Comments on: D’Andre Toney Sent To Astros to Complete Humberto Quintero Trade

By: michael.allen.engel

michael.allen.engel — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 05:14:20 +0000

@jim fetterolf @mmeade17 Yeah, Tampa had some demand too but Cody Clark could have been a fit for a short time.

And anyway, they snagged Matt Treanor about a day and a half before the season started last year. Didn’t seem that concerned with extra familiarity then.

Bottom line, sure, go get Quintero, but there’s no reason why Bourgeois needed to be involved and no reason to trade two guys who had some potential beyond low level minor league roster filler. Dayton got worked over on this deal. It may not matter THIS time, but what if next time he trades someone who turns into something for a 7th inning veteran reliever? Yuck.

By: jim fetterolf

jim fetterolf — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:03:11 +0000

@mmeade17 The waiver wire was a common idea at the time, but Tampa also needed a back up at the time, so there was some demand. The Royals’ position was that they needed a catcher now to give two extra weeks familiarity with the pitchers and didn’t feel they could wait. They may have been right or wrong, but having two of the top three catchers go down with knee injuries is an exceptional circumstance.

By: mmeade17

mmeade17 — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:35:34 +0000

I think the issue with this trade is value based. A team like the Royals, small-market, must win or be neutral in value on trades. They can’t afford to give away value on trades to meet perceived immediate needs. Trading Chapman and Toney for Quintero and Bourgeois amounts to trading two descent prospects in order to rent a back-up catcher for maybe 3 months. Chapman, a pretty good relief prospect, will probably have value as a reliever at the major league level. Toney may never realize all of his potential, but he sure looked good in AZ so who knows. This is no knock on Quintero. He’s been as advertised with the Royals, maybe even a small tick better than expected. But he’s just a rental in terms of value. Even if they Royals keep him over Pena, which they should not, the Royals traded two respectable prospects for three months of service from a back-up catcher. That’s poor value from a trade and cannot be defined any other way. If Chapman comes up and has half a season of descent relief work, he has surpassed the value the Royals received in this trade. It looks even worse when considering how the Royals could have gotten either Quintero or a Quintero-like player on the waiver wire.

By: jim fetterolf

jim fetterolf — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:18:40 +0000

Last I looked, Quintero had the highest RBI/PA on the Royals, meaningful for a team in a year long offensive slump. I probably would have stayed with Cody Clark and not brought in another catcher at all, but Q has done a good enough job, so it’s not a disaster, contrary to what those who may have wanted to sign Pudge might say.