July 24, 2009, at 2:40 pm
In the most recent trade deadline deal, The Oakland Athletics traded LF Matt Holliday to the Cardinals for 3 minor leaguers: 3B Brett Wallace, OF Shane Peterson, and RHP Clayton Mortenson.
This is a bit odd because I was sure that A’s GM Billy Beane was going to hang on to Holliday. He had reportedly coveted the two draft picks that he was going to get for letting his left fielder become a free agent at the end of the season. However, he was bowled over by a package from Tony LaRussa and his young player-hating self.
A ton of people a have given Holliday crap this season because he hasn’t hit as well as he did in Coors Field. Therefore, everyone became an expert an said that he was a creation of Coors and wrote him off as an average player. However, what they failed to notice is that after his absolutely brutal start, he’s been a solid power hitter (. The only stat of his that has really declined is his slugging percentage, and I have a hunch that it will jump back up now that he’s no longer playing in a cavernous park like Oakland anymore.
The key to the whole deal is Wallace. While being an absolutely atrocious defender at 3rd base, He is a beast as a hitter. Fangraphs posted an article where he is compared to “Kevin Youkilis before he found his power stroke.” That means about 20 home runs each year with a huge on base. Not to mention that fact that Pablo Sandoval has given hope to fat guys everywhere who want to play third base.
In addition to that, They gave up their 12th best prospect according to ScoutingBook.com in pitcher Clayton Mortensen. Mortensen is a ground ball specialist, with high groundball rates. Shane Peterson was also involved in the trade, but is less of important piece.
At the end of the day, I really love this trade for the A’s, but the Cards get to roll out a 3-4 of Pujols and Holliday this year.
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Not to be a cynical grouch, but Holliday IS a Coors Field creation until he proves he isn’t. Unless, of course, it’s a total coincidence that his career OPS is 300 points higher at home than it is on the road. Not to mention the fact that two-thirds of his career home runs have been hit at home. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still an above-average player, but as of right now, Coors Field has made him a superstar. If he can do it with Pujols and the Cardinals, then we’ll talk.
Reply to BryanBryan,
Check out his numbers since the end of April. .292/.394/.473, and climbing. Assuming that those big gaps in Oakland took some of those doubles and triples away, He’ll be just fine in St. Louis.
Reply to Anthony De Franco