Tanner Talk: The Dan Haren Trade-A Year Later

Hello, this is my third segment of Tanner Talk. I will be writing this segment every Friday, giving my opinions not only from around the baseball world, but from a specific point of view; I’ll be focusing on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I will refrain from using the whole name for obvious reasons and I will stick with calling them the Halos or just the Angels. This week I'm revisiting the Dan Haren trade a year ago.

On July 25, 2010 the Angels traded Joe Saunders, Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez, and a PTBNL for Dan Haren. The PTBNL turned out to be Tyler Skaggs, Skaggs was the Halos' supplemental first-round selection (40th overall) in 2009. At first glance this trade looks like a steal for the Angels, they give up 3 prospects, and a SP that was never really that good. But hey, let’s look at it, in-depth.

Joe Saunders- Signed thru 2011, 1 yr/$5.5M Arb-eligible and a Free Agent in2013.

9-11 3.82 ERA 172 innings 91 K’s 59 BB’s 1.326 WHIP 8.8 H/9 1.2 HR/9 3.1 BB/9 4.8K/9 1.8 WAR

Patrick Corbin- #9 prospect in Diamondbacks Organization (According to Baseball America)
9-7 3.91 ERA 156.1 innings 139 K’s 38 BB’s 1.286 WHIP 9.4 H/9 .7 HR/9 2.2 BB/9 8.0 K/9

Tyler Skaggs-#82 prospect (according to Baseball America)
9-6 2.86 ERA 154.1 innings 191 K’s 46 BB’s 1.069 WHIP 6.9 H/9 .6 HR/9 2.7 BB/9 11.1 K/9

Rafael Rodriguez- Pre Arb-Eligible Free Agent in 2016
03 9.88 ERA 4 SV 37.1 innings 18 K’s 21 BB’s 2.170 WHIP 14.5 H/9 1.9 HR/9 5.1 BB/9 4.3 K/9

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan Haren- Under contract for 2011 and 2012 at $12.75MM per season with a club option for 2013 of $15.5MM ($3.5MM buyout).
13-7 3.19 ERA 194.2 innings 159 K’s 27 BB’s 1.022 WHIP 8 H/9 .7 HR/9 1.2 BB/9 7.4 K/9 3.5 WAR

I took the liberty to bold the better stat of Haren vs. Saunders . . . It wasn’t too hard.

Now, how does Saunders hold up against the Angels’ 5^th starter in Piniero (not including Kazmir, Williams or Richards because lack of innings pitched and won’t include Chatwood because I believe he’s our 4^th starter). Well, out of the stats listed above, Saunders beats out Piniero 7-3.

But what we lost in Saunders as our 5^th starter we gained a lot more from our #2 starter. Though I do miss having Skaggs. . .

Weaver, Santana, Kazmir, Piniero, Saunders
A year later I see this trade as Haren for Corbin and Skaggs, the Angels wanted to win now, so they traded their two top pitching prospects in order to do so. The Angels might be able to extend Haren (if they pick up his option in 2013) to a below-market extension (hometown discount). So they might be able to have Weaver AND Haren for more another 5+ years.

So after first glance it looks like a steal, after an id-depth look? I think it’s not exactly a steal but it’s very close to it (especially if he signs an extension). This deal would only look bad if we hadn’t extended Weaver.

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Pirates Add Veteran Relief Depth

On Sunday, the Pirates signed veteran righty Aaron Heilman to a minor league deal. This made the Pirates Heilman's third team of the season. On Wednesday, the Pirates struck again; adding another veteran arm in 37-year-old Nelson Figueroa. Both were optioned to the Pirates AAA affiliate.

Heilman's stop in Arizona
was one to forget. 

Heilman started the season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he competed for a spot in the starting rotation and in the bullpen. Heilman failed to stay put at either role, and was ultimately released after posting a 6.88 ERA in 35 1/3 innings pitching out of the Rattlers' pen. 

Nice knowin ya Philidelphia.

The next stop for Heilman was Philidelphia. The Phillies signed Heilman to a minor league deal, hoping he could regain his form. However, Heilman was once again released, after a very short stay with the Phillies' AAA team.





Now in yet another
new home, can Heilman
regain his form?



Now, about a week later, Heilman joins the Pirates; once again hoping he can return to form. Will he? I guess we'll have to wait and see

Harper to miss rest of season

Baseball's top prospect, Bryce Harper, is most likely going to miss the remainder of the minor league season. Harper was injured during Double-A Harrisburg's win vs. Akron on Thursday.

After seeing a doctor earlier today, it was confirmed that Harper has a strained right hamstring, and Nationals manager Davey Johnson believes that it doesn't make sense to risk re-injuring it so Harper may as well be shut down.

Perhaps the most followed prospect of all time (Harper has been the subject of national attention since 2008, when he was 16, after Sports Illustrated ran an article on him), Harper had been having a solid season in the minors. He crushed High-A to the tune of .318 with 14 homers, 46 RBIs and 19 stolen bases in 72 games before being promoted to Double-A. He struggled early on there but had been heating up lately. His final, end of season stats at Harrisburg consist of a .256 BA, 3 homers, 12 RBIs, and 7 steals.

Harper will just turn 19 in 2 months but is expected by many to make his MLB debut sometime next season.

Tanner Talk: What to do with Morales in 2012?

Hello, this is my second segment of Tanner Talk. I will be writing this segment every Friday, giving my opinions not only from around the baseball world, but from a specific point of view; I’ll be focusing on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I will refrain from using the whole name for obvious reasons and I will stick with calling them the Halos or just the Angels. This week I'm writing about what the Angels should do with Kendrys Morales in 2012.

It’s Spring time in 2012, the sun is shining, and you can smell the grass on the diamond. It’s spring training! Now, for the Angels there is a lot to look at during spring training, there is Mike Trout, Garret Richards, and Brandon Wood Kendrys Morales. After two seasons of out of baseball, Morales looks to make the team out of spring training, yet there are obstacles.

· Obstacle One: Mark Trumbo has emerged as a top hitter on the Angels and has taken over 1B.

· Obstacle Two: the outfield is full, with Mike Trout in left, Bourjos in center, and Hunter in RF with Vernon Wells at DH (assuming Abreu is traded)

· Obstacle Three: Big time prospect C.J Cron is starting to appear in Vernon Wells rear-view mirror

· Obstacle Four: After leg and ankle injuries Morales would be lucky to be able to play 1B (OF is out of the question. And so is 3B . . . you know who you are)

So where does that leave us? Morales can play part-time at DH/1B, BUT having not played for two full seasons, the chance that Morales comes out of the Spring Training gates with a spot on the 25-man roster is highly unlikely (and repeating his 2009 season is also unlikely). Leaving him to play in AAA/AA; the reason why I mention AA is because the pitching in AAA isn’t really over powering. Most top pitching prospects skip AAA to go to the majors; so most of the talent is in AA. Also, being in AAA the league is called PCL and it is widely known as a hitters’ league with extreme hitters’ parks, so fans would be screaming out to the front office if Morales has 10 homers in the first three weeks.

So we have two options: let him split time with Vernon and Trumbo at 1B/DH or trade him.

Both options are reasonable but personally I’d rather trade Morales. Why? Because we could get the most out of him that way. Here are some teams that might go after Morales:

· A’s-Need a power hitting 1B/DH

· Indians-Need a power hitting 1B/DH. They can move LaPorta to LF/RF

· Twins-with Morneau injured most of the time, he could play 1B when he is injured, and DH when he’s healthy

· Blue Jays-Need a 1B. they could go after Prince, but Morales would be a lot cheaper

· Orioles-Same with Blue Jays

· Dodgers-Need a cheap 1B

· Rockies-Need a 1B-Helton and Giambi are getting too old

· Brewers/Cardinals-cheap alternative to Pujols/Fielder. Also Morales>Gamel

· Pirates/Cubs- Depends what they see in their organization. Colvin could play 1B for Cubs. Though I don’t see them giving up prospects in a rebuilding stage.

· Nationals-Cheap alternative to Fielder/Pujols. Morales>Noris>LaRoche

There are 12 teams there, and depending on his recovery it could go down to 5 teams. His trade value would increase heavily if he proves he can play 1B and show power in the minors. What kind of return could we get from him? He’s a free agent in 2014, he is arbitration-eligible for the second time in 2012, and Scott Boras is his agent. So any team that trades for him in the offseason would have him for 2 seasons. Now, our best bet would be to trade him during the season because then he would give us a bigger return after playing in the minors for 2-4 weeks.

So, what kind of return would he get? He could get 3 B-type prospects or he could command major league pieces. I’m not really sure how he will do and I’m not too fond of those teams listed above farm systems. But I believe Morales could command 2 RP’s and an INF prospect or 1 major league ready SP, a RP, and a B prospect.

Now, is it likely that he regains his 2009 form and goes on to hit 30 HR’s for another team? Yes, it’s possible, but highly unlikely. The worst thing the Angels could do, is non-tender him a contract, which I doubt they will do. Another thing they could possibly do is eat 8-10MM of Hunter’s contract and trade him, put Trumbo in RF, and Morales at 1B. Again, all of these outcomes aren’t possible until we find out the outcome of Morales’ recovery. Or they could sign Fielder, move Trumbo to RF (above scenario with Hunter) and rotate Vernon, and Trumbo with RF/DH; rotate Fielder, Morales, and Trumbo at 1B; rotate Fielder and Morales at DH. The last scenario, with the Angels signing Fielder, would almost guarantee Morales being traded.

What would you do? Keep Morales and play him part-time? Or trade him?

Jim Thome Joins the 600 HR Club

On Monday, Jim Thome and the Twins headed into Comerica Park to play division rival Tigers. Jim Thome entered the game with 598 home runs and was very eager to reach number 600. In the 6th inning Thome came to the plate against Rick Porcello with Jason Kubel on base. Porcello threw a fastball which Thome connected for No. 599. This gave Minnesota a 5-3 lead. In the next inning Thome came to the plate again seeking No. 600; facing Tiger, Daniel Schlereth. No. 599 and No. 600 were both opposite field HR's. The slugger got all of this one as he trotted around the bases, fist pumped, all smiles, with his teammates waiting at home plate to congratulate him on his prosperous accomplishment.

It was perhaps fitting that Thome reached No. 600 in a matchup of AL Central rivals. He hit 334 home runs with Cleveland and 134 with the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers posted a congratulatory message on the scoreboard after Thome’s homer, which was classy, and the Twins came out to greet him at home plate. Thome joins an elite group of 7 other players in the 600 HR club: Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez. Thome is the oldest person to hit his 600th homer. Sosa previously held that mark at 38 years, 220 days. He reached the milestone in 2007. Rodriguez needed two weeks to hit No. 600 after reaching 599 last year. Thome waited one inning. Usually the 600 HR mark is a Hall of Fame lock, but people are questioning if Thome is of the same tier as the other members of the 600 HR club.

Thome high fives Twins third base coach as he connects on one of 600 career home runs.

Jim Thome's Career Averages: 102 R, AVG: .277, HR: 40, RBI: 110

Jim Thome's Career Accolades:

5 time All-Star

Silver Slugger Award

Roberto Clemente Award

Lou Gehrig Memorial Award

600 HR Club

Waiver Targets

Here are the players who have cleared waivers:

• Johnny Damon
• Hideki Matsui
• Ted Lily
• Tom Gorzelanny
• Chien-Ming Wang
• Jason Vargas
• Rodrigo Lopez
• Bruce Chen
• Carlos Zambrano
• Alfonso Soriano
• Carlos Lee
• Bronson Arroyo
• Chris Capuano
• Angel Pagan
• Wille Harris
• D.J Carrasco
• Jason Bay

Personally I see potential targets for the Giants to go after, such as Johnny Damon and Angel Pagan. I also think that maybe the Yankees should go after Ted Lilly and/or Bronson Arroyo to address their questionable rotation. Same with the Red Sox if they're still looking for pitching.

Let's see some comments! Who do you want to see your team go after?