The Ins and Outs of the Marshall and Latos trades

Because not all of those prospects are going to make it to the majors.

it’s been refresshing to see so much written, pro and con, about trades this time around since two of the biggest have involved the reds…as a cincinnati fan for some 55 years now, and also a baseball fan, what i’ve learned in all this time is that trades always come down to one thing…simply put, how did they work out for the teams involved…and of course, that usually means which team improved, and often did either team get to the post season…

seldom do trades actually carry with them ‘locks’ as to how they will work out because they involve players who are still in the minor leagues, etc., or possibly involve teams who are either not getting someone who will really be a difference maker or are ‘selling off’’ in order to position themselves for ‘rebuilding’…

it would appear that the reds got a lot better for next season here…none of the players they traded was likely to have a consistent or big impact on their situation next year while the two pitchers coming their way both project to significantly improve the team’s performance. this says nothing, of course, of longer-term considerations, but face it, baseball is a game that is played by players who, percentagewise, are largely short term in significantly contributing to a team’s success…those who have more than one or two truly good seasons are very rare, and those who put up 5 solid, productive years are actually the few…many, many more players come and go, and eeven if they ‘make it’, are not around too long…yes, some of these players are, but as role players, etc., often bouncing around from team to team…

in short, for every bigtime player at any position, there are literally hundreds who try to just make it…

and here’s the funny thing…with all the commentary on these two trades, i have to wonder why there was so little said about that trade a few years back, in the winter of ’99-2000…the reds gave a few players for a guy named ken griffey, jr, a true all-star, already an all-time great and still playing…and everyone seemed to love it except maybe those fans in seattle…but me, i was thinking at the time…and yes, saying it, too….NO NO NO!! my reds were getting a 12-year MLB veteran with all the proven ability and accomplishment you could ask for, and i was saying NO NO NO!!

but that was a truly different thing, folks…the ‘99 reds were a cinderella team that also had a lot of promise…what it needed was PITCHING!! it didn’t need a position player, really, even if that player was a big upgrade…the team had, actually, by the end of the year, noone who was really a proven starter and still healthy, and no prospects coming along…and getting a superstar who could only bat one time each time through the lineup, maybe 650 times a year if he stayed healthy, was not going to help them…i predicted the reds would not finish higher than fourth place during the run of that contract, and fumed about the fact that they not only hadn’t improved the team, but had hamstrung their budget by putting some 25% of their payroll capability into this one player…

poing is…this is a totally different team now…it has good pitching that needed a little augmentation…and this time, instead of spending $10 million a year to get a left fielder like so many clamored for…maybe it would have been some help, but i really doubt that carlos beltran, for example, will be more productive than chris heisey, say, next year…or play as many games…the team has gone out and actually done something that could and likely will make them a lot better next year…

me, i can’t tell you if latos and marshall will be everything they might be or that we all want them to be…what i can tell you is…this is a good effort on the part of the reds to improve and actually make a difference next season, maybe longer…

But we really need to trade for CARLOS QUENTIN.

I’d say one of Heisey or Frazier for Quentin