Part two of Jeremy’s rebuilding effort.

As promised/threatened, here are the trades I made in my rebuilding effort this year:

Trade 1 – Garret Anderson, Joey Gathright and Luis Vizcaino for Jason Kubel, Daniel Cabrera and Trot Nixon. I saw this as fairly simple – Anderson is getting older and Nixon fills the same role for a rebuilding team – at bats and value elsewhere. Kubel had a better upside than Gathright in my opinion – although Joey had a better season that I anticipated. Lastly, getting a guy like Cabrera was part of my main strategy – young, live arms. As it turned out, Cabrera was wilder than Paris Hilton at a drunken Vegas bachelor party. However, the plan was simply to load up on your pitchers and hope that a staff forms for the long term. In the AL, bats are easy to come by, pitchers are not.

Trade 2 – Francisco Rodriguez and Jason Kubel for Francisco Liriano, Fausto Carmona, Ryan Feierabend, a 2nd and 3rd rd pick. I made it clear that I wanted a 1st rd pick and a young pitcher at the very least for K-Rod. I was fine if I kept him. It is one thing to be firm on demands, and another to be reasonable. There was no 1st rd pick, but the 2nd rd pick was early and the talent coming back was worth it. Of course, I did it to maintain my team quota of Franciscos. No seriously, I felt it was totally worth the gamble on Liriano considering his talent. As it turns out, the second guy has turned out to be just about worth K-Rod on his own. The picks were likely squandered on Trevor Crowe (still can develop though) and Jeff Cirillo (oops – but I had a gaping IF hole to fill)

Trade 3 – Mariano Rivera for a 1st rd and 7th rd pick, a future 2nd rd pick and Thomas Diamond. I had a few similar offers, but I took this one because of the inclusion of the future pick and the solid prospect. Of course, Diamond got hurt, but that is always the risk with young pitchers. Mariano was worth trading because I would not need an old closer anytime soon – but it hurt because he is one of my favorite players. When rebuilding, don’t have a heart. The 1st rd pick would be traded later on (twice actually) as you will see below, the seventh rd pick was wasted on JJ Johnson (Reggie Willits still on the board and taken five picks later – nobody’s perfect!).

Trade 4 – Casey Kotchman for a 2nd and 3rd rd pick, and a future 2nd and two 3rd rd picks. This one was strange. I had no desire to move Kotchman, but received an offer from two different teams. Without really trying to do so, I would up having the two clubs enter into a bidding war. I didn’t mean for that to happen, but out of trying to be fair to one club by telling them that someone bettered their offer, it led to increased offers from both sides. As it turns out, I moved the player for five early picks spread over three years. The first two picks – Kurt Suzuki and Garrett Olson. So far so good. Lesson here – don’t look a gift Kotchman in the mouth.

Trade 5 – Octavio Dotel for a 2nd rd pick and Chris Britton. I felt of all the vets on my roster, I had to move Dotel. I thought his value would never be greater and that turned out to be correct. The other team did manage to get some saves out of Dotel and helped them finish in the top 3 this year (Same team that took K-Rod), but I think I did well. I would use the pick on Eric Hurley. Britton would wind up getting cut. Probably better than holding onto Dotel and getting Kyle Davies later on.

Trade 6 – Melvin Mora and a comp pick for a 1st rd pick and Darin Erstad. I have always felt that Mora was going to crash down to earth rather soon and felt that after Dotel, this was the next vet that had to go. Erstad was going to get hurt – we all knew that. Nothing was more inevitable than this – except maybe for Tommy Thompson backing out of the GOP Presidential race. However, he gave some at bats and the pick was worth Mora. This was the Kennedy pick getting traded – he took Brandon Moss. I took Adam Miller with the first round.

Trade 7 – Luis Castillo, Trot Nixon, Esteban German, and a comp pick for Bobby Kielty, a 1st rd pick, and two future 2nd rd picks and a future 4th rd pick. The way I saw this one – Castillo was a pending FA and clearly worth the 1st rd pick, and the Twins were likely not retaining him. Nixon and German were part-time players and I thought I could upgrade my future by moving them, and that they were replaceable during the season. As it turns out, I added OF such as Marlon Byrd and Jack Cust during the year which certainly helped out. I would trade the 1st rd pick right away in the next deal.

Trade 8 – Two 1st rd picks for another 1st pick. It was the #8 and #12 picks in the draft for the #3 pick in the draft. I really wanted Phil Hughes. Very much. I felt it was worth it to trade the picks to move up into the top 3 to get him. It was a clear hierarchy in the draft – Hughes, Alex Gordon and Dice-K and then a bit of a drop off. The guy at the top of the draft told me he was taking Dice-K and #2 told me that Gordon was his man. So I was ready to go. We were at our draft and the guy with the top pick was on speaker phone. He told me that he was now taking Hughes and asked for my #3 pick and at least one of my late 1st or 2nd rd picks. I asked for a moment to think about it and told the room that he was screwing me last minute. Of course, I forgot to take the phone OFF OF SPEAKER. But that is besides the point. I had to decide if Hughes was worth Dice-K and Adam Miller. As much as I love Hughes, I didn’t think it was worth it. So I passed on the player I coveted. Another lesson – don’t overvalue. I think Hughes will be a stud, but it was still just an opinion. Miller could be as well, and Dice-K turned out to be a very solid pitcher in his first year in MLB.

Trade 9 – A future 4th and 6th rd pick, Mitch Maier and Brian Bannister for Reggie Sanders and Kenny Lofton. This one I regret (along with the next one). I did this solely for at-bats. However, I did NOT anticipate Bannister being as good as he was this year. This was a big error.

After this trade I picked up Tony Pena Jr. as a FA and cut several players before Opening Day (JJ Johnson, Victor Diaz, Yorman Bazardo, Alberto Gonzalez, Kirk Birkins, Neifi Perez, Marco Scutaro and Chris Britton.

Trade 10 – Kenny Lofton for Jason Tyner and a future 3rd and 7th pick. I undersold Lofton here – but I did not think he had much left. I should have held onto him or asked for more.

As it turns out, this team actually did well during the first two months of the season and I was in the running. I didn’t receive a deal I liked for Thome so I kept him. But the team had no closer (until a later pickup of Alan Embree) and it was paper thin. Ryan Shealy’s bad season hurt and the young pitching struggled later on. I was able to add during the season Cust, Byrd, Embree, re-claimed Diaz, Brian Burres, Richar and Maybin. I would deal off Ohlendorf, Edinson Volquez and a future 1st for Ray and a future 4th in a disastrous deal as Ray went down with a serious injury within hours of the deal. I kid you not. However, for the most part I am happy with my club for next year –which includes:
Vernon Wells, Cust, Byrd, Jose Guillen, Shoppach, Suzuki, Victor Martinez, Kinsler, Jhonny Peralta, Pena, Richar, Thome, Shealy on offense

Dice-K, Carmona, Liriano, Meche, Cabrera, Scott Baker, Weaver, Padilla, Ray, Burres, Olson, Adam Loewen on the staff

Along with such prospects as Adam Miller, Feierabend, George Kottaras, Maybin, Brent Clevlen, Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Crowe, Hurley and Diamond.

Only time will tell at this point!