John Hart Trade Analysis Part 3 of 4 and Catalanotto signed

This is part 3 of a 4 part analysis of the trades John Hart made while he was Rangers GM. Each trade will be scored a win, loss, or draw. The score is based on how each player contributed to the Rangers at the major league level.

2004:

26. Feb. 5: Infielder Mike Lamb traded to Yankees for righthander Jose Garcia.
Loss – Lamb became a very good player with the Astros while Garcia struggled with the Rangers. Lamb was actually part of the major league team. Garcia was a minor leaguer.
Record: 6-9-11

27. Feb. 16: Shortstop Alex Rodriguez traded to Yankees for second baseman Alfonso Soriano and (on Mar. 23) shortstop Joaquin Arias.
Loss - A-Rod was the best player in baseball. Soriano’s a good player who has defensive struggles and doesn’t always hustle. Arias may be good but hasn’t done anything at the big league level. We’re also sending the Yankees about $9 million per year for A-Rod.
Record: 6-10-11

28. Apr. 2: Player to be named later traded to Cubs for infielder Santiago Perez.
Draw – We never sent anybody to the Cubs but Perez never made it to the majors.
Record: 6-10-12

29. Apr. 3: Catcher Einar Diaz, righthander Justin Echols, and cash traded to Montreal for righthander Chris Young and catcher-infielder Josh McKinley.
Win – Diaz and Echols have never done much and cash doesn’t mean much. Young pitched great while he was here and McKinley never made it to the majors.
Record: 7-10-12

30. Jun. 10: Catcher-infielder Josh McKinley traded to Montreal for catcher Ben Margalski and infielder Seth Taylor.
Draw: None of the players involved ever made it to the majors.
Record: 7-10-13


Frank Catalanotto signed:

On 11/21/06 the Rangers signed Frank Catalanotto. He signed a three-year contract for $13 million with an option for a fourth year. He is a Type-A free agent so the Rangers will definitely give up a 1st round draft pick, either for Frank or for another higher-ranked free agent. Here are his 2006 stats compared to Mark DeRosa’s. I will give the better stat a win and the worse stat a loss.

Catalanotto
G 128-Loss
AB 437-Loss
H 131-Loss
HR 7-Loss
2B 36-Loss
3B 2-Tie
SB 1-Loss
AVG .300-Win
OBP .375-Win
SLG .439-Loss
OPS .816-Win

Record 3-7-1

DeRosa
G 136-Win
AB 520-Win
H 154-Win
HR 13-Win
2B 40-Win
3B 2-Tie
SB 4-Win
AVG .296-Loss
OBP .357-Loss
SLG .456-Win
OPS .812-Loss

Record 7-3-1

Even though Mark had a better year than Frank, I think this was a good move for the Rangers. Mark had one really good year but Frank has been good for a few years, including with the Rangers from 2000-2002. Also, Mark didn’t want to be a utility guy anymore.

Come back next week for part 4 of 4 of the John Hart series and any free agent signings and/or trades.

John Hart Trade Analysis Part 2 of 4

This is part 2 of a 4 part analysis of the trades John Hart made while he was Rangers GM. Each trade will be scored a win, loss, or draw. The score is based on how each player contributed to the Rangers at the major league level. The first part of this series can be found in my September 23, 2006 blog.

2003:

15. Mar. 16: Lefthander Derrick Van Dusen traded to Cleveland for infielder Marshall McDougall.
Draw – Both have done next to nothing at the major league level.
Record: 3-4-8

16. Mar. 24: Cash sent to Milwaukee for infielder Manny Alexander.
Win - Alexander filled in at the major league level as a utility guy. Since we got him for free, I’ll call it a win.
Record: 4-4-8

17. Mar. 30: Catcher Fernando Lunar traded to Kansas City for outfielder Odannys Ayala.
Draw – Neither have done anything in the majors.
Record: 4-4-9

18. May 9: Player to be named later traded to Cubs for righthander Alan Benes. Benes returned to Chicago on June 4 for infielder Steve O'Sullivan.
Draw – The deal has done nothing for either side.
Record: 4-4-10

19. May 27: Righthander Esteban Yan traded to St. Louis for outfielder Rick Asadoorian.
Loss – It may not have been much but at least the Cardinals got a good performance from Yan every once in a while. Asadoorian never made it to the majors.
Record: 4-5-10

20. Jun. 6: Outfielder Ruben Sierra traded to Yankees for outfielder Marcus Thames.
Loss – Sierra did well for the Yanks while Thames barely contributed to the Rangers.
Record: 4-6-10

21. Jul. 1: Outfielder Carl Everett traded to White Sox for three players to be named later, identified on Jul. 24 as righthanders Frankie Francisco and Josh Rupe and outfielder Anthony Webster.
Win – It was in the middle of Everett’s All-Star season, but Francisco did well his first year and Rupe is doing well now. Webster is still a prospect. Everett has not done too much after being traded. Francisco and Rupe should be key pieces to the bullpen going into 2007.
Record: 5-6-10

22. Jul. 10: Cash sent to San Diego for infielder-outfielder Jermaine Clark.
Draw – Cash is barely worth anything and Clark barely did anything with the Rangers.
Record: 5-6-11

23. Jul. 11: Righthander Ugueth Urbina traded to Florida for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, lefthander Ryan Snare, and outfielder Will Smith.
Loss – Urbina went on to win the World Series with Florida and was a big contributor. Gonzalez never had much impact at the major league level with Teixeira in front of him. Snare never made it to the majors with the Rangers, and Smith was a big prospect but we eventually released him. The trade looked good at the time but when you really look at it now, it wasn’t very good. It wasn’t a really bad trade because Urbina was in the last year of his contract, but I’ll still give it a loss.
Record: 5-7-11

24. Jul. 18: Outfielder Ryan Ludwick traded to Cleveland for righthander Ricardo Rodriguez and outfielder Shane Spencer.
Win – Ludwick has done next to nothing for the Indians as did Spencer for the Rangers. But Rodriguez had a quality season in 2004.
Record: 6-7-11

25. Jul. 30: Outfielder Doug Glanville traded to Cubs for outfielder Jason Fransz.
Loss – Glanville actually gave the Cubs something, while Fransz gave the Rangers nothing.
Record: 6-8-11

Come back next week for part 3 of this series unless there are any major trades or free agent signings to break down.

Free Agent Analysis Part 4 of 4 and Ron Washington Hired

This is part four of a series where I will examine the free agents and name the top players the Rangers should go after. This week, I will examine the free agent relief pitchers and catchers.

Grade A:
Javy Lopez
Dan Kolb

Grade B:
Robert Fick
Mike Lieberthal
Mike Piazza
Gregg Zaun
Joey Eischen
Alan Embree
Aaron Fultz
Eddie Gaurdado
Darren Oliver
Mike Remlinger
J.C. Romero
Scott Schoenweis
Antonio Alfonseca
Joe Borowski
Chad Bradford
Doug Brocail
Mike DeJean
Octavio Dotel
Keith Foulke
Ryan Franklin
LaTroy Hawkins
Dustin Hermanson
Scott Sauerbeck
Roberto Hernandez
Kevin Jarvas
Matt Mantei
Troy Percival
Cliff Polite
David Riske
Felix Hernandez
Rudy Seanez
Justin Speier
Russ Springer
Tanyon Sturtze
David Weathers

Grade C:
Sandy Alomar, Jr.
Paul Bako
Rod Barajas
Gary Bennett
Henry Blanco
Todd Greene
Doug Mirabelli
Bengie Molina
Todd Pratt
Kelly Stinnett
John Halama
Ray King
Steve Kline
Kent Mercker
Terry Mulholland
Arthur Rhodes
Mike Stanton
Ron Villone
Jamie Walker
Jim Brower
Geremi Gonzalez
Steve Karsay
Jose Mesa
Jeff Nelson
Julio Santana
Rick White
Scott Williamson

Grade D:
Einer Diaz
Mike DiFelice
Vic Darensbourg
Chris Hammond
Mike Holtz
Tom Martin
Matt Herges
Brian Meadows
Guillermo Mota

Grade F:
Tim Laker
Chris Widger
Giovanni Carrara
Jason Grimsley
Esteban Yan


Top relief pitchers or catchers that the Rangers should go after:

1. Dan Kolb: He is a very good set-up man.

2. Robert Fick: He can fill the empty back-up catcher spot and back-up the infield.

3. Darren Oliver: He is a good long relief pitcher and can fill in at starter every once in a while.

4. Scott Schoenweis: He is a very good relief pitcher.

5. Gregg Zaun: He can fill our back-up catcher role.

6. Octavio Dotel: He has been a great relief pitcher.

7. Tanyon Sturtze: He is a good long relief pitcher and can fill in at starter every once in a while.

8. Antonio Alfonseca: He was good before his injury last year.

9. Alan Embree: He is a good set-up man.

10. Russ Springer: He has done very well with the Astros.

Also, this week, the Rangers named Ron Washington their new manager. I don’t know enough about him to really give a good opinion but I am a little worried that he wants Barry Bonds. He seems to be very popular with his former players so will hopefully be someone that our players will like and play hard for.

Come back next week for part 2 of the John Hart series, where I’m analyzing all of the trades John Hart made.

Free Agent Analysis Part 3 of 4

This is part three of a series where I will examine the free agents and name the top players the Rangers should go after. This week, I will examine the free agent outfielders.

Grade A:
Carlos Lee
Alfonso Soriano
Gary Sheffield
Trot Nixon

Grade B:
Jim Edmonds
Gary Matthews, Jr.
Frank Catalanotto
David Dellucci
Ryan Klesko
Jay Payton
Dave Roberts

Grade C:
Darin Erstad
Kenny Lofton
Juan Pierre
Barry Bonds
Jose Cruz, Jr.
Cliff Floyd
Luis Gonzalez
Todd Hollandsworth
Terrence Long
Eli Marrero
Shannon Stewart
Rondell White
Preston Wilson
Eric Young
Jeromy Burnitz
Jose Guillen
Gabe Kapler
Matt Lawton
Matt Stairs
Michael Tucker
Bernie Williams

Grade D:
Steve Finley
Ricky Ledee
Jose Valentin
Moises Alou
Richard Hidalgo
John Mabry

Grade F:
Quinton McCracken
Jacob Cruz


Top outfielders that the Rangers should go after:

1. Alfonso Soriano: He can fill our DH roll, play outfield and back up Kinsler at the same time.

2. Trot Nixon: He can play good defense and be a decent batter.

3. Gary Matthews, Jr.: Gary played great last year, he fields great and bats good.

4. Jim Edmonds: He has been a good center fielder for the Cardinals and we could use a veteran with some leadership skills.

5. Frank Catalanotto: He can play every outfield position.

6. David Dellucci: He can play every outfield position.

7. Jay Payton: He is a great fielder and a decent hitter.

8. Dave Roberts: He could give us some more outfield speed.

9. Kenny Lofton: He is a decent one-year guy.

10. Ryan Klesko: He still has some playing abilities in him.

Come back next week for the last part of this series (catchers and relief pitchers. I forgot to do catchers earlier with the rest of the infield).