Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
December 16, 2004
Hudson to Win 30

The Athletics and Braves pulled off a major deal today as Tim Hudson heads east for three young players.

Beane said he "needed to do something bold," but it still wasn't an easy decision.

"This was the most difficult phone call I've ever had with a player about a trade or a departure," Beane said. "I spent a lot of time on the phone with him. It was very difficult. We're going to miss him, there's no question. I don't think the expectation is that we'll be able to replace his personality and exactly what he brought to this franchise the last five years."

Given Leo Mazzone's success with broken down and bad pitchers, imagine what he'll do with someone good. Hudson may throw 300 innings this year and win 30. :-) But it's really a facsinating trade. Oakland gets Charles Thomas for the outfield. The 25-year-old started strongly for the Braves but faded every month. He's not as good as he showed in July and not as bad as he played in September. At his age, I don't consider him a prospect; he's more of a good throw in.

Juan Cruz is a pitcher with the ability to strike out 8 to 9 batters per 9 IP. His walks aren't bad, and his HR allowed are okay. He'll fit in fine on the A's staff.

Dan Meyer is the real prize. The 23 year old has struck out 381 batters in 350 minor league innings while walking only 87. His ERAs have been consistently under 3.00 in his three minor league seasons. In Meyer, the A's get a new six-year window in which they hope to have an inexpensive all-star hurler. It's a typical A's move. They let a star go and fill in with a player or players with good skills at a much cheaper price.

The Braves have effectively replaced Russ Ortiz with Tim Hudson. I like that move. If Smoltz stays healthy, they have a much better rotation than they did last year. Schuerholz shows once again that he's the master of slowly making over a team, patching every weakness as it appears. The Braves are once again in position to win the NL East.

This looks like a trade that will help both clubs. It's fun to watch the masters at work.


Posted by David Pinto at 07:38 PM | Trades | TrackBack (2)
Comments

The real question now is what will the Braves do in the outfield? CT and Marrerro platooned nicely last year in left; the Braves have lost both of them plus JD Drew in right. The Hudson move is great, but you've got to be waiting for the other shoe to drop here. Unless Smoltz is willing to play right field on the days he's not pitching :)

Posted by: Brian at December 16, 2004 08:50 PM

I think they're putting Chipper back in there.

Posted by: Daniel at December 16, 2004 09:24 PM

I know this is unrelated, but someone will win more than Hudson: http://www.newsday.com/sports/ny-sprandy1217,0,3877851.story?coll=ny-homepage-big-pix

Posted by: Adam at December 16, 2004 09:55 PM

I think this deal is one of those Beane ploys to get the guy he really wants -- and make him seem like a throw-in. Here, it's Juan Cruz. With Dotel a better setup man than closer, Beane may be looking for a 9th inning guy. Cruz may fit the bill. Imagine how great this deal looks if Beane makes him into next year's Kolb...

Posted by: Dan at December 16, 2004 10:44 PM

I really like Cruz - his numbers were excellent in 2004. He could have stepped into the closer role, unless The Braves knew something about him that made them think that he couldn't. Then again, it doesn't matter who is in the Braves bullpen these days - they just grab a couple guys off the scrapheap and turn them into all-stars. But I agree with Dan, I bet Beane really wanted Cruz, and getting him in addition to the great minor leaguer that they got was a bonus.

Posted by: shawn at December 16, 2004 11:40 PM
Post a comment









Remember personal info?