CarterHud

           The New York Islanders have acquired defenseman Andy Greene from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for defenseman David Quenneville and a 2021 2nd round pick.

           After top defenseman Adam Pelech went down with an achillies tear, the Isles mainly rotated through five defensemen with top prospect Noah Dobson gets little, but increasing ice time. This trade pushes Dobson out of the lineup, but Greene evens out the amount of righties an lefties on defense. Greene is left handed, opposed to the right handed Dobson. Unless an injury occurs, don\’t expect to see Dobson back in the lineup for the rest of the year. Dobson was playing with Scott Mayfield, who\’s normal partner Devon Toews was with Pelech\’s partner Ryan Pulock on the top pairing. There is a good chance that Greene could start with Mayfield, but when he gets comfortable, there is a good chance that Toews and Mayfield are reunited, and Pulock and Greene are the top pairing. Greene fits all the boxes for GM Lou Lamoriello. He is experienced, he has leadership experience, and he also was on the Devils when Lamoriello was there from 2006-2015. He was the Devils captain since the start of the 2015-16 season.

            For the Devils, it will be hard to say goodbye to Greene, who was with the team for 14 seasons, and the captain for five of them. A second round pick is a really, really good price for him, too. They will not name a new captain. Greene had a cap hit of $5 million, but due to the fact that there are only 49 days left in the season, Greene will only carry a cap hit just over $1.3 million for the Islanders. Quenneville is a prospect who had great junior numbers but has struggled professionally.

            Greene, 37, has scored two goals with nine assists for 11 points in 53 games. Even though the Devils have a -43 goal differential, Greene is one of three Devils players with double digit games played that has a positive +/- rating (+1). In his NHL career, all with the Devils, Greene has scored 49 goals with 197 assists for 246 points in 923 games.

            Quenneville, 21, has one goal with five assists for six points in 18 games for the AHL\’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. In 14 games for the ECHL\’s Worcester Railers, Quenneville has two points, both assists in 14 games. He was New York\’s 7th round, 200th overall pick in 2016.

          The Minnesota Twins have acquired RHP Kenta Maeda, C Jair Camargo and cash considerations from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for RHP Brusdar Graterol, OF Luke Raley and a 2020 Competitive Balance Round B Draft Pick.

          The Twins need a starter. They have Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi, but in the ALDS, they struggled when they had to send out Randy Dobnak to pitch Game 2. They added former Dodgers Homer Bailey (LA pays his salary) and Rich Hill in the offseason, but they aren\’t anything special. Maeda is a solid 3rd-4th starter who can strikeout batters. He comes with Camargo, a young catching prospect who will not be a top 30 prospect in Minnesota\’s system, per MLB Pipeline. Injuries have been an issue for Maeda, as he has only qualified for the ERA title once in four seasons. At age 31,  Maeda is still under contract for four more seasons and is owed juts $3 million per season.

          Maeda, 31, had a 4.04 ERA with 169 strikeouts and a 3.95 FIP in 153.2 innings for the Dodgers in 2019. In his MLB career, all in Los Angeles, Maeda has a 3.87 ERA with 641 strikeouts and a 3.71 FIP in 589 innings.

          Camargo, 20, had a .236 batting average with four home runs, 41 RBIs, five stolen bases and a .642 OPS in 316 Plate Appearances for Single-A Great Lakes in 2019. In his minor league career Camargo has a .250 batting average with 11 home runs, 95 RBIs, 15 stolen bases and a .671 OPS in 726 Plate Appearances.

          The Dodgers recently traded for former MVP winner Mookie Betts and former Cy Young winner David Price. They cost a lot of money, so the Dodgers need to shed salary. After acquiring Price, the Dodgers have four rotation locks in Price, Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler and Alex Wood. Add in prospects Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, plus swingman Ross Stripling and the rotation is set. They trade Maeda and get Graterol, who can throw over 100 miles an hour and will be a big bullpen piece, plus a draft pick and an extra prospect. Graterol enters the system as their 4th best prospect, and is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the 53rd best prospect in the MLB.

          Graterol, 21, debuted in 2019, striking out 10 batters in 9.2 innings, allowing five earned runs for a 4.66 ERA. In the minors for AA Pensacola and AAA Rochester, Graterol had a 1.92 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 61 innings.

           Raley, 25, had a .302 batting average with seven home runs, 21 RBIs, four stolen bases and an .878 OPS in 138 Plate Appearances for AAA Rochester in 2019. In his minor league career Raley has a .288 batting average with 46 home runs, 178 RBIs and 21 stolen bases, plus an .833 OPS in 1525 Plate Appearances.

           The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired forward Jason Zucker from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Alex Galchenyuk, defenseman Calen Addison and a protected 2020 first round pick.

            The Wild are in full sell mode. Last year, they traded from their core, dealing Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund and Charlie Coyle, and now Zucker this year. The Wild need pieces for the rebuild, but they don\’t have many pending UFAs. Mikko Koivu is a pending UFA, but he is a Wild legend and it would be hard to see them trading him. Zucker has three more years under contract after 2019-20. For a top-6 winger, the price may seem high, but the first round pick had to go, plus the Penguins needed cap space. He should be a consistent 20 goal scorer. Galchenyuk is having a terrible season, and he is a UFA at the end of the year. Addison is a good prospect, but he does not have star potential. Galchenyuk, a former third overall pick, is still only 25. However, he has not scored 20 goals since 2015-16, when he scored 30. He is not great defensively. The Penguins, despite injury issues, will finish in a great spot this year. The first round pick will likely be in the 22-31 range. Addison has scored at a point per game pace in the WHL, good for a defenseman.

             Zucker, 28, has scored 14 goals with 15 assists for 29 points in 45 games for the Wild this year. In his NHL career, all in Minnesota, Zucker has scored 132 goals with 111 assists for 243 points in 456 games.

             Galchenyuk, who will turn 26 on February 12, has scored five goals with 12 assists for 17 points in 45 games this year. In his NHL career for the Penguins, Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens, Galchenyuk has scored 132 goals with 181 assists for 313 points in 535 games.

             Addison, 19, has 10 goals with 33 assists for 43 points in 39 games for the WHL\’s Lethbridge Hurricanes this year. In his WHL career Addison has 41 goals with 134 assists for 175 points in 241 games.

  

       The Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired OF Mookie Betts, LHP David Price and cash from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for OF Alex Verdugo, SS Jeter Downs and C Connor Wong.

        Not often do we get trades in baseball where everyone will instantly agree that it will change league history. This one will. Betts was the 2018 AL MVP, and is arguably the second best player in baseball behind Mike Trout. He is definitely top-10 on everyone\’s list and he should be in the top-5 on most lists. Betts will be a free agent after the 2020 season. In his last year of arbitration, Betts received a record $27 million. He has finished top ten in MVP voting in all of the last four seasons, including the win in 2018 and a second place finish in 2016. Betts has won a Gold Glove in all four of those seasons, and won a Silver Slugger in all of those years excluding 2017. He has led the league in runs in 2018 and 2019. He led the league in batting average (.346) and slugging percentage (.640) in 2018. He also had an outstanding 10.4 fWAR that season. He followed in up with a 6.6 fWAR in 2019. While Betts had 92 more Plate Appearances in 2019 than in 2018, he still finished with four less hits. Even though Betts\’ walk rate and strikeout rate were both better in 2019 than in 2018, his batting average and on base percentage both dropped by around 50 points, and his slugging percentage dropped by over 100 points. His 40 doubles and 16 stolen bases in 2019 were career lows, not counting his 52 game 2014 season. His defense, in terms of defensive runs saved, has decreased by the season. He had 32 in 2016, 31 in 2017, 20 in 2018, and was down to 15 in 2019. Still, 15 defensive runs saved is elite. However, Betts has played worse as he has entered his prime. He struck out 101 times in 2019. It isn\’t a lot compared to most of baseball, but considering he struck out just 80 times in 2016, when he had 75 more Plate Appearances than he did in this past season, it could be slightly concerning. And with the Red Sox looking to get under the luxury tax in the worst way, trading Betts, and Price was inevitable, but that still doesn\’t mean that Betts should be traded. There were rumors over the last year and further that Betts declined extension offers. If that is true than the Red Sox figured that it was best to trade Betts, especially under a new regime, with Dan Dombrowski and Alex Cora out as GM and Manager, and no one in to replace them (Chaim Bloom is the closest thing to a General Manager, but that is not his official job title).

         Betts, 27, was a 5th round pick out of Overton High School in Nashville in 2011. In 2019, Betts had a .295 batting average with 29 home runs, 80 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, a .915 OPS and a 6.6 fWAR in 706 Plate Appearances. In his MLB career, Betts has a .301 batting average with 139 home runs, 470 RBIs, 126 stolen bases, a .893 OPS and a 37.2 fWAR in 3639 Plate Appearances.

         What Price will be in this deal is the cash. When he signed a seven year, $217 million deal with the Red Sox in December of 2015, everything related to him would be about money. When he wasn\’t elite in 2016 and was hurt in 2017, it was about cash. When the Red Sox needed to trade him due to the luxury tax, it was obviously about cash. Conveniently, going with him to L.A. is cash. Price\’s tenure in Boston would be much worse if it weren\’t for his big role in the 2018 World Series Championship team. Price was hurt again in 2019, finishing with just 22 starts and averaging under five innings a start. Price\’s 4.28 ERA was his worst since his rookie season of 2009. The silver lining to it is his 10.7 K/9, the first time ever in his 12 year career he had a K/9 over 10. That and his 15 home runs allowed (which is tied for a career low in seasons where he pitched in at least 100 innings) lead to a 3.62 FIP, which is not ace caliber but still respectable and better than his 2018 FIP. The 2012 Cy Young winner will go to Los Angeles to help win the World Series, as his expectations are very high, the same way they have been since he was the first overall draft pick in 2007.

          Price, 34, is from Tennessee, like Betts. In 2019, he had a 4.28 ERA with 128 strikeouts and a 3.62 FIP in 107.1 innings. In his MLB career for the Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays, Price has a 3.31 ERA with 1981 strikeouts and a 3.35 FIP in 2029.2 innings.

          The Dodgers don\’t need Verdugo for 2020, and after years of holding onto him, they finally found the right trade. Verdugo had a very impressive rookie season, playing in 106 games. The Dodgers have their outfield in Betts, MVP winner Cody Bellinger and AJ Pollock. A trade with the Angels that included Joc Pederson fell through, so he will also be a starter. Betts was originally a center fielder, but mainly played right field in Boston. He could play center in L.A., with Pederson and Bellinger at the corner spots and Pollock as the fourth outfielder. He would be the best 4th outfielder in baseball, with a career OPS over .800. Verdugo might be their future, but it is fine to trade him to get a cornerstone in Betts and a pitcher in Price. Downs was acquired last offseason from the Reds as a sweetener for taking on Homer Bailey\’s salary. He is a top prospect, but with Gavin Lux and Corey Seager, the Dodgers are set up the middle for the next few years. Wong is a decent prospect, but the Dodgers have a strong catching system, and he was behind players like Will Smith and Keibert Ruiz.

           Verdugo will go right into Betts\’ right field spot. He is a good hitter, but not on Betts\’ level. He is a good comparable to Andrew Benintendi, the Red Sox left fielder. Downs will now be Boston\’s 2nd best prospect per MLB Pipeline. He is ranked as the 87th best prospect in baseball. The Sox just extended Xander Bogaerts before last season, so he doesn\’t have a future at shortstop. However, the Red Sox don\’t really have a plan at second base beyond Jose Peraza\’s one year deal, and Downs, who could be in the big leagues by 2021, could be their starter there. Wong has backup catcher potential. He is versatile, as he played both second and third base in the minors last year. He will be Boston\’s 18th best prospect.

            Verdugo, 23, had a .294 batting average with 12 home runs, 44 RBIs, four stolen bases and a .817 OPS in 377 Plate Appearances for the Dodgers in 2019. In his MLB career Verdugo has a .282 batting average with 14 home runs, 49 RBIs, four stolen bases and a .784 OPS in 488 Plate Appearances.

              Downs, 21, was a first round pick (32nd overall) in 2017. In 2019 for AA Tulsa and High-A Rancho Cucamonga, Downs had a .276 batting average with 24 home runs, 86 RBIs, 24 stolen bases and an .888 OPS in 535 Plate Appearances. In his minor league career Downs has a .267 batting average with 43 home runs, 162 RBIs, 69 stolen bases and an .817 OPS in 1268 Plate Appearances.

              Wong, 23, was a third round pick in 2017. In 2019 for Tulsa and Rancho Cucamonga, Wong had a .281 batting average with 24 home runs, 82 RBIs, 11 stolen bases and an .878 OPS in 465 Plate Appearances. In his MiLB career Wong has a .275 batting average with 48 home runs, 160 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and an .852 OPS in 1004 Plate Appearances.

           The San Diego Padres have acquired RHP Emilio Pagan from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for OF Manuel Margot and C/OF Logan Driscoll.

           Pagan debuted as a 26 year old with Seattle in 2017. He was traded to Oakland for Ryon Healy in 2018, and then to Tampa Bay a year later in a three team deal netting Oakland Jurickson Profar. When he debuts for San Diego, he will have played for his 4th team in four career seasons, and his teammate will be Profar, who the Padres acquired from the A\’s earlier this offseason. Pagan\’s best season came in 2019. He rose to the closer role in Tampa Bay, earning his first career save early and finished in a tie for 21st in the league in saves by the season\’s conclusion. Pagan will see a big dip in saves however, as the MLB\’s leader in 2019 was San Diego\’s own Kirby Yates with 41. The Padres had a 4.52 bullpen ERA in 2019, finishing 19th in the majors. With a 3.66 ERA, the Rays edged out Cleveland to lead the league. Trading their closer will definitely hurt, but the Rays are very at finding diamonds in the rough and their pen should be fine. The Padres have upgraded their bullpen this offseason, signing Drew Pomeranz, bringing back Craig Stammen and trading for Pagan. They lose Margot, a speedy outfielder with a great glove but a weak bat. The Rays could platoon Margot and Kevin Kiermaier, a left handed bat with the same skills. With Kiermaier in center, Margot in right and former Padre Hunter Renfroe in left, the Rays will have a very good defensive outfield. Austin Meadows and new acquisition Randy Arozarena also will see outfield time. Meadows will likely see more right field time than Margot, but the Rays did DH Meadows often last season. For the Padres, Tommy Pham (who was acquired from the Rays for Renfroe this offseason), Wil Myers and new acquisition Trent Grisham will likely make up their outfield for most of the season. Franchy Cordero and Josh Naylor are options as well. Driscoll was San Diego\’s 2nd round pick in 2019 out of George Mason University. He will not be a top 30 prospect in the Rays system, per MLB Pipeline.

               Pagan, 28, had a 2.31 ERA with 96 strikeouts, 20 saves and a 3.30 FIP in 70 innings for the Rays in 2019. In his MLB career for the Rays, Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics, Pagan has a 3.26 ERA with 215 strikeouts, those 20 saves, and a 3.84 FIP in 182.1.

               Margot, 25, had a .234 batting average with 12 home runs, 37 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, a .691 OPS and six defensive runs saved in 441 Plate Appearances for the Padres this past season. In his MLB career, all with San Diego, Margot has a .248 batting average with 33 home runs, 130 RBIs, 50 stolen bases, a .695 OPS and 27 defensive runs saved in 1526 Plate Appearances.

               Driscoll, 22, had a .268 batting average with three home runs, 20 RBIs and a .797 OPS in 162 Plate Appearances for Low-A Tri-City. In his college career at George Mason, Driscoll had a .337 batting average with 17 home runs, 108 RBIs and 22 stolen bases and a .939 OPS in 661 Plate Appearances.