Thoughts on the Crisp/Ramirez Trade
The trade of CF Coco Crisp for Royals reliever Ramon S. Ramirez has been confirmed. What do we make of it?
Personally, my feelings on the deal are mixed, but slightly leaning towards a thumbs-up. One one hand, the Red Sox are giving away more than they are getting in terms of pure value. Coco Crisp might be the best defensive center fielder I’ve seen in a Red Sox uniform. Although Coco is about average offensively, his skill set is such that he could probably be the starting CF for 12-15 MLB teams. Not to mention, he’s relatively cheap. Surely he has more value than a 70 inning reliever.
On the other hand, they are dealing a superfluous commodity for someone who will hopefully be a key bullpen piece in 2008. Coco was expendable, and other teams knew they had the upper hand in any trade talks. His value was discounted accordingly. While I would have preferred Crisp to have been used in a package with prospects to acquire a young catcher, the grim reality is that teams are not willing to easily part with those guys. In the end, the Red Sox should be happy with what they are getting, a strikeout pitcher who can face both left-handers and right-handers. A guy who slightly resembles “Bodie” from The Wire.
Here’s Theo’s take on the new acquisition:
In Ramirez, we believe we’ve acquired a young, controllable reliever that can really help our bullpen. He has a plus fastball, 92-95 mph, and an outstanding power changeup. A lot of people think it’s a split, [but] it’s actually a changeup, 87-88 [mph], that’s a swing-and-a-miss pitch for him against left-handed and right-handed hitters. And [he has] a pretty good slider to go with it.
All PR aside, the 26-year-old’s numbers speak for themselves: 8.4 strikeouts per 9 innings over his career, a 2.3 K/BB ratio, and a 127 ERA+.
This deal answers the question of who would be the Boston center fielder next season (and we all had a feeling this would be the case). Is Ellsbury overrated by most Red Sox fans? Probably – but his most glaring weakness (plate discipline) is one that can be improved upon with the increased playing time he will now surely receive. He has the potential to be a fine long-term answer in the outfield at Fenway. While Jacoby Ellsbury was inconsistent at times in 2008, his raw talent and his high ceiling was evident for all to see. In an “off-year”, the outfielder hit a pedestrian .280/.336/.394, but excelled in other areas (50/61 SB attempts, good CF defense, 72 Runs Created per the Hardball Times), and finished 3rd in the Rookie of the Year ballot. If he learns how to protect the strike zone a bit more, we could have one of the better lead-off hitters in the American League here.
Aside from handing the CF keys to Ellsbury, this deal also raises an interesting question regarding the pitching staff. The Sox can go in two directions here:
- They can keep the bullpen as-is, a group which might be one of the best in the league. Okajima, Delcarmen, Masterson, Papelbon, and now Ramirez would be a difficult crew to face in the late innings. Last season, these guys posted ERA+ numbers of 177, 141, 146, 198, and 162 respectively.
- They could convert Justin Masterson back into a starting pitcher, thus getting more innings out of one of the best young pitchers in the system, and saving a lot of money in the free agent market (no A.J. Burnett, ect). The team could then spend money on something else.
Option 2 is what I’m hoping for. It is less likely, simply because converting a reliever to a starter in one winter isn’t as easy as it seems on paper. The team would likely need someone to fill in as a 5th starter in the beginning of the year while Masterson is slowly integrated into the rotation (a Michael Bowden type). I say it’s worth a shot. Why not utilize the young pitching staff that’s been built up over the past 5 years, and spend the big bucks on what the team really needs and does not have in the minors: a big bat.
So you do not consider Lars Anderson a big bat? Interesting.
BTW, nice job mentioning that little award Dustin Pedroia received.
I would prefer the Sox make Masterson the 4-5 starter, but hope they use the money saved to acquire Junichi Tazawa. I don’t want M. Teixeira, because I belive Lars Anderson is the long term answer at 1b.
*believe
Lars might be a big bat, but he’s still a couple of years away from impacting the MLB team. Teixeira is a known commodity, and could play LF once Lars is ready and Bay becomes a FA.
This deal is a huge plus for the Red Sox since Ellsbury WILL (not could) be a great lead-off hitter and better-than-average CF for a decade or longer, (barring injuries, of course).
John,
I love your optimism. But Jacoby has to show a teeny bit of plate discipline before we can use the all caps “WILL.”
Ken – you’re a dick.
Well, as of right now Bay will be a FA at the end of the ’09 season. So you are suggesting we would move Teixeira to LF in 2010? I’m sure Lars will be ready by then, but I don’t think Mark would be willing to go to LF so quickly(or should I say AT ALL). TFF
The fact Ellsbury has had one full season and it’s called an “off” year is why Ellsbury continues to be overrated by everyone. Enjoy the 87 OPS+.
You have it backwards. His overratedness is what caused 2008 to be considered an “off-year” by the general public.
I don’t believe last year should be considered an off year, hence the quotation marks.
P.S. Using OPS+ to judge a speedy defensive CF’er is sort of like using cargo capacity to rate a sports car.