Yankees pick up Brad Meyers, STL picks up Erik Komatsu.
A fellow blogger (For the Cubs at View from the Bleachers) asked about Meyers earlier, so I got a little thing ready about him,
As crazy as it may sound he doesn't fit well into the Nats plans. He'd
likely be the 4th starter in AAA next year (behind Peacock, Milone, and
Detwiler) and does not have an age advantage despite being only 26.
Lannan is only a year older and Zimmermann, Strasburg, and the three
guys I mentioned are all the same age or younger. Plus they have 5 guys
(Purke, Meyer, Solis, Cole and Ray) they'd love to be able to move up
to AA and AAA if needed. So as good as he seems, he might not be in
their top 10 pitchers projecting a couple years into the future.
It also doesn't help that Purke, Anthony Rendon, and Bryce Harper
are all taking up roster spots even though none are likely to play more
than a month and half in the majors next year. So really the Nats only
have 37 spots on the 40 available and they got players to sign.
Obviously the somewhat recent injury
and the necessity to keep him in the majors all season weren't deterrents
enough. My guess is the Yanks do go ahead and try him as a starter first then push him into a reliever role if that fails.
Erik Komatsu? At 23 he still might become something as he has a good eye and has hit well for average more often than not, but he doesn't have the fielding ability to play CF and he doesn't have the pop in the bat to play the corners. The most likely scenario that I see is that he has a couple cups of coffee in the majors, maybe ends up as a 4th OF somewhere. I'm really not sure what the Cardinals see that they'd keep a guy like this on the roster all year long.
If you don't like the Nats losing these guys, I'll warn you that it's not going to get any better. I'd keep an eye out each of
the next couple years on the Nats minor league FAs and Rule V guys.
With the depth of starters they are bound to have some useful pieces
they can't protect.
I liked Meyers, but i also agree that he didn't really fit into the plans of the organization. He didn't have great long-term prospects in DC. I wish him and Komatsu the best. On an unrelated note, do you think the Nats will make a push for Yu Darvish? I have heard rumors that they will, and I have mixed emotions. Rizzo was pretty vague when asked. I am pretty convinced that they will try very hard to acquire Cespedes, mostly due to their lack of success at finding a centerfielder. But are they really willing to spend a posting fee of upward of 30 million just to negotiate? I understand the upside. It's very enticing. If he plays to potential then they would have a top of the rotation that would rival any in baseball. But the risk is equally high. What are your opinions? Do you think it's just rampant speculation? Or would the Nationals really take that kind of risk?
ReplyDeleteThe posting fee I meant about Yu Darvish. Sorry if my previous comment was a little misleading. I meant are they willing to try and sign Darvish.
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming no. I think Rizzo likes to kick the tires on everything and see what the asking price is just to see if circumstances will give him a deal. The Nats don't really have the room or the budget for something that's not a sure thing.
ReplyDeleteHeck, I'm just glad the organization has improved enough that someone is interesting in taking two of our guys in Rule V.
ReplyDeleteNot sure why the Nats picked up Beau Seabury (c) and Matt Buschmann (rhp) in the subsequent phases. They don't have to go on the 40 man, but does anyone know anything about them? Did we really need another catcher? Don't we have at least 4 good prospects at that position already?
ReplyDeleteI'm a little shocked Komatsu was picked - he didn't do that well in AA last year. Depending on his defense, he may or may not have been a possible piece in the Nats future, though I can definitely see why they took their chances not protecting him. My guess is he comes back. As for Meyers - eh - he was never making the starting squad, and decent pen arms are easy to come by. The Yanks may decide to keep him since he's cheap.
ReplyDeleteOn Seabury - It's possible he was just picked up as a minor league fill-in. I just looked him up - he's 26 and doesn't have very impressive stats - he was probably brought in as a backup to one of the true depth guys, who the Nats would prefer to start in the minors.
anon - that's the best way to look at it.
ReplyDeleteDonald - Two reasons talent is talent. You like a guy, he's available, might as well pick him up. or you may just have a hole in your organization that is easier to fill with one of these guys.
michael K - He may come back but my guess is it'd be later in the year. Cards are hoping 2010 is real and he can sit on a bench for a year no problem