theknicks414 wrote:Richie Sexson
helps Seattle's rotation:
King Felix
Jarrod Washburn
Tyler Clippard
Horacio Ramirez
Jeff Karstens
How? This year's rotation is:
Felix, Washburn, Weaver, Batista, Ramirez
Of course, this is obviously a trade for the future. But in '08, Seattle will hope to move Brandon Morrow and Ryan Feierabend -- who are more highly regarded prospects than Karstens and Clippard -- into the rotation. With Weaver and Ramirez coming off their contracts, the '08 rotation would be:
Felix, Morrow, Washburn, Feierabend, Batista
Then, in '09, they'll be looking to bring up two more youngsters, Tony Butler and Chris Tillman. Unfortunately, Washburn and Batista are both signed through that year, so they might have to make some trades or eat some salary if Butler and Tillman are ready. If not, there are worse things than having another year of those two before they can hit the free agent market before 2010.
Now, it's likely that one or more of the M's prospects won't pan out, and for that reason it's always good to stockpile arms. But are Karstens and Clippard the guys we want to add? I don't see it. Karstens did well in the majors last year, but there's little in his minor league record to suggest that he's more than a back-of-the-rotation guy. He's been able to eat a lot of innings, but that's not necessarily such a good thing for a young pitcher anyway. He has also been a high-ratio pitcher. His K/9 rates have been impressive and perhaps that can translate into big league success, but with scouting reports that say his fastball tops out at 90, he sounds like... well, he sounds like a Miguel Batista type.
I know much less about Clippard -- but I do know that he's not on any list of the top-5 Yankee pitching prospects that I've seen. And when you're trying to trade for someone who can hit 35+ homers in the league's most difficult park for righty hitters, you have to give up one of your top prospects.
So, what's the going rate for righty sluggers? Well, this offseason, the Yankees set a precedent by trading one for Humberto Sanchez and a couple of low-minors pitchers. Of course, Sexson is an outstanding fielder (just a shade lower than Mientkiewicz) and younger and more durable than Sheffield... so anyway, that's the kind of package I'd use as the starting point of any discussion.
