Time to revisit Garcia trade?
With our good friend Freddy pitching yet another great game last night against the Twins, perhaps now is the time to look at the trade Bavasi pulled off last summer.
Before we start, let me be clear I am not saying we can make a final judgement on the trade. Rather, we are just checking in.
So roughly a year later, what have the M's gotten in return.
Catcher- this couldn't have gone worse. Not only did the M's essentially give Olivo away, but they had to endure half a season of one of the worst offensive performances ever seen by an M. If the M's had replaced Olivo's at-bats with Jamie Moyer, they wouldn't have seen much dropoff. Ouch.
Center Field- after a nice September last season, many M's fans were excited to see Reed play an entire season. At this point, an average of .260 with maybe 5 HR's at the end of the year is a disappointment. We can't give up on him, and his defense has been terrific. However, the lack of speed and baserunning mistakes are worrisome. Reed is really the only thing keeping this trade from being a bust.
SS- while Morse has surprised many with his rapid promotion, the fact is right now on this team he has no position. The last thing this team needs is yet another light hitting outfielder, and his error totals at SS prevent him from staying there. The only way Morse helps this team is as a bench player or brings something in a trade.
Meanwhile, Garcia has been lights out for the White Sox. The M's would clearly love to take Boone's salary this year and apply it to a pitcher like Garcia next year. The problem of course is they won't have that luxury. The free agent market for quality pitchers looks grim, as does Bavasi's luck in signing the right players.
Right now, you have to say the trade was a mistake for the M's. Yes they got back three possible position players, but that's not how it played out. Instead they'll be lucky to get one, and have had to endure more Franklin starts than any fan should be subject to. The fact is, we need Reed to develop into a true star, or this trade favors the White Sox by a considerable amount.
We can check back next year around this time and see if things change. Perhaps Reed is an All Star and Garcia broke a rib carrying his suitcase...
With our good friend Freddy pitching yet another great game last night against the Twins, perhaps now is the time to look at the trade Bavasi pulled off last summer.
Before we start, let me be clear I am not saying we can make a final judgement on the trade. Rather, we are just checking in.
So roughly a year later, what have the M's gotten in return.
Catcher- this couldn't have gone worse. Not only did the M's essentially give Olivo away, but they had to endure half a season of one of the worst offensive performances ever seen by an M. If the M's had replaced Olivo's at-bats with Jamie Moyer, they wouldn't have seen much dropoff. Ouch.
Center Field- after a nice September last season, many M's fans were excited to see Reed play an entire season. At this point, an average of .260 with maybe 5 HR's at the end of the year is a disappointment. We can't give up on him, and his defense has been terrific. However, the lack of speed and baserunning mistakes are worrisome. Reed is really the only thing keeping this trade from being a bust.
SS- while Morse has surprised many with his rapid promotion, the fact is right now on this team he has no position. The last thing this team needs is yet another light hitting outfielder, and his error totals at SS prevent him from staying there. The only way Morse helps this team is as a bench player or brings something in a trade.
Meanwhile, Garcia has been lights out for the White Sox. The M's would clearly love to take Boone's salary this year and apply it to a pitcher like Garcia next year. The problem of course is they won't have that luxury. The free agent market for quality pitchers looks grim, as does Bavasi's luck in signing the right players.
Right now, you have to say the trade was a mistake for the M's. Yes they got back three possible position players, but that's not how it played out. Instead they'll be lucky to get one, and have had to endure more Franklin starts than any fan should be subject to. The fact is, we need Reed to develop into a true star, or this trade favors the White Sox by a considerable amount.
We can check back next year around this time and see if things change. Perhaps Reed is an All Star and Garcia broke a rib carrying his suitcase...
posted by Tom at
2:32 PM
