Hernandez is in his fifth major league season. His ERA+s from 2005-09: 157, 98, 110, 122, 155. And he is only 23 years old -- and will be a free agent after the 2011 season.
Once the trade deadline had passed, both the Seattle Times and the Globe quoted Epstein:
We shot big on a couple things, a deal that could provide maximum impact. We were very aggressive in use of our own prospects, those deals got close ... Maybe the foundation is laid for the offseason.Epstein did not say much more than that, but Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reported yesterday that the Red Sox had approached Seattle with a 5-for-1 deal. The Mariners could have chosen any five of these eight players in exchange for Felix:
RHP Clay Buchholz!!!
RHP Daniel Bard
RHP Justin Masterson
LHP Nick Hagadone
RHP Michael Bowden
LHP Felix Doubront
OF Josh Reddick
SS Yamaico Navarro
When Seattle said no, Theo approached the Padres and tried to construct a three-way deal that would have sent Adrian Gonzalez to the Mariners, thereby sweetening the pot for the Mariners to ship Felix to Boston. After the Mariners turned that proposal down -- Baker has more details at the link -- Epstein traded Masterson and Hagadone to Cleveland for Victor Martinez. (Alex Speier at WEEI also blogged about this.)
(Indians Prospect Insider claims the Red Sox were offered Cliff Lee for Buchholz and turned the swap down. The Sox asked for Cleveland's #1 prospect, catcher Carlos Santana, straight up for Buchholz, and the Spiders said no.)
Epstein's "foundation" comment may mean he'll try to revisit a possible deal for Hernandez this winter. It seems more likely, though, that there won't be much activity until next July.
Thank goodness that didn't happen...would have been bad for the Yanks...I am already nervous about VMart in Boston, but Felix just is filthy.....
ReplyDeleteRHP Clay Buchholz
ReplyDeleteRHP Daniel Bard
RHP Justin Masterson
LHP Nick Hagadone
RHP Michael Bowden
LHP Felix Doubront
OF Josh Reddick
SS Yamaico Navarro!!!
Wow! Talk about an aggressive deal.
I'm glad Theo's thinking big, creative, Pedro-esque deals. I didn't know about the Santana-for-Buchholz idea. Would not have been popular at first, I'm sure, but would have done a lot for us down the road. I wonder who would have stepped into the rotation. Probably Bowden, though it must be tempting to rush Tazawa along.
ReplyDeleteWe could've had Carlos Santana. hahahaha
ReplyDeleteMakes the Beckett/Lowell deal for Hanley et al seem like the deal of the century! [btw Pedroia in his book says that Lowell is the best ping-pong player he's ever seen and he once beat Pedroia 27 straight times. I'd trade Buchholz just to see that!]
ReplyDeleteOh well.
ReplyDeleteI still can't believe the Mariners said no. Those are good prospects to choose from, especially when they could have had HH, Bard, Masterson, Bowden, and Reddick.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting psychology, trading players. You think of getting FIVE of these players for that ONE, still unproven player. Sort of proven. I mean, he is the king. But he's young which means anything can happen. It's similar to the gamble you take on prospects.
ReplyDeleteThe Red Sox offer Seattle FIVE exceptional prospects for Felix and they say no. You have to wonder... WHY!!??!?!?!?!? I mean, seriously? Clay Buchholz! Daniel Bard! Justin Masterson! These are big guys! They could put your club over the top in 3-5 years. Why don't you pull the trigger on this???
Then you look at it from Theo's side. He's willing to trade all of that young talent for this pitcher. Theo is the one who is holding all of these prospects. There must be something amazingly special about this pitcher. So why trade him? Especially when the GM of the Boston Red Sox says this is a guy HE would want to build HIS team around.
As the GM of the Mariners I'd be thinking, this guy wants to give me five big prospects for Felix, that means he wants to build his team around him. Well, why couldn't I? And then there's no trade.
What's the better move? Who knows? That's what makes this stuff so crazy.
Pedroia in his book says that Lowell is the best ping-pong player he's ever seen
ReplyDeletePedroia? Book?
I didn't know Pedey read books, much less write them!
If I'm the Mariners I make this move, because in a few years when Felix is a FA, he's going to the Sox or Yankees anyway - might as well get something good out of the deal now while his stock is still high.
ReplyDeleteI don't beleive it....His offer to the Blue Jays had to be similar right? I just don't think a team like the Mariners could turn this down...This guy is a 3.50 era guy , I see Lester having a better career than this guy , and no one is offering us a slew of players....It jus doesn't make sense....just because a guy dominates us doesn't mean he dominates everyone....and the current yankee team hits .320 off this kid....
ReplyDeleteIf this is actually true I'm really really glad it didn't go through! I know "king" Felix is still very young and most guys his age are still pitching in AAA and scouts gush about his potential but has the guy ever had a really dominant season? He will also be getting expensive soon so he's not like a major saving of money over someone like Halladay who is a proven ace and a much better pitcher right now than Hernandez is.
ReplyDeleteTo trade away 5 of your best prospects for a guy who still has to be classed as a prospect himself doesn't make sense to me at all.
Buchholz for Lee straight up would have been interesting. Lee < Halladay obviously but he would have filled the big whole in the rotation I see as the Sox big problem going forward. If we were going to trade for one Indian I would have preferred Lee to VMart.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWow.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, that trade would have been huge for both. Could you imagine the reaction if that hadda gone through...outta @#$%ing nowhere??
That wasn't on anyone's radar that I heard.
I think Epstine may have realized he held onto his prospect for too long, and it became time to unload.
ReplyDeleteEveryone wanted Buchholz before this year, and now teams are keeping away. We may have to ride it out with him to see if he develops now, because his trade value is way down compared to his potential.