The Michael Young Trade Rumor
Yeah, this is how we all feel right now.[5:00 a.m. CDT update: Per FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, sources close to Michael Young say that the Rangers have told him he will not be traded. That was fast. Note that this latest tidbit doesn't preclude a move for Beltre, but it does diminish the likelihood.]
It's so typical of how this type of thing usually seems to play out, and yet a bit stunning nevertheless because of who is involved -- a casual mention of the Rangers "listening to offers" for their de facto face of the franchise (Michael Young), followed by a carefully worded denial from team president Nolan Ryan which only clarified that Texas isn't actively shopping him around (which isn't the same thing as fielding offers, after all), followed by a late-evening report that the Rangers and Rockies are kicking around the idea of sending Young to Colorado, who would then apparently convert him back into a second baseman. This is how it begins.
The most obvious and pertinent question is "Why would the Rockies acquire Young (and assume his hefty per-annum contract) in the first place?", and it's a good question that can, in turn, be answered by peering into the heart of the Rockies' middle infield -- with the departure of Clint Barmes to the Houston Astros, Colorado has the recently acquired Jose Lopez (who put together a few solid seasons during his time in Seattle, but hasn't played second base since 2009 and batted a career-worst .239/.270/.339 last season), Eric Young Jr. (still unestablished going into his age-26 season), and Jonathan Herrera, an okay-fielding all-purpose man who seems better suited for a utility/bench role. There's a conspicuous lack of reliability in this motley collection of second-base options, and if the Rockies' evaluation of Young is that he can still handle that position, then his offense -- which would enjoy a two-variable bounce, owing to both the move to the National League and to a more hitter-friendly environment in Coors Field -- and standing as a high-character player conforms well with the Colorado team-building template.
From the Rangers' perspective, there are two ways that this could make sense: (a) Texas allocates the cost savings derived from a trade of Young to other players that create a net increase in value, or (b) Texas goes ahead and goes through (a) anyway, and then allocates the cost savings to free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, whom the intrepid Prashanth Francis wrote about less than 48 hours ago. Contrary to popular belief, Young doesn't actually bank a straight $16 million per season (it's more along the lines of $13-14 million, after accounting for deferred money and such), so if the Rangers could get away with subsidizing only $3-4 million per season, and then turn around and sign Beltre for around $15 million per year (over five years, I would guess), you're looking at an $18-19 million commitment at third base in 2011 -- albeit a commitment that would hopefully create a three-win upgrade, or thereabouts.
You may be asking yourself why paying $6 million per win makes good fiscal sense when I derided that very notion in the context of the Carl Crawford discussion, but there's another important consideration -- flexibility. It's generally accepted that Young's facing a finite life as a third baseman (borne almost entirely from his defensive inadequacies), and that the Rangers will opt to protect their team defense by sliding him to the first base/designated hitter role sometime in 2012-13; this may be a matter of Texas not wanting to pay nearly $15 million per season for such a player who's approaching (if not already entering) the early stages of his decline phase, and not wanting to be forced into committing one of those two positions exclusively to Young, whose bat would be inadequate at such power-producing positions.
There's very little we know about this prospective match as of midnight CDT -- the two sides don't appear to have discussed specifics in terms of dollars or additional players involved, and there's a high likelihood this rumor doesn't bear any fruit. The only thing we seem to know is that Young's limited no-trade clause does not enable him to block a deal to Colorado, so he really doesn't have much say in the matter ... or not in the procedural sense, at least.
Analysis, Hot Stove Season, The Off-Season
Reader Comments (26)
Please baseball God's, I really really want this trade to happen
I highly doubt MY will get traded, I really don't believe that Colorado would invest that much into him.
Bob Nightingale (USA Today) tweeted that Young would accept a trade to Colorado. Interesting, to say the least.
I scoffed at the notion of the Rangers signing Beltre and moving Young to DH/1B now. But I never thought they might deal him, and I'll still be shocked if it comes about.
I'm seeing other tweets that Young can't block a trade to Colorado anyway, so not sure what Nightingale means.
Hah, and now Nightingale is tweeting that the Rangers have told Young he will not be traded. How entertaining this all is.
MY has a good reputation everywhere except at home. I'm sure they have no problems getting someone to take on a chunk of his salary for a middling prospect or 2. I have thought for awhile and still think this very smart FO will figure out a way to ship him out. I didn't realize the 10-5 window was on us so quickly, however, so that means this time next week, MY will likely be gone. It's not his salary -- it's his defense that Texas wants relief from.
What to do with my MY tshirt? The memory of MY HR in the ALDS just shed a tear. The time has come for the Rangers to continue being relevant and we do so without the FOTF, without this decade's version of Pudge. I understand all the reasons this makes sense, and it may be something that's really good for the team overall, but the part of me that roots for guys like MY to get a WS ring with the team he's given everything to and for is sad.
Agree with Skeletor. I was in Baltimore when he got called up for good & got his first hit. He's been a good & loyal soldier through some really lean years here. He's a genuinely good guy in the community. If such a trade happens, it may improve the team on paper, but it will still be a sad day for Ranger fans.
I really hope this deal isn't dead, because it's the key to a trifecta that could result in the Rangers landing Beltre, Greinke and Lee. The prospects they'd get for Young would be flipped with one or two Rangers prospects to KC for Greinke. Then, if they can land Lee, fabulous, they've got the best rotation in baseball -- probably the best team in baseball, since they've also improved their infield defense greatly and upgraded their right-handed power. Even if they don't land Lee, they've improved the team and preserved some of their minor league depth. This is the perfect deal for this team.
It's only December 8, and I'm already tired of all the bullshit rumors, all the made up crap that is generated by sportswriters who are desperate for readership, or agents who want publicity.
As my daddy used to say, "Some people would complain, even if you hung'm with a new rope." You're talking about a game where a player is pretty dang good if he only misses 3 out of 4 times at bat. Now, if he can bring that up to failing in only two out of three at bats then he is a bonafide star in anybodies league. M.Y. is in between those two possibilities. He is going to get you 175 hits and a good part of them will be for extra bases. Part of that is striking out over 100 times and hitting into bunches of double plays. Purists might also notice that his speed is suspect and if running ahead of Andrus or Borbon, on a hit, either might catch him and lap him on the base pads. You can analyze and over analyze the situation but in the end M.Y. does more good than bad, as we know it, at this time. He is going to approach 20 errors this next season or leave that number in the dust. But when you look up 'Steady' in the dictionary it is going to have a picture of Michael Young. There are worse problems to have than M.Y. There is something to be said for having a solid citizen onboard for youing players to emulate. He isn't the best but he is the best that we have....and we could do a whole lot worse. As they say in Vegas, let's stay in the pot for one more card and then decide whether to Hold'm or Fold'm. Who knows what Lady Luck holds down in the deck?
So far we have that Texas has been interested in Lee, Greinke, Martinez, Konerko, Dunn, Crawford, Beltre and now Garza. Two of those have already gone elsewhere and how many of the other six will Texas end up with? Lee is holding up the show and the worry is that the Rangers wait to long, give up too much and/or end up with too little when the team just needs that little extra. This causes more anxiety than a small child waiting for Christmas morning to arrive.
"Bob Nightingale (USA Today) tweeted that Young would accept a trade to Colorado. Interesting, to say the least.
I scoffed at the notion of the Rangers signing Beltre and moving Young to DH/1B now. But I never thought they might deal him, and I'll still be shocked if it comes about."
I have to wonder what Bob Nightingale's source is. I just can not believe that now that the Rangers have played in the WS and are serious about winning a WS that The Face wouldn't dig in. He has been waiting his entire career for this opportunity: captain of a WS team. Does not make sense unless he, once again, is extremely angry over a position change (DH?).
I call BS.
(Of course, I hope I am wrong and the Rangers can swap him for Beltre for about the same bucks).
I agree with David... we need an answer from Lee as he's (advertenly) holding us hostage.
Moving MY would be a miracle... but I'm confused as to why the Rockies would invest the $11 or $12M a year for MY when they could sign someone like Orlando Hudson for probably $7M or $8M.... and not have to give up prospects!
I think all those people who confidently proclaimed Lee as a "good guy" who isn't just after the money are going to find out that he is indeed primarily concerned with money.
The "Baseball God's" know just how average (at best) Young is at third base. And now days his bat doesn't help that assessment.
However, in this early stage of this new ownership, moving someone with the loyalty and franchise face that Young has been is not a good message to current and future players.
I know baseball is a business and players come and go and I would personally really like to upgrade at third base. However, trading Young may not be the best way to do that at this point.
Josh Hamilton runs into walls and dives without regard to possible injury. Michael Young protects his body at all costs and is slightly faster reacting than a statue at 3B. Hamilton displays all five tools day in and day out. Young's one trick is piling up hit totals. Which one is the true leader? Finding someone willing to take Young's contract is the biggest robbery since the Brinks job back in the day---take the money and run. There are so many better uses for it already on this team.
Konerko's now off the market. White Sox re-sign him for 3 yrs/ $37.5M
I'm telling you, with each passing day we are missing out on other opportunities because of the Lee negotians. If JD and co. feel he's going to be too expensive, pull their name out of the hat and move on.
Pablo,
I must beg to disagree. I feel that the Rangers are not "missing out on other opportunities because of the Lee negotians". I think they are just not that interested in these deals because the price/years is simply more then the perceived value to the Rangers.
For such a terrible economy with no upturn in sight I find an over heated FA market to be quite puzziling. Evidently life at the top is much better then life at the bottom (or even the middle).
@Jon - I hope you're right, I really do... but what if the Angels swoop in and sign Crawford? What if Oakland signs Vladdy or someone else we had our sights set on?
I'm not disagreeing with you that these contracts are out of control... I'm just saying that we need an answer from Lee NOW so that we can move on with our lives and try to upgrade the roster in other ways.
I have a sneaky feeling that Plan B is Carl Pavano, and he's not signing until Lee does, because his market value goes up when that happens.
Pavano has a below average fastball, and therefore needs a park like Target Field, Safeco etc.
Him in RBiA is not something I think is going to be good value.
I hope all this MY talk is just BS, and I would rather him be a Texas Ranger for his whole career. Beltre is the shiny free agent, and with no disrespect to him, is such a much higher risk than MY. If he is his 2004 self, or his 2010 self well into his 30s then ok I can see the clamor to sign him. However, he is 31 already. Whatever contract he signs will take him into his declining years too. He is also much less accomplished than Young. A grand total of 2 gold gloves and 1 AS appearance. He has played on 3rd and 4th place finishing teams just as much as Young and has never played in the WS either. The train of thought that leads people to believe Young is not an asset and that Beltre is an enormous upgrade are the same ones that believe baseball is played on paper. Its also more than a little worrying that Beltre produces his best years of production only when it benefits his new contract. No thank you to Beltre.
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rangers are making all the right moves so far......no lee, no grienke, ...i have often wondered why no mlb team...did not start 3 pitchers for a game....once around and gone to next pitcher....cannot say i will get him next time.....could work in a pinch in game that means something....
thank you mr. lee and thank your family for putting up with us.....we made the playoffs without you but could not have made world series...i thought you pitched good in series even tho you lost two games....best of luck in yall's new home....hope to meet you in playoffs, that would be nice, win, lost or draw....thanks again cliff