Kuzul

After the 2010 season, both Boston Red Sox catchers will be free agents. It’s quite possible that Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek won’t be back for the Red Sox in 2011.

I believe Martinez will be back, but just in case he is not or even if he is, the Red Sox traded for some insurance over the weekend. The Red Sox acquired catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the Texas Rangers for minor leaguers Ramon Mendez (no relation to Sam or Eva) and Chris McGuiness. The Red Sox will also include a player to be named later.

Saltalamacchia has been a huge bust since coming to the Rangers in the Mark Teixeira trade in 2007. He was supposed to become the Rangers’ catcher of the future and has been anything but.

Injuries, a case of Mackey Sasser syndrome (can’t throw the ball back to the pitcher), and a .243 average in a Rangers’ led to this trade. Perhaps a change of scenery will do him good in Boston.

Saltalamacchia is still only 25-years old, so there is plenty of time for him to turn things around.

McGuiness is having a monster season in Single-A. He has put up a .298/.416/.504 hitting line with 12 home runs in 282 at-bats.

He is a 22-year-old first baseman, who was drafted in the 13th round of the 2009 draft. While the Red Sox still have Kevin Youkilis and Lars Anderson is still lurking in the minors, I am a little surprised Boston would include McGuiness in a trade for Saltalamacchia.

Mendez is a 20-year-old pitcher, who had a 6.56 ERA with 9.9 K/9 in Single-A this season.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, and Cleveland Indians got together on Saturday and made a nice three team trade that I believe benefited all three teams.

Let’s see what each team got in the trade…

Cardinals receive Jake Westbrook

With the uncertainty surrounding Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse, the Cardinals needed another starter to go along with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Westbrook fits exactly what the Cardinals needed to a tee.

Pitching coach Dave Duncan likes guys who throw groundballs and pound the strike zone. Westbrook certainly does that. He has a groundball rate of 53 percent.

I would imagine if the Cardinals fend off the Cincinnati Reds and make the playoffs, Westbrook would be their Game Three starter and Jaime Garcia would slide into the Game Four spot.

Greenwood was a 14th round pick of the Padres in the 2009 Draft and posted a 4.15 ERA in 95.1 IP for Single-A Fort Wayne this season.

Padres receive Ryan Ludwick and minor leaguer Nick Greenwood

The Cardinals must really like Jon Jay in order to part with Ludwick. Ludwick is a solid player who has always produced since coming over to the Cardinals in 2007. Now he will go to San Diego, a team that really could use his services.

Padre right fielders rank 11th in the NL with a .758 OPS. Ludwick will certainly help improve that. Ludwick put up a .281/.343/.484 hitting line with 11 HR in 281 ABs for the Cardinals.

He should fit in nicely behind Adrian Gonzalez in the Padres lineup and will be under the Padres’ control for 2011 as well.

Indians receive Corey Kluber

Kluber was a fourth round pick of the Padres in the 2007 draft and has shown tremendous ability to strike people out in four seasons in the minor leagues. Over the course of four seasons, Kluber has a 9.5 K/9 rate, mostly as a starter.

This year, Kluber has a 3.45 ERA and 136 K’s in 122.2 innings for Double-A San Antonio.

I really like this deal for all three parties involved. The Cardinals get their No.3/No.4 starter they needed, the Padres get the outfield bat they so desperately needed, and the Indians continue to trade away assets and get decent value in return.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

What would a trade deadline be without the New York Yankees getting involved?

After kicking the tires on pitchers Cliff Lee and Dan Haren, the Yankees decided to go in a different direction on Friday by adding some offense. The Yankees on Friday acquired 1B Lance Berkman from the Houston Astros for Mark Melancon and Jimmy Paredes. Then they traded for OF Austin Kearns for the ever-so-popular player to be named later, or PTBNL, as all the cool kids say.

First, let’s talk about the Berkman move because that is the more significant move.

The last couple of days have had to been hard on Astros’ owner Drayton McLane. He has traded his two prized sons over the span of 48 hours. It’s good though that he has realized that the only way the Astros are going to get better in the future is trading their veterans who have value and getting younger.

Despite hitting .245, which is the lowest of his career, Berkman does have a .365 OBP and should fit in nicely into the Yankees’ lineup. He will serve as the primary DH, a spot in the Yankees’ lineup that has been a black hole ever since Nick Johnson went down with a wrist injury.

You have to figure that Berkman will DH against righties moving forward. He has an .874 OPS against righties this year, which is over 300 points higher than it is against lefties. It seems like the days of Berkman being a legit switch-hitter are over. Against a righty, here is what I think the Yankees’ lineup should look like…

1. Derek Jeter

2. Lance Berkman

3. Mark Teixeira

4. Alex Rodriguez

5. Robinson Cano

6. Jorge Posada

7. Curtis Granderson

8. Nick Swisher

9. Brett Gardner

It’s a good thing the Yankees don’t need an All-Star at every position. That lineup is lethal. If Berkman is DHing against righties, then perhaps Kearns will DH against left-handed pitching.

Kearns was having a decent season in Cleveland, putting up a .272/.354/.419 hitting line with eight home runs in 301 AB’s. Kearns got off to a great start to the season, hitting .372 in April, but has really tailed off since. He has been around .250 consistently since his hot April.

Kearns could potentially serve as replacement for Curtis Granderson against lefties and, like I mentioned before, a right-handed DH to spell Berkman.

The two prospects the Yankees gave up are nothing special.

Melancon is a 25-year-old who had brief stints with the Yankees this year and last year. The right-hander had a 3.67 ERA in Triple-A this year with 9.3 K/9.  Baseball America ranked Melancon 15th among all Yankees prospects before the season, citing his closer’s mentality and strong makeup.

Paredes, 21, is a switch-hitting infielder who has played second, short, and third. He has stolen 36 bases in 46 attempts at A ball this year and has a .282/.312/.408 line.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It’s amazing to me that a team that is supposedly in financial ruins continues to add players at the trade deadline.

If there is an early winner from the July 31 trade deadline it has to be the Texas Rangers. First they added Cliff Lee, then they added Jorge Cantu, and now they have added Cristian Guzman. Obviously, the latter two aren’t in the same category as Lee, but they are solid pieces that can be used to help solve the Rangers’ World Series puzzle.

The Rangers acquired Guzman from the Washington Nationals for minor leaguers Ryan Tatusko and Tanner Roark. The Nationals will also send over $2 million to the Rangers to cover Guzman’s salary.

Guzman was batting .282/.327/.361 with two home runs and four stolen abses in 346 plate appearances for the Nationals this season.

With the Rangers sending Chris Davis down to Triple-A (his Rangers days might be over), Texas will now move Cantu over to first base full-time. Acquiring Guzman fills the void left by Ian Kinsler when he went on the DL.

Guzman has played 63 games at second this year for the Nationals, posting a -1.9 UZR. He will be a decent fill-in for Kinsler while he is out and he could spell Elvis Andrus from time to time. Once Kinsler returns from the DL, Guzman will move into a utility role.

The two prospects the Rangers gave up are nothing more than fringe prospects. Tatusko is 9-2 with a 2.97 ERA in Double-A, but he is already 25-years old and his K/9 has declined three years in a row. Roark is also a pitcher in Double-A, who was 10-5 with a 4.20 ERA in 17 starts.

Not only have the Rangers added a star player in Lee, but they have added depth in Cantu and Guzman. I really like what the Rangers have done this trade deadline.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Another year and another trade deadline dominated by the Philadelphia Phillies quest to acquire a starting pitcher. Last year the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee near the trade deadline, and this year they have acquired another front-line starter.

The Phillies acquired Roy Oswalt from the Houston Astros for JA Happ and minor leaguers Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar. The Astros will pick up $11 million on Oswalt’s contract and the Phillies will not pick up Oswalt’s 2012 option, which was a sticking point for a while.

With the acquisition of Oswalt, the Phillies now have a one-two punch that, in my opinion, is the best in baseball. I don’t think there is a team out there that can rival Roy Halladay and Oswalt as a one-two punch.

With this trade, Ruben Amaro Jr. has finally solved something that has been an issue for the Phillies the last three years—the quest for a legit No. 2 starter. The Phillies have always had an ace for the last three seasons, but their No. 2 starters were more like No. 3s.

With Oswalt, the Phillies have One and One-A.

Oswalt had a 3.42 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and a 8.37 K/9 rate (second highest of his career) in 20 starts for the Astros. He is consistently touching 93 on the gun with his fastball and his curve is as good as it’s ever been.

He will make his Phillies debut on Friday against the Washington Nationals.

For the Astros, they get Happ, who I’ve always liked. He finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2009, but has suffered from an injury plagued 2010. Happ isn’t a No. 1 type starter by any means, but he should be an above-average starter for the Astros for the next several years. He is under team control until 2014.

Villar is a 19-year-old shortstop who was hitting .272 with 38 stolen bases in 100 games for Single-A Lakewood this year. He is not a power guy, but with 82 career stolen bases in three minor league seasons, it looks like he has speed to burn.

Gose, who was the third player received in the deal, was immediately shipped off to the Toronto Blue Jays for Brett Wallace. Wallace, if you remember, was in the Matt Holliday trade last season. In the past three years, Wallace has been traded three times and has been on four different organizations.

I guess it’s better to be wanted than nobody wanting you at all.

Wallace becomes the Astros first baseman of the future. He was hitting .301 with 18 home runs and had a .359 OBP in 95 games for Triple-A Las Vegas this season. He was ranked the 27th best prospect in baseball according to Baseball America prior to the season.

I think it was an okay haul for the Astros. The key to this deal will be the development of Wallace. If he can turn into an All-Star caliber first baseman for the Astros then this trade will look solid for them in the future.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With the Major League Baseball trade deadline just three days away, we are starting to see the trades pick up.

Early last night we saw the Cleveland Indians trade Jhonny Peralta to the Detroit Tigers and later in the night, we had another trade.

Podsednik is going to Cali

The Kansas City Royals sent OF Scott Podsednik to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league catcher Lucas May and minor league pitcher Elisaul Pimentel. The Dodgers will also assume the remaining $650,000 left on Podsednik’s contract.

I like this trade for the Dodgers for two reasons—

1. Podsednik gives them outfield depth for the remainder of the season. Believe it or not, Podsednik was one of the best free agent acquisitions of the offseason.

Signed by the Royals for one-year and $1.75 million, Podsednik was hitting .309 with a .352 OBP and 30 steals in 42 attempts for KC in 2010. According to Fangraphs , Podsednik was worth $4.8 million in value to the Royals in 2010. That is a very good signing at the end of the day.

With Manny Ramirez and Reed Johnson currently on the DL, Podsednik can be a more than serviceable fill-in for those two while they are out. When Ramirez comes back, Podsednik will be a valuable pinch-runner off the bench for Joe Torre’s club.

2. This trade keeps Podsednik away from the Dodgers’ rivals. The Dodgers really didn’t need to have Podsednik, but in getting him from the Royals, they keep him away from the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres who were both searching for outfield help.

I am not saying Podsednik is a HUGE difference maker, but any advantage the Dodgers can get over their division rivals is certainly a plus.

The Royals get in return two fringe prospects according to Baseball America’s Ben Badler (If you are not following him on Twitter , you most definitely should). May is a 25-year-old catcher who is a career .260 minor league hitter. He does have some pop in his bat (25 HR’s in High Single A in 2007), but only projects as a decent at best backup catcher in the majors according to Badler.

Pimentel is a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher, who has a career 3.68 ERA and 8.1 K’s/9 in four minor league seasons. He is a fringe prospect that throws 89-93, but has an inconsistent slider and change according to Badler.

Podsednik should be in a Dodgers’ uniform tonight when they take on the first place Padres in San Diego.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The other day I wrote that Detroit Tigers’ GM Dave Dombrowski had a tough job on his hands at the trade deadline because the Tigers need so many different things. They need a third baseman, a middle infielder, a starting pitcher, and a right-handed reliever out of the pen.

Peralta is headed to Motown

Dombrowski decided to fill one of those needs on Wednesday by getting a third baseman. The Tigers acquired 3B Jhonny Peralta from the Cleveland Indians for minor league pitcher Giovanni Soto. According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney via Twitter , the Indians will pick up most of the $1.8 million still owed to Peralta this season.

So what exactly are the Tigers getting here? With Peralta, the Tigers are getting a stop-gap third baseman, who they hope can get hot down the stretch. Peralta does have a club option for $7 million in 2011 with a $250,000 buyout and I will say there is a better chance of me playing third for the Tigers next year than Detroit picking that up.

Peralta was hitting just .246 with seven HR’s and a .308 in 334 AB’s with the Indians. At the age of 28, it appears Peralta’s best days are behind him. I don’t think we will see his 2008 season again when he hit .276 with 23 HR’s and had a .804 OPS.

Regardless of Peralta’s declining offensive skills, he should give the Tigers more then what Don Kelly or Scott Sizemore could give them.

In Soto, the Indians are getting a 19-year-old, left-handed pitcher who has a 2.10 ERA in two minor league seasons between Rookie and Single-A ball. He was the Tigers’ 21st round pick in the 2009 Draft.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With Texas Rangers’ pitcher Rich Harden impressing in his last rehab start on Monday (10 K’s over six innings) in Triple-A, it has been speculated that Harden will take the struggling Scott Feldman’s spot in the rotation. It’s quite possible that Harden could start as early as this weekend for the Rangers against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

I think the Rangers are making a mistake. I think the Rangers should use Harden out of the bullpen upon his return. Here are the reasons for my thinking.

1. The Rangers don’t need Harden in the rotation. If and when the Rangers make the playoffs, in a five or seven game series they will most likely have the following rotation:

• Cliff Lee

• CJ Wilson

• Tommy Hunter

• Colby Lewis

There is no room for a No. 5 starter in the playoffs.

Why not work Harden into a seventh inning guy, who can come into a game and blow hitters away now instead of in late-September? Feldman has no purpose on this team, so why not use him as the No. 5 starter to finish out the season. There’s a good chance Feldman won’t even make the post-season roster.

Harden on the other hand, has value coming out of the pen. October is all about power arms and Harden can be that power arm out of the pen in the sixth or seventh inning. That is not possible for Feldman.

2. Harden’s days as a starter are over.

Let’s face reality: The days of Harden being a dominant starter are over. He can’t go deep into games (not that he ever did) and his stuff isn’t as sharp as it was even two years ago.

Harden at this point in his career is a pitcher that may give a team five innings, strike out five or six, walk three or four, and give up three or four runs.

I think without having to pace himself, Harden would fare much better out of the pen.

Of course, there are some negatives to this move as well.

1. Can his shoulder hold up pitching without a set schedule? It might be easier for Harden’s shoulder knowing that it’s going to pitch every fifth day rather than every other day.

If you listen to a lot of doctors, they will say it’s better for a pitcher to throw 100 pitches on one day with a set schedule than throwing 100 pitches over the course of 10 days with no schedule.

2. Harden would have to start the inning he comes in. In order to use Harden in relief, the Rangers would have to allow him to warm up at his own pace. With his achy shoulder, I doubt Harden could warm up in five minutes and then come into the game throwing beebe’s.

Looking at the positives and negatives of a Harden move to the bullpen, I think the positives outweigh the negatives and Harden would have the most value to the Rangers out of the bullpen.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @theghostofmlg

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Not Tanyon Sturtze, Bryan Rekar, Albie Lopez, Esteban Yan, Jorge Sosa, John Halama, nor Paul Abbott were able to do it. Dewon Brazelton, Casey Fossom, Tim Corcoran, and Jim Morris weren’t able to do it either.

The feat I am talking about is throwing a no-hitter for the Tampa Bay Rays. Up until last night, no pitcher was able to throw a no-hitter for the Rays, but then Matt Garza took the mound on Monday night.

Garza threw the first no-hitter in Rays history and the fifth no-hitter this season as the Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 5-0 on Monday night. Garza walked just one batter and struck out six in the 120 pitch effort.

What was interesting about this game was that Garza’s counterpart, Max Scherzer had a no-hitter through 5.2 IP. I have to admit, and with all due respect to my friend Charlie, dueling no-hitters are a lot better to watch than dueling pianos in Chicago.

Scherzer had his no-hitter attempt broken up in grand fashion—literally. Scherzer lost his no-no bid when Matt Joyce crushed a 3-2 fastball down the right field line for a grand slam.

Once Garza got the lead in the sixth, there was no stopping him. This start reminded me of his start in Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS against the Boston Red Sox. He was flat out dealing that night and he was dealing last night as well.

What was impressive about Garza’s start on Monday night was the way he worked up in the zone. Most pitchers are taught to work down in the zone, but Garza was more effective up in the zone on Monday.

Let’s take a look at Garza’s pitch chart courtesy of PitchFX.

As you can see, Garza was up in the zone all night. The dangerous location didn’t matter because his fastball had so much life on it, the Tigers’ hitters couldn’t square the ball up.

It was a very impressive start for Garza. He improved to 11-5 on the season and lowered his ERA to 4.05.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Despite being seven games behind the first place Texas Rangers in the American League West, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are not going down without a fight. Earlier in the week, they acquired Alberto Callaspo from the Kansas City Royals and now they have perhaps acquired the best pitcher left on the trade market.

The Angels have acquired RHP Dan Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks for LHP Joe Saunders and minor leaguers Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez, and Tyler Skaggs.

When I first saw this trade I thought two things: First, the Angels came out of nowhere on this one and 2. I had the same reaction that George’s girlfriend had when he came out of the pool in the Hamptons. There had to be more.

Unfortunately, for the Diamondbacks there wasn’t anymore to this trade. What a steal for the Angels. Maybe the Diamondbacks had better offers, maybe they didn’t. But it looks like the Diamondbacks didn’t get nearly enough for a pitcher who is signed for another two seasons after 2010 and has a club option for 2013.

Here is a breakdown of the trade…

What the Angels get

When you looked at the Angels starting rotation prior to this trade, outside of Jered Weaver it was very mediocre. Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Scott Kazmir, and Joel Piniero are nice pitchers, but they are all No. 3 or 4 starters on a World Series caliber ball club.

Now with Haren and Weaver at the top of the Angels rotation, Anaheim has a one-two punch just as good as any team in the American League. Haren is a legit No.1 starter and will be for the Angels for the next two and maybe three years.

Haren is signed through the next two years at a very reasonable $12.75 million. He has a club option for 2013 for $15.5 million with a $3.5 million buyout.

Now some will point to Haren’s 7-8 record with a 4.60 ERA this season and at the age of 29, think he is on the decline. Well, he is not.

His 9.00 K/9 and 40.8 percent groundball rate in 2010 are the best of his career and he hasn’t lost anything on his fastball (velocity on his fastball is where it was last season). I would say Haren’s season can attributed to him pitching on a terrible team.

I expect with a trade to Anaheim, Haren will get a shot of adrenaline and pitch very well.

What the Diamondbacks get

Joe Saunders is your classic left-handed finesse pitcher. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff and is at best a No. 3 or 4 starter on a good team.

When the Angels had to start Saunders in Game 6 of the ALCS last season against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, I knew the Angels had no shot. There was no way Saunders was walking into Yankee Stadium and winning that game.

Saunders was 6-10 with a 4.62 ERA for the Angels this season. His 38.4 flyball percentage was the highest of Saunders’ career. I am not sure how that is going to fare in hitter’s ballpark in Arizona.

The Diamondbacks will have Saunders under team control through 2011. My guess is the Diamondbacks will try to re-establish his value and then trade him again at some point. I can’t see him being in their long-term plans.

Patrick Corbin is a 21-year-old left-handed pitcher who is currently 5-3 with a 3.88 ERA for High Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. He has made 11 starts this year and his 9.5 K/9 is the highest of his minor league career so far.

Rafael Rodriguez has been up with the Angels twice over the last two years and things didn’t fare so well for the 25-year-old out of the Dominican Republic. In 32.2 IP, Rodriguez has given up 48 hits, 11 walks and only has struck out 11.

He has a 3.04 ERA in 50.1 relief innings this season for Triple-A Salt Lake.

Tyler Skaggs was the No. 8 ranked prospect in the Angels’ organization prior to the season according to Baseball America. He has impressed this season in Single-A going 8-4 with a 3.61 ERA 9.0 K’s/9.

The Diamondbacks had the trade chip of all trade chips at the deadline — an ace pitcher, who has a reasonable contract for the next two years and didn’t get nearly enough in return.

Good trade for the Angels.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com