Baseball Musings: George Gets a Big Johnson In a Three Way

December 16, 2004

George Gets a Big Johnson In a Three Way

NY Newsday is reporting that the Yankees have reached a deal for Randy Johnson in a three-way deal involving the Dodgers. Scrabble champ Javier Vazquez and former slugger Shawn Green are moving as well.

Vazquez is going to the Dodgers with two minor league prospects. (LA is becoming the dumping ground for pitchers who can't handle NY.) Dioner Navarro is a young catcher (21 in 2005) who gets a decent amount of walks. I don't know how good he is as a catcher. Lots of upside potential here. Eric Duncan, a third baseman is a year younger, and also has a decent minor league OBA. He hasn't been above A ball yet.

The Diamondbacks get Brad Penny and the best name in baseball, Yhency Brazoban (a former Yankees prospect). Yhency's another pitcher with a great K per 9 rate.

So the Yankees staff gets even older, but probably a lot better. Johnson, Mussina and Pavano is a nice 1-2-3. They get rid of a headache in Vazquez, but lose two good prospects. They are definitely falling into the old trap of selling the future for success today. It will eventually fall apart for them as it did in the early 90's.

The DBacks get a good starter in Penny, but the Shawn Green deal is interesting. Some people feel Glaus can't play third anymore and will move to first. The Dodgers seemed to like Green more at first than in right last year. Arizona may end up loaded at first base. That's a poor situation to be in, since the only place you can move a player from first is DH, and those aren't used much in the NL. :-)

The Dodgers take a risk in Vazquez, but a worthwhile one. I suspect Navarro will be their long term replacement for Lo Duca. A good Moneyball trade for the Dodgers.

Update: ESPN is saying that the Johnson deal is not as close as reported last night.

Posted by David Pinto at 10:18 PM | Trades | TrackBack (0)

Comments

I disagree with your analysis for the Yankees, since Duncan is blocked by A-Rod and 2 years of Johnson will probably be better than what would've been 3 years of Vazquez. The only real loss for the Yankees is Navarro, and he didn't look too good at AAA last year.

Posted by: Adam at December 16, 2004 11:04 PM

Yeah, if the Yanks get 2 or 3 good years from Randy, I think it's a good deal. Yankee prospects tend not to do too well, and right now their minors is a wasteland, so even taking two of their top prospects isn't the most promising thing. But it still sucks to see the Yanks get rid of two really young guys for a 40+ year old guy. Ah well, like Adam said, Duncan is blocked by ARod.

I wonder if there will be any money switching hands - I didn't read anything about it.

Posted by: shawn at December 16, 2004 11:38 PM

I don't the DBacks at all. They overpay for Glaus and Russ Ortiz; so they're going for it in a weak NL West, right? Oh wait, we're trading away our best pitcher. And what did they get. Brad Penny is excellent, but ended last season wtih a mystery injury that looked frighteningly painful. Shawn Green is a once-promising outfielder who has declined since he left Toronto four years ago, and only went to LA for the Jewish community; I'm sure he'll love Arizona. The best player they got was Brezoban, a sick power arm who more than adequately replaced Guillermo Mota last season.

The Dodgers, on the other hand, continue to impress me. They dump the worst contract they have left, along with a questionable starter, and one marketable relief pitcher, and get in return two legitimate prospects at prime positions (third and catcher), along with a pitcher who's half a season removed from consistent dominance. Terrific trade for them. I mean think about it: DePodesta has turned Mota, LoDoca, Brezoban, and Juan Encarnacion, into two B+/A- prospects, Javier Vazquez, and Hee Choi. That is damn impressive.

Posted by: Daniel at December 17, 2004 12:08 AM

"Yankee prospects tend not to do too well"

Yeah Bernie Williams, Jorje Posada, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera all suck.

Posted by: seamus at December 17, 2004 01:31 AM

i am a dodger fan, this is VERY tough for me to swallow. I know and trust DePo to be doing the right thing. I mean, his season moves all worked out, so i trust him now, even in my startled shellshocked state

Posted by: Brandon at December 17, 2004 02:12 AM

Nice Headline!

Posted by: David M. Beyer at December 17, 2004 03:05 AM

"Yeah Bernie Williams, Jorje Posada, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera all suck."

Welcome to the early and mid-nineties. But it's 10 years later, and our prospects have been more Drew Henson-ish than Mariano Rivera-ish of late...

Posted by: Jamie at December 17, 2004 07:58 AM