Cliff Lee to Texas Rangers

[TheCrew07]

I don't knowmuch about what the Rangers have to offer for Prince, so I'll ask what might be a dumb question:

 

Texas may now want Prince, but didn't Seattle just get two of the guys the Brewers would have wanted in trade for Prince? If so, why would they make a good trading partner now? Assuming pitching in return is a must, who else do they have to offer?

I really want Perez from Texas if we're trading Prince to them. Yes I know he hasn't been great as a 19 year old thus far in AA, but he's an impact arm. Trading Smoak just means the deal would would have to be pitching heavy and Texas has plenty of pitching.

 

I thought Daniels had learned his lesson, but apparently not. Unless they win the WS or are able to resign Lee this off season I think this deal stinks.

[nate82]

Can'tr believe they gave up Smoak. Fielder to Texas has just become viable again.

Not unless the Brewers pay all of Fielder's salary for this year it is not and it has been reported that Perez is not available.

[TJseven]

Yeah that is where the Prince to texas idea died. Perez ending up at closer. If they had waited on him a bit longer we should have paid princes salary this year to send him to texas if Perez was involved. He's just come up too soon for our wishes and made himself darn near untouchable. (even more than he might have been before)

[TheCrew07]

Yeah that is where the Prince to texas idea died. Perez ending up at closer.

Do you mean Feliz?

[nate82]

Well the Rangers still have Font and Reed but I am not all that big on Font I like Reed but not so high on Font. If the Brewers were to trade Prince to the Rangers you would have to get Perez back in return for a trade to work for the Brewers.

[naivin]

So, if Texas is trying to go to the WS, are we to believe they are going to try to do so with Chris Davis at 1B? Sure seems like there is a deal to be made here. Seems like they could use a guy like Counsell as well.

[Invader3K]

Apparently the Yankees were "livid" about the way Seattle handled the negotiations for Lee.

 

"The Yankees do not do business that way," an angered Yankees

official said of the Mariners agreeing to a deal, but backing out before

it could be finalized. "When we say something is a deal, it is a deal.

"Yes, this is frustrating and disappointing."

Gee, poor Yankees. I almost feel sorry for them. Wait, no, I really don't.

[crewcrazy]

Maybe the Yankees shouldn't have tried to trade the Mariners damaged goods in Adams.

 

Also, I believe it was Ed Price who had a good point this morning -- you didn't see the Yankees complaining when they talked David Wells out of a handshake free agent deal with Arizona in 2002.

 

I liked this quote from the Post article linked in Invader's post:

 

Other club officials also were irked about the Mariners' actions. "It's disappointing to hear that Jack shopped that around, that's not right," an executive from a team not directly involved in this trade said. "You don't do that with any team and you don't do it with the Yankees, because [GM Brian] Cashman will drop you in a heartbeat. You don't use the Yankees because they never forget."

 

Frankly, if Cashman wants to conduct bad business by refusing to negotiate with Jack Z in the future over this, let him. What happens if Jack Z wants to start fielding offers for King Felix in a few years? Cashman would be stupid to let this get in the way of future trade negotiations.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, that quote sounds like a mobster talking. Typical New Yawk sports mentality that seems particularly endemic of Steinbrenner's cronies.

[danzig6767]

The Rangers just need to hope that the Yankees don't also sign the guy who's .02 points higher on the Elias rankings...

Dude, that's not even funny. Do you realize how epic that .02 points has turned out to be? You probably, do, and are just making me relive the horror. The Brewers had Mike Trout targeted last year, and the Angels picked him 1 spot in front of us. If we would we gotten the Yankees pick, we'd have drafted Trout, who is having 1 of the greatest 1st full seasons of any HS draftee in recent history. He is hitting 362/453/528 with 43 steals in 51 attempts while playing good defense in CF.

Well that's just depressing. I'd rather have not known that haha.

Uggg, i never heard that and if true that blows big time given the struggles of Arnett.

 

Time will tell what Trout will do going forward, but i remember one day Ted Thompson i believe talked about when he worked under Ron Wolf, the Packers had Ray Lewis on the phone to tell him they were going to draft him with the next pick. They even had Lewis written on the card to turn in. Then on the TV screen they see Baltimore take Lewis. Thompson said Wolf was flustered and he ended up taking the LT Michaels from USC who was a bust. One pick away from a HOF player.

[tigerbrew]

First there was Tim Salmon, now there is Mike Trout. The Angels love their Fish outfielders, maybe the next time they may draft an outfielder named Andy Angelfish or Mark Mackerel.

[Invader3K]

First there was Tim Salmon, now there is Mike Trout. The Angels love their Fish outfielders, maybe the next time they may draft an outfielder named Andy Angelfish or Mark Mackerel.

Perhaps they could trade for Mike Carp from the Mariners organization.

[derflotr]

Brian Bass is a free agent...

[Thundercat32]

What is Daniels thinking? This seems like a major overpay.

 

Smoak is likely 2-5 wins for the next 6 seasons.

Lueke has struck out 62 and walked 10 in 38.1 between AA and A+.

Beaven is 21 and has a 68:12 K:BB in AA this season.

Lawton is 25, but he has a .800 OBP heavy OPS in AA, and is decent filler.

 

If it gets them to the World Series, it might be worth it. But that is a lot to send for 1/2 a season of Cliff Lee.

*read the quoting guidelines, but I think the entire message should be quoted to allow me to respond to each (excellent) point.

Hello Brew Crew Nation,

I have officially joined your ranks. I live in Plano, TX (a suburb of Dallas) and was a HUGE Texas Rangers fan until the Justin Smoak/Cliff Lee trade. I'm going to create my own thread, b/c there is a lot of guidance/info I'll need that I don't want to backlog in this thread. I can just say imagine how upset I would have to be to just abandon ship on the Rangers while they're in first place and headed to the playoffs over one trade.

I've followed every pitch since the 2008 season and I'm very familiar with the Rangers farm system. Justin Smoak is absolutely untouchable in my opinion. Everyone here in Dallas thinks this is some kind of major victory for the Rangers. The Rangers have been awful for so long, no one paid attention to whats been developing over the past 3 seasons. The Cliff Lee trade was a sheer panic move of the highest order! I think its fair to speculate it was ordered from Nolan Ryan/Chuck Greenberg fearing they may no longer be involved with the team after this season and they wanted to make every effort to go out on top. I can't be a fan of a team who's management is so short sighted.

Lueke and Lawson are both who cares prospects, in the sense you have no idea what they may or may not become so if you can trade for a proven commodity by all means do so. Beaven was the #7 overall pick in 2007 and has some serious chops as a minor league pitching prospect. He's definitely far from inconsequential, but I'd still be a Rangers fan if the deal only included these 3 and say Chris Davis. Beaven doesn't bother me, because you are acquiring Cliff Lee for a playoff run and there's a slim chance you're able to resign him. Plus if you don't you'll receive a high first round supplemental pick for Lee and be able to acquire a talent comparable to Beaven. The same can't be said for Justin Smoak.

Justin Smoak shouldn't even be at the major league level yet. He should still be tearing up AAA for the Oklahoma City Redhawks. People in Dallas have been ignorant enough to say good we didn't need his .209 BA clogging up the lineup anyways. Good riddance to Baseball America's #13 overall rated prospect? I think the general populous in the DFW area (Dallas/Fort Worth) are so thirsty for a playoff appearance they don't care what they gave up. A few quick facts on Smoak, he's 2nd amongst all rookies in Walks with 38 (and didn't arrive in Arlington until April 23rd). He's tied for 57th in the Major Leagues in P/PA (Pitches seen per Plate Appearance) at 3.96. While he's batting .209 his BaBip (Batting Average on Balls put In Play) is .237 while the league average is .298. So he's had a boatload of hard luck hitting line drives right at somebody, or flyballs to the alleys that don't drop in, seeing eye singles that don't see so well, you get my point.

Lastly, its this cut & dry. A guy like Smoak you have to make a player evaluation on right now, b/c the trade is happening right now. Either you think he's just another prospect or you believe he's a bonafide superstar in the making and you cloak him with the untouchable label. I'm willing to say it right now and stand by it. Justin Smoak is the next Mark Teixeira. How you could even dream of trading him for half a season of Cliff Lee is beyond me. Especially considering this is the same GM that traded Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young for Adam Eaton and some Japanese guy who I can't even remember his name right now. And he made this trade for a team with a sum total of 1 playoff victory in team history. What in the wide, wide world of sports makes you think this team is ready for a World Series push? I mean you can make an argument for it. Will you ever have Vlad hitting like this again? As brittle as Josh Hamilton is don't you have to take advantage of the year he's having now? I've heard all of those arguments. Here's my retort, so in game 7 of the ALCS you're going to send Neftali Feliz in his first full season in the majors to go out and shut down Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, and Mark Teixeira? Elvis Andrus is ready this year to lead off for you vs the top 3 arms from every playoff team under pressure he's never experienced before? And lastly a team with one of the worst road records of any playoff contender is going to go into a series vs the Yankees, Red Sox, Twins or Tigers where they likely won't have home field advantage and come out on top?

Its like the drug czar in Bad Boys said "I can't work with that kind of stupidity". So Brewer Nation please welcome me with open arms. I am a native son having been born in Hartford, WI. Also, the Brew Crew has always been my favorite National League team (that is after the realignment of course).