The Diamondbacks announced that they have acquired Heath Bell, infielder Cliff Pennington, and cash considerations from the Marlins in a three-team deal with the Athletics. Miami will receive minor league infielder Yordy Cabrera from the A's and Oakland will get outfielder Chris Young and $500K from Arizona.
The Marlins will be picking up $8MM of the remaining $21MM owed to Bell over the next two years, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel (via Twitter). The veteran was unhappy in Miami as the club was unwilling to restore him as closer and found himself clashing with manager Ozzie Guillen at points during the year.
The 35-year-old struggled in his first and only year with the Marlins, posting a 5.09 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 73 appearances. The new-look Marlins signed Bell in December of last year as a part of their spending spree, giving the reliever a three-year, $27MM deal. The contract includes a vesting option for the 2015 season which will guarantee him $9MM with 55 games finished in 2014 or 100 games finished in 2013-14.
Pennington has been a member of the A's since being tabbed with the 21st overall pick in the 2005 draft. The 28-year-old was slotted at shortstop until the acquisition of Stephen Drew bumped him over to second base. For his career, Pennington owns a .249/.313/.356 batting line across parts of five seasons in Oakland.
Young, 29, is set to make $8.5MM in 2013 with an $11MM club option for the 2014 season that comes with a modest $1.5MM buyout. The centerfielder has been unable to regain his All-Star form of 2010 and posted a .231/.311/.434 slash line with 14 homers last season. Young played in just 101 games last season, due in large part to a shoulder injury he suffered when he slammed into a wall in early April. The outfielder now reunited with skipper Bob Melvin, who he developed a bond with during his time in Arizona.
While the Marlins' main reward in the deal is being freed from the bulk of the money owed to Bell over the next two years, they also pick up a former second-round pick in Cabrera. The 22-year-old, who played high school baseball four hours north of Miami in Lakeland, Florida, made the move to Class-A Advanced in 2012. Cabrera hit .232/.293/.332 with three homers in 60 games last season.
Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic (via Twitter) first reported that Arizona would send $500K to Oakland in the deal.
ARod's Ring
WOW! I WASN’T EXPECTING THIS DURING THE WORLD SERIES!
chris_synan1
haha me either…wtf
Sam Freeman
World Series isn’t here yet :3
Darrell
So much for Heath Bell being traded for A-Rod.
Chiburgh
Instead of the Marlins making the trade, now the Dbacks can trade for A-Rod.
sfrankland
Perhaps not. Dbacks expressed interest in A-Rod, and they have just picked up Putz’s option, so they could be hoping to flip Bell to the Yankees for him. It seems unlikely that A-Rod would accept a trade to Arizona, though.
TBRays3
thats actually not a bad idea i figured something else would happen cause this trade is dumb alone
Mike Bender
Agreed. As much as he’d be a decent upgrade, we’re banking on him accepting the trade AND the Yanks eating a chunk of the contract.
Pronk19
That would be an interesting scenario if it did occur
GRINGOMHT
That’s what I can’t understand is if Bell was unhappy in Miami because the didn’t restore him to closer how will he be happy in Az with the picking up of Putz option? Unless they are going to use him only for trade bait or go with 2 closers like some teams do when the other isn’t available.
coolstorybro222
Oh they will probably still get A Rod. Yankees probably will ask for Mike Stanton or somthing.
NYPOTENCE
What???
RedSx799
Giancarlo Stanton?
JacobyWanKenobi
Giancarlo Cruz Michael Stanton is his name. When he first came up, he was called Mike Stanton by a lot of people, which confused me greatly when I had no idea who he was. Probably just a mistake, or maybe he preferred it or whatever. Name mistakes happen all the time, like Kendrys Morales, the s was left off for some time, as well as the pronunciation of names like Neftali and various Asian names that most Americans tend to butcher anyway.
Don Bindley
they dump 8 mil of young’s contract and if they get the Yankees to eat some of A-rod’s contract they could deal for him. I think that A-rod might take a trade to AZ, it is close to LA and the limelight and the National League might help him regain what he lost. I would hate to see the D’Backs dump a lot into an aging player, but it might be the deal that helps them both in the near term.
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
A-Rod’s not that good. It’s not worth the effort at all. D’Backs have a lot better options.
LazerTown
It’s good. I didn’t want the yankees to trade for bell anyways.
start_wearing_purple
Thus begins the semi-annual Marlins firesale?
Marktown
If it’s a true fire sale, the Rangers can put a pretty nice package together for Stanton. I know that’s a pipe dream, but a guy can dream can’t he?
baseball52
If there’s anything more than a pipe dream, acquiring Stanton would be it.
LazerTown
and that would take a large package of prospects.
Hoosierdaddy92
Ok, well talks start at Jurickson Profar, Mike Olt, and Martin Perez. Jon Daniels hangs up the phone.
JT 2
Biannual.
Tim Bliss
It actually began by trading Hanley to the Dodgers during the season.
crystomint
More like the Marlins dropping a junk excuse for a closer off at the Salvation Army.
chris_synan1
A’s get Chris Young
EcurbTheMighty
Further proof that Miami is mailing it in. Bell and some cash for Young would of worked just fine.
UnknownPoster
well im shocked… Don’t think Bell was worth Young, IMO
Snoochies8
Well they also got Cliff Pennington which gave them a SS who’s under team control for a few years, which helps.
UnknownPoster
do you have a link? I don’t see it in the write up
Chiburgh
Per Twitter: Oakland Athletics
@Athletics
#Athletics have acquired OF Chris Young from Arizona in exchange for INF Cliff Pennington and minor league INF Yordy Cabrera.
UnknownPoster
thanks everyone
Snoochies8
check the A’s twitter account
daze
twitter.com/Dbacks/status/259749745122213888
Matt Manzella
A’s look like the obvious winners in this deal. Although unloading Bell is a win in and of itself.
baseball52
The A’s are trying to monopolize non-star, home run hitters
GeronimoJansen
Not a bad strategy.
LazerTown
Great trade for the A’s. Young provides similiar production to BJ Upton, only they got it with a whole lot less money and risk than upton will get on the free agent market. Also they really didn’t give up much. Cliff never worked out, and he is useless now that they have drew.
wade3061
I wouldn’t call Cliff useless now that they have Drew. He was a far better option at 2B than Weeks. I just prey they fill 2B with someone other than Weeks.
Snoochies8
weeks still has a TON of upside, especially if he can increase his line drive rate. Grant Green will be in the mix and his bat plays anywhere he’s put in the field. Scott Sizemore will also be in the 2B mix, although I think that Weeks and Green, since they both have a lot more upside, should be the front runners
Iconoclast17
Upside doesn’t get it done when you’re talking Weeks. Look for Green to be given every chance and Sizemore to grab that 2nd base job. Weeks will either be traded or be at AAA again.
Snoochies8
Upside got it done for Carter in 2012, and there were lots of people calling for him to be released last offseason, or at least for him not to have a shot at majors….
LazerTown
Pennington was worse offensively than weeks by alot. Weeks also had a decent year in 2011 and is still young. Is not hard to replace pennington’s .589 ops.
wade3061
Not that changing positions has a lot to do with offensive performance, but when Pennington took over at 2B, he had a .738 OPS. The bottom line is neither of them are an offensive threat, and Pennington’s defense is better.
melonis_rex
The sample size was also super small. 26 starts at 2B all season.
wade3061
I understand. Let me state it a different way. I’d rather have Pennington’s defense than Week’s offense.
Iconoclast17
I’d rather have pennington’s offense too.
Hoosierdaddy92
If that were the case, they would have kept Josh Willingham and Nick Swisher.
Ryan Hi.
Isn’t there some sort of gentleman’s agreement against announcing these type of things during the playoffs?
baseball52
If you’re a playoff team.
Tim Bliss
Nobody is playing today. It’s perfectly fine to announce a trade on an off day in the postseason.
johnnycomelately9
There is but these guys aren’t gentlemen.
jamesa-2
Wow. I knew CY was going to be leaving Arizona. But seriously, there’s just no way I would have ever thought he would have been traded so low.
asovermann
Can the A’s have any more power bats in their OF? haha
coolstorybro222
the homerun derby is in Oakland next year .
williswinning
Your link is to wrong Chris Young.
bg7kd
Its the right link this isnt the pitcher it says outfielder
williswinning
And the link sends you to the pitcher, not the outfielder, hence wrong link.
bg7kd
hahaha I can see where they would mess up then
williswinning
They fixed it now.
Marktown
Hot Stove already?!?! I love it!
Nick 30
A’s get cash, Chris Young (OF) from Diamondbacks.
Diamondbacks get Cliff Pennington (INF) from A’s and Heath Bell (P) from Marlins.
Marlins get Yordy Cabrera (INF) from A’s.
Snoochies8
At least it wasn’t an overpay, solid defending shortstop and a high risk/high reward high-A shortstop. this must mean they really expect Drew to be back which I don’t mind.
Also now that creates some roster space in the infield for Sizemore, Weeks, and Green.
But an outfielder…that’s what I don’t get..
mstrchef
So the Marlins get salary relief and a former second round pick with defensive problems and a career minor league OPS of .648, while the DBacks get a reliever who has lost his fastball and the A’s get an OF who was miserable last year after an injury. Did anyone win this trade? Only the Marlins get some certainty, and that’s the oodles of money they no longer have to pay to Bell.
jamesa-2
The A’s seriously won in this trade. Chris Young was hurt for all but about 6 weeks last year. When he is healthy, he’s a 20/20 guy and always a threat for 30/30. He also plays CF defensively as one of the 2 or 3 best in all of Baseball.
The Marlins got huge salary relief.
The D-Backs got hosed. By trading for Bell, the money potentially saved by trading Young is just shifted over to a reliever that they absolutely did NOT need. The possible scenarios involving D-Backs OFers for trade could have netted WAY better than Bell AND brought salary relief.
J
Not to mention that Bell was angry about not being the closer, and he’s going to a team with JJ Putz, who clearly isn’t leaving the role.
jamesa-2
Putz clearly will remain the closer as evidenced by the D-Backs exercising his $6.5MM option earlier. And Hernandez has a death-grip on the set-up role. This puts Bell as the 7th Inning man at best, something the D-Backs claeraly do not need with the pitching depth they have. Add to that the albatross contract that Bell has, and one is left to wonder how this helps the D-Backs at all.
mstrchef
I don’t think that Pennington was reported in the original trade details. That makes it a much better deal for Arizona.
Tim Bliss
The Marlins getting rid of Bell is the only thing that makes sense in this thread.
Seth Guttman
Not even the World Series yet and we have a major trade…WOW! I think it’s safe to assume with Bell being traded, Ozzie is staying.
coolstorybro222
if Bobby V is dissmissed after one year, Gullien could be too
johnnycomelately9
Bringing in Gullien was the Marlins worst off-season move of 2011 and this off-season their worst move will be bringing Gullien back.
Sniderlover
I’m not understanding why DBacks would take Bell at all…
Tim Bliss
Yeah. It doesn’t make a lick of sense for them. Don’t understand why the A’s would go get another outfielder when they’re already loaded in the OF. Just a really weird trade both teams.
Pronk19
Supposedly Cliff Pennington is also going to Arizona in the deal and they needed the SS still doesn’t make much sense
Tim Bliss
Diamondbacks getting Pennington to play SS is a good move for them. Also he might be a pretty good hitter in that park.
Pronk19
He’s still a career .249 hitter his defense is nice though
Snoochies8
He’ll also hit for a little more power in AZ
bg7kd
He will be better in AZ. I could see him getting .270 and 8 homers with a good defense to go along with it
Ben Brown
Don’t forget Penny has the speed to swipe 25-35 bags.
melonis_rex
but he’ll get caught plenty doing so.
jamesa-2
Once again, this feels like KT making a trade simply to make a trade. The D-Backs could have done far, far better on the trade market with their OF surplus.
Tim Bliss
I completely agree.
johnnycomelately9
Bell is legit and will pitch above average out of their bullpen. Mark my words. Bell at worst is their 2nd best bullpen option; he isn’t done despite what many think
elscorchot
he gave up a ton of saves in a pitchers park. his velocity has diminished for the past couple years. pretty safe to say that he is done, or close to being so.
Andy Forrester
As a Marlins fan, I’m sure you guys know he put up a 3.10 ERA since July. Or did his awful start cloud that judgement?
Wilsonl
First impression: A’s win this trade.
jamesa-2
By a LONG SHOT
davbee
Chris
Young will do great in Oakland because the A’s are smart enough to know
how to use him–.810 OPS last season vs. lefthanded pitching and .859
OPS over the past three seasons vs. lefties. The guy is a platoon
player (besides being an elite defender). Arizona never quite figured
this out.
melonis_rex
and the A’s have a HUGE weakness against LHP, so that’s definitely good.
casorgreener
I don;’t know about long shot. Crhis Young is no better than CoCo crisp and the A’s won’t repeat the magic next year either. Why take on CY’s salary
LazerTown
Definetely. Although the trade could work out well for the d’backs. They were considering non-tendering Young anyways, and either Putz or Bell or even both could be flipped to teams that need a closer at the trade deadline.
MeowMeow
My first impression was how utterly the Diamondbacks LOST this trade. I fail to understand their motivation here.
Snoochies8
They got a SS, and one who’s under control for a few years, also made room for Parra to start, and they got bolstered their bullpen
LazerTown
Pennington was terrible offensively this year. Really can’t be good for that team if they can’t find someone better.
Snoochies8
He’ll be better in the much more hitter friendly AZ stadium
MeowMeow
^This, basically
LazerTown
Not necessarily. They can easily swap bell or putz now with another team at the trade deadline, and they got quite a bit of money to make it worthwhile. The trade only is good for them if bell can return to form though.
MeowMeow
Who wants Heath Bell? There’s a market for Heath Bell? I mean, I guess there is but who ELSE is going to take that on? $13mil seems like a lot of money for a chance that maybe Bell will be better and have trade value, but the warning signs of his decline have been there for years.
bg7kd
Can someone explain why the A’s got Chris young. He had a solid outfield unless they are not bringing back Gomes which would surprise me. Plus his contract is more than 1/2 the A’s players combined. However I will admit that we did win the trade
Tim Bliss
I’m trying to understand why the A’s got Young too.
Bryce a
Thinking the same thing, unless they have another trade in the works involving CC.
Snoochies8
Buy low deal I guess? Also this must mean Coco’s not in their plans for next year? I have no idea….
bg7kd
I really hope they keep coco. He might not have the best stats but kept the team together and was the leader
UnknownPoster
Gomes is a FA. maybe they have talked to him and decided that he wasnt going to come back?
Also, Oak is larger than AZ, i dont know why Beane would think Oak is going to help Young’s numbers
bg7kd
My point exactly for young and Beane said he had talked to or wanted to bring back Gomes, but we will see
UnknownPoster
agreed. Maybe Beane didn’t feel comfortable with the OF he has and plans to make further deals? Because he has something like 5 or 6 MLB OF in the organization right now, right?
bg7kd
Thats what we have a ton of is outfield and starting pitchers. If we were too make another move for a good player expect a pitcher to go next
UnknownPoster
I still think Beane will be dealing one of the OFs. Pitching is always good to have extra. OFs… you don’t need more than 4
Snoochies8
He was a 2.9 fWAR player, so he still had good not great stats. I’d guess Gomes isn’t coming back and Smith gets flipped since that frees up the DH spot. With the DH spot being freed, that leaves a good chance for Cespedes, Young, and Reddick to rotate DHing, although I’d rather keep Reddick’s glove/arm in RF at all times
bg7kd
young with defense will play LF Cespedes CF and Reddick RF. I am glad they got rid of Pennington could we possibly see Grant Green next year
jamesa-2
Young could very easily push Cespedes to LF. Defensively, there MIGHT be 3 better CFs in all of Baseball.
bg7kd
That is a valid point plus Cespedes bat might do better with him in left field
Snoochies8
We won’t see Green at shortstop, that’s for sure. Green/Weeks/Sizemore will be in the mix for 2B
rathman53
Cliff Pennington also traded from Oakland to Arizona
Cobby_Box
Bell was unhappy being unable to overtake the ninth back from the untested, maybe-they-can-pull-it-off Miami closers, but the D-Backs expect him to be fine and dandy with having to overtake J.J. Putz?
HarshReality666
Looks like Oakland is determined to strike out even more next season
Keith Gilbert
Just Wait Marlins fans Josh Johnson is gone as the the same with Buehrle. The marlins need to dump payroll
Deftones17
People who think the A’s won this deal, have you seen Chris Young play? Sure, he’s a defensive star, but he’s a complete liability at the plate. Basically a .240 with a ton of strike outs. Sure, he’s got some pop when healthy, but enjoy him popping up to the infield about half of his ABs. Eaton is almost as good defensively, he’s faster, gets on base and hits for average. Far more valuable than what CY brings to the table. Plus, I’d much rather have a guy like Bell in the bullpen than have CY sitting on the bench next year, because it was clear he lost his CF job.
Now they just need to figure out what to do w/ the Parra/Kubel situation.
crystomint
The Marlins won this deal by getting rid of Bell. Case closed.
UnknownPoster
depends how much they still are paying him. If they are still paying him 2/3 of his contract, why not see if he can regain his great success in SD?
Deftones17
According to Dbacks official team writer, they are splitting the last 2 years of his deal. So $9 for each team. And Dbacks freed up more than than in the Young deal. Win!
Now I hear Dbacks will pay $13 million of the $18 million remaining. Not sure which is correct.
UnknownPoster
But they are also sending cash to Oak. Don’t know how much is really freed up for AZ
TDevil
Dbacks sent $500K to Oakland. Marlins are paying $8M of $21M owed to Bell.
coolstorybro222
they still own him a crud load of money though.
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
The Marlins failed by signing him to such a poor deal in the first place.
HarshReality666
That’s why he fits in with Oakland.
Strike out a ton and have a decent glove.
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
And yet Oakland wins, so it all works out.
$22264602
Justifying your team losing a trade is a tough job sometimes.
Joe Valenti
This is a good trade for the D-Backs. They traded a player who’s value is questionable for another player who’s value had been lowered due to a bad first half. If you look at Heath Bell’s half season splits he was actually good after the All-Star break. Considering that you can never have enough bullpen arms and that the D-Backs had 5 guys for 3 OF spots I wouldn’t be so quick to chalk this up as a loss. They also needed a SS and got Pennington. I am not going to say he’s the answer but it fills a void for now until something better comes up.
On the other side I am not sure what the A’s plan to do with Young. They already have a set OF with Reddick, Crisp, and Cespedes. I am not sure what the DH situation is but if Moss has that locked up suddenly Young becomes a $8.5 MM bench player. You have to think that money could be better spent elsewhere.
I think the A’s have to be thinking about flipping Young to someone else. He was a steal in terms of talent given up but if he is going to be a bench player he is not worth the money. The only other option would be trading Coco Crisp because Reddick is still relatively cheap and Cespedes is almost the face of the organization.
bg7kd
Then who won in your mind.
Deftones17
The Marlins and Dbacks. Dbacks unload CY’s worthless deal and get Bell who can at least contribute. Marlins unload salary, which is common for them.
bg7kd
Except the D’back payed cash to the A’s which would be most of the contract since the A’s cant play that much. Miami got rid of him after 1 bad year that’s saying they don’t have faith in anyone.
Pronk19
Actually the beat reporter for the D’backs said they’re only paying 500k to the A’s while paying 13mil out of the remaining 18 mil on Bell’s contract
bg7kd
just read that. that is surprising
jamesa-2
When Young is healthy, he is an above average player all around and an exceptional defensive talent. He stikes out a lot, but he also draws a stupid amount of walks. He’s a 20/20 guy and hits the same anywhere you put him in the lineup. IN that cavernous dield in Oakland, he’ll probably hit fewer HRs, but he’s just doubled how good that OF is defensively.
coolstorybro222
On the Parra kubel situation…the only solution might be trade Justin Upton
LazerTown
Young is very close to BJ Upton in terms of production, and some managements think upton will get $14M aav over 4 years. The A’s got a similiar player for so much cheaper.
TBRays3
i guess this means J-Up is staying with the D-Backs after all
disqus_V2WJO5OPK0
I don’t understand this trade from the A’s perspective. I understand trading pennington but why cabera to obtain an outfielder? They seemed set with reddick, cespesdes, and crisp. but then again i guess they just wanted depth but still
Snoochies8
Ok, so Gomes probably isn’t returning next year, Seth Smith or Coco will probably be flipped elsewhere
But why would Arizona trade upside like Cabrera for Heath Bell? They better hope he turns into SD Bell again…
bg7kd
Cabrera came from the A’s and he was not very solid at SS in two season in low A and high A. Plus I hope they don’t get rid of Gomes but I see it happening to
TBRays3
so i guess J-Up is staying with ARI after all
UnknownPoster
still have 4 OFs, maybe more that could start. Upton will be on the market, but Towers may not feel the need to accept a bad trade
TBRays3
yea why would they trade their highest upside guy with power after a down year Towers would be smart to hold on to him
UnknownPoster
because if you look at Upton, almost every year has been a “down year”. He had an great year a couple years ago, and thats it. people will be trading for upside. The longer they hold onto him and that upside doesn’t show, the lower his value. He’d be smart to deal him now, if they do plan on dealing him
TBRays3
true but why not wait to see if he rebounds after a thumb injury and playing in the bandbox Chase Field is all he has to do is hit more fly balls
UnknownPoster
theoretically thats all anyone has to do. Its harder said than done.
TBRays3
but hes shown he can do that and i think Towers will hesitate to give up a former number one overall pick
UnknownPoster
yes and no. He did it for one year and the other years he’s been good, but never what they expected. He is still extremely young and should reach his potential, but if the Dbacks are worried he wont, they should deal him now while other teams still think he has a chance
TBRays3
but remember he played a key role in leading them to the playoffs and some players are due to regress like Goldschmidt (?) and Hill
UnknownPoster
Goldschmidt is young and is what they hope he will be. A good 1B who can hit. Hill seems like a late bloomer to me. I think it would be hard to deal someone like Upton, but I think this deal may also be a signal that Texas was not interested in an Upton for Andrus swap. If they were, no need for Pennington.
HarshReality666
There will be a 27 K perfect game next season against Oakland.
I’m calling it now
eedwards027
Dbacks got hosed. Trading away a potential 20/20 guy who is an excellent defender for a high priced declining RP is just terrible. Yes CY will hit about 230 and strikeout a lot, but just let him bat at the bottom of the order and do what he does.
Deftones17
Eaton is nearly identical defensively, can hit for AVG, gets on base and is a true leadoff hitter. And he costs the league minimum. They made the right move.
eedwards027
That maybe true but you cant tell me trading CY for an over priced declining RP is a good move
Deftones17
Sure I can. It’s a no risk proposition. Dbacks have their 4 OF’ers they want, they free up from a horrible contract and they get a guy who could have a bounce back year. Risk involved? Of course, but I’d rather have a pitcher with Bell’s track record than Young.
jamesa-2
Young, when healthy produces. If he has another down year, you hide him away as a platoon player and let him walk. Bell is washed up and costs even more than CY does. Unfortunately, there is no place to hide him away, and he’s under contract even longer than Young.
UnknownPoster
for a team like AZ though, 14M for a bench player is a LOT. At least Bell has had success in the NL West before and he is hoping he’ll regain it
eedwards027
Better then wasting money in the bullpen. The exercised Putz option and I sure as hell would not pick Bell over Putz for my closer. So now Bell is an over priced declining set up man
Deftones17
Who is still younger than Putz and has had closing experience, with a ton of success in this division. Overprice set up man? Yeah, probably. But I don’t mind it now they aren’t paying Young that money.
jamesa-2
Bell will be LUCKY if he even gets used as the set-up man. Putz is the Closer, end of story there. David Hernandez is the set-up man, and likely the Closer of the future for the team. There’s no way Bell is taking that job from him. That leaves Bell trying to be a 7th Inning bridge, something the D-Backs really have no use for.
Bell brings ZERO upside to the D-Backs. Young at least played exceptional defense, and when healthy, was still effective at the plate despite being only a .240 hitter. He walked a ton and hit for power, not everyone on a team can bat .280.
Deftones17
If you haven’t watched a ton of Dbacks games, look up how many IP David Hernandez has thrown the past few years. He’s prime for a breakdown. I think this is double insurance to give him some breaks as well as if Putz suffers an injury. Again, I don’t care how good Young is defensively. He’s an offensive liabililty and not worth $10 million dollars he would have been paid next year. I don’t see how I can explain that any better.
eedwards027
I don’t understand how you would rather give thag money to a 8th inning guy who’s coming off the worst year of his career. Everyone understands that CY had to go. Relief pitching is not something that should be over payed for. Wouldn’t that money be better served trying tofind a better SS or 3B?
Deftones17
Name me a great SS or 3B that the Dbacks can afford or is worth that money? David Wright? He’s not leaving NY. Steven Drew? Been there, done that. These aren’t positions where there are an abudance of talent as FAs.
eedwards027
Elvis Andrus or Aramis Ramirez
Michael Young as a 3B
Deftones17
Andrus is not a FA. Neither is Aramis Ramirez. These would involve trades. That’s my point. It’s a weak FA year for these positions. Dbacks are better using stop-gap players for another year, until there is a better class in 2014, than overpaying a marginal player.
eedwards027
So go get it done
Deftones17
Ok. I’ll get on the horn and get something going. 😉
Plus, the Dbacks have Chris Owings, who will be their SS of the future. He just needs another year of seasoning in the minors.
eedwards027
Haha
jamesa-2
Owings probably needs 2 more years. And Elvis Andrus could have been obtained by using the D-Backs strength in the OF as part of the trade. The same could be said for pursuing Asdrubal Cabrera in Clevland. The D-Backs need a “ready NOW” SS, not someone else to compete with Bloomquist for playing time like Pennington will.
Bell is just an overpaid RP. The potential to obtain a top-tier SS existed (and still does but will be harder to make happen now).
UnknownPoster
willing to bet anything that this deal means the Dbacks contacted the Rangers and they said no thank you to an Andrus for Upton swap. Getting Pennington, IMO, means Towers tried to get a better SS and it wasnt out there.
jamesa-2
If Pennington is the best SS that KT could find with the huge logjam of quality OFers and Pitchers that the Dabcks have, then KT needs to go. As the roster currently stands, Pennington is still little more than a platoon player.
UnknownPoster
Disagree. If the rangers or Indians weren’t interested in getting Upton, there wasn’t much more out there. I wouldn’t be surprised if those teams demanded Eaton or Bauer. Also, while you guys have a surplus, it’s also in a market flush with top OF talent available
jamesa-2
Bauer and SKaggs should be the only two untouchables on the D-Backs roster. If moving Eaton nets them one of those two, you do it. And those were just the two most attractive candidates. I can come up with at least 5 or 6 more that make more sense than Pennington. CY needed to go for financial reasons, but they got nothing of value in return, not even salary relief.
If the goal (as stated by KT) for this off season is to get a lefty out of the pen, a starter, a SS, and a 3B, then this trade simply makes little sense as he has traded away talent but not money. So now he has less money AND less talent to fill those four needs. Pennington is NOT going to cut it as the everyday SS in Arizona.
Novak
Ramirez isn’t moving, unless they really blew the Brewers away with an offer.
jamesa-2
Hernandez started off as a Starter and KT moved him into the bullpen where he has flourished as the set-upman and closer for the D-Backs. He’s pitched a number of innings, but nothing to worry too terribly about, especially given that they have two pitchers in the bullpen that are innings eaters that can be used to make the set-up man less of an everyday call to the pen.
If Young is healthy (and that’s a big if) he’s worth probably $7-8MM per year. Hitting .240 with 20HR, 20SB, and walking 60 times is not the worst thing. He does stike out a bunch, but so does half the D-Backs squad. Defensively, Young is one of the best in CF, that comes close to making up the difference in his salary.
I’m not saying Young should not have been traded. Moving him was good business sense. Moving him for a bloated contract in Bell is the part that makes no sense. They need a SS, not another RP. With the 6 OFers the D-Backs had, and looking to move two of them, the D-backs could have done MUCH better by working with Clevland or Texas.
eedwards027
Hit the nail on the head
eedwards027
That money would be better served elsewhere. There are plenty cheaper alternatives then Bell.
johnnycomelately9
When Bell was exclusively a set-up man for the pads he was top 3 in the league. Bell will get used more than posters think, KT knows he’s hungry to win, and maybe his fiery attitude is was what AZ young pitching staff needs, a leader.
Deftones17
He’s a career .239 hitter. He’s struck out over 130 times each year he’s played a full season.
eedwards027
Its not a bad deal for trading CY. Its a bad deal for wasting money on Bell that could be used elsewhere to upgrade the team.
johnnycomelately9
Yeah. Marlins are picking up most so they’re only paying 8-9 million. Bottom line is you’re seeing this all wrong like most people: Last year the Marlins overpaid for Heath Bell, the price the D-Backs are getting him at would be considered a bargain last offseason; Bell was also Tower’s closer in SD and he knows him. This move solidify’s the D-Backs bullpen, Bell is still a good-excellent bullpen option, he’ll prove it himself.
jamesa-2
Eaton’s defense is nowhere near Young’s in terms of total range and coverage. He has a stronger arm, but it remains to see if it is nearly as accurate. CY’s range has, for 6 years now, allowed the Dbacks to put anyone they wanted in LF and not worry about that player being a defensive liability. And, since the Dbacks are sending cash to OAK and taking on most of Bell’s contract, no money is being saved. In fact, Bell costs more than CY to begin with, so the team is actually paying MORE to have a weaker OF defensively and a worthless reliever that they are now stuck with for 2 more seasons since NO ONE will take Bell off the D-backs hands.
Deftones17
And what they lose in the OF (which I’d argue is negligible) will be completely overshadowed by Eaton who gets on base, doesn’t strike out, makes consistent contact with the ball, which is something Young could never do.
melonis_rex
Just because you have a qualified and league min replacement in-house doesn’t mean you dump a useful player for pennies on the dollar.
Expedicionario LEOXD
Man, Bell Strugled this year, but he´s a great fit for the Dbacks, i like this trade 😀
coreif
Of course the A’s and D-Backs part of the same trade. But before the playoffs are even over? I knew the Marlins wanted to be rid of Bell, but damn!
coolstorybro222
wow. Chris Young needed a change in venue. He will do good in Oakland.
Andrew Choi
now do the a’s trade coco crisp? seth smith? and now do they pick up the option for stephen drew? who do they put at 2B now? is jemile weeks ready? big questions up ahead for oakland
Francesco
Weeks will be the 2nd basemen and maybe they trade crisp for a ss
Snoochies8
that’s not a given, Green/Weeks/Sizemore will all be in the mix for 2B
bg7kd
I think right now Sizemore has the advantage going into spring training if he is healthy. Weeks is also behind Green in my mind
Sniderlover
If that’s kinda it then I really like the deal for the A’s. I don’t get it from DBacks perspective.
bigpat
Why are trades allowed during the playoffs? I won’t complain but it makes no sense, the season isn’t over yet.
UnknownPoster
technically its over on Oct 3. Thats why teams can move players off the 40 man already. Its expected to not announce something during games, but its an off day. no harm, no foul
Francesco
This has to mean the co co crisp will be traded…no way they shop reddick or cespedas right?
UnknownPoster
cespedes no, reddick maybe? Also maybe moss.
bg7kd
Reddick will stay he is under contract for a while. CoCo would be the best guess to go. Don’t expect Gomes to sign as a free agent either
UnknownPoster
I could see Gomes walk and Coco dealt. They are closest to leaving, contract wise. But i could also see him cashing in on Reddicks great year and trying to get a few good pieces.
Snoochies8
Seth Smith could go too, freeing up the DH spot for Chris Young, Josh Reddick, and Yoenis Cespedes to rotate
jamesa-2
No way you play Young and only have him DH. If he plays, he plays both sides. Defensively there are almost none on par with him. His defense is where 70% of his value is.
Snoochies8
who said he’ll only be DH? I said have the three rotate
Mike Bender
At least I can still get the home run ball I caught back in April signed by CY during spring training.
chris_synan1
Great job by Billy Beane…he is getting a great outfielder in Chris Young…
genius.gm.on.mlb.the.show
Is cliff pennington the new D-backs shortstop?
UnknownPoster
for now, yea
jamesa-2
Beginning to look like it. Personally, I think they could have done TONS better by exploring other OF trade options.
Snoochies8
yep, he should do better there
bg7kd
Good luck with Pennington.
Deftones17
Dbacks are only paying $500k of the $10 million ($8.5 million + $1.5 million buyout for 2014 season) to the A’s. Yeah, they fleeced them.
Odawg8
why do people even make trades with Billy Beane anymore?
LazerTown
Honestly, all of the teams gave up players they didn’t want anymore. Pennington got replaces, miami didn’t want bell, and d’backs were thinking non-tender young.
Joey Doughnuts
Billy Beane is so good at trades, yet his trophy case is completely empty……He’s so overrated as a GM. Yeah, he does a lot with a little from time to time, but “a lot” to him is just a playoff appearance.
diehardmets
1 – Consistently bottom 5 in salary.
2 – Playoffs are a total crap shoot anyway.
Joey Doughnuts
So being bottom 5 in salary makes him a good GM? The end game is to win a WS, not put a decent team on the field compared to your payroll. Maybe they need to sell the team to someone who CAN supply them with a sufficient payroll. Having low salary means Billy can never be blamed for things, only praised.
Invaderbro
A’s got a good deal, obvious losers are the Marlins tho. I guess this officially ends their fire sale. Wonder what happens with that overloaded outfield tho
Snoochies8
Marlins actually got a good deal. Yordy has some serious upside once he can recognize changeups and sliders better. At this point he mashes mistakes that pitchers make. He has good range at SS but is probably more of a 3B because of his footwork with a super strong arm to boot.
melonis_rex
Not really.
Yordy isn’t a non-prospect, and the Marlins were able to clear most of Bell, an essentially useless player’s, salary.
DerekJeterDan
Getting Chris Young is really going to help the A’s. Nice upside in that lineup
Marlins did a good job getting rid of Heath Bell and not having to take back a bad contract.
Arizona gets a defensive middle infielder to replace Stephen Drew,
Snoochies8
Yep, I believe so
I think this is a three-team deal that could help all three teams out, especially if Yordy lives up to even half of his potential
Francesco
CF lead off hitter is in high demand so now they can trade Crisp..they can def get a good return for him
Francesco
Also wont be surprised to see Billy Beane trade Reddick ..Yankees? And Rays are a good trade partner for Crisp
Don Bindley
Sounds like it is going to be a busy off season for the D’Backs
Lunchbox45
why does the mlb allow trades before the world series is over. not really fair to the teams still playing
jamesa-2
No one is playing today though, so they probably figured no harm, no foul.
UnknownPoster
You can still negotiate a trade while playing. It just wont be announced until you are eliminated. Im sure all 3 GMs contacted the Cards, Giants and Tigers to see if there was interest in what they had. If there was, talks would have continued but not been announced until they were eliminated
brian310 2
Billy Beane loves to collect outfielders
Hector Cortes
and relievers…. well at least for the past few years not so much this year and last year.
Stoibs
Beane loves those Diamondbacks. Carter, Anderson, Young, Drew, Parker, Cook, and Cowgill. The Diamonbacks have traded away a pretty decent team.
Ben Brown
…Melvin
Andrew Choi
now trade coco crisp to seattle for john jaso (look at his OBP!). then you have an outfield of cespedes, young, reddick. DH platoon of Gomes and Seth Smith. An infield (from 1st to third) of Carter/Moss, Sizemore, Drew, Donaldson, Jaso. Rotation of Parker, Anderson, Milone, Griffin, Straily or Peacock/Cole/Gray. That is a pretty good team.
UnknownPoster
seems really reliant on corner guys. Could hurt them in the long run
popular_mechanics_for_pitchers
Crisp > Jaso
thomassj
I think Chris young is a good player and he is pretty much good for 20 homers 20 steals and great defense. He is a former All Star! His manger during his All Star campaign…Bob Melvin…Oakland’s current manager..Bob Melvin. There is def potential still in Young. Trading a prospect for Chris Young def a good trade for Beane and the A’s.
Marvin Marshall
AJ Hinch was his manager when he made the Allstar team.
thomassj
Your right…bob Melvin last coached him 2009 and all star year was 2010…..still put up solid numbers under Melvin and made all rookie team
Andy Forrester
I wouldn’t look too much into him being an “All-Star,” he was picked by Charlie Manuel to represent the dbacks because none came close to being voted into a starting role.
wade3061
If the A’s end up trading Coco, that means nobody in the A’s outfield throws like a girl.
TDevil
Young doesnt have a strong arm
Ben Brown
It has to be better than Coco’s arm though.
Jonny Dollar
I didn’t know they could trade while the playoffs was going on. Cool! Get to work Theo! 😉
melonis_rex
Hrm, confusing. But I like it for the A’s
From the Marlins and A’s perspective, it didn’t fill any immediate needs but it was a gain on pure value. Marlins cleared most of Bell’s salary which is good, and A’s got really really good value on the deal even if they didn’t fill an immediate need.
Pennington’s a good (I wouldn’t say great) defensive shortstop, but doesn’t really hit enough to start (even when you adjust for the Coliseum) and will be arb eligible. Yordy’s a decent prospect and he’ll be top 10 in the Marlins system, but will have to put a lot together to pan out and is far from the majors.
Although now the A’s have an outfield logjam again, especially if they try to bring Gomes back. But then there’s lots of offseason to fix these things.
I have no clue why the DBacks made this trade though. Bell was declining before he even left SD.
Marvin Marshall
Bell had a good second half of the season. And he has pitched well in the NL west. With the Marlins paying $8 of the $21 mil left over the next 2 years, I think this is a good move for the Dbacks.
melonis_rex
Paying 6MM/yr for a setup man coming off a bad season isn’t really a good idea, especially when you’re not a big market team and you’re paying 6.5MM to Putz already.
Rabbitov
Wow Athletics are really building something.
Hector Cortes
Yea I gotta give Beane a lot of credit these past 2 years he’s really took on some solid young major leaguers and turn that into a solid MLB team that can compete with I wish the Mets would take a few cues from him….
Rayland#1
Time for HoyEpstein to join the party and start dealing.
Francesco
Trade crisp and norris to blue jays for arencibia and.escobar
blzdup
This is obviously a foreshadowing of a Kubel/Bell or Parra/Bell trade. Think about it, with these 2 guys i think a solid 3 baseman are in the D-Backs future. If it dont happen then KT will live up to his terrible rep.
deewitt92
I feel like the mets should of made a play for Chris Young but he was scooped up so fast!