To me the rarest commodities in baseball are (1) legitimate defensive catchers or shortstops that are league average or better with the bat, (2) pitchers with the stamina, command, and talent to regularly get through a lineup three times, and (3) bats that are good enough you don't care how well they catch the ball (say OPS > .900). What we would all like for Lee is a player that has a much better than 50% chance of being one of these three, and given the team specific strengths, (1) and (3) look better.
Ramos and Alonzo look like 50/50 bets to meet spec. You will also notice that Aaron Hicks isn't a good bet for any of these categories. Some would argue that the centerfield or second base options should be added to (1), but my opinion is that those positions are easier to fill. Frankly, I see 3rd base to be just as difficult.
The last point I would like to make is that the Phillies didn't get all that much for a FULL year of Lee. Frankly, Ramos and Hicks are both more valuable than any of the prospects we sent to the Phillies. The presence of Joe Mauer is the only reason why this deal could make sense to the Twins. From a value standpoint, I would guess convincing the Twins to part with Ramos and Hicks for Lee is the sticking point, not the other way around. What is quite possible is that Z wants Ramos and Hicks to set the value of Lee and then he can go shop that value for the players he actually wants.
Add new comment
1