Pina and Smith Traded

This week Thomas Diamond was DFA’d by the Rangers, and the Chicago Cubs picked him up off of waivers, which puts him on their 40-man roster. I’d like to wish him good luck, and say that I was sad to see him go since he was such a nice guy. I hope he does really well with the Cubs.

The Rangers also made a trade this week. They traded C Manny Pina and OF Tim Smith to the Kansas City Royals for P Danny Gutierrez.

Danny Gutierrez: Danny was a big Royals prospect. He was ranked as the 7th best prospect in the system by Baseball America. They also ranked his curveball the best in the Royals’ minor league system, and ranked his control the best in the Royals’ minor league system. In 2008, Gutierrez went 4-4 with a 2.70 ERA in 90 innings pitched. He struck out 104 batters, and walked only 25, which is 4.16 strikeouts per walk, a very good rate. His batting average against was .246, which is a pretty good number, but not great. This year he has only pitched 27.1 innings due to injury, but has pitched well, striking out 25, and is 1-0 with a 1.65 ERA. This year he has a .173 opponents batting average, which is terrific, especially for a guy just coming off an injury. Apparently, Danny had some off-field issues with the Royals that made him available to be traded, and otherwise, there’s no way this trade would have been made.

Manny Pina: Manny was a solid prospect for the Rangers. He was a very good fielder, but wasn’t too good a hitter or game-caller. This year with the Roughriders, he started off the year with an incredible April, as he hit .481, with a .518 on-base percentage, and a .731 slugging percentage. That was the highest April batting average in the minors. But since then, he is hitting just .216, with a .274 on-base percentage, and a .327 slugging percentage. He hit 8 home runs with 42 RBI’s as a ‘Rider in ’09. He also made the 2009 Texas League All-Star Team. He hit .267 with 3 home runs and 33 RBI’s combined between Bakersfield and Frisco in ’08. Manny will actually stay in the Texas league, as the Royals have the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in the Texas League. If the RoughRiders sweep the Rockhounds, and the Naturals hold up their 2-game lead, then Pina could actually play against Frisco in the Championship Series if both teams win the first playoff series.

Tim Smith: Tim was also a solid Rangers prospect, and he also plays at a position that is very deep for the Rangers. Just like Pina, he will play on the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Between Bakersfield, the Arizona League Rangers, and the Roughriders, Tim is hitting .321 this year, with 8 home runs and 53 RBI’s this year. He has a .392 on-base percentage, along with a .465 slugging percentage. In 2008, he hit .300, with a .359 on-base percentage, and a .450 slugging percentage. He had 13 home runs and 70 RBI’s last year, also. Due to the Rangers’ depth at the position, Tim was unlikely to play much of a role with the Rangers at the major league level.

Trade Evaluation: I think this is a very good trade. It seems like we are getting a lot more potential in return than we are giving up in this return. Plus, we are giving up players that play positions we are very deep at, so it isn’t too big a loss. The Rangers are doing exactly what you’re supposed to do with a deep farm system. As long as Danny Gutierrez gets his act together off the field, this trade should be a big W.
Grade: A

Come back next week for a playoff race special.