Trades you later regret
Rob Neyer on ESPN has a list of the top 50 players for the next five years- link
I know, I know. Who reads ESPN, much less Neyer? But hey, it's a slow news day.
At #50 on the list is none other than:
Asdrubal Cabrera (22)
"Cabrera might be a stretch here, as much of his value is wasted at second base (by most accounts he's a fine shortstop). But at 22, he's already good enough with the bat to play second base, and a shift to shortstop would just be gravy."
Do you think the Mariners regret this trade? Do you think they would trade Jose Lopez straight up for Cabrera? Which one would you take?
If you go back to the time the Mariners gave him away, you'll see I was fine with what we were getting, but not what we gave up. At the time, there was plenty of people who thought while Cabrera was still a ways from the majors, he had the possibility of being really good. In other words, he was your typical AA high risk guy, but there was the possibility of a BIG upside. Those are not the guys you "throw in" for a mid-season pickup unless you are certain what you are giving up. I can assure you Bavasi did not know at the time what he was giving up.
I'm sure the M's front office was figuring with Lopez and Betancourt the teams was set for years to come, so the need for Cabrera was not obvious. This of course was foolish thinking. As Cabrera continued to develop, at worst you'd have a star AAA player who could have been used in much bigger trades. Or, he might be able to help should Yuni or Jose get injured or falter.
It was a small trade that got little news at the time, but plenty of us winced when it went down.
Rob Neyer on ESPN has a list of the top 50 players for the next five years- link
I know, I know. Who reads ESPN, much less Neyer? But hey, it's a slow news day.
At #50 on the list is none other than:
Asdrubal Cabrera (22)
"Cabrera might be a stretch here, as much of his value is wasted at second base (by most accounts he's a fine shortstop). But at 22, he's already good enough with the bat to play second base, and a shift to shortstop would just be gravy."
Do you think the Mariners regret this trade? Do you think they would trade Jose Lopez straight up for Cabrera? Which one would you take?
If you go back to the time the Mariners gave him away, you'll see I was fine with what we were getting, but not what we gave up. At the time, there was plenty of people who thought while Cabrera was still a ways from the majors, he had the possibility of being really good. In other words, he was your typical AA high risk guy, but there was the possibility of a BIG upside. Those are not the guys you "throw in" for a mid-season pickup unless you are certain what you are giving up. I can assure you Bavasi did not know at the time what he was giving up.
I'm sure the M's front office was figuring with Lopez and Betancourt the teams was set for years to come, so the need for Cabrera was not obvious. This of course was foolish thinking. As Cabrera continued to develop, at worst you'd have a star AAA player who could have been used in much bigger trades. Or, he might be able to help should Yuni or Jose get injured or falter.
It was a small trade that got little news at the time, but plenty of us winced when it went down.
posted by Tom at
12:57 PM
