proposal, with an explanation to follow:

Red Sox trade Washington
1. Coco Crisp
2. Wily Mo Pena
3. Michael Bowden
4. Craig Hansen (plus covering 75% of Hansen's remaining salary)
5. JC Romero (plus covering all of Romero's salary)

Washington sends Red Sox
1. Ryan Church
2. Austin Kearns
3. Chad Cordero

Why would the Red Sox do it?
Church is an upgrade over Crisp in CF, presently, anyway. And while
Kearns is a *potential* downgrade from Pena (power-wise, certainly),
he does have a pretty decent track record in the majors. Certainly
he's a useful backup OF who can play several OF positions fairly well
defensively. He has a career ops of .814, which is not shabby.

But the big bonus for Boston is Chad Cordero. Obviously, he's a very
good pitcher who would give the Red Sox a dynamic 1-2-3 back end of
the bullpen in Cordero, Okajima, and Papelbon.

Why would the Nationals do it?
The biggest reasons are Bowden and, secondarily, Hansen. We are
impatient with him because of the high expectations we have had for
him from the get-go. But he's only 23 and still possesses tremendous
stuff and potential. Bowden is a top-shelf pitching prospect that
many teams would want to acquire.

Second, they shed some salary. Here's what the salary breakdown would
look like:
Crisp - $3.8 million
Pena - $1.9 million
Bowden - rookie $$
Hansen - only about $250,000 a year, roughly, b/c Boston is eating 75%
of his salary
Romero - $0, b/c Boston is paying all of his salary
TOTAL - about $6 million

versus

Church - $395,000
Kearns - $3.5 million
Cordero - $4.1 million
TOTAL - about $8 million

So Washington saves $2 million on the exchange. Not exactly a
windfall, but not bad.

Third, they get the outfielders with the most "upside". Crisp, let's
not forget, put up excellet numbers his last two years in Cleveland.
He has great speed and is a good defensive outfielder. We get
impatient with his recent hitting, but maybe going to the NL brings
out the Coco that we *thought* we were getting. And Pena...well, we
all know he's got the potential to be a 40 homer guy. I think that,
for about half the salary of Kearns, Pena would be ideal for
Washington. What he really needs is to be put in an OF spot every day
to see what he can do. He can do that in Washington, but he can't
here in Boston. So they may be getting two good pitching prospects
and two good OF, if they live up to their potential.

So, to sum up: Boston gets massive bullpen help and *present-day*
outfield help. Washington sheds payroll, picks up two OF with good
upside, and two pitching prospects, one of which is dynamic. Romero,
by the way, is a throw in if Washington wants him. Who knows...in the
NL, he could be useful.

So, Gnork, what do you think about that deal? It would leave the Red
Sox with this:

C - Varitek
1b - Youkilis
2b - Pedroia
3b - Lowell
SS - Lugo
LF - Ramirez
CF - Church
RF - Drew
DH - Ortiz
Bench - Mirabelli, Cora, Hinske, Kearns, and someone else: (Moss?
Murphy? another veteran?)

SP - Schilling, Beckett, Matsuzaka, Wakefield, Tavarez
RP - Snyder, Donnelly, Lopez, Cordero, Okajima, Papelbon

Then we offer Joel Pineiro to Texas in exchange for Frank
Catalanotto. Why? Texas always needs pitching, Cat is a pretty
useful player and gives Boston that veteran off the bench who could be
a good pinch-hitter (but he's only hitting .179 this year, so Texas
may be willing to move him), and the salaries pretty much line up. So
it gives Boston 11 pitchers and adds Catalanotto to the bench.

John

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Sox trade idea - (ping: Gnork)
    ... Boston will end up with 11 pitchers, ... Red Sox trade Washington ... Kearns is a *potential* downgrade from Pena, ... But the big bonus for Boston is Chad Cordero. ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)
  • Re: Sox trade idea - (ping: Gnork)
    ... Boston will end up with 11 pitchers, ... Red Sox trade Washington ... But the big bonus for Boston is Chad Cordero. ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)
  • Re: Sox trade idea - (ping: Gnork)
    ... Boston will end up with 11 pitchers, ... Red Sox trade Washington ... Kearns is a *potential* downgrade from Pena, ... But the big bonus for Boston is Chad Cordero. ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)
  • Re: Sox trade idea - (ping: Gnork)
    ... Boston will end up with 11 pitchers, ... Red Sox trade Washington ... Kearns is a *potential* downgrade from Pena, ... But the big bonus for Boston is Chad Cordero. ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)
  • Re: Sox trade idea - (ping: Gnork)
    ... Boston will end up with 11 pitchers, ... Red Sox trade Washington ... Wily Mo Pena ... But the big bonus for Boston is Chad Cordero. ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)