A look back at the J.J. Putz trade
Let's rewind to late January when the Mariners made a big splash trade, the particulars of which look like this:
Mets Receive:
- J.J. Putz (CL)
- Sean Green (SR)
- Jeremy Reed (OF)
Indians Receive:
- Joe Smith (SR)
- Luis Valbuena (2B)
Cubs Receive:
- Aaron Heilman (SR)
Mariners Receive:
- Franklin Gutierrez (CF)
- Endy Chavez (OF)
- Mike Carp (1B)
- Ronny Cedeno (MIF)
- Jason Vargas (SP)
- Garrett Olson (SP)
- Maikel Cleto (SP)
- Zeke Carrera (OF)
We can argue about what Putz' market value was perceived as prior to this trade, but I don't think we have all of the information to know that for sure. We do know that we were offered a package including Larish and Joyce from the Tigers, but that's about the only other offer on the table that has come to light. I believe the safest assumption with regard to what we could expect to get from J.J. would be that few teams trusted him to stay healthy and return to dominant reliever status and that there were several other closers available at the time, further reducing his trade value, but that's just speculation on my part and not the main point of this article. Today, I want to focus on results.
The star player in the deal, Putz, is on the disabled list after being relatively ineffective in the Mets' bullpen and earning boos to the chorus of Thunderstruck by the end. All reports were that his velocity was way down, his command was hariy at best, and his secondary pitch, the nasty splitter, was bouncing too much so it was off the table in the minds of the hitters. Sean Green turned out to be at best a lateral move from Joe Smith:
A) 4.15 ERA, 18/11 K/BB in 17.1 IP, 1 HR
B) 5.00 ERA, 31/16 K/BB in 36 IP, 4 HR
I'll take pitcher A for upside and for current results over pitcher B...the Mets seem inept at scouting pitchers. Jeremy Reed is still Jeremy Reed (read: slap happy 4th outfielder with little utility even on a team desperate for outfielders with its' CF superstar on the DL and injuries and age plaguing the rest of its outfielders).
The Cubs' little bite out of this defacto 4-team deal, Aaron Heilman, has worked out acceptibly for them, but he's been incredibly wild and unreliable and is relegated to the 6th/7th innings. The Mariners' replacement, obtained for essentially no cost, has been an all-star caliber closer (I refer of course to Aardsma). Fun comparison:
Aardsma: 38.1 IP, 1.41 ERA, 48/22 K/BB, 1 HR
Heilman: 36.2 IP, 3.93 ERA, 33/23 K/BB, 3 HR
And in exchange for Heilman, the Mariners acquired Garrett Olson (who has held serve out of the 5th rotation spot, including two hugely important games on this 9-game road trip that the Mariners managed to win - I shutter to think where the Ms 5th rotation spot would be without Olson) and Ronny Cedeno (not much with the bat, but with YuBet injured, one wonders who the heck would be playing short for us right now...certainly not someone with his defensive ability).
The Indians got Luis Valbuena who had this line in Cleveland before getting demoted:
.196/.258/.362 (12/40 BB/K), -16.2 R/150 G (UZR) on defense
To be fair, he's hitting very well in AAA since his demotion and there is still significant upside as a good on-base threat and an average defender at second.
Meanwhile, the Mariners' return from the Indians has turned into a minor star in center field (Doc and I disagree on how to interpret Gutierrez' performance, obviously) and from the Mets, Seattle acquired a number of pieces that have been critical to keeping the team in contention despite not being evidently brilliant ballplayers.
Endy Chavez - Filled in admirably for Ichiro while hw was on the DL with his ulcer recovery and gave the Ms a decent on base threat, a brilliant bit of defense in left, and a solid back-up for Gutierrez in center when he needed time off. His injury might not have been a death blow to the team, but without the acquisition of Langerhans, I think the Mariners would be feeling the effects of losing a guy like Chavez by now.
Jason Vargas - He's no great shakes, but filling in for Carlos Silva will make anyone look like a diety...well anyone who deserves to be there at any rate. Without Vargas (and of course Olson) keeping the Mariner rotation atop the AL in ERA, I don't think we'd still be in contention. His line thus far: 58.2 IP, 4.14 ERA, 35/14 K/BB, 10 HR (this is his bugaboo)...he's a little like a left handed Cha Seung Baek. That's not a bad thing to have around pitching at Safeco field.
Mike Carp - In AAA, Carp is OPSing an easy .900 and he looked like a legitimately solid and disciplined hitter in his brief MLB call-up. Too early to tell whether this pays the big dividends that I envision, but it's hard to deny that Carp was deeply under the radar of most scouts, not noticed by Baseball America, and generally dismissed as an "interesting" but uninspiring centerpiece in the Putz deal and that his future looks considerably brighter now.
Maikel Cleto - a flame thrower who hadn't missed bats very well in his early minor league tours with the Mets, Cleto found his Ks in 2 starts at the Midwest League level, 10 of them in 7.2 IP. He's still horribly raw and wild, so there's a better chance he winds up being nothing than a useful major leaguer, but he's an interesting guy to keep an eye on.
Zeke Carrera - hitting .341 with an .892 OPS (heavily led by a 40/36 BB/K!) and is 17 for 23 stealing bases for AA West Tennessee this year. His batting eye is rapidly improving, making up for his total lack of power. Scouts are impressed with his outfield defense as well...he compares minimally to Jeremy Reed and could be significantly better down the road.
For a reliever no one, including the Mariners, could trust to stay healthy, a completely replaceable mushy middle reliever, a nearly-valueless 4th outfielder and a marginal middle infield prospect, the Mariners have gotten themselves quite the haul. I am writing this as a reminder...because at the time the deal was made, I was APPALLED and highly disappointed with the lack of big names coming the Mariners' way. I was completely wrong. SABR Matt bows at Zduriencik's feet and admires his scouting proficiency...mea culpa Captain Jack.