The Indians and Pirates made a 5 player trade that had more to do with adjusting their 40 man rosters than anything. The Indians acquire OF Jordan Luplow and IF Max Moroff for UT Erik Gonzalez and a pair of RHP prospects, Tahnaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza. Let's break it down:
Jordan Luplow OF: AAA- .287/.367/.462, 8 HR, 7 SB, 10.9 BB%, 17.9 K%, 357 PA. MLB: .185/.272/.359, 3 HR, 2 SB, 9.7 BB%, 17.5 K%, 103 PA. 25 yo former 3'rd round draft pick. Luplow bolsters a needy Indians OF. His peripherals look good and he is a breakout candidate if his BABIP normalizes. Hit 26 dingers across 3 levels in 2017.
Max Moroff 2B/SS: AAA- .223/334/.393, 8 HR, 5 SB, 14.5 BB%, 22.9 K%, 297 PA. MLB: .186/.284/.356, 3 HR, 10.4 BB%, 35.8 K%, 67 PA. 26 yo Middle IF with some pop. Hit 16 dingers over 2 levels in 2017. Another breakout candidate if his BABIP normalizes.
Erik Gonzalez UT: MLB: .265/.301/.375, 1 HR, 3 SB, 3.5 BB%, 23.8 K%, 143 AB. Nice size at 6'3", 195 lbs. but not a lot of pop in his bat. Walk rate indicates he goes up there hacking.
Tahnaj Thomas RHP: Rookie- 0-0, 4.58, 19.2 IP, 12.36 K/9, 4.58 BB/9. 19 yo with a projectable frame at 6'4", 190 lbs. Mid-90's FB has room to add.
Dante Mendoza RHP- Rookie- 2-2, 4.58, 37.1 IP, 8.92 K/9, 4.82 BB/9. Another projectable 19 yo at 6'5", 186 lbs.
Pirates clear 40 man roster space for a couple of guys who don't figure to make the team and are out of options. They receive a utility guy who has played 7 of 9 positions and a couple of lottery ticket pitching prospects.
Indians get a couple of young players at career crossroads but both could be breakout candidates with playing time and better BABIP luck.
Indians win this deal in the short term but I like the 2 pitchers the Pirates got in the long term.
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FWIW: Longoria on the move?
ReplyDeleteAlex Pavlovic writes that San Francisco is completely “out” on Machado for more than just financial considerations. Pavlovic notes that it’s true there’s no immediately apparent spot for Machado in San Francisco anyway, though he reports that some throughout the game believe new president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi will look for a way to move the remainder of Evan Longoria’s contract this winter.
Whew! Last winter Giants filled holes under CBT threshold with McCutchen, Jackson, and Longoria -- wasn't a long time passing for those flowers!
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/giants
No one's saying it, but an OBP deficient team like SF could kick the tires on Cutch -- he was their best top-of-the-lineup guy and the Giants played well with him leading off just before trading him AND collapsing, just NOT RF @ AT&T.