The biggest trade from this week's Winter Meetings in Orlando is now complete. The Diamondbacks officially announced that they have acquired Mark Trumbo and minor league right-hander A.J. Schugel from the Angels and minor league outfielder Brandon Jacobs from the White Sox in a three-team deal. Arizona will send center fielder Adam Eaton to the White Sox and left-hander Tyler Skaggs to the Angels. The White Sox will also send left-hander Hector Santiago to the Angels.
The Diamondbacks were set on acquiring either Trumbo or Shin-Soo Choo at the Winter Meetings, according to earlier reports. Trumbo (pictured) will slot into the outfield for the D-Backs, which isn't a perfect fit for Arizona given his defensive shortcomings there. Arizona will be looking for Trumbo's power to outweigh his shaky defense; he's belted 66 home runs over the past two seasons, posting a .250/.305/.471 batting line.
In 992 innings as an outfielder throughout his career, Trumbo has a -7.0 UZR/150. While his walk rate climbed to a career-best eight percent in 2013, that's still below the league average, and it came along with a career-worst 27.1 percent strikeout rate. Still, he should provide a great deal of power to a D-Backs outfield that finished last in the Majors in home runs in 2013. In fact, Trumbo's mark of 34 homers alone ties the collective mark posted by Arizona outfielders last season. Trumbo projects to earn $4.7MM via arbitration this offseason and can be controlled through the 2016 campain.
The White Sox have stated a desire to get younger and to add left-handed bats to their lineup, and the acquisition of Eaton will do just that. Formerly one of baseball's top prospects, the 25-year-old Eaton missed more than half of the 2013 season after opening the year on the DL with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his left (throwing) elbow.
In 380 career MLB plate apparances, Eaton is a .254/.332/.373 hitter with five homers and seven stolen bases. He's batted .365/.441/.522 with eight homers and 38 steals in 602 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Prior to the 2013 season, Baseball America ranked Eaton as Arizona's No. 4 prospect, noting that he'd made enough defensive strides to convince scouts that he is an everyday big league center fielder with double-digit home run pop, plus speed and a strong, accurate throwing arm. Should he pan out, Eaton could provide the White Sox with their center fielder of the future; he's controllable through the 2018 season.
The Angels have been in the market for young, controllable pitchers, and this trade allows them to fill out their rotation with a pair of promising young left-handers. This is the second time that GM Jerry Dipoto has acquired Skaggs. Dipoto acquired Skaggs for the D-Backs from the Angels in a trade for Dan Haren when he was Arizona's interim GM.
Skaggs appeared in the Top 15 of BA's Top 100 list prior to the 2012 and 2013 seasons but has struggled in his brief big league experience to date. Still just 22, he has a 5.43 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 40 percent ground-ball rate in 68 Major League innings. He has a 4.02 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 156 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level — all of which have come with him being one of the league's youngest pitchers. Skaggs won't be eligible for arbitration until at least 2016 and can be controlled through the 2019 campaign if he's in the Majors from here on out.
Santiago, who turns 26 next week, has a career 3.41 ERA with 8.7 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and a 37.5 percent ground-ball rate in 224 2/3 big league innings. He's not arbitration eligible until next winter and can be controlled through the 2017 campaign. An extreme fly-ball pitcher, Santiago should enjoy Mike Trout playing behind him in center field.
Schugel dealt with blisters early in the season and saw a foot injury cut his season short in July after he posted a 7.05 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 89 1/3 innings at Triple-A Salt Lake. However, he posted a 2.89 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 140 innings at Double-A when he was healthy in 2012.
Baseball America ranked Schugel 12th among Angels prospects prior to 2013, noting that a strong fastball/changeup combo should allow him to become a back-of-the-rotation starter despite a questionable breaking pitch. BA also noted that Schugel is an excellent athlete that fields his position well.
Jacobs, 23, came to the White Sox from the Red Sox in the Matt Thornton deal in July. The outfielder hit .244/.320/.407 for three teams at Class-A Advanced and Double-A in 2013. He was eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, as was Schugel, which is why the pair had to technically be included as players to be named later.
ESPN's Keith Law was the first to report the three-team framework (on Twitter), and MLB.com's Steve Gilbert added that the D-Backs would receive two prospects as well (Twitter link). Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweeted that the trade was agreed to (Twitter links). Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona tweeted that the D-Backs would receive Schugel from the Angels, and John Gambadoro of Sports 620 KTAR in Phoenix was first to suggest that Jacobs would be the PTBNL coming from Chicago.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
This is not the proper way to look at any deal. I think everybody knows there’s an inherent risk with Skaggs and Eaton, as they’ve had some uninspiring MLB playing time, but the return is Mark Trumbo, He played a whopping 200 innings in the OF last season and has yet to break 1000 innings in the OF in three full seasons. Nearly half of those innings were in RF where both DRS and UZR agree he is not any good. I know this is a small sample size but he also doesn’t pass the eye test and nothing about his player profile would suggest he’s worth playing in the OF. I don’t think it’s ever wise to acquire a player and hope he can transition to a more difficult position on a full-time basis. He is also turning 28 in a month and has pretty bad plate discipline and contact numbers. So even if he were to magically be okay defensively in LF, he may still not have the bat to hang there. On top of everything, the Dbacks already have two OFs who mash lefties and can’t hit righties well, so Trumbo is barely an upgrade offensively over them and probably a downgrade defensively.
Two OF who mash??? I wouldnt go that far cody ross is a average player at best and pollock has some potential but a 265 average is no where close to mashing…. True Trumbo is going to be a great defender obviously but then again that is not the reason we acquired him. We acquired him to hit home runs and drive runs in, simple as that.
Pollock had a .200 ISO against LHPs, Ross had a 173 wRC+. Obviously Ross’ numbers are not sustainable but the deal would seem closer to logical (not quite there) if Trumbo were left-handed.
Either way i would much rather do this deal than to have signed choo to a long deal. Granted i think choo is better right now but he really wasnt what we were looking for, plus a 7 year contract to a 31 year old is ridiculous to me. We were looking for young controllable power hitter to back up goldy.
He’s a 1B by trade! Give him a break.
is the Trumbo deal official yet did all the players pass there physicals yet
Please let somebody involved fail the physical.
Why would you wish that on someone?
Why would I wish a millionaire or future millionaire have a minor setback to prevent my favorite team from making a huge mistake? Are you really asking this?
Are you kidding?! Why would you want someone to fail a doctors visit. Thats just wrong.
Why on earth would the ChiSox want Trumbo?!
That’s what it seemed like what you meant. I thought you meant trumbo+prospects+Lindsey for sale. I get it now.
For all the times everybody complains about Trumbo’s Ks, how could anyone want Mark Reynolds who strikes out a TON more?
I think you’re underestimating Trumbo’s K-ing abilities, and regardless he doesn’t get on base or field.
Yes. He was drafted as a pitcher.
I don’t really see what you’re getting at. i’m not wishing a UCL tear on somebody, it could be something as simple as “what you had mono and didn’t tell us?!”
Not all failed physicals are impactful, you’re just grasping at straws here.
How does that change my point at all? I’ve never once said Trumbo was a bad player, he’s simply a terrible fit for the Dbacks.
So where does that Cody Ross guy play?
Your banking on him being worth the QO
And? Isn’t every free agent signing banking on the player having some sort of value?
I hope so.
LOL..you can’t be serious, they sold high on him
As an A’s fan, I hate the fact that Trumbo’s gone 🙁
So he is injury prone too?
He is young, and those issues are fixable. Same with his walks. Santiago had a mid 3 ERA when pitching half of his games in the worst pitcher park in the majors, and had averaged 8 Ks per 9 too. Sox will sorely miss him, especially when Danks gets hurt again.
Is Eaton a possible good player? Sure, but was he worth it to trade a guy who could start and is young and rough around the edges but has plenty of talent in Santiago? Time will tell I guess.
Oh yeah, Eaton can man CF & has demonstrated strong OBP skills in the minors too. In terms of natural talent, I’d say he’s pedestrian but I’d venture that the White Sox pro scouts have a good read on him. I don’t know if he’s ever a first division regular, but even a mediocre everyday CF can have tremendous value & Eaton has oodles of club control remaining if he’s even serviceable which is attractive.
If I were a D-Backs fan, I’d be very very pleased with this trade!
I second that hope. I just see Santiago being more valuable than Eaton at this point. I hope time changes this and he is a good player, but I’m not impressed by his numbers at this point.
Santiago is a 5th starter with almost no chance to be anything more. Exposure caught up to him last year. He’s got a long way to go if he’s going to remain in a major league rotation. The command isn’t there.
Santiago was never going to be better than a back of the rotation guy. The Sox traded him now when his value is highest. His numbers last season weren’t really that great outside of his ERA and K rate. But he walks a ton of people, lacks any control of the strikezone, was lucky (BABIP) and is a fly ball pitcher (not good for US Cellular). His numbers at home were much worse than his road numbers. The Sox also had 4 lefties penciled in for their rotation next season, so they needed to move one of them and fill one of their needs in the field. Sure I would have liked to see them move Danks, but that wasn’t likely and it wouldn’t have gotten you a prospect like Eaton.
Fantastic info…thanks guy.
Sale is the best left handed pitcher in the AL and only behind Kershaw in MLB. Quintana is WAY ahead of Santiago on many levels. Danks is coming back from injury last year, but if he can pitch like he did before the injury (no reason to think he can’t one year removed from the surgery) he’s way better than Santiago as well. Erik Johnson has a much higher ceiling than Santiago. The Sox gave up a guy who might be a back of the rotation type guy who can’t pitch past the 5th or 6th innning (he can’t find the strike zone, look at his game logs and pitch counts, it is brutal) whose ERA is misleading and he was not very good in US Cellular field (fly ball pitcher).
I don’t even like Santiago, I personally think most people are overrating him.
But in his defense, it’s hard to pitch past the 5th inning when you’re being moved back and forth between the rotation and the pen all year. If he has time to prepare in the off-season I think he can go deeper into games this year.
But it’s clear that he’ll also have to work on his control as well; I hadn’t looked at his pitch counts until now.
Danks was pitching pretty so-so even before the surgery, so I don’t have too much faith in him, but then again, if he gets back to somewhere between 2010 and 2011 form, combined with Santiago’s likely regression, he (Danks) very well could pitch better than Santiago this year
And I certainly wouldn’t have given up Johnson before Santiago, I just meant he was better this year… much like Paul Maholm was better than Julio Teheran in 2012 (although Johnson did in fact succeed at the majors this year, so it’s not exactly like Teheran)
Actually the Sox sold high on him. I’m actually surprised they got Eaton for him. Eaton is a top prospect who is major league ready. Many baseball publications had him as their pick to be ROY last season until he got hurt. Santiago is a back of the rotation guy with a limited ceiling whose numbers last year are misleading.
So you are saying he’ll likely win two Cy Young awards like Holladay as well?
Nah, just saying he’s by no means a lost cause yet; better pitchers have done worse to start their careers.
He could develop into a 2nd or 3rd starter… or he could end up a career minor leaguer… or anywhere in between.
How is Santiago a proven starter? Guy did it for one season and was marginal at best.
It won’t be that difficult to hit better than De Aza (.264 BA, 17HR’s, 62RBI’s and a horrifying .323 OBP for your lead-off hitter). Not to mention De Aza is a butcher in CF.
Santiago’s numbers are not that good, especially in US Cellular. Throw in the fact that his BABIP showed how lucky he was last season and he’s a fly ball pitcher he just doesn’t make sense for the White Sox long term. Not only that he can’t get past the 6th inning, he throws way too many pitches and walks too many batters to be considered dependable. Eaton has a much bigger upside than Santiago.
Santiago’s value was never higher than it is right now. Hahn made the trade because he was bound to fall back to earth next season. No one can be that lucky and be a fly ball pitcher in a HR hitters park two years in a row.
Do you like his high walk rate, his inability to pitch past the 5th inning or that he is a fly ball pitcher who was pitching in one of the best HR hitter parks in baseball? At best he is a back of the rotation guy or reliever (can’t close games, we saw that in Chicago, he gets really wild when the pressure is on).
I think he’s quite likely a backend guy but there is value in that and he has a nice mix of offerings and is going to play the 2014 campaign at 26. You’re right that the BB rate is far from desirable, but it’s a nice add for LAA in my estimation. He’s cheap & slots just fine there.
I’ve seen quite a bit of Adam Eaton and he is an aggressive, gritty player that gets the most out of what he is. I doubt how much actual talent he has & what sort of ceiling he possesses, but he’s coming into a nice situation. I’m rooting for him though.
Santiago hasn’t proven anything outside of you can be very lucky and your ERA looks good because of that. The rest of his pitching number’s are not good but scary in a bad way.
I can’t believe anyone gave us a top prospect for him.
I’d quibble that Adam Eaton ever was a ‘top prospect’ but he’s been a productive minor leaguer that gets the most out of his limited tools. Even if he’s not an eventual upper division regular or even a middling one, he has a nice fallback/profile as a 4th OF type.
He’d been a consesus top 50 prospect the last two years in all of baseball. There is no way he gets that ranking if he’s projected to be a 4th outfielder. I’m not sure what your baseball background is, but I’ll listen to the experts on this and expect more out of him than a platoon situation.
No no, you misread me for I meant that 4th OF would be his floor if he’s a major leaguer.
I think he has a chance to be a pretty good CF but I don’t think he’s great defensively there. Unfortunately, his bat plays better there than in a corner. He’s not very physically talented (former 19th rounder from a MAC school) but he works hard.
What in the world makes you compare Santiago to Gonzalez outside of them both being lefties and former members of the White Sox system? Gonzalez was a top prospect, Santiago was a spot starter who lost the closers role two years ago and walks almost 5 guys per 9 innings? Throw in the fact that he is a fly ball pitcher whose numbers suggest he was extremely lucky last season and your analogy is ludicrous.
Santiago pitched well in some games and some not, mostly because he could not get over mistakes either by him or his defense behind him. Young players do this. He had 8K/ 9inn and a mid 3 ERA while pitching half of his games in the worst park for pitchers in the league.
C’mon man, Gonzalez was a top prospect for years and has done really well at the majors for years now. Comparing a two time all star and a guy who received CY Young votes to a #5 starter is ridiculous. Santiago was never a highly touted player and did okay for part of a season last year as a starter. Yes he has a high K rate, but his walk rate is more damaging than his K rate is positive. Also, he did not pitch well in US Cellular and pitched really well away. The type of pitcher he is (fly ball pitcher) is the big reason why he was available when Quintana was not. Santiago’s ceiling with the White Sox was not that high due to their ballpark. Plus, the fact of the matter is, outside of his ERA and K rate his numbers were not very good at all and the number crunchers would have you believe he was one of the luckiest pitchers in baseball last season.
The most likely to be a bust out of this trade is Santiago. He is unproven and his number’s suggest he was extremely lucky last season.
We got Ernesto Frieri for Alexi Amarista and got a warm body for Jeff
Mathis. Those were definite wins.
You have to give talent to receive talent. He also traded Amarista for Frieri (win) and Mathis for a warm-bodied player (definite win). Morales for Vargas worked out for both teams and while Walden for Hanson didn’t work due to Hanson’s personal/health problems, it was a great trade on paper. While he was interim GM with the D-Backs, Dipoto worked the Haren deal and received Saunders, Corbin, Skaggs, and Rodriguez in return.
Hanson for Walden was a great trade on paper (starter for an inconsistent reliever). Amarista for Frieri was a great trade. Mathis for another player, period was a good trade. Morales for Vargas was a good trade for both teams. Those were done just in the past 2 years so I don’t know what you’re talking about.
1) Amarista for Frieri
2) Mathis for Mills
3) Morales for Vargas
4) Walden for Hanson (it was great on paper.. a starter that used to project as a #1/2 for an inconsistent reliever?)
While as interim GM of D-Backs:
Dan Haren for Joe Saunders, Patrick Corbin, Tyler Skaggs, and Rafael Rodriguez.
Yeah, he sure has an awful trade history, buddy.
Eaton is grossly underrated. He barely had a chance to gain traction after suffering injury early last season. The White Sox got a player who fits the prototypical top-of-the-order catalyst, will be the type of player to steal a postseason MVP award and be that (now) late rounder who’ll help you win a fantasy baseball championship.
I don’t honestly see how anyone can say any of these teams definitively win this deal. No team got a piece that will undoubtedly be a stud. There is so much potential for this deal to be irrelevant in five years due to the doubt surrounding every player swapped.
Thats a pretty nice “cherry”
To be fair, he did manage to get Luke Gregorson from the Cardinals for Khalil Greene.
Didn’t the Diamondbacks just get rid of a bunch of homerun or strikeout kinda guys from the 2011 season. I thought that was the point of getting rid of upton, reynolds, and someone else i can’t remember. Good deal for the Angels.
Some of his best splits are in your park.
I bet Trumbo is happy to go to a contending team.
He was already on one. The D’Backs are less likely to contend.
You know your farm system is bad when your #12 prospect should be able to “become a back-of-the-rotation starter despite a questionable breaking pitch.”
The Angels farm system is a depleted mess of nothingness
For pitching. Cron, Lindsey, and Cowart are interesting offensive pieces.
Actually they weren’t. They got what they were looking for out of Haren.
All minor leaguers are.
Oops. I had meant Cowgill the outfielder. I have high hopes for Kaleb.
Why not? If Trout is permanently their 3 hitter now, they’re gonna need to work out the leadoff spot again. Choo would bring that, and mixing his high OBP with Trout’s could help Pujols and Hamilton continue driving in a lot of runs even if their power is declining. That would then give them another trade option in Calhoun. Package him with Kendrick and they could off set a chunk of what they spend on Choo for that additional mid-rotation starting pitcher. That’s just a scenario, doubt it will happen. Angels should focus on Garza.
Choo would fill in great, but the problem I have is adding another 6 + years deal and most importantly(to me) losing a 1st round draft pick. A pick this farm system desperately needs. I would love a lineup of Choo, Trout, Pujols, Hamilton… but they still need pitching, they are an injury away in the rotation from having to start Blanton (which you previously stated). With so much good pitching in the league now extremely good offenses just aren’t enough for a team to be a playoff team, and even less a contender come October.
Chris young
I’m with you bob. You don’t trade young left handed pitcher for a guy you’re not sure will be a #8-9 hitter
Nothing an AYCE buffet and a free pool pass for Charles Barkley couldn’t have accomplished.
It seems like a overpay for Ari. I hear fans are not happy about dealing Skaggs,and Eaton.
When Trumbo gets protection he can hit 25-30 hrs. Especially in Chase Field. The only problem will be his strikeouts. Lets just hope he doesn’t become a slightly better Matt Joyce for the D-Backs.
That is a good comparison. I don’t know if I would have dealt both Skaggs,and Eaton to acquire him. They would have done better with signing Cruz,or Granderson at that rate. Choo would have probably been the best overall signing for them.
I would have given up
Eaton+Trahan topps, but Skaggs has too high of a ceiling to really deal him for another Mark Reynolds
How bad do the D-backs want Price?, because if they do we all know that the Rays are going to demand Bradley on the spot. Then ten thousand D-backs fans are going to scream,and run.
I would rather have kept Bradley,and then traded for Sama,and then signed Cruz/Choo/Granderson along with signing a pitcher like Garza/Santana to add in to that rotation.
Bradley
Sama
Garza
for the first 3.
Sandy Alderson thinks Antholpolous has great trade history