The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to terms with first baseman Adam LaRoche. Ho hum. Until you realize that this move did two things: Conor Jackson will move to left field, and the Diamondbacks released left fielder Eric Byrnes.
LaRoche is an offensive upgrade over Jackson. The last four seasons, LaRoche has put up a 122, 122, 109 and 130 OPS+ with an on base percentage of .355, .341, .345 and .354. LaRoche is 30 years old and his peak years are behind him, but he is by no means an old man. It would not be far fetched to say that he will contribute 20 home runs and a .350 OBP. If the Diamondbacks can find a decent platoon partner to hit the left handed pitchers, they might have a real force at first base. Check out LaRoche's numbers versus right handed pitchers.
Jackson gets on base more than LaRoche, but he has less pop. He will move to left field in place of Byrnes and whoever else they trotted out there last year. Jackson was injured last year, but the three seasons prior, he sported a 109, 109 and 103 OPS+ and got on base at a .376, .368 and .368 clip. He figures to only improve on those numbers as he enters his prime years. Since Byrnes signed that big three year contract after the very nice 2007 season, he did not have an OBP higher than .272 or an OPS+ of 67. Incredible. He was also injured, which was unfortunately his best offensive contribution.
Jackson turns 28 this year, and easily the Diamondbacks have a very nice, young outfield. In addition to Jackson, the disappointing but entering his peak Chris Young will play center field and the breakout MVP candidate Justin Upton will play right field. If Young is going to have a future in this game, this will be the year he shows his talent. He will start the year at 26. So far, he has proven that he can take a walk, but he can't make much contact with the ball. When he was a rookie and made contact with the ball, he was hitting moonshots. His home runs have dropped from 32 to 22 to 15 in each of the last three years. Upton was an emerging super duper star with slash stats of .300/.366/.532. Those numbers are great, but he hasn't even tapped into his awesomeness. He will only be 22 years old to start the season, and you can only expect those numbers to go up each year.
And if this is true, the LaRoche signing has added a whole new level of awesomeness. So the Diamondbacks get rid of Byrnes AND he goes to the division rival San Francisco Giants? Sure, at this point, the interest is one-sided, but you know if GM Brian Sabean picks up the paper and sees that column, he will begin to draft a two year contract with a player option third year.
Showing posts with label Adam LaRoche. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adam LaRoche. Show all posts
Monday, January 18, 2010
Friday, June 5, 2009
Pirate players sound off on McLouth trade
I don't have any analysis for the Nate McLouth trade to the Atlanta Braves because I don't know much about the players the Pittsburgh Pirates got in return, but I am intrigued by the Pirate players reaction to the trade.
From second baseman Freddy Sanchez:
"Wow," second baseman Freddy Sanchez said Thursday of the trade, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I think the biggest thing was the shock factor. It's obviously a tough pill to swallow. Our No. 3 hitter just got taken away, the guy who leads our team in home runs and RBIs, and we were 6½ games out. We could still have been right there. I think we still can. But we're all just kind of wondering right now ... wondering what it is."
From first baseman Adam LaRoche:
"There ain't a guy in here who ain't [ticked] off about it," said first baseman Adam LaRoche, according to the report. "It's kind of like being with your platoon in a battle, and guys keep dropping around you. You keep hanging on, hanging on, and you've got to figure: How much longer till you sink?
"It's fine. Heck with it. We're not the GM. We don't run the team. If they feel like it's the best move for three or four years from now, great," LaRoche said, according to the report. "Unfortunately, that does me no good. I've still got to be in here telling guys it's going to be fine with Nate gone. Well, you can only do that for so long until guys just kind of ... well, they know."
I hate to break it to Sanchez and LaRoche, but they will be traded. They have to be, right? Sanchez is having a very hot streak where his OPS+ is 125 and his rate stats this year are .321/.359/.488. Since he doesn't draw many walks and his batting average is well above his average the last two years, you have to expect those to go down and match his career line of .302/.338/.423. He is 31 years old and would make a nice piece to a contending team. LaRoche has a 114 OPS+ with rate states of .245/.341/.467. He is 29 years old and would also make for a nice piece for a contending team needing an extra bat. So sure it must hurt to lose their friend and teammate, but they can't be surprised. Now if they expect to be Pirates for the next three years, they are just oblivious. I wouldn't be shocked if a team like the New York Mets doesn't give up some prospects to acquire these two because they need a first baseman to replace the injured Carlos Delgado and a second baseman to replace umm whoever.
Also, not to be overly critical but with LaRoche saying, "there ain't a guy in here who ain't [ticked] off about it," is he replying that everyone is happy? Double negatives always get you.
From second baseman Freddy Sanchez:
"Wow," second baseman Freddy Sanchez said Thursday of the trade, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I think the biggest thing was the shock factor. It's obviously a tough pill to swallow. Our No. 3 hitter just got taken away, the guy who leads our team in home runs and RBIs, and we were 6½ games out. We could still have been right there. I think we still can. But we're all just kind of wondering right now ... wondering what it is."
From first baseman Adam LaRoche:
"There ain't a guy in here who ain't [ticked] off about it," said first baseman Adam LaRoche, according to the report. "It's kind of like being with your platoon in a battle, and guys keep dropping around you. You keep hanging on, hanging on, and you've got to figure: How much longer till you sink?
"It's fine. Heck with it. We're not the GM. We don't run the team. If they feel like it's the best move for three or four years from now, great," LaRoche said, according to the report. "Unfortunately, that does me no good. I've still got to be in here telling guys it's going to be fine with Nate gone. Well, you can only do that for so long until guys just kind of ... well, they know."
I hate to break it to Sanchez and LaRoche, but they will be traded. They have to be, right? Sanchez is having a very hot streak where his OPS+ is 125 and his rate stats this year are .321/.359/.488. Since he doesn't draw many walks and his batting average is well above his average the last two years, you have to expect those to go down and match his career line of .302/.338/.423. He is 31 years old and would make a nice piece to a contending team. LaRoche has a 114 OPS+ with rate states of .245/.341/.467. He is 29 years old and would also make for a nice piece for a contending team needing an extra bat. So sure it must hurt to lose their friend and teammate, but they can't be surprised. Now if they expect to be Pirates for the next three years, they are just oblivious. I wouldn't be shocked if a team like the New York Mets doesn't give up some prospects to acquire these two because they need a first baseman to replace the injured Carlos Delgado and a second baseman to replace umm whoever.
Also, not to be overly critical but with LaRoche saying, "there ain't a guy in here who ain't [ticked] off about it," is he replying that everyone is happy? Double negatives always get you.
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