2010-12-07

Yet Another Blockbuster!


The Trade:

Your Toronto Blue Jays received 2B Brett Lawrie from the Brew Crew for RHP Shaun Marcum. A straight one for one swap.

Analysis:

One of the things about waiting until a deal has been formally announced before commenting on it, is you actually get to see the reaction of the fans, media and parties involved.

In this case, it was mixed. 

Let me start off by saying this loud and clear, I completely understand the feelings of apprehension in letting Shaun Marcum go. I can honestly say he has one of the best change ups I have ever seen. Period.

Off the field, he was the guy that everyone looked up to on the pitching staff and he was one of the leaders in the clubhouse. He certainly knew how to keep it loose. Who will ever forget this Tom Foolery? Or the not so secret motto: Are YOU going to pitch like a man today?

On the field, he was our losing streak stopper this season. A season in which he set career highs in starts (31), innings pitched (195 1/3) and strikeouts (165). Shaun is a fantastic fielder of his position and Buck Martinez always found a reason to remind us, every game it seemed like, that he was a shortstop in high school.

All these things are true and need to be validated.

And I will not take any shots at him now that he is gone.

However:

In order to get talent, you must give up talent. This deal was no different.

I think we need to get the fact that Brett Lawrie is Canadian out of the way right now.

I put in a request for some info from my guy at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and he came back with this:

He played in World JR's, Olympics and World Baseball Classic all before his 1st pro game! He was also the highest drafted Canadian position player ever 1st round, 16th overall in 2008. He got a signing bonus of $1,700,000. 

Bad trade for 2011, should be good for 2013-????? I love Marcum. Trading a proven quality starter for a cocky 21 year old in Double A is risky business.

















Nick Weglarz, Agent Dan, Brett Lawrie, Phillippe Aumont

Our boy Jesse didn`t even bother to wait for the invitation, got proactive and this e-mail was in my inbox when I got up this morning:

The word on Brett Lawrie, if the Jays do get him for Marcum, is all good.  Canadian, right?  Great power, intense kid.  I like it.

Quotes:

“I’m not going to throw 95 mph and blow hitters away,” said Marcum. “But I’m going to compete and give 110% every time I take the mound. I’m going to throw strikes, change speeds and work in and out, up and down. I’m not afraid to knock people down.”

"He was excited," Anthopoulos said of Lawrie's reaction. "Very driven, focused, motivated, confident young man, and when you combine it with his ability, that's what makes him a great player and gives him the upside and ceiling to be an all-star calibre player, at least from the way our scouts talk about him."

"He has that confidence and that swagger, and that's what the great ones have," Anthopoulos said of Lawrie
 
Concerns:

I`m not going to sit here and pretend like I know what this means, so I`ll send it over to Jonathan Mayo for his take:

There has been some buzz about Lawrie's attitude, and not in a positive way. The Brewers reportedly wanted Lawrie to play in the Arizona Fall League this year, but the prospect begged off. Still, some of it might be in the eye of the beholder. What one person may see as bad makeup another might see as the kind of confidence a team would want from its players. If one observer was turned off by Lawrie's apparent bad attitude, another called him a true gamer with leadership ability.

And this is also worth mentioning, courtesy of Bobby Elliott:

Lawrie is a pugnacious player, who plays like a hockey puck. For example, last season he and Chris Dennis of Amherstburg got into a pre-game scrap around the batting cage at class-A Wisconsin.
They were wearing the same uniform ... as teammates.
 

Scouting Reports:


Video:


Conclusion:

This was a classic Boy Wonder move is so many ways:
  • Right out of nowhere
  • Acquired young, controllable, high upside talent
  • Sold high on his player
  • Traded for a guy with some question marks
As my buddy said, we do lose this trade right now. No doubt about it. Try to keep in mind the player we gave up will be a free agent in two years and is coming off a very good, if not his best, season in the big leagues. By the time we are in a position to win a lot of games, Shaun Marcum will be past his prime. And I`m willing to bet he will be getting paid 8 or 9 million dollars to it. 

On the other hand Brett Lawrie has a chance to be an impact player for us, perhaps at a premium position. Another one of those core type guys. Currently, he is one of the top 50 prospects in the entire game. It`s very rare, if not downright impossible, to get your hands on them via trade.

3 comments:

  1. I don't know what to think but in AA I trust so I'm good with this. In all of the photos of this guy that I've seen circulating he reminds of that dumb jock that is super arrogant and annoying. I guess there is a lot of that in a superstar athelete so maybe in this case it's going to work to Toronto's advantage. We'll have to revisit this in a couple of years.

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  2. As the articule mentioned this is what's becoming the classic AA move. It demonstrates an unsaid understanding that in order to compete in the AL East with their more monied competition average MLB players won't cut it, above-average MLB players won't cut it, heck even really good MLB players (Like Marcum) won't cut it... to compete in the AL East you need Great MLB players... that's what he's done here he's traded a really good MLB player (Marcum) for a chance at a great one in Lawrie.

    I think the success of this trade really depends on his ability to stick at 2nd Base. Corner outfielders with his hit tools aren't that rare but guys like that are golden if they can play at least average 2nd base. So let's cross our fingers and hope his D gets up to snuff.

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  3. @Mattt,
    Yeah those pictures were not pretty.

    http://www.millerparkdrunk.com/baseball/milwaukee-brewers-baseball/brewers-get-marcum-from-toronto-for-brett-lawrie-lawrie-revealed-as-tool/

    That is what happens when you give an 18 year old 1.7 million dollars. But he does have a smoking hot chick to show for it.

    @Anon,
    Anywhere on the infield is fine with me. Give him and Lind a full spring training with Butter and then we'll re-evaluate.

    Thanks for stopping by.

    ReplyDelete