Jhonny Peralta and Scott Podsednik Traded

Trading season is in full effect. Today saw Cleveland third baseman Jhonny Peralta sent to the Detroit Tigers for pitching prospect Giovanni Soto. A few hours later Scott Podsednik was sent from the Kansas City Royals to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a couple of intriguing but C-level prospects - C Lucas May and RHP Elisaul Pimentel.

From Bless You Boys (a Detroit Tigers Blog)

Peralta will take over 3rd base until the return of Brandon Inge. At that point, he could become an option at short. The operative word being "could."

Peralta has been a starter at either short or 3rd for the Tribe since 2005. There had been rumors he was being actively shopped, as his numbers have been tailing off for three seasons. Peralta was putting up a not good at all line of 246/.308/.389 in 2010, well down from his '05-'08 peak where he was a 20+ HR, 80+ RBI threat.

As for his contract status, Peralta is making $4.6M this season, with a $250K buyout on a $7M club option for 2011. According to Jason Beck, the Indians will continue to pay Peralta's contract for this season.

Considering what the Tigers gave up to get him, Peralta isn't a bad get. There is still some pop in his bat, and a change of scenery may be just what Peralta needs.

From Let's Go Tribe! (a Cleveland Indians Blog)

The Indians got for Peralta a skinny 6'3" teenage left-hander named Giovanni Soto, not to be confused the Cubs catcher named Geovany Soto. This Soto was picked in the 21st round of the 2009 draft, and even though he's only throwing his fastball in the high-80s is still missing bats in the low minors (8.3 SO/9 in the Midwest League). He's listed at 155(!) pounds, so you'd figure that he should be able to add some mphs to his fastball as he adds weight to his frame.

From Royals Review (you guessed it, a Kansas City Royals Blog)

Pimentel is a 21 year old pitcher who has been in A-ball. (B-R page) Pimentel has a 3.49 ERA this year, with good strikeout numbers. A definite interesting live arm. He is the second Pimentel from the Dodger organization to be acquired by Dayton Moore. Since 2008, the Dodgers have used him as a reliever. He has a 3.68 career minor league ERA.

Lucas May / Luke May is a 25 year old catcher with an .848 this season in AAA. (B-R page) May also hit decently last season in AA. I'm sure Albuquerque is a good hitters park, but for a catcher in his first AAA season, those are interesting numbers. I would have taken one of these guys for Pods.

From True Blue LA (a Los Angeles Dodgers Blog)

Perhaps the Pierre comparison is a bit unfair. Both are speedy left-handed corner outfielders with similar career numbers (career 89 OPS+ for Podsednik, 84 OPS+ for Pierre), both have a ring in a box, but the 34-year old Podsednik has actually enjoyed a bit of a resurgence the past two years. Since the beginning of 2009, Podsednik has hit .306/.353/.407, for a 101 OPS+. His .335 wOBA this season is higher than anyone currently on the Dodger bench.

Podsednik has 30 stolen bases this season, but also led the American League being caught 12 times.

The acquisition of Podsednik at the very least means dramatically less playing time for Xavier Paul, who has started 13 of the last 21 games since Manny Ramirez was placed on the disabled list. Podsednik will likely become the everyday left fielder at least until Ramirez gets back, and even then given Manny's fragility, Podsednik figures to see quite a bit of playing time down the stretch for the Dodgers.

Filling Chase Utley's Shoes

I received the following e-mail this morning:

5X5 H2H league (OBP instead of Avg). My free agent choices are M.Tejada, Jose Lopez, Beckham, Pennington, Peralta, or S. Rodriguez. Obviously Utley is my MI (behind Kinsler/Rollins).

Whaddya think?
Big Mike

Tough decision. At least you have a mix of possibilities. You have the fading veteran in Tejada. The underachieving veteran in Lopez. The struggling phenom in Beckham. The slap-hitting speedster in Pennington, the disappointing Peralta, and the underutilized youngster in Sean Rodriguez.

Part of the decision has to be based on how your team is doing and what your category needs are.

Miguel Tejada, Baltimore Orioles - Tejada no longer provides much power. He hits for a fairly empty average thanks to being part of the underachieving Orioles lineup. In your league he is nearly worthless with just a .313 OBP.

Jose Lopez, Seattle Mariners - Lopez probably has more upside than Tejada at this point but his stats are even worse. He has a slash line of .244/.269/.337 and is showing zero power. Definitely pass.

Gordon Beckham, Chicago White Sox - Beckham is the most promising of the players on this list. He was expected to be a force in Chicago but has slumped through most of the season. He is swinging at more pitches out of the zone than he did in his rookie season. However, his contact rates are still pretty good and there is definitely a degree of bad luck. Unfortunately he does not walk much. There have been some signs of life this week, he hit his first homer in quite some time and seems to be coming around. If you can afford to embrace some risk this might be a good place to go.

Cliff Pennington, Oakland Athletics - Pennington is a mediocre hitter but he steals bases and walks enough to justify his reputation as a leadoff hitter. He has a slash of .247/.323/.359 and like the others has displayed little power. But mediocre is better than lousy and that makes him a real possibility.

Jhonny Peralta, Cleveland Indians - Peralta showed some promise a few years ago but seemed to lose it when he was moved off shortstop. Perhaps his defensive position is like Sampson's hair. Still, he has more powers than the others have shown (though nothing to go crazy about). He's a possibility if we're desperate for any homeruns we can get.

Sean Rodriguez, Tampa Bay Rays - Rodriguez hasn't been that great overall but has been hot in June. Hitting .292 with four home runs and three stolen bases as of the 26th. His potential is second only to Beckham on this list. I have a hunch he'd have been better playing everyday than he is sharing a job, but that's just a hunch. He's the hot hand.

So here are your options:

Shoot for the Stars - Gordon Beckham who has shown signs of life lately.

Take the stolen bases and the best OBP you can get - Cliff Pennington, probably the safest bet.

Desperate for Power - Jhonny Peralta, hope he gets back what he lost in the second half.

Play the hot hand - Sean Rodriguez, hope he keeps it up.

I tend to be an embrace risk type of fantasy owner and would grab Beckham. Play it safe types should probably grab Pennington. If you believe whoever you pick up is short term, Rodriguez is probably the one.

Good luck.