As alluded to in the previous post, some big potential trades could be in the works and sure enough they happened. Let's start with the first:
Farewell Josh Beckett. While I'm not thrilled to have to pitch to him 18-19 times a season on a division rival, the return the Jays offered brings us a younger and cheaper version of Beckett. Chris Fox can hit, and he's a better defensive 2B than Beckett with the added bonus of being able to play short, giving us a better option than sliding Luis Barela over there. Here are Fox's particulars, including hitting .335 with the Jays after a mid-late season callup:
That will work. Plus having played his college ball at Florida State he's a local favorite. Right now Tomas Laboy will have the inside track on starting but since he's a 45 defender he'll share time with Fox and also be replaced defensively late in the games when nursing a lead. We had to thrown in Caseras in, a live arm with good stuff but iffy movement and control whom the scouts give the ceiling of a fifth starter. The fan interest "almost crashed" and just wait until the next couple of deals go down.
I said I was going to trade Willis, and trade him I did (forgot to screenshot the trade page but my assistant GM loved the deal). Jose Castillo can rake. Really rake:
Castillo didn't become a regular until about June and look at the numbers he put up to go with those ratings. He may be NL Rookie of the Year, we'll find out in a few days. McKinney could be a player, he was our 3rd-round draft pick last year and looked decent in his pro debut, but Castillo is part of our future now and for awhile as he'll be on the minimum for a couple of more years.
Notice something on the right side with Castillo? Yeah, that's a 20 rating for LF. The man has no defensive value and he's a born DH. But wait, don't we already have a DH who's a former MVP and pillar of the lineup?
Well not anymore:
Aloha Josh Alexander as he goes back to the team which drafted him, the Mariners, and then traded him to us in December 2036 for Ricky Loya. In return for him, and a couple of pretty good players in Jeff Baer (surplus to requirements with Nelson Bocardo around) and Jeff Googins (a useful utility guy but Chris Fox helps there), we get an All-Star starting pitcher to take Brad Jackson's place in Robinson. The particulars on him:
He'll do. He's extremely impressive at keeping the ball in the park (0.3-0.7 HR/9 the last three years) and while not overpowering he's extremely effective. And as we've improved out defense of late I'm not as concerned about pitchers who pitch to a little more contact.
So in sum three fixtures of our lineup the last 4-5 seasons (Beckett, Willis and Alexander) are out the door on the same day (sentimental Rays fans might consider this "Black Thursday") but we've gotten younger (all 3 were 30+), less expensive and I'd say better.