Category: NL

May 15 Tout NL Trade: Jansen for Scutaro

THE WHAT

The following trade has been inserted, effective 05.20:

Todd Zola gets:
Marco Scutaro SF from Phil Hertz

Phil Hertz gets:
Kenley Jansen LAD from Todd Zola

THE WHY

Early this morning Todd Zola sent an email to his Tout NL competitors:

“Page 28 of the So-Called Experts Manual says I am supposed to put Kenley Jansen on the block tonight since he got a high-profile save in impressive fashion.

So, if someone has offense to spare and wants to take a shot this is a harbinger of future Dodger ninth innings, let’s discuss.

Thanks.”

Early this afternoon Todd sent another email:

“I have an offer for Jansen on the table that is acceptable. If anyone wants to see if they can offer something more acceptable, I’ll wait a couple of hours.

 Thanks for the indulgence.”
A few minutes ago, THE WHAT landed.
Zola is chasing Tristan Cockcroft for first place right now, but despite his broad offense he’s in the second division in all categories but BA. He has two closers, Sergio Romo and Bobby Parnell, and saw a chance to leverage Jansen, who is on his bench, for something more. If he becomes the Dodger closer he’ll kick himself, but he helped himself now.
Phil Hertz is down with the rest of us in the pack, looking for any edge we can get. He’s been strong in saves, on Jason Grilli’s broad back, but he had to recognize that adding another closer would be smart. How to pay for it? His team’s strength is lots of AB, Runs and RBI. Scutaro adds in those cats because he plays, but he’s not what anyone would call a big run producer. Phil decided to take a flier on Jansen, in part because he could afford to.
THE WOW
On Draft Day Scutaro cost $13, while Jansen cost $11. Scutaro was paid for his consistency, while Jansen was paid for his ceiling. It seems not much has changed since then.

May 13 FAAB Report, from Mastersball.com, and Ron Shandler on the AL list

Excellent list of the bids, accompanied by interesting commentary about them by the Mastersball gang.

Ron Shandler finds some Oldies but maybe goodies on this week’s AL Waiver Wire, in his USA Today column.

May 6 FAAB reports

The weekly Mastersball summary of all four leagues can be found here.

And Nick Minnix shows his finger-nicking Tout Mixed Auction rationale here.

Perry Van Hook’s Tout Mixed Draft backstory on the big bids can be found here.

May 4 Tout NL Trade Analysis

The Deal:

The following trade has been inserted, effective 05.06:

Mike Gianella gets:
Welington Castillo ChC from Derek Carty

Derek Carty gets:
Matt Garza ChC from Mike Gianella

Why?

Despite having Clayton Kershaw, Carty’s team is last in ERA and WHIP. He needed reinforcements and had three catchers. He in fact offered any of the three, including Buster Posey, and this was the best deal he could shake loose. Despite spending $18 on Mat Latos and bupkis on the rest of his pitchers, Gianella has had strong results. Matt Garza has been on the DL and won’t be back for another two weeks, while Mike’s been playing two blanks at catcher.

Reality?

Castillo was a $4 catcher on draft day, but is off to a good start, hitting for a good average. Garza was a $7 draft day DL starter who has yet to return. That’s close enough for a fair deal. One concern for Gianella is that with Hanley Ramirez just returning from the DL, and Aaron Hill coming back around the end of this month, his offense-heavy squad may not need a catcher who plays, while he may wish he had Garza once Travis Wood and Barry Zito end their hot streaks. Unless Tim Lincecum puts it back together, Carty needs starting pitching. Garza could be a good pickup if he can get and stay healthy.

Update:

5/4, 5:26pm ET: What I didn’t know that Mike Gianella certainly knew when he made the deal is that Hanley Ramirez is going to the DL for an extended period with a hamstring injury, meaning that Mike’s offense isn’t quite what it seemed like it might be.