Trade Review - Anal and Ring of Fire

Anal Hershiser receives:

Alex Avila, Ryan Vogelsong

Ring of Fire receives:

Jay Bruce

I like this move for Dagan, definitely. Bruce is still young and has tremendous power potential, as he’s shown in bursts thus far this year. While most expected this to be his breakout season and his bottom line reveals a breakoutworthy acknowledgement (61/22/67/7/.346), a lot of that production came during a short period of time he’s been way to up and down to really be considered broken through. Next year though, watch out. He’s still just 24 and has true five-category potential if you can be patient. Dagan has shown throughout his H&T career he can be very patient. Nice move capitalizing on the value of a couple of shrewd waiver wire pickups.

For Andy, I can see the thought process, but I just think he could’ve gotten more for someone I consider a potential high-end keeper for many years to come. Really, with all the teams looking to build up for the future, it would’ve been a great time to post a message stating you were interested in dealing Bruce and needed a catcher and a starter. My guess is Dagan, who was sitting with Mauer already, probably would’ve come knocking with something a little more powerful or reliable. Don’t get me wrong, Avila and Vogelsong have been great and have excellent overall numbers, but their lack of track record and/or pedigree make it difficult to project their continued production going forward, which is when you’ll need them most. Actually, it’s the only time you’ll need them, as they’ll both be in the draft pool and (in all likelihood) will be on a different team next year. While Bruce may be on his way to a 100/40/100/15/.360 line.

So, needless to say, Dagan definitely wins here in my mind, though Andy filled a gaping catcher hole with a very capable backstop.