Written by Eric Stashin the Rotoprofessor
The Mariners and Pirates have pulled off a seven player trade, with Jack Wilson & Ian Snell heading to Seattle in exchange for Jeff Clement, Ronny Cedeno, RHP Aaron Pribanic (Single-A), RHP Brett Lorin (Single-A) & RHP Nathan Adcock (Single-A) according to WFAN in New York.
My first thought is why the Pirates would acquire Clement? Unless they plan on moving Doumit from behind the plate, he would seem to be destined to be a reserve player for this team. Granted, the Pirates do have a void at 1B right now (outside of Garrett Jones, though he could also play the OF and could be an aberration), and Doumit has played 34 games there over his career. They could be looking to save him from the wear and tear of catching everyday, thus keeping his bat in the line-up.
If that’s the case, Doumit is a winner in this trade long-term. Clement, who has never excelled in the major leagues for the Mariners, has been hitting well at Triple-A, hitting .288 with 14 HR and 68 RBI. Over his last 10 games, he’s actually been hitting at a .368 clip. It certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see this scenario play out. If Clement is going to get another chance in the major leagues this season, he is a must own in all 2-catcher formats immediately. As it is, I would take the flyer just in case.
Ronny Cedeno is a 2B/SS who has hit .238 over his major league career with 18 HR and 18 SB over 1,086 AB. While he could see time at shortstop, he has little value outside of NL-only leagues, and even that is a stretch.
As for the three pitchers, none were ranked in Baseball America’s Top 10 prospects prior to the season and, considering they are all in Single-A, would appear to be a little ways away from contributing. For fantasy owners, they are all irrelevant in 2009.
The Mariners get a solid shortstop in Jack Wilson, though from a fantasy standpoint he has little value. He was hitting .267 this season with 4 HR and 2 SB over 266 AB. He has hit .269 over his career with little power or speed. His value doesn’t change with this deal, meaning he likely is a last resort option no matter what the format.
Outside of Doumit and Clement, Ian Snell is the most interesting player in this trade. He was awful in Pittsburgh this season, as we’ve discussed, but since being sent to Triple-A he has been nearly unhittable, posting a 0.96 ERA over 6 starts (37.1 innings), striking out 47 versus 13 walks. Those numbers include a 7 inning, 17 strikeout performance.
I’ve said in the past (click here for an article I wrote after his first Triple-A start) that I thought getting out of Pittsburgh was what Snell really needed, so this is going to put that to the test. It’s not necessarily an ideal fit, since he will have routine match-ups with the Angels & Rangers, but given what he’s done since leaving Pittsburgh, I would say he is definitely worth the gamble.
This is not a pitcher with little to no talent. He’s shown it before and now will get a chance to show it again. If you are in a deep league, I wouldn’t hesitate to put in a claim on him.
What do you think of the deal? Who are the winners and losers?
