Rios, $1M traded to Rangers

[Balta1701]

There are players that are not subjected to the cap.

These days who does that include?

[Eminor3rd]

Which Texas farmhand was available for $8.5 million? If you are going to post these outrageous claims back them up. Texas" farm isn't the greatest right now either.

 

I don't know, but Rios is owed $17m, and picking up the entire tab would still leave us with a small market payroll next year and would have gotten us a better prospect than Eduardo Escobar 2.0. I can't tell you was available, but it isn't unprecedented. Off the top of my head, the Mets paid Beltran's salary to send him to the Giants for Zack Wheeler.

[caulfield12]

But they also never reallocated resources away from the MLB team like they just did, at least not in the last decade or so.

 

Sure they did, in moving Durham for Adkins to clear the way for Harris, James Baldwin, Sandy Alomar, Kenny Lofton (now you can argue Rios was much closer to his prime, but his contract was still a bad one to some)....Howry for Frank Francisco, Contreras, Linebrink, MacDougal, in more recent years...trading a Jim Thome down the stretch to the Dodgers, for example.

 

You're right in the sense that they weren't trading productive, fairly close to their prime players and opening up spots where there wasn't an "heir-apparent" to slot right in.

 

They got a very nice return for Jason Frasor, for example...

 

In the end, we're still feeling the bite from all those guys like Swisher, Javy, Gio, Hudson and Edwin Jackson going out the door without a significant piece coming back for any of them to replenish the talent in the major or minor league systems.

 

The Zach Stewart and Molina debacles sting, as well. (Although you can conversely argue we were quite lucky/fortunate to get out from under the Santos deal....and that's a trade that meets your qualifications, trading major league talent for younger/cheaper/potentially better in Addison Reed).

Edited August 9, 2013 by caulfield12

[iamshack]

Sure they did, in moving Durham for Adkins to clear the way for Harris, James Baldwin, Sandy Alomar, Kenny Lofton (now you can argue Rios was much closer to his prime, but his contract was still a bad one to some)....Howry for Frank Francisco, Contreras, Linebrink, MacDougal, in more recent years...trading a Jim Thome down the stretch to the Dodgers, for example.

 

You're right in the sense that they weren't trading productive, fairly close to their prime players and opening up spots where there wasn't an "heir-apparent" to slot right in.

 

They got a very nice return for Jason Frasor, for example...

 

In the end, we're still feeling the bite from all those guys like Swisher, Javy, Gio, Hudson and Edwin Jackson going out the door without a significant piece coming back for any of them to replenish the talent in the major or minor league systems.

 

The Zach Stewart and Molina debacles sting, as well. (Although you can conversely argue we were quite lucky/fortunate to get out from under the Santos deal....and that's a trade that meets your qualifications, trading major league talent for younger/cheaper/potentially better in Addison Reed).

 

I'm talking about cutting back the projected payroll to a Marlins level for the upcoming year.

 

[Eminor3rd]

There are players that are not subjected to the cap.

 

Right, the guys that the Dodgers and Cubs keep gobbling up by taking insane risks. The problem is that for every Yasiel Puig or Yu Darvish, there's a Gerardo Concepcion, Kaz Matsui, Miguel Gonzalez, etc.

[witesoxfan]

I don't know, but Rios is owed $17m, and picking up the entire tab would still leave us with a small market payroll next year and would have gotten us a better prospect than Eduardo Escobar 2.0. I can't tell you was available, but it isn't unprecedented. Off the top of my head, the Mets paid Beltran's salary to send him to the Giants for Zack Wheeler.

 

I think we can definitely agree that dealing with Brian Sabean should be a priority in the future. He's still a terrible GM, even if the Giants have won 2 World Series.

[iamshack]

Right, the guys that the Dodgers and Cubs keep gobbling up by taking insane risks. The problem is that for every Yasiel Puig or Yu Darvish, there's a Gerardo Concepcion, Kaz Matsui, Miguel Gonzalez, etc.

A Dayan Viciedo....oopsie

[greg775]

I don't know, but Rios is owed $17m, and picking up the entire tab would still leave us with a small market payroll next year and would have gotten us a better prospect than Eduardo Escobar 2.0. I can't tell you was available, but it isn't unprecedented. Off the top of my head, the Mets paid Beltran's salary to send him to the Giants for Zack Wheeler.

 

With all due respect, Rios is a different kind of cat. Being that Stone said he's loafed since he got to Chicago and EVERYBODY in baseball knows it (scouts), I'd bet Jerry would rather be tied down and whipped than pay Rios' salary for another team. I bet it killed him to pay $1 million. I think the Sox got a great deal. They got a guy ready for the bigs at 22 and only had to pay $1 million? Success.

You can't judge Hahn on a guy like Rios. s***, Rios didn't make Hahn's job any easier when Robin had to yank him from a game during a period of time TONS of scouts were in the stands to assess Rios.

Bye bye Alex. Don't blame Hahn.

[elrockinMT]

Just because Keith Law says it doesn't make it so.

 

This guy has comparable numbers to a bunch of people who are getting penciled in as starting shortstops. He's very young, he's been pushed up aggressively, he supposedly has really solid fielding tools, and he has a real solid speed game.

 

I'd say there's a decent chance he looks like a solid player in a year or two, and a decent chance he's a utility guy. I'll take that, there's some real upside here.

 

 

I think it is disappointing myself. If our return is someone who might be a utility IF'er in the future. How many utility Infielders do we need?

[caulfield12]

I don't know, but Rios is owed $17m, and picking up the entire tab would still leave us with a small market payroll next year and would have gotten us a better prospect than Eduardo Escobar 2.0. I can't tell you was available, but it isn't unprecedented. Off the top of my head, the Mets paid Beltran's salary to send him to the Giants for Zack Wheeler.

 

 

But there's even MORE of a premium now on protecting young talent than even 1 or 2 years ago.

 

The Angels feeling the sting of giving up Corbin and a lot more serves as a warning....those trades were just not happening recently, even if we ate half of Rios' deal, we weren't going to get back Profar. No way.

 

Heck, even if we ate ALL of it, we probably weren't getting back Profar, for example.

 

 

And the fragility of pitching (see the Cardinals' Martinez recent outing) shows that eating all of Alexei's or Rios' salary to bring in young pitching with ace potential isn't exactly a slam dunk, either. Martinez was hyped as throwing high 90's, touching 100, and he struggled at the 93-94-95 range his last time out before being lifted.

 

Would we have been happy with Martinez for Alexei and eating all of Ramirez's contract?

 

What if Martinez turned into another Santos or John Danks?

[iamshack]

How about we tell LAA that we'll take Pujols' contract but they've got to include Mike Trout

[Wedge]

Except they've never done this in the last 30 years, as an approach.

 

It's frustrating to watch the Cubs or the Dodgers amass talent in this way...but the White Sox are highly unlikely to change course right now.

 

What talent have the Cubs amassed this way? You're frustrated Corey Black isn't in the system?

[caulfield12]

Right, the guys that the Dodgers and Cubs keep gobbling up by taking insane risks. The problem is that for every Yasiel Puig or Yu Darvish, there's a Gerardo Concepcion, Kaz Matsui, Miguel Gonzalez, etc.

 

 

What happened already? Why is Miguel Gonzalez already a bad deal?

[iamshack]

With all due respect, Rios is a different kind of cat. Being that Stone said he's loafed since he got to Chicago and EVERYBODY in baseball knows it (scouts), I'd bet Jerry would rather be tied down and whipped than pay Rios' salary for another team. I bet it killed him to pay $1 million. I think the Sox got a great deal. They got a guy ready for the bigs at 22 and only had to pay $1 million? Success.

You can't judge Hahn on a guy like Rios. s***, Rios didn't make Hahn's job any easier when Robin had to yank him from a game during a period of time TONS of scouts were in the stands to assess Rios.

Bye bye Alex. Don't blame Hahn.

Oh enough. You've proven you cannot be anything close to objective when it comes to Rios.

[pettie4sox]

Did Rios sleep with your mom and/or sisters, Greg?

[Balta1701]

I think it is disappointing myself. If our return is someone who might be a utility IF'er in the future. How many utility Infielders do we need?

Dude...let's just put it this way...any time you trade for an infielder, it's possible his eventual spot could be "utility infielder".

 

If you don't want guys who could possibly become utility infielders...don't trade for infielders.

 

If L. Garcia winds up being a utility infielder, that should be looked at as a tolerable turnout but something of a disappointment for the hitting development people because he has the tools to be a regular IF.

 

If Avisail Garcia hits .220 the next 3 seasons, does that mean we should be calling him a guy who might be a backup OF? How many backup OF's do we need?

[greg775]

Oh enough. You've proven you cannot be anything close to objective when it comes to Rios.

I'm saying I like the trade and like Hahn. I wish you'd read my takes closely and not just get lost in my utter dislike for Rios.

Now, Alexei is next to deal. I'd expect we get 2 prospects, hopefully at least one is a real good one. Lexi is not getting any younger. Already the pop is gone in his home run stroke apparently.

 

Did Rios sleep with your mom and/or sisters, Greg?

I just think he's Jose Guillen II. Has a lot of talent and very very very little desire. I don't like players like that.

[caulfield12]

What talent have the Cubs amassed this way? You're frustrated Corey Black isn't in the system?

 

 

I mean....just going on a huge spending spree across the board the last two years, throwing good money after bad, and hoping some of it sticks.

 

There's no arguing their Top 4-5-6-7 of K.Bryant/Baez/Soler/Olt/Almora/Alcantara is a LOT more interesting/exciting/intriguing.

 

Of course, there are no guarantees with prospects, any more than there is picking random mutual funds.

Edited August 9, 2013 by caulfield12

[Y2Jimmy0]

I'm saying I like the trade and like Hahn. I wish you'd read my takes closely and not just get lost in my utter dislike for Rios.

Now, Alexei is next to deal. I'd expect we get 2 prospects, hopefully at least one is a real good one. Lexi is not getting any younger. Already the pop is gone in his home run stroke apparently.

 

 

I just think he's Jose Guillen II. Has a lot of talent and very very very little desire. I don't like players like that.

 

Rios has never been considered the complete clubhouse cancer and general f***bag that Guillen was though. Not really fair.

[Eminor3rd]

What happened already? Why is Miguel Gonzalez already a bad deal?

 

Well, the latest news is that the deal is going to be null because he has elbow problems.

[Balta1701]

I mean....just going on a huge spending spree across the board the last two years, throwing good money after bad, and hoping some of it sticks.

 

There's no arguing their Top 4-5-6-7 of K.Bryant/Baez/Soler/Olt/Almora/Alcantara is a LOT more interesting/exciting/intriguing.

 

Of course, there are no guarantees with prospects, any more than there is picking random mutual funds.

If you really want to pile up names though...the top 5 young starting pitchers in the White Sox org looks really intriguing as well if you count Sale. Sale, Santiago, Quintana, Rienzo, Johnson...looks pretty darn intriguing. And yes, there's no guarantee with any of those guys, but the White Sox may well have just as large of a fraction of a team put together with young guys as the Cubs. And ours are closer to the big leagues/more well established.

[caulfield12]

Reports had the White Sox asking for two of the Rangers' top prospects back near July 31. Some reports said those two were Martin Perez and Luke Jackson, a ridiculous price for Rios. The Rangers, rightly, said no. But once the White Sox put Rios on waivers, the Rangers put in a claim and -- as the team with the worst record of those that put in the claim -- got the right to negotiate with the White Sox for 72 hours on a deal.

 

Chicago must have decided it didn't want Rios' long-term salary on the books and chose to at least get a player back in the process. Garcia showed he could play multiple positions and certainly has upside, but it's a deal that makes great sense for the Rangers to get an outfielder who isn't a rental.

 

With Cruz, who is suspended for the remainder of the regular season, and David Murphy set to be free agents at the end of the season, the Rangers are able to address an immediate need and think big-picture. Rios can slide right into an outfield spot next season, and the club has an option for 2015. A trade clause in his contract boosted his 2014 and 2015 salary, as well as the 2015 buyout, so he is owed $13 million next season and the remaining portion of his $12 million salary this season with a $2 million buyout for 2015. Still, I like this deal.

 

One scout described Rios as a 5-tool player, but with inconsistent use of those tools. He doesn't have the power of Cruz, but he does have speed and should be highly motivated coming to a winner in the midst of a pennant race (WHERE HAVE WE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE???). Yes, he isn't hitting home runs lately. But he's still getting hits and driving in some runs. Rios is not a guy you'll find working counts deep. But we've seen manager Ron Washington do a terrific job in finding the strengths of his players and utilizing them. He'll get the most that he can out of Rios. And it won't hurt to have former teammate A.J. Pierzynski in the Rangers' clubhouse too. (LOL at Rios and AJ being buddies.)

 

espn.com (Dallas Bureau)

[southsideirish71]

I'm saying I like the trade and like Hahn. I wish you'd read my takes closely and not just get lost in my utter dislike for Rios.

Now, Alexei is next to deal. I'd expect we get 2 prospects, hopefully at least one is a real good one. Lexi is not getting any younger. Already the pop is gone in his home run stroke apparently.

 

 

I just think he's Jose Guillen II. Has a lot of talent and very very very little desire. I don't like players like that.

 

Greg we dont care about the Royals, Royals players, KC, anything royals related on this site. The only time we care is when we face them or in the all about competition that is the AL Central. Every conversation brings in some random Royals comparison, some internal poll of the good people of whatever city you live in or where you work. No one cares.

 

 

[Princess Dye]

One in the same...except one is still a better glove than the other.

So one is a more-elite glove, and one has better history slugging. And the latter is younger, as well. So this is all stuff that is to be determined. Young players.

 

I'm not sure how acquiring a utility infielder helps a rebuild.

 

To right now call him a utility infielder is just kind of framing the trade today to suit the narrative you already have going here from the last few weeks. He's a prospect. He has the SLG to become something of a doubles hitting major league short stop, or he can be a backup. There is some range of outcomes for a guy who is 22 and has done what he's done.

 

 

Edited August 9, 2013 by Jose Paniagua

[The Ginger Kid]

No, they gave thought to him playing there for a game if Alexei destroyed his knee in the 2nd inning and Keppinger was the only backup IF on the roster. By the time the next game rolled around they could have had someone called up from Charlotte to take that slot, but you can't throw Flowers in at SS for a game.

No, Angel Sanchez was on the opening day roster.