When Terry Ryan was let go, Rob Antony almost certainly was feeling the pressure to do something, anything, to solidify his place in the organization. There were a couple of moves on the table that were pretty easy for Antony to pull the trigger on to prove his competence. There were a couple of guys on short deals that were playing well – Fernando Abad and Eduardo Nunez. Then, there was the high priced pitcher that was widely reviled among his fan base, and whose expulsion would be heralded regardless of how it transpired. That was Ricky Nolasco.
Antony made two good trades, and at the time, a lot of people said he made three, because finding anyone to take Nolasco, in their mind, was going to be a win. I’ve litigated this many times, but one more time. Rob Antony did not make a good trade last July, when the team acquired Hector Santiago. Keep in mind that the Twins paid to even up Santiago and Nolasco’s salary, so they can be judged entirely on their merits. In his time with the Angels, Nolasco has worked out an ERA+ of 101. Santiago is 82.
This season, the numbers are a little bit closer to even, as Nolasco was on fire last year and Santiago was a dumpster fire. Even if you take this season’s relative parity, it’s still difficult to say that the Twins won the trade, as not only did they trade Nolasco for Santiago, and contribute the cash to level the deal up, they also included Alex Meyer, who pitched last night for the Angels. He has been in their rotation this season, and projects to be an important piece going forward. On aggregate, according to ERA +, Meyer has also been better than Santiago.
Just trading someone to get them off the roster isn’t necessarily as easy a task as it seems. Trading is always a challenge, and one worthy of careful consideration. Brian Dozier didn’t get traded as the Twins new front office decided to hang on to him, rather than trading him just to trade him. The Twins didn’t really do anything earth shaking on the trade market, lest they pull the trigger on a move too early.
By the end of next month, it will be a near certainty that the Twins will make a move. Either they will be adding pieces to strengthen themselves towards the post season, or they will be cashing in, like Antony did last year. One way or another, the Santiago-Nolasco trade should provide evidence against proclaiming a winner or loser before the players had a chance to play.
And heck, maybe it’s too early to say that the Twins lost this trade. The other piece coming back to Minnesota, Alan Busenitz, has a 2.31 ERA so far this season in Rochester…
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
