Sometimes a change of scenery makes all the difference in the world.  The early evaluations have been good for all sides so far in the major trades leading up to this year’s deadline.  Maybe the new environment and new opportunity for these players have been the catalyst for instant success.

  Yankees receive:  Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. 

Xavier Nady was a second round pick of the San Diego Padres in 2000, who went straight to the Major Leagues upon signing as part of his contract and singled in his first MLB at bat.  Then the Padres immediately sent him to the minors to begin his development into a big leaguer.  Last season was Nady’s career high in OPS at just .806, but in 2008, as the 29-year-old Nady is enjoying a career year, hitting .330/.383/.535 with Pittsburgh.

Damaso Marte is a journeyman left-handed reliever.  He’s 33 now, but has had a solid career.  His career ERA (3.29) is over a run better than the league average of his career (4.52).  Only once in his eight MLB seasons has Marte failed to strike out less than a batter per inning.  He had 47 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings for Pittsburgh before the trade.

  Pirates receive:  Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, and Dan McCutchen.  

Jose Tabata has been the Yankees’ best position prospect for at least two years–until this year.  He is still very young–only 19–but the projection of his talent has been hampered by injuries.  Last season, it was a hand injury.  In 2008, it’s been a hamstring problem.  The outfielder has always been pushed, playing with much older players, but he was probably a bit overwhelmed as a 19-year-old in Double-A this season where he hit only .248/.320/.310 for the the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate (Trenton).  Pittsburgh has put him in Double-A as well and he’s gone just 2 for 13 for Altoona. 

Jeff Karstens is an average right-handed starting pitcher.  He’s 25 years old and threw well in Triple-A for the Yankees in 2008.  A Triple-A pitcher for the Yankees is good enough to be a starter for Pittsburgh, though, and Karstens is 2-0 in two starts since joining the Pirates’ rotation, including the game of his life on August 6 when he threw a complete game shutout, allowing only two hits and one walk.

Many in the organization thought Ross Ohlendorf would be the guy to take Joba Chamberlain’s 8th inning slot when Chamberlain moved to the rotation.  However, Ohlendorf has given up 50 hits in 40 innings pitched and had an ERA of 6.53 with New York.

Dan McCutchen is a solid starting pitching prospect and will get a shot in Pittsburgh.  He has a 3.33 ERA in 148.2 IP with 127 strikeouts and 35 walks allowed.

Verdict:  It seems the Pirates traded Nady at his highest value for Tabata at his lowest value.  The Pirates received usable parts and lost Nady’s salary, but they should have asked for Ian Kennedy as well, even though he’s been terrible at the Major League level in 2008.  Also, Nady’s 2008 salary is only $3.35 million and he’ll be eligible for free agency after the 2009 year.  He has raked for the Yankees, hitting .339/.403/.679 with 5 homeruns in 16 games.  Nady’s .942 OPS in 2008 is tied for 11th best in all of Major League Baseball.  A right-handed power hitting outfielder is just what the Yankees needed and they haven’t had a viable lefty bullpen option since Mike Stanton.  Advantage: New York Yankees.

  Dodgers receive:  Manuel Aristides Ramirez.

   Pirates receive:  Andy LaRoche, Bryan Morris, Brandon Moss, and Craig Hansen.

  Red Sox receive:  Jason Bay.

Manny Ramirez didn’t play hard for his last ten games in a Boston Red Sox uniform to the tune of .351/.467/.622 including two bombs, eight walks (three intentional), eight runs scored, and an OPS of 1.089.  He’s the best right-handed hitter in the 50-year gap between Joe DiMaggio and Albert Pujols.  At the time of the trade, Ramirez’s OPS was .927  That would be his second-lowest for a full season in his illustrious career, yet still good enough for 7th in the American League at the time. 

Jason Bay has already put together a pretty solid MLB career.  A terrible 2007 season in which he still hit 21 homeruns is the aberration in a career that Bay has displayed both plate discipline and power.  His career line is .282/.375/.515 in five full seasons.  Bay is signed through 2009 and is due to make $7.5 million next year, much less than half of the $20 million option for Ramirez.

Brandon Moss hit his first MLB homerun in the opening series of 2008 in Japan.  He is underrated as a player and should have a solid career, but he’s yet to have regular playing time.  He’ll get just that in Pittsburgh.

Andy LaRoche should have been playing third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers all along.  He injured a ligament in his thumb during spring training and found his spot occupied when he returned to action.  He has yet to receive regular MLB at bats, but his minor league numbers show the potential for an exceptional hitter.  In three and a half minor league seasons, LaRoche has hit .294/.380/.517 with 95 homeruns.  The 86-point difference between his batting average and on-base percentage shows that he’s quite selective at the plate along with a .223 isolated power number proving his pop.

Craig Hansen was a first rounder in 2005 St. John’s University and signed to a Major League contract.  He was going to be the Red Sox closer until command issues hampered him and Jonathan Papelbon emerged.  He’s a right-hander who throws 95 mph, but recorded only 25 strikeouts to 23 walks in 30.7 innings for Boston before the trade.  His periphreal ratios in Pittsburgh has been even worse.  He’s yet to record a strikeout, but walked six in four appearances.  He does have a save and a 3.86 ERA for the Pirates.

Bryan Morris could be the wild card in this trade for Pittsburgh.  The Dodgers took him in the first round in 2006 and he did well in rookie ball.  Then he had to have Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2007.  In 2008 in the Class-Low A Midwest League, Morris has shown flashed his potential.  He is still gaining arm strength, but had a 3.20 ERA in 81.7 IP (17 starts) before the trade.

Verdict:  Manny Ramirez could be the difference in the Dodgers winning the NL West.  He’s torched the NL for a line of .475/.543/.850 including four homeruns in just 10 games.  Jason Bay has hit a solid .326/.383/.488 in his first 10 games with Boston.  Andy LaRoche already has his first homerun as a Pirate and Jeff Karstens flirted with a no-hitter in his second start with Pittsburgh.  All of these teams should be pleased with the preliminary results of this blockbuster trade.  Boston did give up three players for one not as good as Manny Ramirez, though.  The Pirates gave up the second of their trio of outfielders who had an OPS over .900 in the 2008 season, leaving only Nate McLouth for 2009.  The Dodgers gave up too soon on Andy LaRoche, who only needs a chance at the MLB level to succeed.  That and a clean bill of health.  The Dodgers win this trade because the acquisition of the much-needed power bat in Manny Ramirez makes them a completely different team offensively.  It would be an interesting twist in irony if the Red Sox, who felt they had to deal Manny, end up missing the playoffs while his new team is catapulted to a playoff berth.

   Angels receive:  Mark Teixeira.

  Braves receive:  Casey Kotchman and Stephen Marek.

Mark Teixeira looks like he’ll hit right under .300 with around 35 bombs and post an OPS just under .950 for several more years.  He’s done pretty much that every year since coming into the league in 2003.  He’ll turn 29 in the second week of the 2009 season.  Agent Scott Boras knows all this and is sure to garner the switch-hitting first baseman a huge contract. 

Casey Kotchman was a rare first round first baseman taken in 2001.  He simply never developed the power the Angels thought he would.  His 12 homeruns so far in 2008 are a career high.  Kotchman is only 25 years old, so there is hope that he develop more power, but so far in 1,317 MLB plate appearances he’s only got on base at a .336 career clip.

Stephen Marek is a minor league reliever.  He is a right-hander in Double-A.  The 24-year-old put up solid numbers in the Texas League before the trade, striking out 57 and allowing only 39 hits in 46.7 innings pitched.  He will help out in Atlanta’s bullpen within two years.

Analysis:  Trading for Mark Teixeira makes the Anaheim Angels a very different team.  In 2006, they finished second in the AL West.  Last season, they won the West but were swept in the first round by Boston.  It was Vladimir Guerrero’s worst power season in the Major Leagues.  This season, Guerrero’s numbers have slipped even more.  Teixeira’s power will help this National League-style team–that is clearly good enough to win the West–compete with the powerful teams from the AL East for the American League pennant.  In fact, the addition of Teixeira may the piece that makes Anaheim the team to beat in 2008.  Atlanta was not going to sign Mark Teixeira.  They would’ve received a Type A compensation for losing Teixeira in next June’s amateur draft, but instead they sold him for pennies and acquired Kotchman and Marek.  Kotchman will be in Atlanta the next two seasons, but will also be arbitration elgibile.  While this move is adequate by Atlanta to get something (rather than just a draft choice) for the premium Major League talent in Teixeira, it’s a shame they gave up so much to Texas in acquiring Teixeira in the first place.  They gave up Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, and Neftali Feliz for a year’s rental of Teixeira.  The future of this deal is, of course, contingent on whether or not the Angels can secure Teixeira to a long-term contract.  Apparently Torii Hunter has already began to lobby Teixeira on behalf of the Angels organization.  They Angels clearly play in a market that could afford a player of his talent.  If they aren’t able to keep him after this season, the cost was still minimal and the return is a powerful, switch-hitting first baseman that gives the Angels a chance to win the 2008 World Series.

  John Smoltz became the 16th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to strike out 3,000 batters on Tuesday night. 

Smoltz took his first loss of the season and saw his National League-leading ERA rise all the way to 0.78 in his four starts this year.  He went seven innings, allowing just one run while striking out ten and walking zero.  He tied C.C. Sabathia (73) for the highest game score of the night.  Talk about a tough luck loser.

It’s not talked about enough, but John Smoltz is a Hall of Famer.  With his 3,000th strikeout last night, he didn’t move up the ladder any, but he could realistically move all the way to 12th all-time (from 16th) this season.  Smoltz is 186 strikeouts away from Ferguson Jenkins at number twelve, while Bob Gibson, Curt Schilling, and Pedro Martinez are littered in between.  Jenkins and Gibson are long since retired, and while Schilling and Martinez are still on MLB rosters, they may have very well thrown their last MLB pitches also.

Smoltz’s numbers aren’t as gaudy as some others from his era.  For instance, he wasn’t included in the Greatest Pitcher of the Generation Debate, but Smoltz should begin gaining recognition for his fabulous career.  He’s had five top-10 NL Cy Young finishes including one win in 1996.  He’s played on some teams that have been called postseason chokers, but Smoltz is 15-4 with a 2.65 ERA and four saves in his postseason career.  Two of his most memorable postseason starts were way back in 1991 when he threw a complete game shutout in Game 7 of the NLCS to get to the World Series and then threw 7 and a third scoreless in that season’s final game: in what was one of the greatest games in the history of the World Series, a 1-0 loss to Minnesota in 10 innings.

Smoltz, of course, has always had to deal with nagging injury issues.  The injuries haven’t kept him from going over the 200 innings pitched mark ten times in his career, but his elbow required Tommy John surgery before the 2000 season.  The Braves and Smoltz decided a move to the bullpen was necessary to prolong his career.

There, John Smoltz became the one of the best two or three closers in all of baseball.  He saved 55 (tied for 2nd-most all time in a season), 45, and 44 games in consecutive seasons and is the only player in MLB history to have both 200 career wins and 150 career saves.

Right now, Smoltz leads the NL in both strikeouts and ERA.  Barring an injury, he should post his third consecutive top-10 NL Cy Young finish, maybe more.  Of course, his Atlanta Braves’ chances in 2008 depend on the health of Smoltz’s right shoulder, but the guy is throwing exceptionally well so far even with the twinge in his shoulder.

Smoltz was sometimes lost in the shuffle among the other elite pitchers in very same rotation, but don’t forget that he’s had an incredible career:  a career that will be documented in Cooperstown.

Jimmy Rollins said the Phils were the team to beat in the NL East going into 2007.  The Phillies won 13 of their last 17 games to win the division by one game over the Mets, and Rollins went ahead and won the NL MVP Award while he was at it.  Mets centerfielder Carlos Beltran has already said they are the team to beat this year.  Real original.  They have added Johan Santana to the team that fell one game short a year ago.  The Atlanta Braves will have Mark Texieria for a full season this year, and go without Andruw Jones for the first time since he broke into the league in 1996.  The Washington Nationals have a new ballpark and a new centerfielder in Lastings Milledge.   The Florida Marlins will have a new centerfielder of their own in Cameron Maybin, but be without Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.  Expect another spectacular year from Hanley Ramirez.  The NL East could be very similar to the NL West in 2007:  very competitive and very balanced among the top three teams.

Here’s the link to the NL East outlook for 2008: 

http://thebigleaguebeat.com/2008-nl-east-preview/

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