Yesterday, when word of the Fukudome trade broke, I opined thusly:
Not that I disagree with those sentiments exactly (though I do apologize for the misspelling, Anglophile that I am), but I’d like to expand a bit today. Yes, Fukudome doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Indians considering that he’s left handed. We were all so focused on a right handed outfielder that, to some degree, I poo-pooed the trade yesterday. I think that was a bit of an over-reaction.
So today, we should acknowledge a few things. Let’s do this numerically, so that I don’t lose my train of thought.
1) Kosuke Fukudome is better than Travis Buck.
This is basically what happened yesterday: we added Fukudome and cut Travis Buck (Buck may pass through waivers and stay in the organization—we’ll see). So, if we’re interested in making the team better this year, we need to judge those two against one another. Here are the numbers, both career and 2011:
|
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
||
|
Career |
||||
| Buck |
0.246 |
0.320 |
0.408 |
|
| Fukudome |
0.262 |
0.369 |
0.403 |
|
|
2011 |
||||
| Buck |
0.228 |
0.275 |
0.342 |
|
| Fukudome |
0.273 |
0.374 |
0.369 |
Is that clear enough to suggest that we made an upgrade? I think so. But I had no idea that Fukudome was such an on-base machine. For the record, his .374 OBP would rank second on the Indians, behind only Travis Hafner.
On top of that, Fukudome is considered a good defender and an above average baserunner (sorry Pronk!). As Antonetti said yesterday, we’re a better team today for this trade. There is no arguing this, so far as I can tell.
2) The prospects we gave up are not likely to become impact players.
Carlton Smith is not really in this conversation. In seven minor league seasons, he has a career ERA of 4.21. In his two seasons in AAA, he has a 5.46 ERA. He will turn 26 this winter. He is, more or less, the definition of “roster fodder”.
Abner Abreu, on the other hand, has some legitimate claim to respectability. He’s only 21, and, despite some uninspiring numbers, has shown the tools to grow into a MLB player. But the numbers do tend to stand out. In over 1,500 career plate appearances—none above A ball—he has an OBP of .311. That stinks. Sure, he might become something eventually, but this is hardly the definition of costly in my eyes.
3) Fukudome will potentially net us a high draft pick.
The last I read, Fukudome is likely to end the season as “Type B” free agent, which means if the Indians offer him arbitration (and he declines) we’ll get a draft pick out the signing in the supplemental round (between the first and second round). Jason Kipnis was a second round pick. In other words, these picks are not without value.
4) The money we took on should not affect our competitiveness going forward.
The Indians picked up $775,000 of Fukudome’s remaining salary. This is less than we’ll pay Travis Hafner for his next 10 games. This is not a prohibitive amount of money, and because of this, I would suggest the Indians are still in the market to add a player (and the requisite salary) that might have a significant impact on the team.
In short, I just don’t see the downside to this deal. Sure, it might not be chock full of upside, but I don’t think there’s any way to argue that Antonetti didn’t make the team better today without risking tomorrow. What’s not to like?
