Rockies acquire infielder Ellis from Oakland
The Colorado Rockies have acquired infielder Mark Ellis from the Oakland Athletics for right-handed pitcher Bruce Billings and a player to be named later or cash.
Ellis is a second baseman who can bat second and, as such, could fill a pressing Rockies need.
In 62 games with the A’s in 2011, Ellis is hitting .217 a home run and 16 RBI. Ellis, 34, who was originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1999, has spent his entire major-league career with the A’s. He has been almost exclusively a second baseman through his career, but has played a handful at all other infield positions. Ellis is earning $6 million this season after the A’s picked up the third-year option of a contract that began in 2009, and he is eligible to be a free agent after this season.
Billings, a 30th-round pick in 2007, made his major-league debut with the Rockies earlier this season with a relief appearance on May 27. He allowed one run on five hits in two innings. He has spent the rest of the season at Triple-A Colorado Springs, where he is 6-2 with a 4.47 ERA in 29 appearances.
Ellis will join the Rockies on Friday as they begin a three-game series with the Royals. A corresponding move will be made with the active roster then to make room.
So we gave up Billings and Crash Davis. Hopefully this works out and got good cash considerations.
wow, I guess I just don’t know baseball at all, in particular the Rocks. I had no idea we needed a 34 year old second baseman hitting .217 who is having the worst year of his career. But now we got one. That should fix the season.
Bless DOD for finding him…..
I’m not too crazy about Ellis but he’s a veteran that will give you quality ABs in the two hole. Also Oakland picked up $2M of his $3M salary. He’s much better for the team without EY taking up a roster spot for nothing.
I don’t understand this at all. Don’t we already have 2 light hitting second basemen?
And naturally, Ellis will have to hit in the 2-hole.
This move actually annoys me. We trade for a guy whose OPS is lower than our two light-hitting 2Bs, a guy who is 34 and on the downside of his career. And now we’ll plug him into the 2 hole?
C’mon Dan O’Dowd. It’s painful enough watching these guys play every night. Not pleased.
Huh????
Hey, guys, the bar is set pretty darn low at 2B. Ellis is still a plus defensive player, and (unlike Jose Lopez) he actually had a very good season just last year. So he’s a pretty reasonable rebound candidate, he signals the end of the horrific EY Jr experiment, and he didn’t cost us anything resembling a real prospect. Yeah, I’d like Reyea better. But is today’s Rockies team better than yesterday’s? Definitely…by a small margin
Agbayani, who is Reyea that you liked better?
I do & don’t understand this one. Not much of an improvement over Nelson or Herrera at the plate, but better than Nelson in the field. Ey should be going back to the Springs now, so good move there. Also seems like a cheap move without giving up too much. I really expected a move for a starting pitcher before anything like this. DOD, you listening?
Yeah…this guy is awesome. Totally worth $3 million for half a year plus a prospect or two.
Laughing my frakkin head off here because its better than crying.
They really think this is a better investment than Josh Fields for $300k?
Dan O’Dowd is the joke of the league in the GM circles.
This guy is no better than Clint Barmes. Seriously, this is a crap move.
If you add the money being made between Ian Stewart, Jose Lopez, and now this guy, its like $9 million.
Who could we have gotten for $9 million?
I watched Ellis stike out a couple of night ago on the MLB package. I couldnt help but notice how his skills at the plate seem to have gone downhill, to wit: 217 average. What a move by the Rocks! This just may be the move to put us over the top. Bet the Giants and Dback are really nervous about this move. How long is the line for post season tickets now? Guess I better hurry down there before they are all sold out.
I take it back, this is a brilliant move. Nothing better than to continue to stunt the growth of Chris Nelson, EYJ, Jonathan Herrera, Hector Gomez, Pacheco and the other 50 infielders the Rockies have in their organization than with a 34 year old overpaid and soon to be nontendered player!
And hey, to do it, lets give up a pitcher because goodness knows the Rockies are just overflowing with talent in that department.
I swear, Dan O’Dowd is killing this team.
Sad day for Rockies prospects trying to play in ML, now they have to play behind a 34 hitting .216. Well it can’t big a bigger bust than Lopez. Who sees these guys?,
Damn, sounds like a nursery up in here…although I must say, I understand the frustration…let’s see what the guy can do here first though…I’m curious to see how it will play out…
Another 2nd basemen that can’t hit, this is perfect. Put us in the world series right now. How is Tracy gonna manage this one?
They didni’t give up a lot with Billings (although he has a chance of one day being a major leaguer and was insurance if we had a bunch of bullpen injuries), but they didn’t get much either. Yes, Nelson and Herrera haven’t been hitting lately, but they’re each young, and maybe one of them would have started to hit a little better over the course of the season. Ellis doesn’t sound like much of an upgrade. If the Rockies were going to trade for a 2B, then how about trading for someone who is a clear upgrade? Any chance there’s another trade coming down the pike that involves one of our 2Bs, and that this trade is in anticipation of that trade?
So let me get this straight. We have 4 2B on the team now and none of them are hitting over .237. So if we send down EYjr, who brings something to the bases, and we have Ellis, who will need to play, and we interrupt the development of 2 players who are young and need to play to get better. Shouldn’t we be looking to trade for a legitimate RH bat with some pop, or another starting pitcher?
Why are the Rockies getting rid of all there young talented pitchers? Miller,hollingsworth,Musick and now Billings. For a guy who is hitting 217. WOW!
Hey, A’s fan here. Ellis’s #’s might not be good this year, but I hope you know you are getting a great defender and a great guy. I have been a fan of him for a long time and he is good to have in the clubhouse. Even though he is only hitting 216 he can hit much better. He is a career 265 hitter and hit 291 last year. I am almost sure he will have a good second half hitting and I know he will improve your team. I wish Ellis the best of luck and hopefully he can help you guys take down the Giants.
Thanks Austen. That’s nice of you to post that. I hope he has a good second half.
Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssss. Oakland is a great place to get out of and starting hitting again.
Rockpile = President of the Mark Ellis Fan Club
Q: Are the Rox still owed a player-to-be-named from Boston in the F Morales deal? If so, who could they get, realistically?
Wow…did you hear that? We’re getting a great guy! Bless his little .217 heart! Ahhhh.
Wow that’s a lot of exaggeration!!!! I’m not talking about the batting average though.
When is the team going to start playing like the team we saw in April? and really were interested in Hiroki Kuroda? How is he supposed to help and he is yet another 1/2 year rental! I wish we would have gotten Jamey Carroll instead…
Who are the Rockies looking at besides Carroll and Kuroda… I hope this Mark Ellis works out well for the Rockies..
I like Ellis, but all I’m saying is when are the Rockies going to start playing?
I think Ellis is a good player, but im starting to wonder if he is or isn’t the answer…
~Eric’s got it on the money~
I know others like to talk smack, but here’s a couple of things to be optimistic about:
-Giambi’s average in Oakland was .193. His career was left for dead at that point. Now it’s a .273 average
-When Matt Holliday was in Oakland he had little power and only hit .286. Now he leads the league in average and hits for power.
The bottom line is Oakland is a horrible place to hit with it’s cavernous football field foul territory. Just a bad place to play in general. That’s why they’re trying to move the team to San Jose.
Also noteworthy:
-Kaz Matsui’s average was .200 when we acquired him. It was .286 in his lone season here.
-De La Rosa had an ERA nearing 6 when we acquired him. We know how that had worked out.
My concern with Ellis is his horrible injury history. He never stayed healthy in Oakland. Hamstrings, Back, Wrist, Ribs…you name it, it all gets injured for Ellis. But there is NO risk to this move whatsoever.
We have also had a history of taking players from the a’s who do well here
Rockpile, Eric: thanks for the bit of sanity. You’re both spot on, of course. We gave up a limited upside middle reliever for an A+ defender who’s put up above-average-for-a-second-baseman numbers in the worst hitter’s park in the bigs. This is a modest upgrade, sure, but when you pay next to nothing for it, why not? (Love the Giambi and especially Holliday references, by the way – again, spot on!)
Maybe with his former teammates Giambi, Street, Cargo, and Mortenson hope that can help a little.
This is a good risk. Billings was a guy I’ve long followed but Ellis has potential. If he can come close to rebounding and playing like he did last year in Oakland then he’s a significant upgrade. Chris Nelson and Jonathan Herrera have been given their opportunities and have not done the job, just like Joe Koshansky once had an opportunity to prove he could mash in the majors like he did in the minors.
The player to be named is what we have to follow but hoping Ellis hits and makes the guy Colorado give up worth the price.
Why don’t the Rox just trade for Cano to fill the 2B hole, Pujols to take over for Helton, Wright at 3rd, Uttley to be a backup to Cano, Howard to be Pujols backup, Helton can be the late inning defensive replacement, Tulo and Cargo can stay, oh we need Longoria to be Wright’s backup, or maybe Wright will be Longoria’s backup, and the whole Giant’s pitching staff and then we will be right where we want to be. Then O’dowd will be doing his job. Until then………
This is getting to be the most played out story ever. Rockies acquire downtradden player with hopes of career resurrection. Come on DOD. You can only cry poor mouth for so long. I am so sick and tired of hearing about us being a “mid-market” club and doing the best we can with what we have. BS. The Broncos and Nuggets dont spend like a mid-market team. Heck, the Rocks didnt either until 7-8 yrs ago. We are mid-market because thats what the Monforts want. Spend a league average amount, while collecting upper tier revenue at the gates. Now DOD says we have “a little” money left to make another move? Why? we will never be a true contendor with this mentality. 2007 was the funnest sports season of my life, but its not happening again. That may have been the worst thing to happen to this franchise. It made O’Dowd look like a genius and made us all forget about the transgressions of he and the brothers Monfort. This team has talent, but they need help. A quality hitting rh 2b or 3b and a sp. Stop hanging on to these prospects until they are worthless. im not asking for a Pujols type player, but for goodness sakes, Mark Ellis? We are supposed to get excited for this? Its like we just trades for Jose Lopez from Fla, minus the power potential.
Its hard to watch my favorite team in my favorite sport sit on their hands and let the most promising season in team history fall to the wayside. All the while raking in the dough and complaining about not having the finances to compete. Sure building from within is great. It makes sense and is fun to watch guys grow from kids to stars. But any real championship team has to add real players from outside their system. I hope Ellis has a big second half. But even if he does, what does that mean? He hits 290 with 5 hrs? Not exactly a huge upgrade. This was simply a move to show that they tried before dumping players at the deadline.
I wish we could spend like we did back in the day. Making trades for Saberhagen or Hurst. Getting Larry Walker or Mike Hampton. Sure, not many worked out, but damn they tried. Could you imagine our young core with an unlimited waller like those days? Gebhart wouldve found a way to get Dunn last year. Or Reyes, Wright, Weaver or Liriano this year. Dont miss the misguided pickups, but definitely miss the cojones to make a real move.
Hope this means that all 200 of our extra infielders are going to be bundled for a starter,and/or an eight inning guy who is nails.Let’s see,the team burying us has a late inning bullpen of Affealt,Lopez,and Ramirez.Do those names sound familiar[even if the spelling isn't]?
This season is a result of two aquisitions that did not get done.
Lance Berkman– They did not do what it takes, he now has 20 bombs!
Mike Young– Having a great season, they should have not let it fall through. Take on some more cash, don’t be so cheap.
Now Ellis is a replacement for Mike Young who Dano is still kicking himself over.
Another move that you could say Dano dropped the ball is Lopez the starting pitcher. They could sure use him right now.
The more I look into Mark Ellis I think he is an aweful lot like Clint Barmes. He has had his flash in the pan seasons like Barmes, flashes of power, and is a gritty team player. That does not make me too excited, however, I will stay optimistic that he is a better two hole hitter than Barmes, strikes out less, and bunts better.
All I know is watching this team is not very fun this season. Not only are they not doing well, but they are just not that fun to watch. They seem lifeless.
Rockpile, 100% correct. Seems to me the Giants won a World Series last year by buying a bunch of cheapo aging players to fill in for failed in-house solutions. Did you check to see what Pat Burrell’s batting average was when the Giants picked him off the scrap heap? (Answer: .202)
Will Ellis rebound with the Rockies to his 2010 above league average hitting? Probably not. Will he rebound at least significantly? Probably. Will that make him our best option at 2B? Absolutely. Could you get Jose Reyes for Bruce Billings?
I’m quite certain everyone is not as against the trade as much as we’re ranting. Rather everyone is frustrated with the season. I know I came in with high hopes. Due to the type of season everything the Rocks do will come under more scrutiny than it normally would. And the venting that comes along with it.
Sorry Trip, I don’t like this trade even if the Rockies are leading instead of trailing by six games in the standings, and the reasons for that are:
1. Nelson was NOT given a fair oppotunity to win the second base job. Yes he slumped for a week maybe ten days, but that’s hardly a reason to give up on him.
2. Herrara also has been jerked around by simply not playing regularly, he has become totally out of sync at the plate. If he had options remaining, he should have been sent to Colo Sprgs.
3. Emus was next in line, and has done reasonably well at Colorado Springs, but he doesn’t even get a shot at all.
4. EY2 everyone here at ITR hates his defense, but this probably means the end of his 2nd base oppotunities.
5. Billings was decent depth in the bullpen and one of the better pitchers at Colorado Springs, so yes I hate to lose pitching depth for a .217 hitter that might easily become the next SU Barmes.
6. Finally not sure this deal fills the Rockies needs for a power right handed bat or a quality starting pitcher.
Other than that, I love this trade a lot!! Dealin’ Dan is back!!!
Could OD possibly be trying to get a veteran who can be a leader in the clubhouse? Just what we need, another “leader” to say “we need to play better”.
I must be the only one that likes this trade. Ellis is a pretty damn good ball player.
I like it too, Egossage. Let’s face it, Herrera is a backup, EY is an athlete trying to play baseball, and Nelson is forever going to be labeled with potential. This division can be had with 86-88 wins, so the Rockies had to do something. They still need pitching help, and supposedly only have $1mm left to spend, but I think Ellis will post something like .260 and a .333 OBP. Nothing great, but better than what we got with solid defense.
“Why don’t the Rox just trade for Cano to fill the 2B hole, Pujols to take over for Helton, Wright at 3rd, Uttley to be a backup to Cano, Howard to be Pujols backup, Helton can be the late inning defensive replacement, Tulo and Cargo can stay, oh we need Longoria to be Wright’s backup, or maybe Wright will be Longoria’s backup, and the whole Giant’s pitching staff and then we will be right where we want to be. Then O’dowd will be doing his job. Until then…”
I’m not thrilled about getting another formerly good player who may be washed up, but the above from Cameo is funny (even if sarcastic), and a great portrayal OF WHAT’S NOT AVAILABLE. What is O’Dowd supposed to come up with?!? He has to work with who’s out there, give him a little credit for trying. (I sure hope the next Rockies news is Anibal Sanchez for a few AA players, though ;-))
“In 62 games with the A’s in 2011, Ellis is hitting .217 a home run and 16 RBI. Ellis, 34, who was originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1999, has spent his entire major-league career with the A’s. He has been almost exclusively a second baseman through his career, but has played a handful at all other infield positions. Ellis is earning $6 million this season after the A’s picked up the third-year option of a contract that began in 2009, and he is eligible to be a free agent after this season.”
WTF