Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
January 10, 2005
Green Back to a DBack

The Diamondbacks and Dodgers finally got the deal finished. Arizona has obtained Shawn Green after coming to an agreement on reworking his contract.

The deal will give Green a $2 million signing bonus, $10.5 million this year, $8 million in 2006 and $9.5 million in 2007. The agreement includes a mutual option for a fourth year, with a $2 million buyout should the Diamondbacks decide not to retain Green.

I guess it's okay with the union that Green takes a pay cut this year as long as he's getting more years on the contract. The DBacks describe the deal this way:

The Diamondbacks also get pitchers Javier Vazquez and Brad Halsey, along with $9 million, from the Yankees.

"Our view of this is that we effectively traded Randy Johnson for Vazquez, Halsey, Shawn Green and $19 million," Kendrick said.

Of course, the DBacks still have an old team, and who knows how the minor leaguers they traded will pan out. William Juarez looks like the real deal. His strikeout and walk rates are excellent.

Green's career appears to be in decline. He peaked in win shares in 2001 at 34, and since has had 30, 20 and 17 in 2004. How much of that was injury is not known. He had a very good 2nd half in 2004; he could have finally healed, or it could just be luck. I suspect his stats will look very good this year as BOB is a very good offensive park. Whether or not his increased offense is meaningful is the question.

Finally, Kendrick's statement above seems to indicate that the Diamondbacks will keep Vazquez in the rotation. We'll get to see if his second half was a fluke in the 4th easiest NL park for home runs.

Correction: Fixed Shawn Green link.


Posted by David Pinto at 07:19 AM | Trades | TrackBack (0)
Comments

The link to "He had a very good 2nd half in 2004" is busted.

Look for Vazquez to rebound even in Phoenix.

As to Green's contract, so long as the money doesn't change -- even if he takes it over more years -- they're happy.

Posted by: Rob McMillin at January 10, 2005 09:41 AM

Juarez is the real deal? Sure, he looked good in single-A ball, but he had a 5.00 ERA once they moved him up to AA ball last year. Dioner Navarro had a good 2003 but was pretty unimpressive in 2004. On the other hand, this presents opportunities for a Dioner-Duaner battery from time to time, so I can see why the Dodgers went for it.

Posted by: Adam Villani at January 10, 2005 08:32 PM
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