Grumpy Munchkins receive:
Desmond Jennings, 3rd round pick, 10th round pick
Keepin it Real receive:
Jayson Werth, 13th round pick, 15th round pick
There’s a few different things going on in this trade, but the primary focus should really be the acquisition of a third rounder next year for Werth. Jennings may have some value come playoff time, but I don’t believe he’s the type of prospect that deserved being rostered for this long, nor should any competitive team continue to keep him as a bench player. The 10th and 13th rounds are not very different and the 15th is basically the beginning of the “take a shot” territory in the draft (in fact, there is only one player from the 15th round 2011 draft who is on the same team they were drafted by-- Billy Chapel’s Ryan Madson). For Peirce, it’s not a bad move to take a shot on a guy like Werth, who has woefully underperformed in his new surroundings. Keepin it Real has plummeted in the standings after being in first not long ago, thanks to four straight losses to tough opponents (Donkey, Montezuma, Prestige, Ring), which has more or less corresponded with his trade of MCabrera. This team still has the talent to take it all this year, but Pierce is in need of offense and Werth has shown an ability to provide that in the past and the trade didn’t impact the 2011 team. I still think he could stand to dilute his pitching staff in exchange for an offensive boost (a Pineda trade to a non-contender would make a lot of sense), but I applaud him for not giving up. Unfortunately, one of Werth’s assets is his base-stealing ability and that’s really not a need for Pierce, meanwhile there are four guys on the waiver wire who have more homers than Werth—three of whom have a better OBP than Werth’s abysmal .319 and three have more RBIs than Werth’s paultry output of 31. Tough to feel sorry for Pierce though, as Jennings could’ve been moved for a litany of quality offensive performers on the waiver wire throughout the year. The lack of timely moves with guys like Jennings, Garland, and Lyon may ultimately cause this team’s demise.
For Brandon, I think he recovered nicely from the last trade, though I should note (and agree with Dagan), this does not entirely make up for the losses that I believe were sustained. The 3rd round of 2011 was filled with quality performers – Feliz, Soria, Buchholz, Napoli, Romero, Nolasco, Markakis, Dempster, Morrow, and Timmy and Danny Hudson – with a few minor duds in Soto and Pagan (no, Jason, he was not a keeper). The round provided many teams with that second tier of starting pitchers that is of the utmost importance in this league. Casten is loaded with top picks and he will no doubt be yanking his crank after the draft in 2012 because the team will look, in his mind anyway, better than anyone else’s. There’s something to be said for that. Meanwhile, there were concerns with Werth going into the season, namely because he never performed until he was in that small park in Philly with a lineup that ensured he was going to see pitches to hit. Washington is a big park and Werth has never had the power that Dunn/Morse/RZimmerman types have displayed during their time in the Capital; meanwhile, that lineup is pretty awful. I really don’t think Werth turns it around, certainly not to the point where he is worth drafting in the 3rd round next year. And it doesn’t really hurt the Munchkins, as Casten has other, more useful outfielders on his roster. I still don’t know if he’s going for it or building for next year, but all in all, it was a good move.
In summary, the trade makes sense for both teams, which is the best kind of trade. Pierce took a shot at someone who has performed well in the past with the hope of an offensive turnaround and Casten continues to stockpile early draft picks.
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