Trade Review - Angry and One Nut

Angry Pirates receives:

SP Derek Holland TEX

RP Edward Mujica STL

RP Glen Perkins MIN

RP Bobby Parnell NYM

One Nut receives:

1B/OF Adrian Gonzalez LAD

SP John Lackey BOS

SP Miguel Gonzalez BAL

I don’t like this one for Kyle for no other reason than he should’ve gotten more than a mediocre bullpen and a starter having a very good year but without a dominant history. I’ve always liked Holland and his control has improved over the years, with a BB/9 dropping from 3.1 in 2011, to 2.7, to 2.3 so far this year. His main problem has been the gopher ball and that was a big problem last year, jumping from 22 in 2011 to 32. He’s only let four out of the park so far, but he’s also started 6 of the 10 games on the road and three of those four homers were at home. His 3.28 xFIP is pretty good, but we can’t expect him to maintain a sub-3.00 era all season, especially with how the ball jumps in Arlington in the summer. He’s good but he’s not this good. Meanwhile, Perkins and Parnell are on crappy clubs that don’t win much and Mujica only recently inherited the role. They’ve all pitched quite well and finally give Kyle some semblance of a bullpen, but at what cost?

AGon is not who he once was, sure. His power numbers are down, but his RBIs are there and his OBP is excellent as always and I fully expect him to finish as a top 20 hitter worthy of keeping. His OF eligibility, as laughable as it is, is an added bonus that cannot be understated. Meanwhile, Lackey is looking like the bulldog that helped the Angels win pennants back in the day. I loved owning this guy as my #3 or #4 a few years ago and think he’s certainly capable of a 3.00/1.20/170k year with QS in 60-65% of his outings. His 3.04 xFIP shows the 2.72 era it’s not a fluke, at least not through his first 40 innings this year. Not saying he’s ace, but he’s not nuttin. Miguel Gonzalez, however, doesn’t impress me. His xFIP of 4.53, 6.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 scream waiver wire material, although he’s pitched against some pretty powerful foes, so he’s got that going for him.

I think Jason wins this one hands down and cements his place as #2 in my power rankings.