Cubs get Heilman for Cedeno, Olsen

Aaron Heilman was traded to traded to the Cubs for Ronny Cedeno and Garrett Olsen.  Heilman is one of the elite setup men in the MLB and can notch a few saves.  Heilman wants to be a starter but is a better reliever.  He went 3-8 last year with a 5.21 ERA and 80 strikeouts.  Heilman has a nice slow fastball that got him over 100 strikeouts one year.  Heilman also has a nice splitter but needs a changeup.  Ronny Cedeno is a versatile infielder and will play Gold Glove defense, he doesn’t hit as well as Betancourt though which will cause lot’s of competition in Spring Traning.  Garrett Olsen is a good starter who throws it low in the zone and will not give up many extra base hits, which will help him now a days in the majors because the extra base hit is big.  Morrow, Hernandez, and Olsen should be a killer rotation.

Recap: The Cubs now have a reliable setup man and the Mariners have some more defense and another great pitcher

Edge: Mariners

Why: The Mariners now have to shortstop who deserve a spot on a major league roster and have a 1, 2, 3 punch for their future rotation.  The Cubs got a setup man and now have a good bullpen but gave up too much.

Fact: Heilman and Olsen have already been traded once this off-season

Trades Now: FLA-DET 2007

Last year a blockbuster deal happened at the winter meetings, the Tigers acquired 1B Miguel Cabrera and SP Dontrelle Willis in exchange for OF Cameron Maybin, SP Andrew Miller, C Mike Rabelo, RP Eulogio De La Cruz, SP Dallas Trahern, and SP Burke Badenhop.  Let’s see how this deal turned out.  For the Tigers the deal turned out half good half bad, Miguel Cabrera got off to a slow start but still managed to get a career high in homers and RBIs and he lead the league in homers, he is a player who can do everything with the bat.  For Willis, it was bad, right after the trade they gave him a big extension after a bad year, and 2008 was no different in fact it was worse he couldn’t even get Single -A hitters out for awhile. But I think it’s in his head because he could pitch like an ace sometimes and pitch like a Triple-A starter other times.  The deal turned out okay for thee Marlins who got six decent prospects.  First off catcher Mike Rabelo who can call a game great and is a catching defensive wizard which takes a lot more than you think to be.  De La Cruz projected to be a seventh inning reliever stayed in the minors most of the year, but he started and went 13-8 with an ERA over 4.00, which I don’t think will cut it as a starter for the Marlins, who have tons of great pitching prospects right now.  So I think he will make it as an above-average reliever in the majors.  Dallas Trahern had a marvelous 2007 with the Tigers Double-A team but had a horrible 2008 but I think can rebound to be a good back of the end starter.  Burke Badenhop made it to the majors in 2008 I thought he had a 50-50 chance of making it on a major league team, he didn’t pitch good then got hurt and was out from June on.  Andrew Miller has had control problems which have led to trouble in his Era but he has caught fire a couple of times and 2009 might be his breakout year, plus it is always value to have a lefty around.  Cameron Maybin is a five tool player who does everything he hit 500. in his 2008 stint with the and he will play their outfield great, Maybin is beyond outstanding.  

Edge: Even

Why:  The Marlins have great future players but if Dontrelle could come around the Tigers would have gotten an MVP and CY Young caliber player

Polanco a Tiger in 2010?

Dave Dombroski knows Placido Polanco is a free agent after the 2009 season but he isn’t in negotions with Polanco.  The only prospects the Tigers have are Scott Sizemore who doesn’t hit or defend as well as Polanco, but is a nice hitter and isn’t a bad defender.  Danny Worth is a shortstop who can play second base but I think Sizemore is better than him.  Worth has a problem with average but is a gap hitter who can rack up extra base hits, he’s a better shortstop though.  Will Rhymes is a good player who has a ton of potential in my book, he gets hits, hits for a good average and is speedy.  The only concern is his defensive errors, he had 17,20,21, and 20 so he might let you down on defense more than Sizemore or Worth.  But I want the Tigers to at least give him one more year because he is a clutch player who gets hits and plays awesome defense he is a textbook ballplayer and number two hitter, getting Polanco has helped a lot and the one time he got hurt the Tigers fell into a slump that’s how important he is to this club and it would be a shame to let another AL team get a hold of him because he would kill the Tigers.  Another plus about Polanco is that he strikes out less than anyone in the American League and he goes out their and makes spectacular plays.  Polanco is a true all-star who leads teams.

Top 3 Free Agent Steals

Here are remaining free agents who are a low risk-high reward type players

1. Eric Hinske OF-1B-3B-  He hit 20 homers as a back-up last year, the only player who has more power off the bench is Marcus Thames and if you want awards Hinske was 2002 AL Rookie of the Year. Hinske versatility makes him a nice player to bring off the bench. The only concern is his batting average which has never been three hundred.  Hinske is also a fairly decent base stealer, who can notch 5 to 10 stolen bases a year.  Bottom line: A great utility man to have around for a lower price.
2.  Ben Sheets SP- Is an ace, let’s just forget about arm troubles for a second, Sheets has great Stuff can get 200 strikeouts and 10 wins and a 3.50 ERA he is a great pitcher if you can look past the injuries that have happened, Sheets will give you a number two starter on an off season if not he’s an ace and he will go out there and give you a good line every game.  Bottom Line: A great starter that has injuries but can put up good numbers and lines
3. Juan Cruz RP- This guy can anchor a bullpen, which are scarce he will give you one or two good innings almost every time out there.  Last year he only had 15 earned runs which equaled up to a 2.61 ERA, which is nice for a reliever, he will also get around 85 strikeouts and will give up a lot of hits. The only negative is he doesn’t pitch many innings but could give you 1 to 2 good innings.  Bottom Line: Nice reliever no matter what situation

Tigers analysis: Lyon, Williamson, Rincon

• The Tigers are close to signing pitcher Brandon Lyon who is an outstanding reliever and closer and should have that job.  Lyon closed out a league lead in saves in April 2005 and then went down for the season and never got a shot at the position again.  Coming to Detroit he will be in a pitcher’s park which will help him and he is an upgrade from former closer Todd Jones.  Lyon could close 35-40 games for Detroit in 2009.  I am excited he gong to play for the Tigers.
• Scott Williamson will be signed to a minor league deal for the Tigers, he has won a championship with Boston and has the ability to put up league average numbers in 2009.  He will be more of a short reliever on this club
• The Tigers got Juan Rincon to sign a minor league yesterday, he is a great reliever when he pithces at his best.  He is coming off a down year but is a guy who can still put up better numbers than the rest of league, a nice move by the Tigers
• Jaun Cruz would cost the Tigers a draft pick but could easily become the key of this bullpen if the Tigers sign him, he is a great reliever

Traded: Pie for Olsen

The Orioles traded pitchers Garrett Olsen and Henry Williamson to the Cubs for outfielder Felix Pie.  Pie is a five tool player who will hit in the number slot and play Center Field, Pie is a 20-20 player too, he will help Baltimore win with Markais in their outfield.  Olsen will compete for the number five starter with Sean Marshall and is not the favorite to win the job he did great in the minors and didn’t do good in the majors but is still a nice prospect who has a chance to be a top of the rotation starter. Pie is the better player in talent and potential and is more exciting, I say the Orioles get the better end of the deal.  Henry Williamson doesn’t have a big future ahead of him and I don’t think he will make to the MLB.

MLB’s Top 10 Prospects

Sorry I haven’t been able to blog I’m just so busy.   Scouting will come player by player starting tomorrow.

1. David Price SP  Will be a ROY candidate and pitch a good year is a flat out amazing pitcher and a big game one too
2. Matt Wieters C Great All-around player, can defend catcher well and throw too
3. Cameron Maybin OF  Is a 30-30 candidate and a ROY candidate, he is a truly amazing defender too
4. Rick Porcello SP  Has no problems pitching and will be a threat any time any where, could help down the stretch too
5. Madison Bumgarner SP Tiny Tim has competition now this guy had 15 wins and a 1.46 ERA, ace is written all over him
6. Travis Snider OF-DH  Home Run crown here I come is what Snider should be saying with all of his pop, he not good he’s great
7. Jason Heywood OF He is a young outfielder who puts up stats and is compared to Willie McCovey
8. Neftali Feliz P  Awesome pitcher who puts up stats and win MiLB awards, is underrated
9. Mike Moustakas 3B great bat speed, good arm and a nice power hitter all help Moustakas and he will be a big threat in the majors
10. Alcides Escobar SS  The best defensive shortstop in the MiLB and is a small ball player who can hit

Smoltz, Balldelli to Red Sox

The Red Sox made two moves that helped them a great deal today.  First off they signed John Smoltz, the player who will replace Curt Schlling in this rotation.  Smoltz’s amazing career stats are a 3.26 ERA, 210 wins, and 3011 strikeouts, he averages 12 wins a year and is still a reliable pitcher, other than the fact he is getting hurt by injuries more and more every year but he put up good enough stats and had a healthy enough wind-up to finish 7th and 6th in the NL Cy Young voting in 2006 and 2007, respectively.  Smoltz will have a tougher transition to the Al for these three major reasons 1.  He will be facing mostly new hitter’s for the first time in his career 2. He is old and never pitched in the AL a hitter’s league 3. Lastly, Fenway is a homer friendly ballpark and his homer rate is going up more every couple of years now.  Here are reasonable 2009 stats for Smoltz 10 wins, 3.97 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP and 198strikeouts.  He was a nice pick-up for the Sox and will be okay after fully adjusted.  Balldelli who had a couple of nice post-season games and proved to me he is a number three or four outfielder is near a deal with the Sox and will replace Coco Crisp which is a major upgrade.  Rocco has some nice stats and will be a nice fourth outfielder for the Sox who made the right choice in Balldelli and I think he will benefit from a hitter’s park.  Balldelli always had 20-20 potential, too.  I really like the Red Sox move and strategywith Balldelli.  These were nice to good moves for the Sox today.

Andruw Jones a Met?

Could Andruw Jones soon be a Met, let’s look at my idea.

• The perfect swap that could take place that would help both the Mets and the Dodgers is Andruw Jones for Luis Castillo.  The Mets need a corner outfielder since Moises Alou will be leaving and Andruw Jones could be a decent right fielder and it might fit him better since he is getting older and slower.  the Mets could also replace him with Daniel Murphy who I think proved he deserved a job last year.  The Dodgers need a second baseman to replace Jeff Kent who is getting to be a worse and worse player with his age and if Castillo can recover he could be the Dodgers well needed number two hitter.
• Both are under preforming and it would be a fair swap that might help both teams in my book, so I think this deal should go down if the Mets and Dodgers want to take a chance.  Both players have had their good years too.