CarterHud

MLBTR

              The Washington Nationals have acquired C Yan Gomes from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for RHP Jefry Rodriguez, RF Daniel Johnson and a player to be named later.

               For the Nationals, they are attempting to re-shape their catcher depth chart. They signed Kurt Suzuki, who will platoon with Gomes, who has decent power and a good arm. They don\’t give up any top prospects or major roster players and get a catcher, a position they need. Gomes made his first all-star team in 2018.

              Gomes, 31, had a batting average of .266, a .313 OBP, 16 home runs and 48 RBIs in 435 Plate Appearances in 2018 for the Indians. The best season in his career can with the Indians in 2014, when he had a .278 batting average, an OBP of .313, 21 home runs and 74 RBIs in 518 Plate Appearances. In his MLB career for the Indians and Toronto Blue Jays, Gomes has hit .248 with a .295 OBP, 87 home runs and 308 RBIs in 2422 Plate Appearances.

               For the Indians, I don\’t understand why they are trading Gomes. In a terrible AL Central, they can win the division for years. They traded their top catching prospect in Fransisco Mejia and now their starting catcher. That leaves them with backup Roberto Perez. It would make sense though if they signed either Yasmani Grandal, Wilson Ramos or Robinson Chirinos in free agency. The return is probably what the return for a player like Gomes should be.

              Rodriguez, 25, made his MLB debut in 2018 with a 5.71 ERA, 5.97 FIP and 38 strikeouts in 52 innings for the Nats.

                Johnson, 23, had a .269 batting average, .327 OBP, seven home runs, 35 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in 415 Plate Appearances in 2018 for the rookie league Nationals and AA Harrisburg.

                 I think the Nationals win this trade. While it is an even trade, I don\’t get why the Indians are making the trade in the first place.

Tampa Bay Times

          The Chicago White Sox have acquired RHP Alex Colome from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for C Omar Narvaez.

           For the White Sox, I don\’t get this trade. With four years of control, Narvaez would be with the team at the end of when they are expected to start being competitive. Colome has two years left, and the White Sox aren\’t expected the contend in that window. It would make more sense to trade a young catcher for a decent reliever if the team was expected to compete in 2019.

          Colome, who will be 30 be the start of the season, had a 3.04 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 72 strikeouts and 12 saves in 68 innings for the Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays in 2018. The best year of his career was with the Rays in 2016, when he posted a 1.91 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 71 strikeouts and 37 saves in 56.2 innings. In his MLB career for the Mariners and Rays, Colome has a 3.12 ERA, 3.48 FIP, 314 strikeouts and 96 saves in 340.2 innings.

          I love this trade for the Mariners. Ranked 12th in my ranking all catchers post, Narvaez broke out while Welington Castillo was suspended. With 4 more years of control, Narvaez will still be on the team by 2021, the year the Mariners are aiming to contend in. Narvaez will replace Mike Zunino, ranked as the 14th best catcher, who was recently traded to Tampa Bay.

          Narvaez, 26, had a .275 batting average, .366 OBP, nine home runs and 30 RBIs in 322 Plate Appearances for the White Sox in 2018, the best season of his career. In his MLB career, all in Chicago, Narvaez has a batting average of .274, with a .366 OBP, 12 home runs and 54 RBIs in 734 Plate Appearances.

          I think the Mariners win this trade. They get a young catcher with 4 years of control for a decent reliever with two years of control. The White Sox won\’t be good with Colome, at least until his current contract is over, and the Mariners could be good with Narvaez.

                The San Diego Padres have signed RHP Garrett Richards to a two year, $15 million deal.

                For the Padres, Richards is a good pitcher that can never stay healthy. He\’s already undergone Tommy John surgery, and has been hurt every year since 2015. But, when healthy, he\’s showed he can be a frontline starter. A love this deal for the Padres if Richards can stay healthy. Mike Trout\’s former roommate, Richards isn\’t much of a strikeout pitcher, but has a good career ERA.

                Richards, 30, had a 3.66 ERA, 4.13 FIP and 87 strikeouts in 76.1 innings for the Los Angeles Angels in 2018. His best career season was with the Angels in 2014, when he posted a 2.61 ERA, 2.60 FIP and 164 strikeouts in 168.2 innings. In his MLB career, all in Los Angeles, Richards has an ERA of 3.54, with a 3.62 FIP and 645 strikeouts in 744.2 innings.

From MLB.com

              Today, the Minnesota Twins found Joe Mauer\’s replacement, claiming 1B C.J. Cron off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays.

               Less than a week ago, the Rays surprisingly DFA\’d Cron, who in his first season in St. Petersburg, slugged out 30 home runs. It was a claim waiting to happen. And the Twins finally pounced. Cron will replace soon hall-of-famer Joe Mauer, who retired at the beginning of the offseason.

              Cron, who will be 29 by the start of the season, had a batting average of .253, a .323 OBP, 30 home runs and 74 RBIs in 560 Plate Appearances in his career season, 2018 with the Rays. In his MLB career for the Rays and Los Angeles Angeles, Cron has a batting average of .260, an OBP of .311, 89 home runs and 287 RBIs in 2035 Plate Appearances.

           The Atlanta Braves have signed 3B Josh Donaldson to a one year, $23 million contract, and C Brian McCann to a one year, $2 million deal.

           This all comes as a surprise to me. Well, at least Donaldson does. With Johan Camargo at third and Dansby Swanson at short, it seemed that the Braves didn\’t need Donaldson. The former MVP who missed most of 2018 due to injury, Donaldson\’s age and recent health issues likely would have limited him to a one year deal, and it did. He got a lot of money for one year, while not too much. A one year deal could be good for Donaldson. If he has a good year, he\’d return to free agency next year as a 34 year old free agent, and could get more money, but still probably not a multiyear deal. This could mean that Camargo could shift over to shortstop, and a trade including Swanson could happen.

           Donaldson, who will be 33 by the beginning of the season, had a .246 batting average, .352 OBP, eight home runs and 23 RBIs in 219 Plate Appearances between the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays. His best MLB season was his 2015 MLB campaign. That year, he had a .297 batting average, .371 OBP, 41 home runs and 123 RBIs for the Blue Jays. In his MLB career for the Indians, Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics, Donaldson has a batting average of .275, an OBP of .367, 182 home runs and 551 RBIs in 3817 Plate Appearances.

           The McCann signing comes as less of a surprise. Since Kurt Suzuki signed with the Nationals, the Braves needed a catcher to platoon with Tyler Flowers. While there were better options out there, the Braves decided to go with the cheaper McCann, who is a Georgia native and played the first nine seasons of his career with the Braves, making seven all-star teams.

           McCann, 34, had a batting average of .212 with an OBP of .301, seven home runs and 23 RBIs in 216 Plate Appearances for the Houston Astros in 2018. His best career season was in 2008 with the Braves, when he had a .301 batting average, .373 OBP, 23 home runs and 87 RBIs in 573 Plate Appearances. In his MLB career for the Braves, Astros and New York Yankees, McCann has a batting average of .263, an OBP of .338, 270 home runs and 973 RBIs in 6534 Plate Appearances.