Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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Domino: Steve Trachsel injures his back.
Domino: Kaz Ishii strikes out 10 batters in seven spring training innings.
Domino Effect: A potential trade of Ishii to the Mets for catcher Jason Phillips.
Phillips isn't exactly a top prospect anymore - and he had a pretty poor season in 2004 following a good 2003. Kind of like David Ross on a different scale. Phillips might not be that much added value. Then again, he would give the Dodgers another body to choose from and keep them from needing to rush Dioner Navarro.
Perhaps more importantly, a trade of Ishii would also have to be considered a vote of confidence in the starting pitching left behind.
And finally, although I'm among the minority that thinks Ishii is not completely without value, there are better ways to spend the salary he is going to earn this year. The dividend of an Ishii trade might not be just in the journeyman catcher that comes in exchange, but in the dollars that could be parlayed into another acquisition down the 2005 road.
Anyway, as of this writing, it's just a rumor. Ironically, Ishii is the lead item in Ken Gurnick's notebook on MLB.com.
And if Ishii leaves can pass on that secret to Odalis Perez?
Castro is having a decent spring for the Mets so they may not mind trading Philips since Castro can back up Piazza.
I never said Phillips was another Bako, though!
I read that Gagne may be making his debut Monday in Vero, and I'm excited about the prospect of seeing him. I hope he does better than Kevin Brown did a few years back when he pulled a leg muscle in the first inning of an exhibition vs.the Mets and was out for quite awhile.
The winner would be Jon's third child.
What does his position on the Mets' depth chart have to do with anything?
Phillips is probably an above average catcher. Every offensive projection system I've seen pegs him as pretty much .260/.335/.400, which is a dead average offensive line in Shea. Phillips' defense would have to be pretty bad to swamp the positional adjustment for catchers.
Tracy & I have something in common then.
Woody;
RE: "Can this trade be made a month or so into the season or is it a such a "once in a lifetime" deal that it must be made immediately"
All it will take is a couple of bad starts in that month to make Ishii untradeable to all but the wealthiest, and most desperate, teams. On the other hand, the Mets have money & desperation in abundance.
Phillips may not be a huge upgrade over Ross, but I think he is an upgrade, and even with Penny's questionable health, I think we have the SP-depth to deal with Kaz's absence. Alvarez can at least spot start, while I think Erickson and perhaps even Houlton can fill Kaz's slot in the long term adequately. The former in my view should also be at least as good as Kaz in serving as a fill-in for Penny, if he doesn't recover from the nerve injury. And Jackson, Ketchner, or Billlingsley may be ready for the show sometime late in the season, probably around the time when Kaz would have had his usual second-half fade.
WWSH
The Mets need a starting pitcher and Ishii, who from what I understand has had a good Spring, fits that bill (I might've been a little harsh on him in my previous post).
If I were the Mets, I would do this trade. And if the Mets want him, and if we can do this without money changing hands, then the Dodgers should say yes, yes, a thousand times yes. We save, what, five mil in salary? And we get a catcher who hits better than Ross and Bako (granting such a group is hardly exclusive).
I'll be surprised if the trade doesn't happen.
> be just in the journeyman catcher that
>comes in exchange, but in the dollars that
> could be parlayed into another acquisition
> down the 2005 road.
1) Why do you call JP a "journeyman catcher"?
He might be 28 and been in the minors for six years, but he's only had two full years with the Mets - his only team in the majors.
2) Ken Gurnick on Dodgers.com:
If such a deal was pending, from the Dodgers' perspective, the trade would do more than move salary -- it would bolster the catching corps with a player DePodesta has inquired about previously.
http://dodgers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050319&content_id=971871&vkey=spt2005news&fext=.jsp&c_id=la
In that article, Depo is also quoted as saying:
"[It] would take a very particular player to fit into the need we have, and there just aren't many out there. They do exist, but they are few and far between."
My conclusions, as stated on the LA Dugout board:
If Depo thought that Phillips was just a minor upgrade over Ross (as others keep noting), I don't think he'd say the last quote, nor do I think he'd continue to keep going after him (as implied in Gurnick's statement).
To me, JP is the classic example of an undervalued player Depo thinks could turn out to be a pleasant surprise.
I definitely feel the same way.
Thoughts on Edwin's outing today? Is he still another full year away?
What's up with Jason Repko? Wow!
BC
listening to the Mets broadcast today, they mentioned the dodgers "really, really want" phillips, and that Randolph has taken phillips out of the lineup the last two days to avoid any potential injuries.
jd
Whoever it was seems to be gone or muted now that McCourt's in there.
The Ishii for Phillips deal is now official according to MLB.com, no mention of money being exchanged yet.
Besides, Penny is still not a sure thing to be healthy, and Jackson still looks like he needs more minor league seasoning. It seems like we're expecting Erickson to be a big part of our run this year, but has his spring been really THAT great?
And, a great deal.
Forget Phillips last year. I'll pay attention to his .298 batting average the year before, and stare at David Ross' sub-Mendoza line last year. :)
Great news.
Reedster, I'm with you. Phillips is 11 for 20 in ST so far.
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