With the trade deadline approaching and some deals already completed, I wanted to see thoughts on what may happen and what already has.
Question 1 – Did the Angels rob the Diamondbacks in the Dan Haren trade? The deal was as follows:
The Angels sent Joe Saunders (LHP, MLB), Patrick Corbin (LHP, Hi A), Rafael Rodriguez (RHP, AAA), and a player to be named later (expected to be Tyler Skaggs, LHP, Lo A) to the Diamondbacks for Dan Haren.
Chad: Nobody robbed anybody in that deal. Haren hasn’t been that good this year outside of great strikeout numbers. And the Diamondbacks gotas much for him as they were going to get. A MLB pitcher who has had success, a pretty decent prospect, and another piece. I think Arizona is more than happy with what they got back, and if the arm bruise isn’t anything serious, the Angels will be happy with Haren.
Eugene: I feel the opposite – I think the D’backs could have gotten a better offer; if they could have gotten Dellin Betances, Ivan Nova, Zach McAllister and another prospect from the Yankees as rumored, that would have been the deal to take.
Saunders got the wins in the previous 2 seasons, but if you look at his peripherals you’ll see he’s not as good as advertised (low K/9, high BB/9, high ERA). He is a 1-2 WAR pitcher at best. Skaggs has potential, as a 19 year old in Lo A ball, but I’m not impressed by the other 2 prospects.
While Haren is in a down year, he was still the best available pitcher since Cliff Lee was trade. He has a reasonable contract. The move to Anaheim should lower his HR/9 and H/9 (which would then lower his ERA and WHIP), which were effected by pitching in Arizona.
Darin: The one thing that worries me about Haren is his 2nd half numbers. From 2006-2009, his 2nd half numbers have taken a nose dive and he isn’t off to a great 2nd half this year either.
Alex: We cannot fully know whether the Angels “robbed” the Diamondbacks for a fews years, when the prospects they had to give up have a chance to pan out (or perhaps not). They gave up a solid, young pitcher in Patrick Corbin, and if the player to be named later is Tyler Skaggs, they gave up perhaps an even better pitcher in him. Rafael Rodriguez may end up being a non-factor, though Joe Saunders, a proven major league talent, isn’t anything to sneeze at either.
Dan Haren is solid as well, but I think this is a much more even trade that others may believe.
Daniels: Considering the Angels are a big market team, there’s really no such thing as mortgaging the future when you can just sign what’s needed to fill in the gaps. The D-backs clearly are in a lost year so ditching their top chip for a pile of future was not a bad move. I think this is a trade where both teams got exactly what they wanted and it’s maintaining baseball’s unspoken “Don’t Improve The Yankees” rule. Unless all of these guys turn in to superstars, the Angels will be happy with what they got.
Also, it shocks me how many people are already writing Texas in to the division crown. It’s like we’ve all decided to forget that it gets to be 150 degrees in the shade in Arlington come August.
Eugene: I could see why Texas has become the favorite in the division. Adding Cliff Lee was huge; plus the fact that they are attempting to find a way to add Roy Oswalt would only be a plus. They can hit, and adding a Jorge Cantu, Ty Wiggington, or Mike Lowell will solidify the bench.
The Angels on the other hand lost one of their best sluggers (Morales), have the shell of Scott Kazmir, and believe in the closing tandem of Fernando Rodney and Brian Fuentes. I’d take Texas over this.
Edwin: Yes, Texas is the front runner in the AL West at the moment, but the Angels can never be counted out. And the A’s always hang around. Each of them are only seven and a half out of first place.
I don’t get why in the MLB teams give up so quickly. There’s still over sixty games left!
As far as the trade goes I think both teams got exactly what they were looking for, so it’s between the foul poles in my mind, it’s fair.
The Diamondbacks received a solid veteran starter in return and picked up younger arms. You can never have too many arms in an organization, just ask the U.S. military.
The Angels received a big name, big time ace to replace their lost ace from the last eight years John Lackey. Dan Haren can give the Angels a push in the right direction towards the pennant race, or if worse comes to worse he will be there next year to build a staff around. Haren has a few years left on his contract, so he’s not a half a season experiment for this club.
