Cardinals Acquire Justin Masterson, James Ramsey to Indians

[jjgott]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/07/cardinals-to-acquire-justin-masterson.html

[Raw Biz]

Meh move for me. Was hoping they would have to give up Taveras and/or Miller.

[Warning Track Power]

Would've liked to have seen him in Milwaukee at the beginning of the season but not at this point in time.

[Dead Simmons]

I heard that Masterson was not good anymore. They must know something the fans don't. (or not)

[wildcat83]

How good is Ramsey?

[jerichoholicninja]

You have to wonder if Masterson was acquired to replace Miller with him being traded for Lester or Price.

[MadScientist]

How good is Ramsey?

One report had him ranked #6 on the Cardinals prospect list. This was their quote on him:

Ramsey does not really have one “plus” tool, but does a lot of things well.

 

If Masterson returns to last year's form then I don't like this trade. If he continues to start and average 5 innings and have a 1.65 WHIP, then this trade sounds pretty good.

[chadomac]

His FIP says he's better than that ERA... but this move isn't going to make a difference. Their offense is not good and their injuries are going to be too much to overcome.

[JohnBriggs12]

Wow. Ramsey was a number one pick and he's putting up good numbers at AA, albeit at age 24. Masterson has been, well, bad this year and he's a FA after this year.

 

Case of Cardinals thinking their uniform is special and they can magically turn Masterson back into the guy he was last year I suppose and if he does, then they might be able to get him to take a QO this winter. Seems a bit desperate to me. Masterson's been worse than Estrada this year. His walk rate is very high.

[Raw Biz]

Wow. Ramsey was a number one pick and he's putting up good numbers at AA, albeit at age 24. Masterson has been, well, bad this year and he's a FA after this year.

 

Case of Cardinals thinking their uniform is special and they can magically turn Masterson back into the guy he was last year I suppose and if he does, then they might be able to get him to take a QO this winter. Seems a bit desperate to me. Masterson's been worse than Estrada this year. His walk rate is very high.

 

As much as I think this trade is "meh" for this year, if the Cards could get him to come back next year, I think he could very easily turn into the guy he was last year or at least very similar. There is at least some merit in what they are able to get out of certain players. Whether that's good coaching, magic juice, or something else, it has happened time and time again. Also, Masterson has been dealing with a knee injury all year, which could explain some of his problems.

[JohnBriggs12]

If a guy with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP who's a FA after this year can return a prospect like Ramsey, what would a guy with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.275 WHIP and controllable for one more year be worth in a deal?

 

Doug, get on the phone and start selling Estrada!

[StearnsFTW]

No one on their board was sad to lose Ramsey. They refer to him as Skip Schumacher 2.0.

 

fwiw.

[JohnBriggs12]

No one on their board was sad to lose Ramsey. They refer to him as Skip Schumacher 2.0.

 

fwiw.

 

Cardinal fans put rosy spin on everything Cards do. They loved Schumacher when he was there too.

[Invader3K]

Seems like they just need a warm body for their rotation right now. I don't think they're going to turn him back into the pitcher he once was, but being it's the Cardinals, he'll probably pitch like an ace the rest of the season.

[StearnsFTW]

No one on their board was sad to lose Ramsey. They refer to him as Skip Schumacher 2.0.

 

fwiw.

 

Cardinal fans put rosy spin on everything Cards do. They loved Schumacher when he was there too.

 

Everything I've read indicates that that's about right. If he is in fact like Schumacher, that's no loss.

[chickinbrickin]

If a guy with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP who's a FA after this year can return a prospect like Ramsey, what would a guy with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.275 WHIP and controllable for one more year be worth in a deal?

 

Doug, get on the phone and start selling Estrada!

 

Estrada is a bum. Masterson might be playing poorly this year but has great stuff. He is just very inconsistent. I do think Doug needs to try to move Estrada, but they won't get much in return IMO.

[Fear The Chorizo]

If Wacha or Garcia don't get injured, this sort of trade never happens.

 

I don't really see it as a move that would suddenly vault the Cardinals over the Brewers. still time for a trade like that to potentially happen, but still time for the Brewers to also make a move or two that would benefit their team, also.

[StearnsFTW]

No one on their board was sad to lose Ramsey. They refer to him as Skip Schumacher 2.0.

 

fwiw.

 

Cardinal fans put rosy spin on everything Cards do. They loved Schumacher when he was there too.

 

Everything I've read indicates that that's about right. If he is in fact like Schumacher, that's no loss.

[molitor fan]

Ramsey and Schumacher have as much in common as Kate Upton and Rosie O'Donnell.....Ramsey was having the 2nd best season in Texas League behind only Joey Gallo and had a .916 OPS in a pitching dominated league....Ramsey is a better prospect than Tyrone Taylor

[StearnsFTW]

Ramsey and Schumacher have as much in common as Kate Upton and Rosie O'Donnell.....Ramsey was having the 2nd best season in Texas League behind only Joey Gallo and had a .916 OPS in a pitching dominated league....Ramsey is a better prospect than Tyrone Taylor

 

Hes not particularly good at any one thing i think is where the comparison come from. He's not a great prospect from what I can see. Having a good year for sure, but I don't see him as a big time prospect.

[Eye Black]

Ramsey is a better prospect than Tyrone Taylor

I'm not so sure about that. They have very different skill sets. Taylor appears to have more physical tools/talent and a higher ceiling. Ramsey has a higher floor no doubt, but he is also more than 4 years older than Taylor. Ramsey is 24 years old repeating AA. Taylor is 20 playing in A+ at a fairly high level. I would take a Taylor-type prospect over Ramsey every time.

[pacopete4]

I feel like Masterson will either flip the switch and figure out his issues or this trade will become something we forget ever happened. I put my money on the latter but who knows? Maybe it's just wishful thinking...

[AdvantageSchneider]

Masterson is going from pitching in front of the worst defense in baseball to pitching in front of arguably the best. So he doesn’t even have to improve to generate improved results, because fewer balls are going to get through or find grass with St. Louis.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-cardinals-will-be-good-for-justin-masterson/

[TURBO]

Masterson has been pretty awful this season, but since he is going to the Cardinals, he will turn things around and pitch like a Cy Young for the remainder of the season.

 

It is practically a given.

 

UGH!

[danzig6767]

One thing about Masterson is he has some pretty dramatic splits between righthanded/lefthanded batters. Over his career, these are the splits

 

RHB-- .217 .303 .293 .596

 

LHB-- .288 .366 .427 .793

 

Given the Brewers all righthanded lineup, he might have a chance to give us trouble if pitching well on that day.