Why the Angels need to trade Ervin Santana, is Miguel Cabrera the second coming of Mo Vaughn, why Brett Tomko shouldn't have been sent to the rotation, and 2007 Free Agency Bargain Bin Pitchers.

Angels Need To Trade Santana Soon

The Angels would probably be wise to trade Ervin Santana now, as cracks are appearing in his trade value.

Santana is a talented young pitcher that has been shopped often.  It's beginning to show why, however?

Outside of Angels Stadium, Santana morphs into Jeff Weaver and gets killed.  Take a look at his splits for this season.

• Home - 3-1, 2.33 ERA
• Away - 0-4, 7.86 ERA

That's horrible.  Jeff Weaver horrible.  Well, maybe not that bad.

But the fact of the matter is that Santana may not be the young ace in the making that we think he is. 

At least, not in the American League.

In the National League, I think Santana could really blossom.  With lineups that are less potent, more pitcher friendly stadiums (Busch, Petco, Shea, Dolphin, Turner, and Dodger Stadiums, just to name a few), we could see Santana maintain more of his dominance and be a perennial All-Star.  True, he would get killed in other parks (Coors and Minutemaid  would be where Santana would probably be in trouble), but overall, a move to the National League would be beneficial.

Where would he fit best?

The Angels want a bat in return for Santana and are probably hoping to cash in on a trade, similar to what Oakland did when they traded Mark Mulder to the Cardinals.  I don't think they'll get that much, nor do I think they'll get what they would have last season.   However, if the Rockies would be willing to eat enough of Todd Helton's contract, or if  the DBacks are willing to part with one of their talented young hitters, or even if Omar Minaya or John Schurholz is willing to part with a regular (Lasting Milledge would probably be enough to get a deal done), I think that the Angels would do well in terms of return on their investment.

The Second Coming Of Mo Vaughn?

You all remember Mo Vaughn, right guys?  The Red Sox slugger that practically ate his way out of the league by 30 or so?

Apparently, Miguel Cabrera is following the same route.

Cabrera, according to Baseball Reference.com, was 185 when he entered the league.  He has since added on a whopping 55 pounds since then.  Several scouts have said that at this point, Cabrera might need to consider another position change, probably first base, or be traded to the American League where he can DH. 

First base wouldn't be a bad option for him, where he would rival Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman as the most dangerous first baseman in the league.  This would likely interest Omar Minaya, who could replace Carlos Delgado in a few years with Cabrera, giving him a potent offense force in the lineup.

Tomko Heading Back To The Pen

Remember last year, when Brett Tomko talked about how glad he was to be moved into the pen and how he spoke about how he would like to be a closer.

Well, he wasn't glad about being asked to move again. 

Tomko walked past reporters without a word after telling a Dodgers public relations official that he didn't have time to talk about it.

And realistically, the Dodgers shouldn't have been putting Tomko out to start to begin with.  He was surprisingly capable as a setup man/middle reliever and the fact that the Dodgers sent Chad Billingsley to the bullpen instead of Tomko is just bad roster management.

Hong-Chih Kuo will move into the rotation if his next start at triple-A Las Vegas goes well. 

2007 Free Agency - Starting Pitchers (Bargain Bin)

For everyone who wants to take a chance on some of these less than stellar members of a rotation, here's who's available.

• Rodrigo Lopez (Rockies) – Lopez was traded in his final year of arbitration to the Rockies, where so far he’s been solid for the Rockies…when healthy.  However, there is still enough doubt about Lopez that he belongs down here.
• Byung-Hyun Kim (Marlins) – Kim received interest in the fact that he’s a fairly decent, fairly durable pitcher that can function as a fifth starter.  He’ll get work this off-season,
• Jeff Weaver (Mariners) – It’s starting to get a little old with the bad Weaver.  But someone will take a chance on him because of his age, potential, and out of need.
• Jaret Wright (Orioles) – It’s over for Wright as any more than a fifth starter, where his durability as well as his ability won’t hurt the team as much.  However, expect some team to overpay for his services, as they will see Wright as a reclamation project that could pay big dividends.  Hmmm, the Cardinals could come calling.
• Wade Miller (Cubs) – The Cubbies took a flyer on Miller and the result was a solid Spring Training and little else.
• Kip Wells (Cardinals) – Depending on what the hell happens with this season, Wells could see the interest in him build.  How much depends on his performance.  People still feel he’s got great stuff, but honestly, Wells seems to almost invent ways to lose games.  He will find work, but whether it’s on a major league deal is to be decided.
• Odalis Perez (Royals) – [If $9MM club option is declined.]  Perez is a average fifth starter that would probably be better suited for the NL than the AL.  His stuff is rather mediocre and he seems to get by more on luck than skill.  I do expect the Royals to exercise his option, as they really lack any decent options for the rotation, even with Luke Hochevar doing good things in the minors.
• Victor Zambrano (Blue Jays) – Zambrano is an average stuff kind of guy that could pull his weight as the fourth man in the rotation.  It all depends on how well he bounces back from TJ.  So far, the results have been…not pretty.
• Eric Milton (Reds) – Yeah, I doubt that there will be much interest in Milton at the moment, considering how badly he’s pitched. in the past few years.
• Matt Clement (Red Sox) – Don’t know what happened to Clement.  One moment he was awesome, the next moment he was awful and relegated to the bullpen.  Clement will find takers thanks to his past history of success, but as to how much those takers are willing to offer is a different matter all together.
• John Thomson (Blue Jays) – Thomson, at this point of his career, looks done.  I don’t see him getting anything more than a minor league contract, though Ranger Fans should always hold a debt of gratitude toward him.  The compensation pick that was received for Thomson was spent on Texas’ top prospect, Eric Hurley.
• David Wells (Padres) – At Well’s age and with his current health concerns, he’s likely going to hang it up.

   

That's all I got, see you next week unless the Fort Worth Star Telegram goes nuts again.