De Aza to Red Sox (RHP Joe Gunkel)

[El Gordo]

I'm honestly surprised we got a reasonably decent prospect for Se Aza.

I don't get it... I thought the Red Sox were crowded in the OF. And as much as they would like to, they can't move Hanley's awful defense out of the OF and DH him because they have Ortiz.

Maybe they are getting ready to move an OF for a SP.

[Rene88]

Maybe they are getting ready to move an OF for a SP.

My thoughts too...Cole Hammels.

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[25 Nuggets]

They are not that crowded in the OF. A lot have failed, are injured or just aren't that good.

See: Baltimore Orioles.

[Going Underground]

Rhe way rhe season is going for the Orioles,De Aza will go to the Red Sox and do what he did when the Orioles first got him.

[DrungoHazewood]

I'm honestly surprised we got a reasonably decent prospect for Se Aza.

I don't get it... I thought the Red Sox were crowded in the OF. And as much as they would like to, they can't move Hanley's awful defense out of the OF and DH him because they have Ortiz.

Yea, the O's had no leverage here. If they failed to work something (anything!) out in a few days he was a free agent and the Sox could have signed him for peanuts. If Gunkel is any kind of prospect at all, and it appears he might be, this is a steal. Turn the deal around... what would be the reaction here if the O's traded, say, Zach Davies or Parker Bridwell for a slumping, 31-year-old, $5M De Aza? I'm confident in saying there would be threads calling for Duquette's firing and the overall reaction would be overwhelmingly negative. I know I'd be highly skeptical of such a trade.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Yea, the O's had no leverage here. If they failed to work something (anything!) out in a few days he was a free agent and the Sox could have signed him for peanuts. If Gunkel is any kind of prospect at all, and it appears he might be, this is a steal. Turn the deal around... what would be the reaction here if the O's traded, say, Zach Davies or Parker Bridwell for a slumping, 31-year-old, $5M De Aza? I'm confident in saying there would be threads calling for Duquette's firing and the overall reaction would be overwhelmingly negative. I know I'd be highly skeptical of such a trade.

I don't think that's true. Several teams were reportedly interested. The main competitor apparently being Toronto.

[DrungoHazewood]

I don't think that's true. Several teams were reportedly interested. The main competitor apparently being Toronto.

That's fine. But it's not hard to go get a slumping platoon outfielder. I just wouldn't have been at all wrapped up in a competition to acquire a generic 1-win role player who has been playing at replacement level for 1/3 of a season.

[Can_of_corn]

That's fine. But it's not hard to go get a slumping platoon outfielder. I just wouldn't have been at all wrapped up in a competition to acquire a generic 1-win role player who has been playing at replacement level for 1/3 of a season.

But that is you and you are not the GM of an underperfoming Red Sox or Blue Jays club. It is not as if the Sox paid a high price for De Aza, this guy might turn into a non-closer bullpen arm.

[CA-ORIOLE]

That's fine. But it's not hard to go get a slumping platoon outfielder. I just wouldn't have been at all wrapped up in a competition to acquire a generic 1-win role player who has been playing at replacement level for 1/3 of a season.

When you need help, you need help and I think it's a little harder than you think it is. I wasn't that happy to hear that De Aza was traded to a divisional rival, but understood when I saw the return. There was a big difference between De Aza's fWAR and rWAR the past 2 years and he was quite a bit better than replacement (near 4 war) by fWAR as a not totally full time player. That difference almost totally predicated on defense. He didn't hit much for us this year but his defense in COF looked fine to me. I think he's a better player than some people give him credit for and wouldn't be surprised to see him settle in nicely in a COF platoon role.

[DrungoHazewood]

When you need help, you need help and I think it's a little harder than you think it is. I wasn't that happy to hear that De Aza was traded to a divisional rival, but understood when I saw the return. There was a big difference between De Aza's fWAR and rWAR the past 2 years and he was quite a bit better than replacement (near 4 war) by fWAR as a not totally full time player. That difference almost totally predicated on defense. He didn't hit much for us this year but his defense in COF looked fine to me. I think he's a better player than some people give him credit for and wouldn't be surprised to see him settle in nicely in a COF platoon roll.

I'm not going to argue with that. De Aza was a reasonable pick to fill a role this past offseason, although he does have some red flags that have been emphasized by his performance so for this year. I stick by the idea that there's never a shortage of players in that 0-1 win range, but will concede that during the year it's not trivial to find someone when you have that particular hole in your organization. I think De Aza certainly got a bad rap from the folks who claim he's some baseball dummy because of a few gaffes.

[DrungoHazewood]

But that is you and you are not the GM of an underperfoming Red Sox or Blue Jays club. It is not as if the Sox paid a high price for De Aza, this guy might turn into a non-closer bullpen arm.

Oh but the rage and chaos that would ensue here if the O's acquired a De Aza for a Bridwell. It would be a firestorm. A hanging offense.

[Can_of_corn]

Oh but the rage and chaos that would ensue here if the O's acquired a De Aza for a Bridwell. It would be a firestorm. A hanging offense.

Would it?

It would be here, but elsewhere?

I don't think so.

We are a specific subsection of Oriole fan.

My guess is most fans would view it as Dan trading a guy they never heard of for someone that could provide a spark for the team.

At least he isn't sitting on his hands!

[CA-ORIOLE]

I'm not going to argue with that. De Aza was a reasonable pick to fill a role this past offseason, although he does have some red flags that have been emphasized by his performance so for this year. I stick by the idea that there's never a shortage of players in that 0-1 win range, but will concede that during the year it's not trivial to find someone when you have that particular hole in your organization. I think De Aza certainly got a bad rap from the folks who claim he's some baseball dummy because of a few gaffes.

Ok, fair enough. I certainly won't argue there's a pretty fair amount of uncertainty with De Aza. Agree about the gaffes part.

[Ruzious]

I'm not going to argue with that. De Aza was a reasonable pick to fill a role this past offseason, although he does have some red flags that have been emphasized by his performance so for this year. I stick by the idea that there's never a shortage of players in that 0-1 win range, but will concede that during the year it's not trivial to find someone when you have that particular hole in your organization. I think De Aza certainly got a bad rap from the folks who claim he's some baseball dummy because of a few gaffes.

When the O's traded for him, many Chisox fans came her and told us that he's a very mistake-prone player - after they watched him for 3 or 4 seasons. I wouldn't discount their knowledge out of hand.

[DrungoHazewood]

When the O's traded for him, many Chisox fans came her and told us that he's a very mistake-prone player - after they watched him for 3 or 4 seasons. I wouldn't discount their knowledge out of hand.

No, discount, but put in context. We get frustrated with players and focus on their failings, too. Travis Snider would probably get some pretty scathing reports from a lot of people here, but objectively he's been pretty much an average corner outfielder.