Rockies trade Iannetta, close to signing Hernandez
The Colorado Rockies have traded catcher Chris Iannetta to the Los Angeles Angeles for right-handed pitcher Tyler Chatwood. The deal is reportedly a prescursor to the Rockies signing catcher Ramon Hernandez.
Chatwood, the Angels’ second-round pick in 2008, was 6-11 with a 4.75 ERA in 27 appearances — 25 starts — as a 21-year-old rookie in 2011.
Iannetta was entering the final year of a three-year contract that includes an club option for 2013. The option can be voided now that he has been traded.
FoxSports.com reports that the Rockies have agreed to a two-year contract worth $6.5 million. Hernandez, 35, hit .282 with 12 home runs and 36 RBI in 91 games for the Cincinnati Reds in 2011.
I was never the biggest Iannetta fan, mostly because I really needed him to hit his way out of the 8th hole to give the Rockies a luxury of moving a soft hitting 2B down there.
But he was a pretty good clutch hitter. I’ve been to more than 1 game where he had a walk off.
Regarding Chatwood, the pitching staff seems really nice for the future from the RH side.
Nicasio
White
Rogers
Clifford
Chacin
Hammell (short timer)
Does this clear room to maybe flip White or trade Rogers or Hammell?
Thanks for the great memories, Netta. I was at least three games in person when you hit the walkoff HRs.
For whatever reason, I don’t know who this Clifford is. Care to tell me a bit about him?
I’m hoping Kevin Millwood will resign with the Rockies to give us a veteran presence to start the season. Plus I love his bat!
We’ve now collected three first/second rounders in pitchers since July to restock our pitching depth. Great moves Rockies.
Prog, I really like the lefty starting potential too!
DLR
Pomeranz
Friedrich (might be better in relief though?)
Cabrera
Anderson
Matzek (control is still an issue?)
With all these starting pitchers, it seems like G Reynolds might history?
Initial thoughts:
1. O’Dowd continues to try to get a do-over on his recent failed drafts. He took Friedrich and Blackmon ahead of Chatwood. Chatwood arrived first even though he was the high schooler and the others were seasoned college players.
2. O’Dowd thinks 2 years of Hernandez + Rosario will be roughly equal to 2 years of Iannetta, and at a roughly equivalent cost. Obviously others — the Angels — think otherwise. (If they had agreed with O’Dowd, they could’ve just signed Hernandez themselves and held onto Chatwood.)
3. The Angels don’t think that highly of Chatwood. If they did, they would’ve signed a catcher like Hernandez for similar money (see Point 2). Then again, MLB didn’t think that highly of Iannetta either if all he produced in return was Chatwood. A significant part of that calculation is that Iannetta can void his 2013 club option if traded. So the Angels only get one year of Iannetta, and that’s worth a Chatwood. As I said in the earlier thread, that’s why Iannetta was worth more to the Rockies than to anyone else. But nobody was listening.
4. Chatwood is a younger Alex White type: groundballer, throws pretty hard (93), but doesn’t have a strikeout pitch. He was promoted very aggressively — too aggressively by the look of it — so he’s got lots of time to improve. So I imagine he starts at Tulsa and tries to work on some secondary pitches. Having said that, everything about him screams “potential third or fourth starter.” So no, I’m not excited, although I guess I can imagine worse deals.
5. Yep, we’re playin’ for 2013-15 …
I don’t know enough about Chatwood to be happy about that part of the deal. But why trade Iannetta until the Hernandez deal is done. Now he may ask for even more money.
And I don’t know who Clifford is either.
Hey isn’t it great that the Rockies are getting young pitchers in trades. What does that tell you about the draft picks this club made in the past. Lets just hope Billy G and his posse of pitching “gurus” don’t mess them up.
Hey prog, I agreed with your repsonse to me when I posted this story line early this morning on another thread. I really didn’t expect this to happen. Wow!
Just me but I doubt Hammel goes anywhere. Rogers? I thought he would be moved the last couple of seasons.
Hmmm … the Angels dump Napoli and end up with Iannetta??? Or should it be $$$. Strong speculation that CJ Wilson will end up in Anaheim.
Makes me wonder what’s going on with the
1) Stewart to the Cubs rumor.
2) “roll” of Rosario
I dont mind this trade, Hernandez can help develop Rosario
He also is gonna start less games than ianetta you would think due to his age, so Rosario is still can gonna have quite alot of game time.
Chatwood will get minor league type money, so in my eyes they basically got hernandez and chatwood for the same money that ianetta would be receiving anyway.
Hard to judge trades until the Hot Stove season winds down and we can see a Clubs “masterplan,” but I have to wonder about this one from the Angels point of view. Essentially, Hernandez and Iannetta are the same player, for the same price. So the Rockies still have the “same” player plus a young starting pitcher with some promise. The Angels now have the “same” player minus a young starting pitcher with promise. Why didn’t the Angels just sign Hernandez?
Going forward, the Rox need Martin Prado. If they can pull that deal off at a semi-reasonable price, then we’ll be in good shape.
I really like Iannetta and hate to see him go, but that is really more emotional than practical. I see this trade as deck chair shuffling and largely a non-event. They scapegoat a guy and bring in a veteran and minor league pitching depth. There may be a net gain, but it is on the margins. This is no way addresses the core issues with this team which in my mind are: Manager, LF, SP, 3B, 2B, middle of the order bat. I agree with Agbayani that it appears that their plan is to punt 2012 but given how well their plans work out, maybe that is a good thing.
While I like the trade, I’m sorry to see Chris go. If Chatwood is 3/4 of Oswalt we’ll be fine.
Now the emphasis has to be on Prado. Why doe DOD think we need to keep Fowler, Wheeler, and Blackmon? Surely one of them could be expendable.
4 years ago I would have said we need to make a major push to sign Hernandez. Not so sure he is the guy to go after at this point in his career. I’ll root for him though.
This is from another thread but I wanted to voice it on this one also.
Prog, who is Clifford?
Curious yet interesting splits for Hernandez.
.382 at home in Cincy last year, .220 away
No HRs vs. RHP in 62 AB, all 12 against LHP in 238 AB
10 for 40 v. NL West
I’m gonna sniff around Baseball Prospectus for his defensive #s
Anyone know much about Hernandez’s clubhouse personality? Is he more like Iannetta = reserved, or Torrealba = fiery? (hoping the answer is fiery)
Thanks
Where would Chatwood rank among the Rockies’ pitching prospects? Do we see him being in the rotation in 2012, or, as Agbayani said, does he go back to the minors to work on things?
I’m with you 100% Ike. Angels probably like the idea of picking up a guy who’s so well rested. I look for Scioscia to turn Chris into what we always hoped he’d be. Best of luck to him.
Duh. Didn’t realize *I* was the one to say “Clifford”. I meant “Chatwood” the new guy. Not sure who Clifford is except a big red dog.
Also, Hernandez, Nicasio and Chacin…all from Venezuela. Think this may have played a factor in the move? (thumbs up)
I liked Chris and am sorry to see him go, but this is probably a good move since our manager never played him anyway. And more pitching depth is a good thing considering the luck the Rox have had with SP injuries.
I agree 2012 is looking like a building year. I didn’t have high hopes anyway while JT is at the helm. Maybe if everyone stays well rested the Rox can make another late run for the division.
Rebuilding? Building? OK guys. Just remember the Rox play best when they don’t have any expectations put on them. It’s becoming increasingly obvious O’Dowd knows what he’s doing more than we think! ;-)
Just heard it alleged that Mr. O’Dowd is making a play for Prado.
After just hearing the latest alleged news I decided to read some of the local Atlanta fan sites to see what is being said there. It seems like the Rockies and the Tigers are showing the most interest. It was also alleged that the Braves have already said no thank you to the Delmon Young offer.
“The Rockies’ best offer for Prado would probably be left fielder Seth Smith, who last season hit .284. The best player the Tigers would offer is probably Delmon Young, who also plays left field and hit .274 last season.
Neither of these players are obvious improvements over Prado, which means trading for them would not be worth it.
Prado’s importance to the Braves is huge, and to receive a player of his worth is very.”
Guess is that Chatwood will be competing for a spot in the rotation. Chacin is a lock. Pomeranz is close to one. A veteran should be added before spring training. That leaves Chatwood, Jason Hammel and Alex White competing for two spots or occupying the final three if the Rockies don’t make another move. With Nicasio and De La Rosa lurking later in the season, they might not, but I would guess that the Rockies add one more starting pitcher before all is said and done. Barring a series of injuries or the trio of Pomeranz, White and Chatwood not living up to expectations and heading to the minors, I don’t see Rogers in the mix for the rotation.
I wouldn’t write 2012 off as a rebuilding year. If the Rockies were going that route, they wouldn’t have spent $6.5 million on Hernandez. They would have gone after a cheap veteran instead. This move was about improving the offense behind the plate and adding another young arm.
One other thing on Hernandez…he played 30 games at first base for Cincy three years ago. Not sure how his defensive numbers compare, but perhaps he’s some (more) insurance for Todd??
Steve, do you see the Rockies signing Millwood? If they do, do you see them still going after another better starting pitcher? Do you see Rogers being the long reliever?
am I mistaken or have we been talking about Prado playing 2nd base or outfield? His stats so far:
2011
GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
129 551 66 143 26 2 13 57 34 52 4 8 .260 .302 .385 .687
career
527 1929 274 566 126 10 42 216 139 239 13 15 .293 .341 .434 .775
2011 Games By Position: PH (1), 1B (2), 3B (41), LF (100)
I see 41 games at third but we want to move him to 2nd if I understand it? By the way, I don’t see anything that would make me trade for him other than straight up for Smith..certainly not a 2 for 1 player as far as stats.
I would welcome the trade though!
I believe the Rockies are looking seriously for an innings-eater. Chatwood is a nice acquisition, but he’s not that yet, so the Rockies should keep looking. With guys like Garza, Nolasco and Jurrjens on the market, I expect the Rockies to keep shopping aggressively for a top arm or, falling short of that, settling for a veteran arm like Millwood or maybe Jeff Francis.
The Rockies are interested in Prado for second base, where he played primarily in 2009 and 2010, his best seasons.
Steve, go to the Atlanta fan sites and fans want him to stay. Most have him as the LFer and some as a super utility guy.
I can’t remember what site I was on but I have to give props to Prog. He was all about Florida State. He accused the Braves fans of ripping off FSU. Maybe I should give him an FSU tshirt?
Sorry, maybe I should clarify which Steve … as in drrockies.
Not that I’m the biggest Dinger fan, Mike! lol
Rox4Brains,
Nicasio is Dominican, not from Venezuela, but your point is understood.
Prado’s career numbers as reported by Drrockies look okay, but his 2011 numbers are not very impressive. Someone please remind me why we want to trade Smith for a guy that only slugged .385?
To respond to a few points:
– rox4brains asks if Ramon Hernandez is more of a take-charge Torrealba type vs. a reserved Iannetta type. The answer, as far as I recall (particularly his Oakland days) is “more like Torrealba.” Yeah, I think that’s probably good.
– Steve says we’re not punting on 2012. Well, not officially, and not completely. But Hernandez acquired to get more offense out of catcher? Umm, that doesn’t look likely. If I were a betting man I’d put good money on 29 year old Chris outhitting 36 year old Ramon on any reasonable measure of overall offensive performance (no, not batting average alone, which is not such a measure)
– Steve in Aurora mentions that Hernandez has played some 1B. Sabrchip notes that Hernandez’s HRs all came against lefties last year. So … why not let Hernandez spell Helton at 1B against lefties? Makes sense, right? Not so fast. That means some backup catcher like Rosario or Pagnozzi or Jose Morales catches when Hernandez moves to 1B. In other words, you’re resting Helton to play a backup catcher. Jim Tracy loved doing that in LA, putting Russell Martin at 1B. It made Dodgers fans cringe. Get ready to cringe, Rockies fans.
Cisco Kid,thanks. I Googled his name yesterday and now see the hit is for another player with the same name! doh!
Thanks for the Hernadez impression Agbayani. Yeah, changing the clubhouse culture is a priority on my eyes.
Oh, my. Just read this over on MLB Trade Rumors, “Newly-signed Rockies catcher Ramon Hernandez appeared on the Venezuelan sports radio show Los Cronistas today (Twitter link, in Spanish) and said he isn’t sure if he’ll be physically able to keep playing beyond his current contract. Hernandez will be 37 by the time his two-year deal with Colorado expires.”
Denver Post had a blurb today that both Giambi and Bentancourt pushed to get Hernandez to the Rox…they must know somethign we don’t. :-)
Since the Iannetta and Hernandez deals were linked, doesn’t that mean that Giambi and Betancourt twisted the knife in Iannetta’s back?
I know, I know … it’s probably as simple as O’Dowd asking Giambi (Ramon’s former teammate in the A’s glory days) what he thinks of Ramon as a teammate.
Remember: all the rah-rah golden jock everyone’s-favorite-teammate stuff wasn’t worth a warm bucket of Giambi urine samples over the last couple seasons.