Rays may look to trade Zobrist

[PaulFolk]

I'd want somebody else in addition to Zobrist for Davis and Matusz. I think Davis is going to improve drastically upon last season. He's not going to hit 50 HRs but he'll settle in somewhere between the two past seasons, I think that's more valuable than Zobrist. Unless we are absolutely convinced that we can't resign Davis if he has a good season.

If the O's could trade Davis and Matusz for Zobrist, I'd do it. Zobrist has been a far more valuable player during his career than Davis has. Zobrist has more defensive versatility and offense that has been better than Davis' in every respect except power. Granted, Zobrist is 5 years older than Davis, but he's also not coming off a horrendous season and an amphetamine suspension. And both are free agents after 2015, so there's no difference there.

[scOtt]

If the O's could trade Davis and Matusz for Zobrist, I'd do it. Zobrist has been a far more valuable player during his career than Davis has. Zobrist has more defensive versatility and offense that has been better than Davis' in every respect except power. Granted, Zobrist is 5 years older than Davis, but he's also not coming off a horrendous season and an amphetamine suspension. And both are free agents after 2015, so there's no difference there.

I would too. Wincing as we did it...

[stomperspc]

1) None of those guys had anything close to the power Schoop has.

2) All of those guys played at least ten seasons in the majors. So not horrible.

3) Both Fox and Brinkman had at least 247 PA in their age 21 seasons, so I'm not sure their age 22 seasons matchup that well with Schoop's.

Good point.

I did a search for 22 year olds with 350+ PA's, OPS+ less than 70, and ISO greater than .130. Three players other than Schoop fit that criteria - Karim Garcia, Deron Johnson, and Sammy Sosa. Johnson played 16 years in the majors and from ages 25 through 34 put up a an OPS+ of 111 with 205 HR and 204 2B. Sosa obviously went onto have a good career, but of course that's a tricky one because of the PED issue. Karim Garcia never quite made it.

It's a mixed bag, but more good than bad. The thing that Schoop has that the others didn't is strong defense. Even if he doesn't quite reach the offensive heights of Johnson or Sosa, if he ends up somewhere in between those guys and Garcia offensively, with his defense he will be an above average regular for a while.

[VeveJones007]

Good point.

I did a search for 22 year olds with 350+ PA's, OPS+ less than 70, and ISO greater than .130. Three players other than Schoop fit that criteria - Karim Garcia, Deron Johnson, and Sammy Sosa. Johnson played 16 years in the majors and from ages 25 through 34 put up a an OPS+ of 111 with 205 HR and 204 2B. Sosa obviously went onto have a good career, but of course that's a tricky one because of the PED issue. Karim Garcia never quite made it.

It's a mixed bag, but more good than bad. The thing that Schoop has that the others didn't is strong defense. Even if he doesn't quite reach the offensive heights of Johnson or Sosa, if he ends up somewhere in between those guys and Garcia offensively, with his defense he will be an above average regular for a while.

Schoop is Juan Uribe.

[stomperspc]

Schoop is Juan Uribe.

Could be. That's a good comparison. I hope he is more consistent at an earlier age than Uribe, but if Schoop gives us 7.4 rWAR from age 24-26 like Uribe did, I'll take it.

[VeveJones007]

Could be. That's a good comparison. I hope he is more consistent at an earlier age than Uribe, but if Schoop gives us 7.4 rWAR from age 24-26 like Uribe did, I'll take it.

Ignoring the statistical profile, they are a strong comp. Big middle IF with RHH power, no plate discipline, positional flexibility, a strong arm, and plus glove. It really comes down to how much you emphasize the plate discipline. IMO, I wouldn't move him because there's more than enough upside to the other facets of his game. That also factors in the fiscal reality for the O's--they need cheap players who can provide surplus value before their 2nd and 3rd year of arbitration. They can't afford to move players like Schoop for more expensive, lower risk alternatives. He's clearly above the LJ Hoes threshold.

[scOtt]

Schoop is Juan Uribe.

Probably a pretty good comparison. Good hope anyways.