Jose Guillen Traded To...
 

Washington for Juan Rivera and a prospect.


http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1926838

figured it might happen, but to the 'spos? and they signed 2 players already?

Expos vs. Tigers in the '05 Series, I see it now.

the angels got the better of the deal i think

Why would they want him? They must be desperate to win. The guy's been a headache wherever he's gone.

What do they call the series in the International League?

Governor's Cup

Bowden likes Guillen. He also brought Guillen to Cincinati.

Am I wrong?

I just got back from angelsbaseball.com, the MLB.com home of the Angels and their MB, and a whole bunch of people are ripping on this trade, talking about moving a .300-30-100 guy for a backup OF and IF only.

Really, I think these people are morons, because this is a terrific deal.

1) Rivera used to be the Yankees top prospect (or at worst second behind Nick Johnson).

2) His numbers (.307, 12, 47, .829 OPS) aren't too bad, especially considering he was hitting in the Expos' lineup and only got about 400 at bats.

3) He's 26 and likely to improve with more playing time (scouting reports indicate he has the ability to develop more power, too, which seems to be the main thing those Angels fans were pissed at--a lack of power).

4) He has a good arm and isn't a defensive zero (not that Guillen was, great arm at least).

5) He doesn't cost $3.5 M per year (makes minimum, I assume), freeing up money for elsewhere.

6) He did pretty well even given inconsistent time, and his second half numbers (.950+ OPS in 200 at bats) were very strong once he had a consistent spot in the lineup (he got regular time after Carl Everett was dealt).

7) By all reports, he seems to be a hardnosed hard working player who is good in the clubhouse, an approach that works well on the Angels and under Mike Scioscia.

8) The one thing the fans at angelsbaseball.com didn't seem to remember--he is a pretty quality bat to help fill our DH spot, which is open right now weith Tim Salmon pretty much missing all of next season.

9) We don't have the malingering personality of Guillen around anymore, a presence that was said to have soured clubhouse moods throughout the seaosn, making people walk around on egg shells around each other (and especially around Guillen).

Oh yeah, and we got a prospect whose skill set is virtually identical to his older brother--a .300-hitting, 200 hit SS who just won a Gold Glove.

So I am really struggling to see why my fellow Angels fans don't like this deal. Frankly, I am pleased to get anything that can help us given everyone knowing we had to unload Guillen, so getting this much is phenomenal.

I don't have a very high opinion of some of my fellow Angels fans right now. Must be the guys the Sports Guy saw at the Big A during the playoffs.

CR

Yes, you are. I don't have a 'Boro dynasty to read. I don't have a RTW dynasty to read. Yes, you are very, very wrong.Concur.He was a prospect but was not really consider a top tier prospect. He was ranked amongst the Yankees top prospect more as a result of their more or less fairly barren farm system.He also posted what I would consider pretty solid K/AB (45/391) and K/BB (45/34) ratios. Those seems like the type of numbers Scioscia likes with his lineup.Apparently, he is supposedly a solid defender. I was not terribly impressed with Guillen defensively beyond his arm.According to ESPN, $312 000. Great point, though, since the Angels are supposedly shopping Ortiz to reduce payroll that way as well.Bingo!Given that I have heard the Angels are considering a move at short, I think this is really huge. Even if Izturiz is a .250 hitter with a good glove, that would still be a big boost to the Angels, in my opinion (I would like Eckstein's glove better at 2nd).Lack of "name". People like big names they know or have heard of. Regardless of fit, value or situations.Oh, y'know, it's an OC thing. :D