While at work today I thought of an interesting Yankee trade scenario.
Yankees trade:
Jason Giambi (1yr/21 + 5 million buyout)
Latroy Hakwins (1/yr/3.75)
Jeff Marquez
To Colorado
Colorado trades:
Todd Helton (4yrs/68.9 + 4.6 million buyout)
Brian Fuentes (1yr/5.05)
So before you jump at taking back Heltons contract and aging body remember that while his power has dropped he still is an on base machine. He takes a lot of pitches and rarely swings at bad ones.
Secondly some quick math would indicate it's not a horrible economic trade. In essence the Yankees are getting Helton at 12.5 million for the next four years.
Fuentes addition is more important now than it was two days ago when Joba was still a reliever. Fuentes could pitch the 7/8th depending on how Killer Kyle Farnsworth does as a set up man.
And even if we don't resign Fuentes at the end of the year he should still net the team two draft picks as a type A free agent.
Showing posts with label Todd Helton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Todd Helton. Show all posts
6/19/07
Boo Mark Teixeira Hurray Todd Helton!
Ken Rosenthal had a long column about the Yankees and Rangers working on a trade involving Mark Teixeira. Teixeira, a power hitting first baseman obviously would be a great fit in NY. He would probably bat 5th and provide better protection for A-Rod than Matsui can.
However…
The Yanks are surging, and with the lineup and pitching staff we have, do we really need to make a major splash on offense?
I say no, however, if we do decide to acquire a big hitter at first base I hope it’s not Teixeira.
It’s not that Teixeira isn’t great…because he is. It’s the cost to get Tex that scares me.
For starters his contract is over after next year. He makes 9 millon this year, next year with arbitration he could probably go around 12 millon. Not to mention that fact that baseball enemy number one Scott Boras is his agent. Teixeira is going to be the prize of the 2009 Free agent class and is going to get a massive contract. If the Yanks trade for him and don’t resign him after 2008 it’d be a disaster.
Especially if…
We give up Phil Hughes for him. It makes me uneasy even writing that. While I think it’s complete malarkey that we would even contemplate trading Hughes I’m not a baseball insider, Ken Rosenthal is. Rosenthal is pretty good with his news and rumors and I don’t think he’d claim Hughes is able to be had if he wasn’t.
Rosenthal believes, it would probably take a package of Tex, Gagne and a low level prospect for Hughes. While this would be an appropriate bounty for Phil I still think it’s insane to trade him.
We are talking about a 21 year old kid who was pitching a no-no when he got hurt, he’s the real deal. He’s not the second coming of Brandon Claussen.
Rosenthal also mentioned getting Tex for a lesser package of Chase Wright/Chamberlain, Melky and another decent pitching prospect. While this trade wouldn’t be as disastrous I still think this would be a mistake.
I love Melky, but he’s expendable. He’s young but his ceiling really isn’t that high. You can find a lot of players like him rather easily and cheaply.
Chamberlain on the other hand I would not want to trade. From everything I’ve read Chamberlain seems to be on the fast track to the majors.
In an ideal world he would become our number three in our young pitching staff in two years.
It would be foolish to give up a lot of prospects for Tex.
Especially when…
Todd Helton is available. Helton is older, 33, but he is still a force as a hitter. He’s a career .332 hitter, with a .431 OBP and slugs .588. His homerun power has diminished somewhat but he is still a threat to hit 20-30 homeruns. He is just an on base machine. In my eyes you can never have enough hitters with a high OBP%.
If we got Helton I wouldn’t mind moving Jeter to leadoff, than batting Abreu and Helton in front of A-Rod. Ideally A-Rod would be coming up to bat with at least one man on base in the first inning of every game.
That my friend is a pitchers nightmare.
What make Helton more attractive is…
What it would cost to acquire him
In the words of WWE personalities Cryme Tyme “Money Money Yeah Yeah”
(Editors Note: The following contract information comes from http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/)
Helton’s gi-normous contract is a burden on the small market Rockies. The Rockies would be willing to eat about 40% of Helton’s contract just to ship him out of town.
Helton is owed 90.1 million through 2011. Take out the 7 million already paid to Helton this season and the Rocks would end up paying about 33 million of Helton’s contract under this scenario.
The Yanks in turn would be on the hook for 57 million for about 4 and half seasons of Helton, or about 12.5 million a year.
All of a sudden that ridiculous contract doesn’t seem so ridiculous.
Helton is older and I have bashed the Yankees in the past for acquiring old players. However, I think Helton is an exception. Since he makes a living with his eye as much as his bat his skills are less likely to quickly erode.
Even better is the fact that we simply wouldn’t have to trade the kind of top level prospects in a Helton deal as we would in a Tex deal. A Helton deal is about money, much like the Abreu trade last year.
Another advantage of a Helton trade is…
Bust out your crystal ball
In 2008 Helton makes Abreu expendable. In fact with the option in Abreu’s contract he can be “Sheffielded” and traded for better prospects than we’d probably be giving up in a Helton trade.
I think acquiring Helton under these terms is a no brainier and a significantly better option than trading top prospects for one and half years of Mark Teixeira.
As I wrote earlier in the season “Paging Doctor Helton…will Doctor Todd Helton please report to Yankee Stadium”
However…
The Yanks are surging, and with the lineup and pitching staff we have, do we really need to make a major splash on offense?
I say no, however, if we do decide to acquire a big hitter at first base I hope it’s not Teixeira.
It’s not that Teixeira isn’t great…because he is. It’s the cost to get Tex that scares me.
For starters his contract is over after next year. He makes 9 millon this year, next year with arbitration he could probably go around 12 millon. Not to mention that fact that baseball enemy number one Scott Boras is his agent. Teixeira is going to be the prize of the 2009 Free agent class and is going to get a massive contract. If the Yanks trade for him and don’t resign him after 2008 it’d be a disaster.
Especially if…
We give up Phil Hughes for him. It makes me uneasy even writing that. While I think it’s complete malarkey that we would even contemplate trading Hughes I’m not a baseball insider, Ken Rosenthal is. Rosenthal is pretty good with his news and rumors and I don’t think he’d claim Hughes is able to be had if he wasn’t.
Rosenthal believes, it would probably take a package of Tex, Gagne and a low level prospect for Hughes. While this would be an appropriate bounty for Phil I still think it’s insane to trade him.
We are talking about a 21 year old kid who was pitching a no-no when he got hurt, he’s the real deal. He’s not the second coming of Brandon Claussen.
Rosenthal also mentioned getting Tex for a lesser package of Chase Wright/Chamberlain, Melky and another decent pitching prospect. While this trade wouldn’t be as disastrous I still think this would be a mistake.
I love Melky, but he’s expendable. He’s young but his ceiling really isn’t that high. You can find a lot of players like him rather easily and cheaply.
Chamberlain on the other hand I would not want to trade. From everything I’ve read Chamberlain seems to be on the fast track to the majors.
“Joba Chamberlain, who is less polished than Hughes was at this stage but has more power.” –Ken Rosenthal
In an ideal world he would become our number three in our young pitching staff in two years.
It would be foolish to give up a lot of prospects for Tex.
Especially when…
Todd Helton is available. Helton is older, 33, but he is still a force as a hitter. He’s a career .332 hitter, with a .431 OBP and slugs .588. His homerun power has diminished somewhat but he is still a threat to hit 20-30 homeruns. He is just an on base machine. In my eyes you can never have enough hitters with a high OBP%.
(Anthony and I feel that average is in fact a greatly overrated stat. We believe in Money Ball and that OBP, SLG, and OPS are the true measures that should be used to judge a hitter…but that’s for another column.)
If we got Helton I wouldn’t mind moving Jeter to leadoff, than batting Abreu and Helton in front of A-Rod. Ideally A-Rod would be coming up to bat with at least one man on base in the first inning of every game.
That my friend is a pitchers nightmare.
What make Helton more attractive is…
What it would cost to acquire him
In the words of WWE personalities Cryme Tyme “Money Money Yeah Yeah”
(Editors Note: The following contract information comes from http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/)
Helton’s gi-normous contract is a burden on the small market Rockies. The Rockies would be willing to eat about 40% of Helton’s contract just to ship him out of town.
Helton is owed 90.1 million through 2011. Take out the 7 million already paid to Helton this season and the Rocks would end up paying about 33 million of Helton’s contract under this scenario.
The Yanks in turn would be on the hook for 57 million for about 4 and half seasons of Helton, or about 12.5 million a year.
All of a sudden that ridiculous contract doesn’t seem so ridiculous.
Helton is older and I have bashed the Yankees in the past for acquiring old players. However, I think Helton is an exception. Since he makes a living with his eye as much as his bat his skills are less likely to quickly erode.
Even better is the fact that we simply wouldn’t have to trade the kind of top level prospects in a Helton deal as we would in a Tex deal. A Helton deal is about money, much like the Abreu trade last year.
Another advantage of a Helton trade is…
Bust out your crystal ball
In 2008 Helton makes Abreu expendable. In fact with the option in Abreu’s contract he can be “Sheffielded” and traded for better prospects than we’d probably be giving up in a Helton trade.
I think acquiring Helton under these terms is a no brainier and a significantly better option than trading top prospects for one and half years of Mark Teixeira.
As I wrote earlier in the season “Paging Doctor Helton…will Doctor Todd Helton please report to Yankee Stadium”
5/30/07
Hindsight Makes Me Look Dumb
UFC Recap
-Well as we all know all ready…I’m an idiot. I was wrong on a couple of my UFC picks. Belcher made short work Sean Salmon. Salmon has no business being in the UFC if he can’t beat a smaller fighter who’s coming in on short notice. I was right about Leben vs. Starnes, It was a close fight but Leben should be relegated to under card status, he simply isn’t that good. Karo looked amazing against Burkman. I honestly thought Burkman would put up a good fight, he’s a tough dude. Karo just outclasses him standing, cardio and with his judo. If Karo’s in top shape he’s going to be a force for a long time. With that being said I think the UFC totally screwed up the welterweight division by not having the title be defended till December (till the end of TUF6). In terms of the main event…wow. All I can say is wow. Rampage looked awesome. Stylistically he’s a nightmare for Liddell. Rampage is patient and his good boxing, he’s not going to chase Chuck around the ring and wait for him to counterpunch. Plus when Rampage gets inside he can dirty box/slam Chuck on his head. It was interesting how Rampage was in counter punch mode also, even putting his hands up at one point to say “C’mon Chuck.” I hate to say it was a fluke punch that ended the fight but I don’t think that fight ends the same way every time. Kudos to Rampage, he gives the UFC a great poster boy and he is insanely charismatic /marketable.
Around The Sports World
-The 49ers and Bears are making the most headway signing draft picks. The Niners have already locked up Jay Moore, Joe Cohen and Terrell Brown. According to rotoworld.com they have began negotiations with both first round picks, Joe Staley and Patrick Willis.
I’m a big fan of getting everyone into camp on time. I don’t get why holdouts occur so often. Look draft your guys, get them into camp. If you have a high draft pick and don’t want to pay a guy that much money than trade down. Not only do these players need to adjust to the speed and rigors of the NFL season but they need to adjust mentally as well. Learn the playbook, bond with teammates, create chemistry. I don’t think it will be a coincidence if the teams who have trouble getting everyone signed on time also struggle out of the gate this year.
-Vick in the clear?
It doesn’t look like Vick will get suspended this year since he hasn’t been charged with anything yet. If anything he’ll be suspended in 2008. Correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t Pac-Man Jones not technically charged with anything stemming from his Vegas incidents? Speaking of which the ruling on Pac-Man’s appeal comes in soon, I expect his penalty to be shortened.
I think stronger conduct polices needed to be adapted in the Sports World. Take Elijah Dukes, who threatened to kill his wife. C’mon…like that’s so disturbing. I’m going to be a school teacher soon. Do you think I would have my job still if I threatened to kill my wife?
-All Kneel Before the King
Ok, Anyone who bashes La Bron Bron from here on out should be spayed or neutered (We’ll miss you Bob Barker.) Seriously though he has a supporting casts of misfits and rejects. Drew Gooden and whatever creature is growing on the back of his head is probably the 2nd option on this team. Larry Hughes and Big Z are overrated and overpaid. This is the worst team in the NBA without LaBron. With him however they are tied 2-2 with the best team in the East. I know it’s the “L-Eastern” conference and in the West the Cav’s probably get bounced a lot sooner but with a player of James’s stature they are in every single game. Could you imagine James playing with a real team, or even one All-Star teammate, let’s say Carlos Boozer for example. Besides drafting James the Cav’s team has been so mismanaged, I’m surprised heads haven’t rolled. I reiterate NBA GM’s are the dumbest in sports. I think I could run an NBA team.
- (To the tune of Jose Jose Jose) Kobaaayyy-Kobaaayyy-Kobaayyyy
Dear Isaiah Thomas,
Please do whatever you can to get Kobe Bryant on the Knicks. No one on our team should be untouchable. Let me explain my logic. Kobe is better than LaBron James at this point in his career. LaBron is single-handedly carrying his team into the Eastern Conference finals and maybe into the NBA Finals. I’m positive Kobe could do the same on the Knicks. While you have made some awful decisions in the past Mr. Thomas now is your time to rectify every mistake you made. James Dolan has empty pockets, the Knicks have the type of big name market Kobe would love to play for, and the Knicks have the right amount of young talent and big contracts to work a trade for Kobe. Don’t hesitate to trade Eddy Curry or Jamal Crawford. They aren’t franchise players. Kobe Bryant is a franchise player.
Sincerely,
Everyone in New York.
I know tons of Knicks fans that would balk at trading Eddy Curry. I say why? Sure he’s a young developing center, but he isn’t a dominant franchise player yet. In fact he might never be. The way this team is shaped right now there is no way the make any headway in the playoffs, if they even make the playoffs. We don’t have any draft picks and we are cashed strapped. With Kobe, for starters it re-energies Knick basketball, it makes us relevant again even if we lose. However, I don’t think we would lose. If we traded Curry we’d be able to hold on to other players and actually given Kobe a decent supporting cast. Yes it’d be an overrated and overpaid supporting cast but it’d still be better than anything LaBron has scene, and Dolan has the empty pockets to make it happen. If we trade say Marbury, Crawford, Frye and so on we’d still have Curry, Jefferies, Lee, and Q and so on. Isaiah for the love of god make it happen.
-Are The Yankees Done?
Anthony has done a lot of writing about the Yankees lately but I must throw in my opinion. The Yankees have been doomed since they signed Jason Giambi; it marked the trend of signing over the hill veterans to huge contracts. Also it began the era of trading away blue chip prospects for spare parts. Dioneer Navaro could have been the heir apparent to Jorge Posada. Instead we don’t have one, and the player Navarro was traded for isn’t even on the team anymore. This is the most poorly put together team in years. They don’t run, bunt, hit for contact or even hit for power apparently. It’s depressing to look at the standings at see the Yankees in the cellar.
How do we salvage this?
Well I would love to see Cashman convince the Boss to give up this year to better help us in the future. I’m talking about full fire sale mode. That’s not going to happen though. With Clemens on board we need to win this year or else all that money spent on Clemens is a waste.
Since a sale is out of the question we need to be buyers. We need bullpen help and offensive help. We need to make a trade with the Rockies. Todd Helton has a pretty much untradeable contract it’s also killing the small market Rockies financially. The Yanks never shy away from spending money and Helton is a perfect fit for their offense. He’s an OBP machine and can fit in the 3 spot much like Abreu did last year. The Yanks with their financial flexibility can also convince the Rockies to give up closer Brian Fuentes. If they throw in Fuentes the Yanks would simply just agree to pay for more of Helton’s contract. In turn the Yanks can give the Rockies Farnsworth and a bunch of mid level small upside prospects (much like the Abreu trade last year) and a truck full of cash.
In theory…on paper we might have the best team ever assembled when everyone is healthy.
Damon
Jeter
Helton
A-Rod
Matsui
Giambi
Posada
Abreu
Cano
Wow…and the staff would be
Wang
Pettite
Clemens
Moose
Hughes
Staying put shouldn’t be an option for this team. Either give this year up or make a big move to inject some life into this team.
-Well as we all know all ready…I’m an idiot. I was wrong on a couple of my UFC picks. Belcher made short work Sean Salmon. Salmon has no business being in the UFC if he can’t beat a smaller fighter who’s coming in on short notice. I was right about Leben vs. Starnes, It was a close fight but Leben should be relegated to under card status, he simply isn’t that good. Karo looked amazing against Burkman. I honestly thought Burkman would put up a good fight, he’s a tough dude. Karo just outclasses him standing, cardio and with his judo. If Karo’s in top shape he’s going to be a force for a long time. With that being said I think the UFC totally screwed up the welterweight division by not having the title be defended till December (till the end of TUF6). In terms of the main event…wow. All I can say is wow. Rampage looked awesome. Stylistically he’s a nightmare for Liddell. Rampage is patient and his good boxing, he’s not going to chase Chuck around the ring and wait for him to counterpunch. Plus when Rampage gets inside he can dirty box/slam Chuck on his head. It was interesting how Rampage was in counter punch mode also, even putting his hands up at one point to say “C’mon Chuck.” I hate to say it was a fluke punch that ended the fight but I don’t think that fight ends the same way every time. Kudos to Rampage, he gives the UFC a great poster boy and he is insanely charismatic /marketable.
Around The Sports World
-The 49ers and Bears are making the most headway signing draft picks. The Niners have already locked up Jay Moore, Joe Cohen and Terrell Brown. According to rotoworld.com they have began negotiations with both first round picks, Joe Staley and Patrick Willis.
I’m a big fan of getting everyone into camp on time. I don’t get why holdouts occur so often. Look draft your guys, get them into camp. If you have a high draft pick and don’t want to pay a guy that much money than trade down. Not only do these players need to adjust to the speed and rigors of the NFL season but they need to adjust mentally as well. Learn the playbook, bond with teammates, create chemistry. I don’t think it will be a coincidence if the teams who have trouble getting everyone signed on time also struggle out of the gate this year.
-Vick in the clear?
It doesn’t look like Vick will get suspended this year since he hasn’t been charged with anything yet. If anything he’ll be suspended in 2008. Correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t Pac-Man Jones not technically charged with anything stemming from his Vegas incidents? Speaking of which the ruling on Pac-Man’s appeal comes in soon, I expect his penalty to be shortened.
I think stronger conduct polices needed to be adapted in the Sports World. Take Elijah Dukes, who threatened to kill his wife. C’mon…like that’s so disturbing. I’m going to be a school teacher soon. Do you think I would have my job still if I threatened to kill my wife?
-All Kneel Before the King
Ok, Anyone who bashes La Bron Bron from here on out should be spayed or neutered (We’ll miss you Bob Barker.) Seriously though he has a supporting casts of misfits and rejects. Drew Gooden and whatever creature is growing on the back of his head is probably the 2nd option on this team. Larry Hughes and Big Z are overrated and overpaid. This is the worst team in the NBA without LaBron. With him however they are tied 2-2 with the best team in the East. I know it’s the “L-Eastern” conference and in the West the Cav’s probably get bounced a lot sooner but with a player of James’s stature they are in every single game. Could you imagine James playing with a real team, or even one All-Star teammate, let’s say Carlos Boozer for example. Besides drafting James the Cav’s team has been so mismanaged, I’m surprised heads haven’t rolled. I reiterate NBA GM’s are the dumbest in sports. I think I could run an NBA team.
- (To the tune of Jose Jose Jose) Kobaaayyy-Kobaaayyy-Kobaayyyy
Dear Isaiah Thomas,
Please do whatever you can to get Kobe Bryant on the Knicks. No one on our team should be untouchable. Let me explain my logic. Kobe is better than LaBron James at this point in his career. LaBron is single-handedly carrying his team into the Eastern Conference finals and maybe into the NBA Finals. I’m positive Kobe could do the same on the Knicks. While you have made some awful decisions in the past Mr. Thomas now is your time to rectify every mistake you made. James Dolan has empty pockets, the Knicks have the type of big name market Kobe would love to play for, and the Knicks have the right amount of young talent and big contracts to work a trade for Kobe. Don’t hesitate to trade Eddy Curry or Jamal Crawford. They aren’t franchise players. Kobe Bryant is a franchise player.
Sincerely,
Everyone in New York.
I know tons of Knicks fans that would balk at trading Eddy Curry. I say why? Sure he’s a young developing center, but he isn’t a dominant franchise player yet. In fact he might never be. The way this team is shaped right now there is no way the make any headway in the playoffs, if they even make the playoffs. We don’t have any draft picks and we are cashed strapped. With Kobe, for starters it re-energies Knick basketball, it makes us relevant again even if we lose. However, I don’t think we would lose. If we traded Curry we’d be able to hold on to other players and actually given Kobe a decent supporting cast. Yes it’d be an overrated and overpaid supporting cast but it’d still be better than anything LaBron has scene, and Dolan has the empty pockets to make it happen. If we trade say Marbury, Crawford, Frye and so on we’d still have Curry, Jefferies, Lee, and Q and so on. Isaiah for the love of god make it happen.
-Are The Yankees Done?
Anthony has done a lot of writing about the Yankees lately but I must throw in my opinion. The Yankees have been doomed since they signed Jason Giambi; it marked the trend of signing over the hill veterans to huge contracts. Also it began the era of trading away blue chip prospects for spare parts. Dioneer Navaro could have been the heir apparent to Jorge Posada. Instead we don’t have one, and the player Navarro was traded for isn’t even on the team anymore. This is the most poorly put together team in years. They don’t run, bunt, hit for contact or even hit for power apparently. It’s depressing to look at the standings at see the Yankees in the cellar.
How do we salvage this?
Well I would love to see Cashman convince the Boss to give up this year to better help us in the future. I’m talking about full fire sale mode. That’s not going to happen though. With Clemens on board we need to win this year or else all that money spent on Clemens is a waste.
Since a sale is out of the question we need to be buyers. We need bullpen help and offensive help. We need to make a trade with the Rockies. Todd Helton has a pretty much untradeable contract it’s also killing the small market Rockies financially. The Yanks never shy away from spending money and Helton is a perfect fit for their offense. He’s an OBP machine and can fit in the 3 spot much like Abreu did last year. The Yanks with their financial flexibility can also convince the Rockies to give up closer Brian Fuentes. If they throw in Fuentes the Yanks would simply just agree to pay for more of Helton’s contract. In turn the Yanks can give the Rockies Farnsworth and a bunch of mid level small upside prospects (much like the Abreu trade last year) and a truck full of cash.
In theory…on paper we might have the best team ever assembled when everyone is healthy.
Damon
Jeter
Helton
A-Rod
Matsui
Giambi
Posada
Abreu
Cano
Wow…and the staff would be
Wang
Pettite
Clemens
Moose
Hughes
Staying put shouldn’t be an option for this team. Either give this year up or make a big move to inject some life into this team.