Britton for Wright and $4M

[weams]

How come people are complaining when O's made a move and at the same time people are complaining when they do nothing? Also why is so many people concerned about how much money PA is saving? First of all Britton isn't anything special and second of all a starter is far more important and valuable than a reliever. The O's have a dozen Britton calibers in their system.

NYYfans.com

Huktonfonix

Forum Regular

Join Date: May 2005

Location: Pittsburgh, PA Re: Jaret Wright to the Orioles?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think you guys are undervaluing Wright (can't believe I said that). Every team needs pitching, always. Off the top of my head I can only think of maybe half a dozen teams whose rotation isn't improved by plugging Wright into the back end of it. Not to say that he's a good pitcher, just that the pitching market is so thin that few teams have a guy who can pitch to a 4.49 in the AL east to slot into the back of their rotation.

He had a 98 ERA+ this year. At a cost likely to be less than 5 million, with a 1-year commitment, he's going to get a decent return. Better than a bad, injured middle reliever that Cashman could take a chance on when he's DFA'ed halfway through the season anyway. We got better than that for Tony Womack.

[66-70-83-??]

Well, at least my point was obviously speculative. Which is more than I can say for "Wright would not have commanded more as a Free Agent." ( LINK?!!!! )

If, in fact, the front office doesn't think that Britton's numbers are aberrational, it makes little sense to make this trade. If you'd rather think that the front office simply doesn't know how to evaluate or value its players (and so assume the trade is a poor one) go right ahead. As for me, I'll go with BaltimOron's theory that the O's simply didn't see continued 2006-like success from Britton in Baltimore.

You believe what you want to. I'll go with my instincts - the O's thought that Britton's value had peaked with his 2006 numbers and so moved him for a starting pitcher (albeit a mediocre one).

I don't care if Wright's numbers are aberrational or not - the O's determined that it was a risk worth taking. Unless we're talking about a premier reliever, a league average starting pitcher is almost always more valuable than a reliever. That's the baseline.

That comment was simply a rebuttal to your proclamation -

Except that we would've ended up paying substantially more, over more years, if we waited

Link ?

At the end of the day, this trade probably doesn't matter much.

I just don't see why they would want to waste one of their 5 rotation spots on Wright when there are so many better options out there.

Like, 1970 said, Mazzone is a great pitching coach, not a great scout. Let the FO pick the pitchers for Mazzone to coach.

[Lucky Jim]

Well, it's basic economics, isn't it? Isn't that why you trade for players, to avoid the premium paid by bidding on the open market? You don't think the market for an 11 win pitcher with a sub-4.50 ERA would be higher than $3 million?

Is it because there are so many good pitchers this year? Or because analysis tells us this is going to be a buyers market?

I haven't seen proof of either.

[utvolzac]

How come people are complaining when O's made a move and at the same time people are complaining when they do nothing? Also why is so many people concerned about how much money PA is saving? First of all Britton isn't anything special and second of all a starter is far more important and valuable than a reliever. The O's have a dozen Britton calibers in their system.

Because how does this move make us a better team? Do you really think Wright is that much of an upgrade over Rodrigo?

Not to mention the durability issues involved with Wright, he doesn't pitch deep into games and gets hurt alot.

Having him in the line up means more innings for the bullpen, an area that we needed to upgrade, not downgrade.

I view Britton as more than a dime a dozen player, statistically he was our #2 reliever and if he learns a second pitch, he'd be a good set up man. He's young and cheap and under control for years to come. Take a look at how successful the other relievers that have come through our system have been.

- Britton -3.35

-Rleal - 4.44

- Williams - 4.74

-Rodriguez - 7.20

- Birkens - 4.94

-Manon - 5.40

- Hoey - 10.24

Our cup is not exacly running over with reliable relievers. Britton was fairly valuable to our bullpen.

I've yet to see how adding Wright and subtracting Britton makes us better?

[Adam]

Damn, I really hate losing Britton. We'd all better hope that Wright can stay healthy and return to a semblance of his previous form under Mazzone. Now we really need to add a few more bullpen arms and hope Hoey steps up this year. Not too fond of this trade, unless it's setting up a plethora of additional moves. Then, I can live with it.

[Lucky Jim]

You're right 1970 - there's no way the O's are looking at Rakers to put up Britton's production. Hoey, maybe. A trade, perhaps. But not Rakers.

[broberts]

****!!!!!! I don't think the FO gets it there are multiple things wrong with this deal.

1. You are giving up our second best and 2nd most reliable reliever

2. You are giving him up for nothing, the Yankees would have bought out Wright for 4 mil anyway.

3. Wright Sucks, he can go no longer than 6-7 innings so we now with Britton gone we need drastic bullpen help.

[SilentJames]

****!!!!!! I don't think the FO gets it there are multiple things wrong with this deal.

1. You are giving up our second best and 2nd most reliable reliever

2. You are giving him up for nothing, the Yankees would have bought out Wright for 4 mil anyway.

3. Wright Sucks, he can go no longer than 6-7 innings so we now with Britton gone we need drastic bullpen help.

WRIGHT PUT UP BETTER NUMBERS THAN MOST OF OUR STARTERS LAST YEAR!

According to Duq, http://blogs.baltimoresun.com/sports_custom_roch/2006/11/more_on_jaret_w.html he feels that the Yankees misused Wright and did not allow him to work out of jams. he also alludes to the prospect that Wright could be used in the pen. Duq says that we aren't done and we started early so I am going to believe him.

Wright isnt perfect, but plugging him in at the back of the rotation IS an improvement (just revisit the production we got from those two slots last year) This isn't ideal on its own, but this allows us more flexability for future moves, so in the context of the entire offseason this could work out nicely.

And I will say this again. Wright improved on every single aspect of his game from 05 to 06. He dropped his ERA almost 2 points, his K/9 ratio was up, his GF/FB ratio looked better, his K/BB ratio improved.

Also, in Yankee Stadium - ERA 4.99 last year (in 05 it was almost 8!) Away from Yankee Stadium - 3.99 (the past two years.)

Perhaps a change of scenery is just what he needs?

[tennOsfan]

We might as well be optimistic about this trade -- perhaps we dealt Britton while his value was at his highest for Wright whose value was a bit down.

Despite his stats, I was never enamoured with Britton. He had good command of his fastball, but he was nothing special.

[utvolzac]

WRIGHT PUT UP BETTER NUMBERS THAN MOST OF OUR STARTERS LAST YEAR!

According to Duq, http://blogs.baltimoresun.com/sports_custom_roch/2006/11/more_on_jaret_w.html he feels that the Yankees misused Wright and did not allow him to work out of jams. he also alludes to the prospect that Wright could be used in the pen. Duq says that we aren't done and we started early so I am going to believe him.

Wright isnt perfect, but plugging him in at the back of the rotation IS an improvement (just revisit the production we got from those two slots last year) This isn't ideal on its own, but this allows us more flexability for future moves, so in the context of the entire offseason this could work out nicely.

And I will say this again. Wright improved on every single aspect of his game from 05 to 06. He dropped his ERA almost 2 points, his K/9 ratio was up, his GF/FB ratio looked better, his K/BB ratio improved.

Also, in Yankee Stadium - ERA 4.99 last year (in 05 it was almost 8!) Away from Yankee Stadium - 3.99 (the past two years.)

Perhaps a change of scenery is just what he needs?

The main concern I have about Wright is his ability to pitch deep into games. As Roch said in his column, Wright + Loewen at the end of the rotation = a ton of work on the bullpen.

Combine that with the inconsistancy of DCab who could go a complete game or be bounced in the 3rd. And that's asking alot from our bullpen, which isn't exactly an area of strength to begin with.

[weams]

The main concern I have about Wright is his ability to pitch deep into games. As Roch said in his column, Wright + Loewen at the end of the rotation = a ton of work on the bullpen.

Combine that with the inconsistancy of DCab who could go a complete game or be bounced in the 3rd. And that's asking alot from our bullpen, which isn't exactly an area of strength to begin with.

I don't think our #5 averaged 5 plus innings in 06 so maybe Wright is not so bad there.

[SilentJames]

That is a concern, but this early move has given me a little more faith in the FO. I don't think we are done and our rotation and pen could look different by opening day.

And after really looking at Wright's numbers, I am reluctant to say that he is "poised for a rebound year," but I think there is a good chance we could be pleasantly surprised.

Those home/road splits were particularly surprising.

[NoVaO]

I personally don't have much feeling for this trade. I don't like giving up Britton, but I do like adding Wright because it does make our rotation deeper. Lets just see how this plays out.

[WEAVERMAN]

I totally disagree with this and think it was a good deal, but for a dissenting opinion:

A terrible move for an organization that still has to be considered one of the worst run in baseball. Britton, whom the Orioles were never especially fond of in part because of his conditioninign issues, had a 3.35 ERA in 53 2/3 innings as a rookie and he's under control for six more years. Wright, on the other hand, is under control by the Yankees for one more day. After that, he'd become a free agent, at which point the Orioles very likely could have signed him for right around the $3 million they're set to spend. Oh yeah, and he's not any good at all. Forget salaries and service time: we'd take Britton over him for 2007 alone.

I can't believe this trade. To call Wright a mediocre is a compliment and the fact NY was not going to pick up this option anyway makes this a bad deal. Mazzone continues to harm the organization even in the off season.

[isestrex]

On the surface, this is horrible trade. The only thing worse would be trading Ray for Pavano. What we did was trade a good uprising rookie bullpen arm for a shaky-used-to-be starter who is trying to resurrect his career.

Looking deeper, this trade communicates much potential. The front office is shouting loud and clear with this trade: WE TRUST OUR YOUNG STARTERS with Bedard, Cabrera, Lowen et al... enough that we don't want to spend anything on Zito or Schmitt. They have completely dropped out of the race for an ace with this move and seem to be after something bigger.

If this had happened in Jan or Feb I would have been kicking my O's blanket like a mad man, throwing my O's pillow through my window to knock off my O's antenna ornament and probably hitting my O's bumper sticker. I would have been one pissed O's fan. But the fact that this trade happens in November communicates that the FO has a plan and is going after one piece at a time.

This isn't a last resort of "We tried to get the big names but couldn't get anybody good this year, so we'll have to settle for this one hope to turn our 9 years of losing around."