Writings on baseball by Matt Barnard and Dan Stein.

 
Mondesi punted to Arizona

Arizona Diamondbacks get: Raul Mondesi.
New York Yankees get: David Dellucci, Bret Prinz, Jon Mark Sprowl.

This is a crappy deal for the Yankees. I realize that Raul Mondesi had become a problem in the Yankee clubhouse and has been unhappy with his role over the past few weeks. I realize that his behavior might be seen as detrimental to the team (he apparently skipped the team flight to Anaheim, choosing to make the trip a different way), and that there are almost certainly plenty of things that went on in Joe Torre's clubhouse that we, the public, are unaware of. I heard a report this evening after the trade that the Yankee brass was concerned that Mondesi's attitude had been rubbing off on some of the younger players, notably Alfonso Soriano. Perhaps this improves the situation in the Yankee clubhouse, and if that's the case, perhaps something positive can be taken away from it. But from a pure production perspective, this is an awful move.

We're not able to quantify "intangibles" at this point, so we're forced to look at what we do know for sure. Mondesi's been a productive major league hitter this season (.258/.330/.471) who is a decent rightfielder with a cannon for an arm. He's also making a lot of money, but for the team with the highest payroll in baseball by a wide margin, even Mondesi's $13 million salary (of which the Yankees are responsible for $7 million, the rest is being paid by Toronto) for this season is acceptable if accompanied by solid numbers. While he's struggled at times, Mondesi had a terrific month of April when much of the team was struggling, posting a .354/.420/.697 line over 111 plate apperances. His production has clearly dropped off since then, but he's a valuable offensive player and an asset regardless of what he's doing off the field. The Yankees have enough solid citizens on the roster that you'd think they'd be able to manage a bad seed here and there...but apparently that's not the case.

So the Yankees dispatch Mondesi...did they get anything useful in return? First of all, it's important to note that the Yanks aren't getting rid of all of the money that Mondesi is owed for the remainder of this season, as they're sending $2 million to Arizona to help cover their expenses. The kitty: part-time outfielder David Dellucci, righty reliever Bret Prinz and minor league catcher Jon Mark Sprowl. If Sprowl ever turns into anything more than organizational filler, it'll be nice...but I'm not holding out much hope. He's currently 23 in his fourth season at A, and while he's hitting .296/.402/.421 so far this season with A (Midwest) South Bend Silver Hawks, he's got a long way to go and much better prospects in his path.

Dellucci's been a interesting guy in the past, but I'm not sure he is anymore. He doesn't make a lot of money ($900,000 this year, he's not guaranteed beyond that), but of course, he doesn't deserve to based on his major league performance. He's had a few interesting and valuable seasons in limited action (notably his .394/.463/.505 123 plate appearance stint in 1999), but his performance has dropped off considerably over the past two seasons, to the point where there's really no room for him on the current Yankee team outside of as a AAA injury fallback option and possible September roster expansion filler guy. The Yankee lineup can survive the loss of Mondesi (assuming he's replaced on a full-time basis by Ruben Sierra and Karim Garcia and not Dellucci) because of the insertion of Nick Johnson back into the lineup, but giving up a valuable offensive player for not much still isn't a good idea.

Prinz is the most intriguing guy from the Yankees' perspective, as the team does actually need some relief pitching and he's shown he can do it in the past. While he's been hurt for much of the season, he's healthy now and will be assigned to AAA Columbus, but I certainly would not be surprised to see him get a shot at the big league level before the season is over, perhaps even before rosters expand, should any of the Yankees' fringe relievers (mostly referring to Sterling Hitchcock, who may yet be dealt before Thursday's deadline, and maybe Antonio Osuna) have problems.

From the Diamondbacks' perspective, they don't give up much and acquire a legitimate bat to bolster their lineup, so it's a nice move taking advantage of the Yankees' problem. Playing time has been going to Danny Bautista (.259/.298/.330) in right field, so slotting Mondesi in everyday and keeping him happy that way really shouldn't be a problem for Bob Brenly. I'm still not sure they'll get there, but it's certainly a step in the right direction towards the National League Wild Card.
posted by VZW Watcher at 1:30 AM -