The Atlanta Braves finally moved 1B Mark Teixeira in exchange for 1B Casey Kotchman and righthanded pitching prospect Stephen Marek.
Teixeira, everyone knows, is a stud with the bat, career OPS+ 132 (139 in 2008: .283/.390/.512, 20 HR) and is also very accomplished in the field. We also know that he's a rent-a-player who is going to command somewhere in the $20M range for his contract this offseason.
Kotchman, career OPS+ 101 is an okay hitter, but very slick defender in the Lyle Overbay mold, but with a bit more power and not quite as good at getting on base (2008: .287/.327/.448, 12 HR). At 25, he still has some time to develop more power, and a 6'3", 210 lb frame suggests that it is a possibility.
Marek seems to be a bit of a throw-in. At 24 years old and still at AA, he is striking out a ton (about 11K/9IP), but also walking a bunch (4BB/9IP). If they can straighten out his control issues, he could become a decent relief pitcher. I don't really know anything about his stuff (though his high dominance and low control rates indicate that he is likely a power pitcher), so I do not want to comment too much on him right now.
Basically, this trade gives the Angels (65-40, 11.5 games ahead of 2nd Place Texas) a much needed offensive boost (they are currently 9th in the AL with 4.51 Runs/Game and just a 93 team OPS+). Thus far, they have outplayed their Pythagorean Record by eight games. Obviously, this trade was executed with an eye to the postseason, as they have a comfortable lead in the division. If Teixeira does not deliver this October, the deal should be deemed a failure.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
Has Teixeira ever played in the postseason? He might have with Texas a while back... but at any rate it will be interesting to see how he performs this season. Many people, myself included, have always said "you know, if the Angels were able to add a power bat along with Vlad, with their rotation and bullpen they'd be the best team" Lets see if that assessment is true. Also, the Angels got Tex at the right time (second half) 'cause that's where he does his damage...
I also like this trade from the Braves standpoint. They've really fallen off due to increased competition in the NL East and from suffering probably the worst luck any team has dealt with. But Kotchman may not be the most eye-popping first baseman around but he's young, he can hit well and I saw him play at Yankee stadium (I was sitting about 10 rows behind the Yankees dugout) and he put on a show at firstbase. As for the reliever they got, he's young, has put up good numbers and the Braves bullpen is a mess. Good trade both ways.
Post a Comment