Post by dougiejays on Nov 10, 2019 15:07:30 GMT -5
The calendar has flipped to 1989, and on Wednesday Chicago and Toronto kicked off the MLB offseason with a six-player deal. Aside from a few paper transactions involving little more than money swapping hands, the deal will go down as the first official trade of the 1989 league year. In the deal, Toronto will receive reliever Jeff Russell, shortstop Spike Owen as well as $2M in cash in exchange for first basemen Joe Redfield, center fielder Warren Cromartie, catching prospect Javy Lopez, and Toronto’s first round pick in 1989.
The swap amounts to a challenge trade of sorts. The 28-year-old Redfield and the 27-year-old Russell are both highly-touted players who haven’t necessarily lived up to expectations. Through two seasons in the majors, Redfield sports a .271/.332/.334 line for a .666 OPS, an underwhelming mark for a bat-first player. Likewise, through five seasons and 441 innings spent mostly as a reliever, Russell has a 4.55 career ERA.
Toronto GM Doug Davis believes that Russell has more to offer.
“It’s not every day that a player of his age and talent level becomes available,” Davis said. “When I look at Russell, I see a lot of comparisons to Dave Stewart. We might even try him out as a starter this season. I think it’s only a matter of time before he comes into his own – look what happened with Randy Myers.”
(After four years of subpar performance, Myers posted a 2.19 ERA in 91 innings in 1988.)
Trading up from Redfield to Russell wasn’t cheap. The Blue Jays are including both their 1988 and 1989 first round draft picks in the deal – the 18-year-old Lopez was drafted 13th overall and posted an .850 OPS in A-ball in ’88, while Toronto’s 1989 pick is projected to fall in the 15-20 range. The addition of Cromartie appears to be nothing more than a salary consideration – though signed for 2 more years at almost $1M/yr, he had fallen down the depth chart and didn’t have an obvious place on the 1989 roster.
But acquiring Owen, a 27-year-old shortstop with a career .345 OBP, should boost Toronto's offence and permit defensive specialist Randy Ready to transition into more of a utility role.
“Maybe Spike doesn’t blow you away, but he’s young and you look at his skillset and I think it’s very comparable to what we might project out of Lopez three or four years down the road.” Davis continued. “Just a really steady contributor at a key position.”
Russell had recently signed a contract extension which will keep him under team control until 1993 at just under $3M/yr, while Owen and Redfield are both in arbitration. The included cash from Chicago will largely balance out any financial impact of the deal on the 1989 salary sheet.
The swap amounts to a challenge trade of sorts. The 28-year-old Redfield and the 27-year-old Russell are both highly-touted players who haven’t necessarily lived up to expectations. Through two seasons in the majors, Redfield sports a .271/.332/.334 line for a .666 OPS, an underwhelming mark for a bat-first player. Likewise, through five seasons and 441 innings spent mostly as a reliever, Russell has a 4.55 career ERA.
Toronto GM Doug Davis believes that Russell has more to offer.
“It’s not every day that a player of his age and talent level becomes available,” Davis said. “When I look at Russell, I see a lot of comparisons to Dave Stewart. We might even try him out as a starter this season. I think it’s only a matter of time before he comes into his own – look what happened with Randy Myers.”
(After four years of subpar performance, Myers posted a 2.19 ERA in 91 innings in 1988.)
Trading up from Redfield to Russell wasn’t cheap. The Blue Jays are including both their 1988 and 1989 first round draft picks in the deal – the 18-year-old Lopez was drafted 13th overall and posted an .850 OPS in A-ball in ’88, while Toronto’s 1989 pick is projected to fall in the 15-20 range. The addition of Cromartie appears to be nothing more than a salary consideration – though signed for 2 more years at almost $1M/yr, he had fallen down the depth chart and didn’t have an obvious place on the 1989 roster.
But acquiring Owen, a 27-year-old shortstop with a career .345 OBP, should boost Toronto's offence and permit defensive specialist Randy Ready to transition into more of a utility role.
“Maybe Spike doesn’t blow you away, but he’s young and you look at his skillset and I think it’s very comparable to what we might project out of Lopez three or four years down the road.” Davis continued. “Just a really steady contributor at a key position.”
Russell had recently signed a contract extension which will keep him under team control until 1993 at just under $3M/yr, while Owen and Redfield are both in arbitration. The included cash from Chicago will largely balance out any financial impact of the deal on the 1989 salary sheet.
