CarterHud

 

       The New York Yankees have acquired IF Rougned Odor and cash considerations from the Texas Rangers in exchange for OF Antonio Cabello and OF Josh Stowers. 

Right off the bat, this is a really confusing trade for New York. Odor has hit 30 home runs in three seasons, including 2019, but in 2019 he also struck out a league leading 178 times with a .721 OPS. He also has a deplorable .289 OBP, something that the Yankees will want to fix. He has been an above average defender at second base in the past, but second is also the only position he has ever played in a big league game, despite playing some third base this Spring. The Yankees could test his versatility by trying out Odor at shortstop or first base. If he can play the former, it could push Tyler Wade out of the 26 man roster. While the Rangers will eat up most of the $27 million owed to Odor over the next two seasons, his recent play has not been worth giving up two prospects. He had a .192 xBA, a 31.8 K% and a 4.7 walk rate on one of baseball\’s worst teams last year, and couldn\’t make the team this year. 

Odor, 27, hit 10 home runs with a .167 average and a .623 OPS in 148 Plate Appearances for Texas in 2020. In his MLB career, all with the Rangers, Odor has hit 146 home runs with 62 stolen bases, a .237 average and a .728 OPS in 3434 Plate Appearances. 

The Rangers do a pretty good job here. They knew that trading Odor would require eating up just about all the money, but they save a little bit of it by trading him and not just paying all $27 million, but most of it. They also get two prospects back. Cabello was a big international signing for the Yankees in 2017, but he struggled in 2019 in the Appalachian League, and has not even reached Low-A. Stowers was acquired in the second Sonny Gray trade, although technically not, as the Yankees immediately flipped Shed Long, acquired for Gray, to Seattle for Stowers. A 2018 2nd round pick after he had a .974 OPS at the University of Louisville. He had a nice season at Single-A in 2019, and could move up to AA this year. 

Cabello, 20, hit three home runs with five stolen bases, a .211 average and a .610 OPS in 251 Plate Appearances for the Pulaski Yankees in 2019. In his short minor league career Cabello has hit eight home runs with 15 stolen bases, a .251 average and a .753 OPS in 443 Plate Appearances. 

Stowers, 24, hit seven home runs with 35 stolen bases, a .273 average and a .786 OPS in 460 Plate Appearances for the Charleston RiverDogs (Single-A) in 2019. In his minor league career Stowers has hit 12 home runs with 55 stolen bases, a .268 average and a .788 OPS in 704 Plate Appearances. 

 

       The Atlanta Braves have acquired shortstop Orlando Arcia from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for RHPs Chad Sobotka and Patrick Weigel. 

There is probably going to be a person out there that sees Arcia\’s 1-for-11 start to 2021 and draws a conclusion that the Brewers had given up on the player afterwards. Well, the real reason stems from the end of Spring Training. As seen on Opening Day, former Padres top prospect Luis Urias had won the starting shortstop job, moving the former starter, Arcia, to the bench. Arcia had a 96 OPS+ in 2020, and that was a career high. He has some power and speed, but overall he is not a starting-caliber player. Oddly enough, he is the youngest player in this trade. The Brewers sell him for Weigel and Sobotka, two tall right-handers. Both have MLB experience, but Sobotka is the interesting one. He has struggled in minor MLB stints, aside from a productive 14 game run in 2018. But, Sobotka has maintained his strikeout ability in the majors and minors, and in 2019 his fastball averaged 96.1 mph with a 2499 rpm spin rate. His slider also had an elite 2959 spin rate. Weigel has just one game of MLB experience, and he had good numbers at AAA in 2019. The Brewers have had interest in him since 2014, when they drafted Weigel in the 22nd round, although he did not sign. Both pitchers will go to Milwaukee\’s alternate training site, but could be a future bullpen option.

Sobotka, 27, allowed five runs in 3.2 innings in 2020. In 2019, he struck out 38 with a 6.21 ERA in 29 innings. In his MLB career, all in Atlanta, Sobotka has an ERA of 5.36 with 61 strikeouts, a 1.468 WHIP and a 4.92 FIP in 47 innings. 

Weigel, 26, allowed two runs in 0.2 innings last year. In 2019 for AAA Gwinnett and AA Mississippi, he had a 2.73 ERA with 71 strikeouts and a 1.152 WHIP in 79 innings pitched. In his minor league career Weigel has a 3.15 ERA with 346 strikeouts and a 1.186 WHIP in 362.2 innings. 

With Arcia in Atlanta, you have to wonder what this means for the futures of Johan Camargo and/or Pablo Sandoval. One will surely be gone if Arcia is now on the roster. Camargo can play multiple infield and outfield positions, and he is a switch hitter. But, he had a .611 OPS in 35 games last year. Also a switch hitter, Sandoval is 1-for-2 with a home run this year, but he does not give the Braves any defensive flexibility besides at third base. Expect one of them to be gone with Arcia stepping in as a backup to Dansby Swanson. His .279 xBA and 16.9 K% in 2020 were career highs. He is also an above average defender. 

Arcia, 26, hit five home runs with two stolen bases, a .260 average and a .734 OPS in 189 Plate Appearances for Milwaukee last year. In his MLB career, all for the Brewers, Arcia has hit 42 home runs with 39 stolen bases, a .244 average and a .658 OPS in 1876 Plate Appearances. 

 

       The Chicago Blackhawks have acquired forward Vinnie Hinostroza from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forward Brad Morrison. 

A Chicago native, Hinostroza was drafted by the Blackhawks in the 6th round back in 2012. His first three NHL seasons came with them, until he was traded to unload Marian Hossa\’s salary. Hinostroza scored 21 goals combined in the next two seasons, but he has mostly been a healthy scratch this year while being reunited with Head Coach Joel Quenneville. By re-acquiring him, GM Stan Bowman continues his long tradition of bringing back players. While Hinostroza has not done anything this year, he has been productive in the past, and his cap hit is just $1 million, before becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. The cost is also very low, as Morrison, acquired in the offseason from Los Angeles for Olli Maatta, has split time between the AHL and ECHL. Bringing in Hinostroza could also make the Hawks more inclined to deal pending UFAs Mattias Janmark and Carl Soderberg.

Hinostroza, who will turn 27 tomorrow, has no points in nine games this year for the Panthers. In his NHL career for the Panthers, Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes, Hinostroza has scored 34 goals with 66 assists for 100 points in 255 games. 

His lack of playing time this year shows that Hinostroza was not valued highly by the Panthers. Florida will be a buyer at the trade deadline, which is in 10 days. And with star defenseman Aaron Ekblad out for the year, they need cap space to acquire a defender, potentially Columbus\’ David Savard. This trade clears up a little bit of space, but still some space. A 2015 4th round pick by the Rangers, Morrison had a decent WHL career, but he has not been exceptional since turning pro, and he is not a young prospect. 

Morrison, 24, scored three goals with two assists for five points in six games for the AHL\’s Rockford IceHogs this year. For the ECHL\’s Indy Fuel, he has a goal and an assist in three games. In his AHL career for Rockford and the Ontario Reign, Morrison has scored 13 goals with 12 assists for 25 points in 56 games. 

 

       The Ottawa Senators have acquired forward Michael Amadio from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for defenseman Christian Wolanin. 

This is merely a swap of depth players between the two NHL teams closest to the salary cap floor. This is not a big NHL trade, but both players have a good amount of NHL experience with AHL success. Both have also played a good amount of time in the NHL this year. Wolanin was recently waived by the Senators, and cleared. When he gets to Los Angeles, Wolanin could easily become their new seventh defenseman. The Kings only have six defenseman on their roster, but three on their taxi squad, which is also a place where Wolanin could go. He is a better option than Austin Strand and Daniel Brickley, who do not have a ton of NHL experience. Wolanin probably would be below recent first rounder Tobias Bjornfot on the depth chart. He is still relatively young, and the former 4th round pick has had trouble breaking into Ottawa\’s starting lineup after success at the University of North Dakota and the AHL. 

Wolanin, 26, has three assists in 15 NHL games, and no points in one AHL game in 2020-21. He had 31 points in 40 AHL games in 2018-19. In his NHL career, all in Ottawa, Wolanin has scored five goals with 13 assists for 18 points in 58 games. 

The Senators do not have a shortage of young, or at least capable NHL forwards, so Amadio will have to work his way up. A 3rd round pick in 2014, he has struggled in a good amount of NHL time this year, and last played in the NHL on March 14th. Since then, Amadio has spent some time playing for the AHL\’s Ontario Reign. Starting in Belleville (Ottawa\’s AHL affiliate) seems like the most likely situation for Amadio right now. He is a couple of years younger than Wolanin, and can play on the Senators\’ fourth line. 

Amadio, 24, has just two assists in 20 games for the Kings in 2020-21, with the same number of assists in two games for Ontario this year. In his NHL career, all in Los Angeles, Amadio has scored 16 goals with 23 assists for 39 points in 168 games. 

 

       The Los Angeles Kings have acquired forward Brendan Lemieux from the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2021 4th round draft pick.

The son of former instigator Claude Lemieux, the younger Lemieux plays like his father did. While Claude scored 41 goals in one season, Brendan is not a goal scorer. He is a fourth line player who has gotten some power play time, but really should not play on special teams. He can fight, and be a physical presence on Los Angeles\’ fourth line. The price of a 4th round pick is not much, especially when Lemieux is under contract through 2021-22, with a $1.55 million cap hit. Even when that expires, Lemieux will be a restricted free agent. At the time of the trade, Lemieux\’s 59 penalty minutes lead the NHL, six above Trent Frederic, who has become quite acquainted with Lemieux this year. 

The Rangers are not completely out of the playoff picture, but that does not mean that selling off a player makes no sense. The Rangers have a lot of skaters, especially with Phillip Di Giuseppe and Brett Howden returning from injury. Also, Vitali Kravtsov is returning to North America soon. Lemieux is not great on offense or defense, and he is very expendable. They also can clear a little bit of cap space for next year. 

Lemieux, 25, has scored two goals with five assists for seven points in 30 games this year, with 61 hits. In his NHL career for the Rangers and Winnipeg Jets, Lemieux has scored 21 goals with 22 assists in 43 points, plus 366 hits in 161 games.