Big Ranger trade

[lobo4life]

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News is reporting that Texas has acquired right-handed starter Adam Eaton, right-handed reliever Akinori Otsuka, and a minor league prospect from San Diego, agreeing to send the Padres righthander Chris Young, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, and outfielder Terrmel Sledge.

[chase.colston]

Adam Eaton is a solid improvement over Young ... but I guess the Rangers had to give a pitcher to get a pitcher. I know a lot of Rangers fans will be unhappy with them unloading Adrian Gonzalez, but if they lock up Mark Teixeira on a long-term contract, they won't have to worry about anything.

 

Eaton went 11-5 with a 4.27 ERA last season with the Padres.

 

It looks like Jon Daniels is starting to grow a brain. I was questioning before if he even had one. If he can lock up Kevin Millwood, who would be a great acquisition for the Rangers in my opinion, on a three- to four-year deal ... the Rangers could be set for the postseason. But only time will tell.

[Notorious98]

im glad we got eaton and got rid of gonzalez.........i just wish we could have done it without having to give up chris young........i think we could have traded for pitching without having to trade away pitching.......still overall i think it will be an improvement for the rangers......you gotta like daniels' aggressiveness in makin these kind of deals

[sppunk]

This move will be immediately followed by Boston sending David Wells to SD for either Gonzalez or Dave Roberts and God-forbid Klesko (but I hope not).

 

You have to like that trade for San Diego, especially because the "minor league prospect" is likely to be filler. Eaton just has never really met expectations, and Otsuka took a big step back last year. For that they get a 2nd year starter that put up a solid first half last year, a serviceable 4th OFer with decent upside, and a good LHH 1B prospect with a great minor league track record.

 

But, man, I can't believe the Rangers got fleeced like this. Chris Young their best starter last year (I ignore Kenny Rogers). Why would they deal him for Eaton, who will likely get "Eaton Alive" in that launching pad next season? I don't see the point of this at all. Most likely Eaton walks after this season and Otsuka isnt anything special.

[TxBroadcaster]

Originally posted by sppunk

This move will be immediately followed by Boston sending David Wells to SD for either Gonzalez or Dave Roberts and God-forbid Klesko (but I hope not).

 

You have to like that trade for San Diego, especially because the "minor league prospect" is likely to be filler. Eaton just has never really met expectations, and Otsuka took a big step back last year. For that they get a 2nd year starter that put up a solid first half last year, a serviceable 4th OFer with decent upside, and a good LHH 1B prospect with a great minor league track record.

 

But, man, I can't believe the Rangers got fleeced like this. Chris Young their best starter last year (I ignore Kenny Rogers). Why would they deal him for Eaton, who will likely get "Eaton Alive" in that launching pad next season? I don't see the point of this at all. Most likely Eaton walks after this season and Otsuka isnt anything special.

 

I would not say that got fleeced. Eaton is only 18 months older than Young, and has 131 starts compared to Young's 38.

 

There is no way to say he stays or goes after this year, for all we kow they are in talks about an extension right now.

 

Young will be a solid pitcher, but for his 6'10 build was a soft thrower, who wore down over the season.

[woodgie07]

Originally posted by MantleLives4Ever

Eaton went 11-5 with a 4.27 ERA last season with the Padres.

 

This is in the pitcher-friendly Petco Park. I don't think this is a good trade at all for the Rangers. Chris Young is going to be awesome. He's going to be even better at Petco. Eaton...I'm not so sure. 4.27 isn't an impressive number, especially when your home park was Petco.

[pirate4]

Well, that's progress.

 

Now let's see how the Millwood talks go.

[sppunk]

But Eeton pitched in a park that had a Park Factor of -93. Arlington leads the AL w/ a Park Factor of +109. OUCH!

 

The only thing I can think of is Young is a flyball pitcher for the most part, whereas Eaton is about a 60 percent groundball pitcher. I still say Texas got fleeced. Otsuka is no where near the talent of Gonzalez, and the prospect SD threw in (Billy Killian, a catcher) is no where near Sledge either.

 

So basically Texas picked up extra salary for a pitcher who had his only success in the most extreme pitchers' park in baseball.

[lobo4life]

First of all, trading AG isn't that bad of a deal. He wasn't going to play for the Rangers. He is blocked at 1B by the best player at his position in the AL (Tex) and isn't athletic enough to play the OF. DH probably wasn't a good option for him either.

 

Chris Young is a good pitcher and a local kid, but had to be shut down last year after only 155 innings.

 

Otsuka might have had a bad year last year, but he has a weird delivery that most AL hitters haven't seen so he will be effective for the first part of the season for sure. Plus, the Rangers' bullpen was just terrible last season so this is definitely an upgrade there.

 

If the Rangers sign Millwood here's their rotation for next year:

 

Millwood

Eaton

Padilla

Dominguez

Loe

 

Who's going to sit here and tell me that's not an upgrade over last year?

 

Not to mention the fact that they still could sign Roger Clemens.

[Guest CNOrtega]

Daniels is covering his backside. This way, at the end of the 06 season, he can at least say he tried to bring pitching in. He's still 100% better than Hart aka "The Empty Golf Shirt".

[bobjonesuniversity]

Great, they are getting more guys that I can't pronounce their last names.

[cheaptrick77]

What am I going to do with all these Terrmel Sledge Baseball Cards I bought this week ??? :wacko:

 

Man, they gave up a lot for a mediocre pitcher ... acquiring a pitcher for the sake of acquiring a pitcher is a disturbing trend.

 

 

Cheapy’s minutia corner:

 

Adam Eaton ranks second on the active list of stolen bases among MLB pitchers ... the top 5:

 

1. Greg Maddux, 7

2. Adam Eaton, 5

3. Ismael Valdez, 4

4. John Smoltz, 3

4. Mike Hampton, 3

[Red90fly]

I wish they would have traded Laird instead of Young.:unsure:

[Twentytwo]

I cant believe they did Young. But I think he will continue to tire out and be done early. I honeslty think Eaton will blosom with our team.

 

Maybe just wishful thinking.

[cheaptrick77]

Billy Killian's statistics

 

William G. Killian

Born: 06.12.86 in Winfield, Illinois

Ht: 6-1

Wt: 190

BL/TR

 

2004 AZL Padres (Arizona League) -- Rookie

.230 BA / 40 G / 135 AB / 7 2B / 2 3B / 0 HR / 13 RBI / 11 BB / 3 SB / .293 OBP

 

2004 Portland Beavers (Pacific Coast League) -- AAA

.143 BA / 3 G / 7 AB / 0 2B / 0 3B / 0 HR / 0 RBI / 1 BB / 0 SB / .250 OBP

 

2005 Fort Wayne Wizards (Midwest League) -- Low-A

--- BA / 1 G / 0 AB / 0 2B / 0 3B / 0 HR / 0 RBI / 0 BB / 0 SB / --- OBP

 

2005 Eugene Emeralds (Northwest League) -- Short Season-A

.189 BA / 14 G / 37 AB / 0 2B / 1 3B / 0 HR / 4 RBI / 4 BB / 0 SB / .286 OBP

 

2005 AZL Padres (Arizona League) -- Rookie

.289 BA / 32 G / 114 AB / 8 2B / 2 3B / 0 HR / 10 RBI / 3 BB / 4 SB / .303 OBP

 

 

[HWildCatFan]

the rangers didnt do much at all, they just got players that are about the same in talent the only difference is the names, adam eaton last year pitched in a pitchers park and otsuka may be a pitcher but if you look at it from my angle hes talent level is about the same with adrian gonzalez i know hes a first baseman but he can help the cause just as much or more then otsuka and killian dosent look promising but i think sledge would be better to have.

i hope otsuka is better then the last japanese pitcher we had, hideki irabu lol

[gadwall]

I think Otsuka is a very solid reliever. His Era was under 3 until the last two weeks of the season. He had couple of bad outtings that pushed it over 3. We all know what a strong bullpen means to a team. Just look at the difference in '04 and '05.

 

I also got tired of watching Young #### out in the 4th or 5th inning. He, at this point anyway, has no out pitch and has not shown the ability to get the opposition to put the ball into play early in the count. Eaton is an above .500 pitcher for his career. He is only a little older than Young, but vastly more experienced.

 

Y'all talk like all of his 131 starts were at PETCO and that's simply not the case. The Rangers targeted Eaton early in the process. Daniels apparently decided that Eaton was a good fit in Arlington. I hope that he is right. If he is not they have made a lateral move at the least.

[shoelessjoelives]

Originally posted by sppunk

But Eeton pitched in a park that had a Park Factor of -93. Arlington leads the AL w/ a Park Factor of +109. OUCH!

 

The only thing I can think of is Young is a flyball pitcher for the most part, whereas Eaton is about a 60 percent groundball pitcher. I still say Texas got fleeced. Otsuka is no where near the talent of Gonzalez, and the prospect SD threw in (Billy Killian, a catcher) is no where near Sledge either.

 

So basically Texas picked up extra salary for a pitcher who had his only success in the most extreme pitchers' park in baseball.

 

......BUT a 60% groundball pitcher means that the other 40% were.................you guessed it, FLYBALLS.

 

What do flyballs do in the jet-stream.........up, up and away(5th Dimension can make a comeback at the BIA).

 

We can only wait and see, gulp :sweat: !!

[Guest]

Originally posted by shoelessjoelives

.....BUT a 60% groundball pitcher means that the other 40% were.................you guessed it, FLYBALLS.

 

What about strikeouts? I don't like this trade, but the 60% groundball aspect is definitely a positive.

[Guest]

Originally posted by gadwall

I also got tired of watching Young #### out in the 4th or 5th inning. He, at this point anyway, has no out pitch and has not shown the ability to get the opposition to put the ball into play early in the count. Eaton is an above .500 pitcher for his career. He is only a little older than Young, but vastly more experienced.

 

Y'all talk like all of his 131 starts were at PETCO and that's simply not the case. The Rangers targeted Eaton early in the process. Daniels apparently decided that Eaton was a good fit in Arlington. I hope that he is right. If he is not they have made a lateral move at the least.

 

I hope he is right also, but to me his 131 starts are part of the problem. In all that time in the NL with half his starts in a pitcher-friendly park, all he could muster was a 4.34 ERA and a barely .500 record? He's never won more than 11 games and Chris Young won 12 with a 4.34 ERA in his rookie season!

 

Young has a lot more upside in my opinion even if he did tire last year. Eaton has not pitched 200 innings in his six years in the big leagues! I see this guy has going nowhere but down in terms of his stats.....except for wins which could be aided if he gets the good run support.

[Twentytwo]

I dont like it either. Before all we had to do was give up Gerald Laird, now were giving up our "best pitcher", one of our top 3 prospects, and Sledge.

 

Im not giving up on Eaton yet, but I think we gave up too much.

[gadwall]

They don't give pitching away. AJ Burnett has a losing career mark and signed a contract worth 55 million bucks. That's better than a million a win.

 

I have also noticed that we put a higher value on our own players than we do other team's guys. I guess this comes from following them day to day and seeing them often.

 

I will agree that the Rangers have not helped their starting pitching dramatically, but I think the reliever is a key to the success or failure of this trade. If Otsuka makes 65-70 appearances with an ERA in the 3's and Eaton matches Youngs output of last year the pitching staff as a whole will be stronger.

[gwsoftball]

Chris Young wasn't a high-rotation starter. Adam Eaton has the potential to be, especially with a much harder two-seamer.

 

Became pretty apparent the last two years that Chris Young can't maintain a high workload. His slow curveball wasn't suited for the Rangers park (like any pitcher is), and he was a flyball pitcher mainly.

 

Otsuka was highly needed for a bullpen that's still waiting out for Almanzar and Francisco. He allowed only a .234 average to hitters last year.

 

Killian is a need as well. If you haven't noticed, we're low on catchers.

 

For those needs we give up a guy who had nowhere to play and who's power numbers I would venture are aided by our park. He won't be near as good away from it.

 

The risk is Eaton's free agency after this year, but it's also a plus. If he has a good year, we'd have to see if ol' Hicks will hold on to him.

[Twentytwo]

I think if he has a good start, or a good first half we should lock him up then.

[eagleteach]

Adam Eaton is better than Chris Young.... He may not be Roger Clemens or Nolan Ryan or Sandy Koufax, but he's better than Chris Young....