Philadelphia Endzone Animals -- Traded Mike Leake and Ryan Franklin, pitchers, Pablo Sandoval, third baseman, and their 1st and 2nd round picks in 2012, to the Arkansas Golden Falcons for David Wright, third baseman, Johan Santana and Joakim Soria, pitchers, Ryan Raburn, outfielder, and their 3rd round pick in 2012.
Mike Leake was drafted in the first round of the Supplemental Draft (#221 overall) by Vancouver, but released in Spring Training. Philly signed him as a free agent in April, released him two weeks later, and then signed him again two weeks after that. It's no surprise that
the 23-year-old right-hander has had an up-and-down season in MLB, with a 6.94 ERA and 1.97 WHIP in May, but a 2.63 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in June. At the moment he looks like a keeper, with a 4.03 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. The Reds drafted Leake with the #8 overall pick in the 2009 draft and immediately promoted him to the majors, the first starting pitcher to make that jump since Jim Abbott in 1989, so he definitely has some potential. Leake is eligible for this season in DMBL, but has yet to make his debut. Ryan Franklin was having a bad year for the Animals, posting a 4.68 ERA and 1.60 WHIP. Acquired from the Amityville Ant Slayers during the off-season with Nelson Cruz and a 10th Round pick in 2011 for Andre Ethier, a 6th Round pick in 2011 and a 3rd Round pick in 2012, Franklin has had a long career as a journeyman reliever, starting in 2003 with Tijuana; he's also pitched for Las Vegas, Carolina, Hillsborough, Philadelphia,
Amityville, Philadelphia again, and now Arkansas. His best year was probably 2008, when he posted a 3.64 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in middle relief with the Mudcats. At age 38 and having a brutal season in MLB (8.46 ERA, 1.84 WHIP), it appears Franklin has no keeper value. It's unclear why the rebuilding Golden Falcons would even want him on their roster; in his first appearance with his new team, he took the loss after giving up a walk and a home run.
Pablo Sandoval might be the heart of the deal for the Golden Falcons. "Kung Fu Panda" was drafted in the second round (#26 overall) as an ineligible prospect by the Blue Ridge Bombers in 2009. He made his debut the following year, hitting .272/.330/.445 with 42 2B, 17 HR and 73 RBI.
Blue Ridge traded him to Philadelphia in the first deal of the 2011 off-season, sending him to Philly along with a 6th Round pick for Victor Martinez. But Sandoval had a big-time sophomore slump this year, hitting just .256/.298/.383 in 277 AB, forcing Philly to look for an upgrade. But the Golden Falcons can afford to be patient with the 24-year-old switch-hitting third baseman, who is hitting .302/.343/.509 for next season.
So that's who the Endzone Animals gave up... who did the Golden Falcons send them in exchange?
Johan Santana was drafted with the #3 overall pick in the 2003 draft by the Endzone Animals, and would remain there for the next seven seasons. He had monster years in '05 (17-3, 3.02 ERA, 1.06 WHIP) and '07 (20-2, 3.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP), and overall went 83-53 for Philly. During the 2009 off season, Santana was traded straight up to Arkansas for Alex Rodriguez.
But Santana couldn't recapture his previously form and had two brutal years for the Golden Falcons, going 8-16 with a 5.70 ERA, 1.59 WHIP in '09, and 8-9 with a 5.82 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in '10. But this season, Santana was finally having another big season -- 12-5, 3.24 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and an All-Star selection -- and now he's back with the Animals. For next season, though, Santana is 32 years old and still isn't eligible for 2012 as he rehabs from a shoulder injury. If he comes back in mid-August as expected, he just might get the 10 starts he needs, but it will be close.David Wright is the surprise player in the deal. The Golden Falcons made a huge deal to trade up to the #1 pick in order to land him in the 2005 draft, and he's spent his entire career with Arkansas. A career .289/.347/.496 hitter, Wright was regarded as the "face of the franchise" by many in the organization. But the emergence of minor league sensation Mike Moustakas apparently made Wright expendable.
Wright was having a fine season for the Golden Falcons, hitting .276 with 24 HR and 69 RBI. However, just like Santana, Wright isn't eligible for the 2012 season at the moment, needing 78 more plate appearances. The 28-year-old third baseman is currently rehabbing a stress fracture in his lower back. If he can get back to the majors by early September, he'll likely qualify for 2012. A bigger question may be if he'll be usable -- when he got hurt, he was hitting just .226/.337/.404. But given his age and past performance, it seems likely that Wright will be on someone's protected list next season.Another career Golden Falcon, Joakim Soria, also was taken in the first round (#7 overall in 2008) by Arkansas. He's had three outstanding seasons for Arkansas, going 10-8 with 41 saves with a 3.27 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 272.1 innings.
This season represented his first bump in the road, posting a 4.17 ERA and 1.37 WHIP, with 14 saves but 8 blown saves -- just one less blown save than he'd had in his entire career! Soria's outlook for next season isn't rosey -- 4.37 ERA, 1.29 WHIP -- and the Golden Falcons already have their next closer lined up with youngster Drew Storen.With three former first round picks heading to Philadelphia, the final player in the deal from Arkansas's side is easy to overlook: Ryan Raburn. Drafted in the 8th Round (#105 overall) in 2010,
Raburn hit .250/.297/.495 last year and just .220/.323/.358 this year. Unless he has a Hall of Fame second half, the 30-year-old corner outfielder is likely not a keeper in 2012 (.207/.242/.344). Like Franklin, the inclusion of Raburn in the deal left many scratching their heads. Any guesses? A source inside the Arkansas organization said that Raburn and Santana share a "special relationship" and left it at that.
Arkansas also received two draft picks in the deal, Philly's 1st Round pick in 2012 and 2nd Round pick in 2012. But Arkansas also sent back its 3rd Round pick in 2012. Considering their current placement in the standings, Philly's 2nd is likely to be at the end of the 2nd and Arkansas's 3rd is likely to be at the top, so it might be a jump of only five or six places.
So who won the trade? At the moment, this deal clearly favors the Endzone Animals, who are chasing the Vancouver Iron Fist for the Morris Division lead and the Hoboken Cutters for the top wildcard slot. They already had one of the best rotations in baseball with Adam Wainwright (10-8, 2.16 ERA, 1.07 WHIP), Travis Wood (5-1, 2.59, 1.22), Roy Halladay (11-6, 2.94, 1.17) and Jered Weaver (7-9, 3.37, 1.09); now they add Santana (12-5, 3.24, 1.26). They upgrade their offense and defense at the hot corner by turning Sandoval into Wright. And even in an off year, Soria is a huge improvement over Franklin. Even if all three turn out to be non-keepers -- a distinct possibility at this point -- they have dramatically improved their team for this season.
However, Arkansas clearly made this deal with an eye toward the future. They gave up four players who, at the moment, are either ineligible or not worth keeping in 2012 (although Wright will probably be protected no matter what). But even if those players had little or no value to a rebuilding Golden Falcons team, they did have value as trade bait. Did the Golden Falcons get enough for Santana, Wright, and Soria? (Let's ignore Raburn.) Sandoval is four years younger than Wright and so far is having a much better year. Leake is a young starting pitcher who has had a roller coaster season, but could be a good pitcher for years to come. The two picks (or one and a half, from the bottom of the 2nd to the top of the 3rd) are nice, but if Sandoval and Leake don't turn out to be long-term keepers, Arkansas fans may not remember this deal fondly in years to come.
1 comment :
pretty good breakdown of the trade. nice article
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