Trade Review: Angry and One Nut

One Nut receives:
Round 12

Angry Pirates receives:
3B Will Middlebrooks BOS
Round 20

This trade really hinges upon the keeper-ability of Middlebrooks. Frankly, his production and prospect status point more toward a guy who is in the top 8-12 at his position for the forseeable future with a line that maxes out around 85/25/90/5/.330 – something short of a sure fire keeper, though not out of the question. The issue I see is that I think Kyle already has six better keepers in Stanton, Trumbo, Castro, Lawrie, Freeman, and JMontero. The first five are pretty sure fire and there could be debate as to Montero’s keeperability. I just think his pedigree far surpasses that of Middlebrooks. Even their production isn’t that far off this (understanding Montero’s line includes 100 more abs). Montero is 22 and at a premium position where four-category producers are very rare. He should maintain his C eligibility for at least a few more years and could be a monster. I just think Kyle would’ve been better off keeping what was a pretty nice upgrade for Jason.

For Jason, it mitigates somewhat the Lester move in that he essentially trades Middlebrooks and an injured ARod for Lester. He’s still stuck with the disastrous missteps when they occur, but if Lester turns it around somehow, the payoff could be considerable… literally.