Diaz Dealt for Dud, Chip Loves the Move
Ya know, I'm starting to think we don't manage our talent very well.
The Royals made something of a giveaway trade today, sending outfielder Matt Diaz to the Atlanta Braves for Ricardo Rodriguez, a 24-year old relief pitcher. Rodriguez is a 24-year old reliever with a live arm, but whether or not his breaking stuff will be adequate enough to let him rise above Class-A Myrtle Beach is a question mark. He hasn't been pitching long, since he was only recently converted from a middle infielder, but did I mention that he's 24 and hasn't made it to AA yet? Oh, and he had a 5.34 ERA in '05. Longshot.
Diaz hit well at both Triple-A and in the majors last year, but his lack of versatility and his age made him expendable. The Braves organization has a lot of outfield talent that has stormed the parent club, so Diaz will be a bench player at best, and Richmond-bound at worst. He could be groomed as a first baseman, though, since the Braves need a platoon partner for Adam LaRoche.
The Royals certainly lost more than they gained in this move, since Matt Diaz was a candidate to win a job in the outfield out of spring training. That's how the Royals solve a potential positional battle: Don't let them play for it, give one away!
With David DeJesus entrenched in center and Emil Brown penciled in at one of the corners, the remaining spot is now a scrum between Chip Ambres, Aaron Guiel, and Matt Stairs, barring another signing. Great, a hick and two canucks.
Stairs will be 38 in February, so his number of starts should be scaled back a bit, and a fair amount of them will be covering for a Sweeney/Mientkiewicz day off, so his time in the outfield will be limited. Guiel hit 30 homers at Omaha last year, but I doubt Buddy Bell or anyone else will care enough to make him the starter, since he's already 33.
No, the smart money is on Chip Ambres, who was acquired from the Boston organization last year. A former 1st round pick by the Marlins, Ambres was a top prospect coming out of high school, and flashed his athletic pedigree in rookie ball in 1999, hitting .353 and stealing 22 bases in 37 games. It took him four years to get through A-ball, though, and he didn't exactly earn his promotion, failing to hit above .270 in a season, while falling short of 10 homers each year. While he hit 20 homers for Double-A Carolina in 2004, he hit just .241. He was then acquired by Boston, and at Triple-A Pawtucket the lights finally came on, as he hit .294 with 10 HR over 279 AB (.495 SLG), not to mential 19 bags swiped.
What helped Ambres through the minors in spite of his abysmal batting average was his ability to work a free pass. While his career average in the minors is a very humble .258, his career OBP is .365. However, he also struck out about every five at-bats, and he appeared to maintain that pace in his stint in KC this year. If KC were contending, he'd be a better option as the righty in a platoon with Stairs or Guiel, but since we're super not contending, I can admit to myself that he's the smartest play, especially since he has the versatility to play center if needed, which is always possible with David Daredevil.
While it would be comforting to see that we had another nimble, athletic outfield prospect ready to step in if Ambres' strikeout rate rises dramatically, since we don't, I'm more or less comfortable with him. He's earned his shot, he might as well get it here.
The Royals made something of a giveaway trade today, sending outfielder Matt Diaz to the Atlanta Braves for Ricardo Rodriguez, a 24-year old relief pitcher. Rodriguez is a 24-year old reliever with a live arm, but whether or not his breaking stuff will be adequate enough to let him rise above Class-A Myrtle Beach is a question mark. He hasn't been pitching long, since he was only recently converted from a middle infielder, but did I mention that he's 24 and hasn't made it to AA yet? Oh, and he had a 5.34 ERA in '05. Longshot.
Diaz hit well at both Triple-A and in the majors last year, but his lack of versatility and his age made him expendable. The Braves organization has a lot of outfield talent that has stormed the parent club, so Diaz will be a bench player at best, and Richmond-bound at worst. He could be groomed as a first baseman, though, since the Braves need a platoon partner for Adam LaRoche.
The Royals certainly lost more than they gained in this move, since Matt Diaz was a candidate to win a job in the outfield out of spring training. That's how the Royals solve a potential positional battle: Don't let them play for it, give one away!
With David DeJesus entrenched in center and Emil Brown penciled in at one of the corners, the remaining spot is now a scrum between Chip Ambres, Aaron Guiel, and Matt Stairs, barring another signing. Great, a hick and two canucks.
Stairs will be 38 in February, so his number of starts should be scaled back a bit, and a fair amount of them will be covering for a Sweeney/Mientkiewicz day off, so his time in the outfield will be limited. Guiel hit 30 homers at Omaha last year, but I doubt Buddy Bell or anyone else will care enough to make him the starter, since he's already 33.
No, the smart money is on Chip Ambres, who was acquired from the Boston organization last year. A former 1st round pick by the Marlins, Ambres was a top prospect coming out of high school, and flashed his athletic pedigree in rookie ball in 1999, hitting .353 and stealing 22 bases in 37 games. It took him four years to get through A-ball, though, and he didn't exactly earn his promotion, failing to hit above .270 in a season, while falling short of 10 homers each year. While he hit 20 homers for Double-A Carolina in 2004, he hit just .241. He was then acquired by Boston, and at Triple-A Pawtucket the lights finally came on, as he hit .294 with 10 HR over 279 AB (.495 SLG), not to mential 19 bags swiped.
What helped Ambres through the minors in spite of his abysmal batting average was his ability to work a free pass. While his career average in the minors is a very humble .258, his career OBP is .365. However, he also struck out about every five at-bats, and he appeared to maintain that pace in his stint in KC this year. If KC were contending, he'd be a better option as the righty in a platoon with Stairs or Guiel, but since we're super not contending, I can admit to myself that he's the smartest play, especially since he has the versatility to play center if needed, which is always possible with David Daredevil.
While it would be comforting to see that we had another nimble, athletic outfield prospect ready to step in if Ambres' strikeout rate rises dramatically, since we don't, I'm more or less comfortable with him. He's earned his shot, he might as well get it here.
posted by KC Luke @ 7:06 PM
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