There's been a lot of action in the past few weeks, and a lot of prospects on the move. Some are more well known than others, so MLBPW takes a look at how they stack up and when (if ever) you can expect to see them in a big league uniform:
Dec 4 - St. Louis trades RHP Mark Worrell and a player to be named later to San Diego in exchange for SS Khalil Greene.
- Worrell was the Cardinals 12th round pick in 2004 out of Florida International University. He has a funky delivery which makes him quite effective as a right-handed specialist out of the bullpen, but also likely limits his ceiling there. Despite good career minor league numbers, St. Louis never seemed to buy into Worrell as an effective major leaguer, with his only real shot being the 5 2/3 IP he threw for the Birds in June of 2008. Worrell could play a role in the Padres bullpen in 2009, but essentially they gave up their starting shortstop and one of their few recently successful first round picks for a middle reliever and salary relief.
Dec 7 - Detroit trades minor league RHP's Guillermo Moscoso and Carlos Melo to Texas for C Gerald Laird.
- Moscoso is a pitcher with a ton pf potential, as his successful minor league numbers indicate, but he also has had a hard time staying healthy. That could land him a role in the Tigers bullpen, and depeding on his health and success, that be as early as 2009. Despite already being 25, he has only 34 2/3 IP above A-ball. Any role he plays in Detroit in 2009 will depend on how he handles an extended audition in Double-A. Melo is all projection at this point, as a 17-year old with a power arm but only one professional season under his belt. Still, he was worth acquiring by Detroit if they have the patience to let him develop, which they should. Melo will probably take another crack at the Dominical Summer League or perhaps extended Spring Training before moving on to short-season ball in the States.
Dec 9 - Cincinnati trades minor league IF's Justin Turner and Brandon Waring along with big league utility man Ryan Freel to Baltimore for C Ramon Hernandez.
- As part of the ongoing rebuilding process in Baltimore, the Orioles continued to jettison veteran players in order to stockpile what is becoming a strong farm system. Acquiring Turner and Waring from the Reds only adds to that depth. Turner has dabbled at almost every position on the diamond, although 2B seems like his likely home. His on-field production continues to compensate for a lack of obvious tools, but 294 minor league games is enough of a track record for the Orioles to believe that his career .310/.377/.445 line is no fluke. He could end up being a relatively effective utility man, ironically in the mold of a guy like Ryan Freel. Waring has been a big-time power guy during his short professional career, but has not played above A-ball Along with his power comes an inability to produce consistant at-bats, which will ultimately determine his effectiveness at higher levels. The Orioles will have to wait and see if his power continues to translate in the Carolina League this year. Most importantly for this trade, it clears room behind the plate for Matt Wieters.
Dec 10 - Philadelphia trades C Jason Jaramillo to Pittsburgh for C Ronny Paulino
- While never highly touted as a potential all-star, Jaramillo was at one point the top catching prospect in the Phillies system. He has since been passed by prospect Lou Marson and to a certain extent Travis D'Arnaud, both of whom have higher ceilings. Instead of tagging Jaramillo is their backup in 2009, they unloaded him for Ronny Paulino, who also has a higher ceiling if he can maintain his weight. Jaramillo still profiles as a career backup catcher who might be able able to sneak some regular playing time during the prime of his career. In Pittsburgh, he seems ready to spell Ryan Doumit when needed, but will have to improve defensively to maintain his calue, as his bat is not quite strong enough to carry him.
Dec 11 - The New York Mets trade minor leaguers 1B Mike Carp, OF Ezequiel Carrera, and RHP Maikel Cleto, along with RHP Aaron Heilman, LHP Jason Vargas, and OF Endy Chavez to Seattle and RHP Joe Smith to Cleveland as part of a three-team deal, in which the Mets received RHP's J.J. Putz and Sean Green and OF Jeremy Reed, and the Indians received 2B Luis Valbuena from Seattle in exchange for OF Franklin Gutierrez.
- Got all that? In what has been the biggest trade of the off-season both in terms of number of players and impact, the Mets, Indians and Mariners swapped a plethora of veterans and minor leaguers. The Mets acquired J.J. Putz, but gave up the most, the biggest piece of which was Mike Carp. Carp is a decent prospect who displays the potential to be a big-regular, although he's currently a 1B and his power is a little on the short side for the position. He could see Seattle at some point in 2009 after having spent the past season and a half in Double-A. Carrera is a burner on the basepaths with no power to speak of. He has yet to play above A-ball and is 21, so he'll have to develop some power quickly to become anything other than a 4th OF at the big league level. Cleto is a high ceiling guy, currently sporting a monstrous fastball and little else. He could be a potential power reliever if he developes just one more effective pitch, but he has plenty of time to figure that out, as he's just 19. The Mariners are in no position to be giving up on young players like Luis Valbuena, but he was comming off his best professional season and perhaps the believe they are selling high on him. He could see time at 2B in Cleveland this year.
Dec 12 - Arizona trades RHP Connor Robertson for LHP Scott Schoeneweis.
- You might recognizes Robertson's name, as he came to Arizona along with Dan Haren in last winter's blockbuster deal. Apparently one year of Robertson was all the Diamondbacks could handle, as they saw him sport an ERA over 5.00 at Triple-A and 7 ugly IP in the big leagues. He will compete for one of the final bullpen spots in New York in 2009, but will likely be a guy that bounces back and forth from the minors.
