Writings on baseball by Matt Barnard and Dan Stein.

 
Daryle Ward to the Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers get: Daryle Ward
Houston Astros get: Ruddy Lugo

Not very meaningful on either side at present. As reported over on Mike's Baseball Rants, the article this is linked to has it wrong when it says that this move clears the way for Craig Biggio to take over in center...as Ward played left field (not particularly well). I guess the thought is that now Lance Berkman will move to left and you'll have Richard Hidalgo in right and Jason Lane and Orlando Merced the backups with Ward out of the picture. What remains to be seen is if this improves the pretty crappy outfield defense that the Astros trotted out there last year, as we have no idea how Biggio will be able to handle center. Ruddy Lugo isn't going to effect Houston in the coming season, so the only immediate impact is that of subtracting Ward. Why they'd feel it necessary to move a guy who's making as little money as he is is a little confusing, but I guess the organization's frustration with his failure to perform as expected has something to do with his departure.

Ward probably wasn't going to receive significant playing time in Houston, as he really didn't do a whole lot to deserve it and they've got better players at the positions he can handle defensively (corner outfield, first base). At best, he would've likely been the team's fourth outfielder and backup first baseman. We've been beaten over the head for the last few seasons with projections about his prodigous power, but it really hasn't manifested itself on the field thus far. Through 1172 plate appearances over five seasons, Ward has hit just 49 home runs (that's one about every 24 PAs). Certainly not horrible, but he doesn't bring much else to the table. Over the same span of time (that is, his entire career to date), Ward has walked just 77 times (only 66 times unintentionally) and posted a measly .316 OBP. He wasn't quite an on-base machine coming up through the minors, but he was typically in the .370-.380 range, which is a far cry from where he's been with the Astros.

Could a change of scenery help him? Sure. I suppose the Dodgers want to use Ward as a backup at first to Fred McGriff and insurance in case either Brian Jordan or Shawn Green break down at the outfield corners...but I don't see how that's going to add up to a whole lot of at bats. If this is all it took to get Daryle Ward, why is it the Dodgers who've come away with him? I don't mean to say that Ruddy Lugo's completely useless, but the verdict is still a long way from coming in on a 22 year pitcher who struggled at AA...there are a lot of guys comparable in value.

Maybe this is a ridiculous exercise, but aren't there teams where Ward would fit much, much better? How about the Expos, who are set right now to trot out Jeff Liefer on Opening Day at first base? While it wouldn't be a perfect platoon by any means (they're both lefties and have faced righties almost exclusively in their careers), it'd be a better situation than the one they're currently in, as Liefer is going to stink. I doubt money would be a problem, as last year he made just $375,000 and his 2003 salary is likely to be in the same range. For Ward to blossom into the player he was projected to be, he probably needs to get some playing time from a team that's not terribly concerned with winning right now and can take a flier on a low-risk, high-reward guy like this. He wasn't going to get that chance in Houston, and I don't see it happening for him in Los Angeles either.

I'm not sure that this trade makes much sense from either side, but at least the Astros are getting a guy they can hopefully use in a year or two. Daryle Ward is going to be stuck again.
posted by VZW Watcher at 10:00 PM -