Trade Review: Angry and Clayton

Angry receives:
C Jesus Montero SEA
11th rounder

Clayton receives:
C Miguel Montero ARI
12th rounder

Loves this move for both teams really. Not sure why the pick was included since it means rather little, but regardless this works for both considering the current respective focus of each team. Jesus just hasn’t cut the mustard this season. I can’t blame Russ, given the number of high picks, for choosing him where he did considering the immense potential, but he’s just not going to add much value to the team this year other than 20 homers or so. Miguel, though, is very steady and hits in the heart of a good Arizona lineup. He adds value to four of five categories, but his .371 obp is particularly nice to have and is nearly 100 points higher than the Jesus’. Looking at the production over the last 30 days shows the real difference, at least for this year, as Miguel is 12/6/21/.394 and Jesus is 4/1/1/.264. Russ didn’t grab lightning in a bottle in Jesus, but he didn’t dwell on it for too long either. Not a game changer, but a good solid move that improves the offense.

That said, Miguel isn’t a keeper but Jesus most certainly can be and may be part of strong, very young core of Angry Pirates with Gincarlo, Starlin, Jesus, Lawrie, Freeman and Trumbo (an ancient 26 yo compared to the rest). Seattle may also move in their fences a bit, which could make a world of difference for Jesus. They just drafted a catcher with the third overall pick, so you have to wonder how long he stays at catcher, but he’ll at least be eligible in 2013 and likely the year after. If his bat develops as expected, it won’t matter what position he’ll be at.