Of course, any deal involving Prince Fielder is a big deal.
Is it me, or are a lot more big contracts being traded these
days than they used to be? And, traded early on in the contract as well.
Gonzalez and Crawford were dealt after a year and a half. Reyes lasted a year.
Fielder lasted two. I know there are probably more big contracts being handed
out lately, so the number is probably bigger just because of that. But, did it
ever happen before. Mike Hampton? Mike Piazza? Not sure.
What does that mean? Are teams quicker to bail on mistakes?
Is the news cycle shorter? Miami got all the press it could from Reyes, so they
dumped him? Or, is rebuilding more acceptable? Some Red Sox fans were actually
convinced trading away Crawford and Gonzalez was a good thing. Would they have ever
bought that line ten years ago?
Whatever the reason, the Rangers find themselves with a new
first baseman. The best part? It’s not Mike Napoli. Texas was supposed to be
the main competition for the Red Sox over the bearded one’s services. Getting
them out of the way is certainly a good thing for the Sox. Plus, it’s not like
the Tigers find themselves with a void at first. They’ll just shift their
two-time defending MVP over there to take that spot. So, even though the deal
supposedly helped two AL playoff contenders, it probably works out for the Sox
because it helps them out too.
The deal also increased Texas’s payroll. As one of the teams
mentioned in the same sentence as Jacoby Ellsbury, that more good news for the
Sox. Are the Rangers less likely to shell out the big money for Jacoby now?
You’d think so. The fewer teams there are with money to spend, the more likely
Ellsbury finds himself back in Boston.
Not a bad improvement from a deal the Red Sox didn’t even make.
Now the Sox are pursuing Kemp. It would be ironic if they got him because LA had to take on Crawford's bloated contract to get Gonzo and now have too many outfielders. Knowing LA, they will probably throw in some cash and a few decent prospects, too.
ReplyDeleteMcCann apparently has a agreed to terms with the Yankees. A dead pull lefty hitter with pop, it could be a good signing for them. Law of ESPN said it was a fairly reasonable signing. Of course, he also thought Victorino was a terrible signing. Oops. The new banner being made for opening day at Fenway right now says otherwise. It also says that the Gonzo trade was ultimately worth it (great trade in my opinion). Could the Sox have still won it all if they had not pulled that trigger? Impossible to say. Could they win it all if they did? Guess we all found out the answer to that question and the answer was awesome.