This is my newest trade idea. I got it while I was writing about Lars Anderson. I believe, simply, that the Red Sox should trade for Geovany Soto. I'm truly sorry about this, Cubs fans living out your lives in the Greater Boston area, but you may be losing your catcher.
Although there has been no mention of the possibility of this move on mlbtraderumors.com or mlb.com, I think it's an excellent potential deal for Boston. An examination of Soto's statistics will easily tell you that he has value. You might say he has extreme value. In only 105 games in 2010, Soto hit .280 with 17 homers and 53 Runs Batted In. Backing up those statistics are a strong OBP and an excellent SLG, which rate at .393 and .497, respectively. If you bring these numbers up to .400 and .500, you see borderline star numbers. Whether or not you have a star depends on your player, but with those statistics, a good player is generally guaranteed. Soto racked up a low total of 93 hits, but he only had 322 At-Bats to work with. He racked up 19 doubles in 2010, but, as a slow creature, didn't get a triple. Soto maintained a good balance of strikeouts (83) and walks (62) this year, which helped him to his high OBP. He also played good defense beyond the throwing game in 2010, compiling a .995 fielding percentage in 811 total chances. The throwing game was very sub-par, however, as Soto allowed 74 stolen bases and caught 21 would-be thieves. This ends up as a .221 Caught Stealing Percentage, or CS%. Reading Baseball Prospectus will tell you that that is not too good. To back my saying this is not good up with statistical information, Soto's .221 CS% pales in comparison to the league leader in CS%, Yadier Molina, who compiled a .485 mark in 2010. That should tell you all you need to know about what Soto is as a throwing catcher.
There is another point to consider, beyond fielding and hitting statistics, that shows another strong reason why Boston might want to acquire Soto. This is salary. Soto, for his excellent contribution to the Cubs in 2010, earned a measly (for a baseball player) $575,000. Boston could use some low-cost players, given their high payroll and expensive additions. Besides the salary, Soto is only 27 years old, and is looking like he is going to be an asset for more than just one year.
So what would we have to give up to acquire Soto? I think Lars Anderson is the most obvious chip here, since with the departure of Derrek Lee the Cubs need a new star first baseman. Anderson has a chance at being a star first baseman, simply because of his defensive prowess and offensive prowess. Although Chicago has signed Carlos Pena, his contract is for but one year, and Anderson may not be ready for one year, and he will be ready in two at the most. For more information on Anderson, see my post on him, which is farther down the blog. Possible trade packages:
Mike Cameron and Lars Anderson (Which is possible, I suppose)
Jed Lowrie and Lars Anderson (Which is probably overkill)
Jed Lowrie (By himself)
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Lars Anderson, and Unnamed Not-Too-Good Prospect(This is probably overkill)
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Mike Cameron, Unnamed Not-Too-Good Prospect (Not a bad deal)
Daniel Nava, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Unnamed Not-Too-Good Prospect (I think the Sox don't give up too much here)
Sources for Information Include: ESPN.COM, Baseball Prospectus, soxprospects.com, yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment