Sherrill Traded to Dodgers for Josh Bell & Steve Johnson

[wildcard]

Does anyone have any idea why McPhail made the trade this afternoon instead of tomorrow afternoon? I would think the closer we get to the deadline there would be more pressure on the Dodgers to sweeten their deal. Of course that's assuming there really were 8 teams after Sherrill willing to offer competitive trade packages.

With Halladay still out there, there is no telling what might happen tomorrow. And the Dodgers could be involved. If MacPhail waited, Halladay may have taking all the attention and the Sherrill deal may not have gotten done.

[RShack]

I was just listening to Steve Melewski on the radio...He listened in on the conference call with AM and these 2.

He said the Orioles have scouted for 1-2 years...That he has been an under the radar type guy..Like his arm and long term potential.

When talking about Bell, AM said they definitely view him as a third baseman...That since he lost his weight last year, that his lateral movement is better and it is something that he continues to improve on...He said the Orioles have been scouting Bell for a few months...that they targeted teams with depth at third base.

At this point, there is no thought of him going to first.

Said his power rated 70 on the 20-80 scale.

Well, that's certainly encouraging... thanks for that...

[Mooreisbetter27]

I try and figure out these scales but it seems like everyone has a different one. Somewhere I saw Bell as an 87 in power. I assume that was out of 100 but I have no clue.

So the 70 you're listing SG... who is comparable to that? What would be a good similar MLB player given the same same scouting?

[orangedive]

I try and figure out these scales but it seems like everyone has a different one. Somewhere I saw Bell as an 87 in power. I assume that was out of 100 but I have no clue.

So the 70 you're listing SG... who is comparable to that? What would be a good similar MLB player given the same same scouting?

I think it's out of 80. Generally the scouting scales go up to 80. 70 out of 80 is pretty darn good.

[TakebackOPACY]

I'm confused by the 2 bolded parts. On the one hand, he's bad in the field, but on the other he projects to be a MLB regular.

Do 3B-men really improve from bad to MLB-quality in a year in the bus leagues? (This is a real question. I don't know the answer.)

I'm no expert, but I think I've followed enough players through the minors to throw an answer at you. It happens, but it's as rare as you'd expect. A lot of 'experts' would project that he'll move to a different position. But in this article, Brunell is projecting that the O's will give him every chance to prove he can stick at 3B.

Plus, this was a short write-up. What he's not saying is that there's a documented reason that explains why he has shown improvement from his 38 errors last year to his 17 or 18 so far this year. Getting his weight in check has seemingly helped his defense quite a bit. There's at least some hope that the improvement trend will continue. MacPhail made it sound like they're happy with what the O's scouts have seen.

All that said, I think the prediction of 2011 everyday 3B is a solid one. But, 2011-2014 everyday 3B is much less likely. If I had to bet, I'd bet he'll eventually be moved off the hot corner. But what do I know.

[Shopay]

I'd rather have the pitcher with the better injury history frankly.

There were concerns about Elbert's injuries not allowing him to repeat his delivery which would push him into the bullpen.

Good point Trea. I tend to agree.

[Sports Guy]

I try and figure out these scales but it seems like everyone has a different one. Somewhere I saw Bell as an 87 in power. I assume that was out of 100 but I have no clue.

So the 70 you're listing SG... who is comparable to that? What would be a good similar MLB player given the same same scouting?

60 is average ML power...its out of 80...Scouts use the 20-80 scale.

[AgentOrange]

60 is average ML power...its out of 80...Scouts use the 20-80 scale.

I thought that it was 50 that was Average.

A score of 50 is major-league average, 60 is above-average (also referred to as “plus”), and 70 is among the best (“plus-plus”)

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4860

[connja]

I've got to believe the $1M the Dodgers are picking up has to be going toward signing Sano or some of the draft picks such as Givens.

I'm just curious if we could have gotten better prospects (not that what we got was bad) if we had picked up some of that...

[ShaneDawg85]

Looks like a solid move for the O's. Bell has shown some legitimate power, and regardless of the position, that is something that organization is lacking. It would be great if he sticks at 3rd, although his defense has been poor in the past. But if he can hit they can find a position for him. It's all about talent, and improving the overall talent level of the organization. By getting a guy like Josh Bell we have done that. Not yet sure what to make of Steve Johnson, it will take some time with him, as it will for Bell, but particularly for Johnson to determine what his role and future is.

It's tough to lose Sherrill, but these are the kind of moves that organizations should make, and I'm glad we were able to get this one done. Heck, can't be worse than the last deal we made with the Dodgers involving a relief pitcher in 2001.

[Sports Guy]

I thought that it was 50 that was Average.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4860

Ok..Melewski was saying 60 was average. Was just repeating what he said...I thought 60 sounded a little high to be honest.

[Sports Guy]

One thing to keep in mind everyone is that the Southern League is a pitchers league and Bell is pretty young...The numbers he is putting up are pretty impressive for that league and at his age.

[AgentOrange]

Ok..Melewski was saying 60 was average. Was just repeating what he said...I thought 60 sounded a little high to be honest.

Yeah, on that scale, It would seem 60 would be above average.

But if they rate Bell with a 70, that is some serious power. I was doing some research, looking for the definition of 70 power and saw Reimold's name mentioned. That would be pretty exciting to have someone with Reimold type of power at 3b, or 1b for that matter.

[GoldGlove21]

I think it's out of 80. Generally the scouting scales go up to 80. 70 out of 80 is pretty darn good.

http://orioles-magic.groups.cbssports.com/mcc/messages/chrono/16092637/0/0/16092972

When the Red Sox scouted Albert Pujols they graded him as a 65-70 in terms of power and made reference to "light tower power". The article above mentions it and I think that should put a 70 in perspective.

[GoldGlove21]

If AM needs a million dollars of Sherrill's deal to get Sano he should just resign now.

Probably doesn't hurt, right?