November 08, 2007
Dealing for Cabrera
The Soxaholix would gladly deal Ellsbury and a young stud pitcher for Miguel Cabrera. He points to his round up of the interest in the Marlins third baseman.
Posted by David Pinto at
11:02 AM
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Actually, it's just one of the characters, Bill, who feels that way about Cabrera and not "The Soxaholix" as a whole.
I know it's difficult from your end to get that specific when linking, but considering the community around the site seems to be at least 3 to 1 against such a trade, it definitely seems Bill is an outlier among Sox fans.
I'm a Sox fan and I'd be ecstatic to see a Lester/Ellsbury for Cabrera trade. Lester had control problems before his illness and it hasn't gotten any better; sure, he's a hard-throwing lefty with good stuff, but the fact is, his minor league stats have never come close to matching what scouts have said about him. He could pan out...but this is Miguel Cabrera we're talking about here...Lester is hardly a can't-miss. That said, I wouldn't want to deal Buchholz here...with that combination of power and control he probably should be untouchable.
Sure, Cabrera's defense is sliding and there are concerns about his weight and work ethic. That said...I wonder how easy it is to stay motivated playing half your games in a nearly empty stadium. And even if he keeps regressing, his offense will probably pick up the slack for at least this season, and after Manny's gone he could take over in LF.
To me, this looks like Ellsbury's upside is that of, say, Johnny Damon with better defense. That's pretty good.
Lester's upside is probably someone like CC Sabathia - good stuff, lefty and will likely have one season where it all comes together and he's a Cy Young contender. That's pretty good, too.
Heck, Clay's upside is probably even better. On the other hand, Cabrera's upside is Manny Ramirez with better defense. That's a inner-circle Hall of Fame player - and he's five months younger than Ellsbury, and already closer to his upside!
I would trade for Cabrera in a heartbeat, provided they can sign him to an extension. The major question for Red Sox management is whether they feel Lowell for 4/60M plus those guys is better than Cabrera for 4-5yrs@15-16M/yr without those guys - or A-Rod for 5/150 and those guys. That's a more legitimate question.
I'd feel better about it if Cabrera didn't look like he ate Bartolo Colon, and as much as I love Ellsbury, this is a deal that is just about a no-brainer.
I love Lowell as much as the next guy, but if he's going to command a 4-year deal, it's time to move on...
The big question is how much will Cabrera cost compared to A-Rod, and factoring in the players you give up to get him.
If you pick up Cabrera then you have to move Youk to 3rd and Cabrera to 1st - I would also think you'd need to deliver Cabrera signed - which would take all the drama out of a Manny signing - I'm mixed on Lester - I don't know about him being Sabathia - maybe more like Ted Lilly - plus it's a really tough read because of how his progress has been disrupted -
I would love to see my Tribe get involved. Cabrera is just the bat we need to put us over the top. I think we have the players the Marlins would want. We are not going to be able to resign CC, so put him in a package with either Ben Fransisco or Franklin Gutierez and Kelley Shoppach. This would help both teams.
Whatever the Sox can get for Lester, I support it. I have no faith in that guy's ability to pitch. Courage of a lion, though, as far as I can tell.
Cabrera's weight isn't simply "a concern." It is The Issue. If he stays in shape, he could be Hank Aaron. If he's fat, he's Mo Vaughn as far as I'm concerned.