Start your tradin': Carlos Lee to Rangers

Price doesn't go up one bit. Lee is a potential two-month rental, far different than Abreu, who has two more years at $23 million or something like that? If the Phillies want to dump salary -- and the only way to entice Abreu to do the trade is for that new team to pick up his pricey 2008 option -- then they can't demand top prospects at the same time when the other team would be doing them a favor.

The Phillies will get what's offered to them and like it.

 

Then Gillick won't deal. I'm not sure why folks continue to perpetuate this myth that the Phils are desperate to dump Abreu at any cost. Is he expensive next year? Yes. Can the Phillies afford him next year? No question.

I'll be stunned if Abreu is dealt for beans. At the same time, I'll be surprised if he's moved at all. My guess is the Angels and Yankees are the only real options for him and one of them may get Soriano.

 

Mensch will need to borrow Bernie Brewer's cap. For a while at least.

 

Is Cordero the new Brewers' closer?

 

Lee is better than Soriano (and as good as Carlos Beltran -- check their career numbers), yet might fetch less in trade.

Perception, folks, perception.

 

lee's a hell of a hitter -- probably even a batter hitter than beltran. but beltran is a much, much better baserunner and defensive player

of course, defense doesn't matter in fantasy baseball, so who cares about that?

 

Not sure why the Brewers traded for Nix. Aren't they already strong up the middle with Dave Krynzel and Corey Hart (insert sunglasses at night joke here)? But I do like the Mench pickup, and maybe Cordero will benefit from Mike Maddux's tutelage.

And now the Rangers have a devastating combo of Young-Teixeira-Lee (assuming Big Tex snaps out of his funk). If Blalock could improve his pathetic .584 OPS over the last month, the Rangers could slug their way to the AL West title.

 

Good question. Anyone know the answer?

 

I love this deal.

The Rangers get the power-hitting corner outfielder they've been craving for years. They essentially swap outfield prospects (Nix for Cruz). And they don't have to give up any of the DVDs (Diamond, Volquez, Danks) in the process. Well done, Jonny boy.

Cordero seems finished as a closer / set-up guy. See that meltdown Wednesday night? Phew! And I'm not surprised the Rangers finally gave up on Nix. It's been four years since his first call-up and after a solid rookie year, Nix has struggled mightily at the big-league level.

The only question to me is how this trade gets treated in the room. Mench was probably more valuable to the team as a clubhouse guy. You could count on Shrek for the practical joke and keeping guys cracked up. Out in the field and at the plate, he was pretty much just an above-average guy. Solid, but replaceable.

I can see the Rangers making a serious push to keep Lee.  Besides still paying part of A-Rod's deal, their share of Chan Ho Park's deal comes off the books at the end of this year. That leaves Millwood as their only huge contract. They'll have money to spend.

 

Lee is not better than Soriano, who, oh by the way, allows a team to stash a 40-40 guy (well, close) at second base, which, other than catcher may yield less offense of any everyday position in the game.

I don't even think he is better than Beltran.

 

I think this trade works for both teams. The Rangers get the bat they need for the corner outfield, albeit only for two months. The Brewers get a decent bat and a power arm for their bullpen. Cordero has struggled at times, but his stuff is there. He's still striking guys out.

Plus, the Brewers have Mench and Cordero beyond this year, which creates trade possibilities in the offseason. They have a glut of outfielders.

 

Damn! That's not a bad trade for either side, I must say. Milwaukee got some decent working parts for its outfield and Carlos Lee could thrive down in Texas. Nice job, Jon!