Matt Capps has been traded to the Minneotoa Twins for
catching prospect Wilson Ramos and pitcher Joseph Testa. This is bad news for owners of Jon Rauch, as Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has already announced that Capps will become his closer and Rauch will move to a setup role. For the Nationals, it appears they will be moving to a "closer by committee" approach with Drew Storen, Sean Burnett and Tyler Clippard, according to CBS Sports. Ramos performed admirably when Joe Mauer was injured, but Pudge Rodriguez stands in his way right now. But Ramos is certainly the Nats' new catcher of the future.I can write quite intelligently on Jorge Cantu, and as a Marlins fan, I will miss chanting "hip hip Jorge!" any time he did something good. The Marlins were correct in trading Cantu's expiring contract for two AA pitchers (one of whom is recovering from Tommy John surgery); but as a Cantu fantasy owner, I just finished doing a little happy dance.
Cantu struggled mightily in the month leading up to the All-Star break, and while he has not found his power stroke yet, he was starting to make good contact lately and was collecting a bunch of singles (a good sign). Now, he moves from one of the most hitter-unfriendly parks in baseball to what may be the most hospitable home park in the Majors in Arlington. He is guaranteed a lot of playing time (at first base), and you can once again say sayonara to Mr. Chris Davis, one of the biggest busts of the year (he was optioned back to AAA after the trade). I predict a big spike in Cantu's production, and it is worth it to spend big $$ for him in an AL-only league (if you don't need Capps' saves). If you land him, I promise you will find yourself saying "Hip Hip Jorge!" in no time.Also, Miguel Tejada has been traded from the Orioles to the Padres. Tejada will probably take Everth Cabrera's spot and will play a bunch at SS and third base. I guess the power-challenged Tejada will fit right in with San Diego's offensive strategy. According to ESPN, the Padres gave up Double-A right-hander Wynn Pelzer to get Tejada, who is expected to be in uniform on Friday night for the series opener against Florida.
Max, Cantu hasn't played second base since 2007 and he is a butcher of a defensive player. I don't see him playing second unless there is a true emergency situation -- and that doesn't include Kinsler getting injured for the umteenth time.
ReplyDeleteMLB.com is reporting the the Rangers have also acquired Cristian Guzman. That effectively puts the Cantu playing second base speculation to sleep.
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