Stragglers

People have asked about a couple of other trades.

Ryan Garko for Scott Barnes: I thought I weighed on this one earlier. I guess not. Barnes is a solid prospect, decent fastball, strong secondary stuff, excellent stats in the California League, and another guy that was a 2008 Twins Shadow Draftee for me. Garko is superfluous to Cleveland's needs, so picking him up for a nice Grade B prospect seems like a good deal for them. The Giants, having traded Barnes and Alderson, have cashed in some of their farm system pitching depth and need to be careful with that going forward. A lot rides on Bumgarner now.

Joe Beimel to the Rockies for Ryan Mattheus and Robinson Fabian. Beimel is a decent reliever but not a guy who is going to win the division for you....still, it's nice to have him around. In exchange the Nationals pick up Mattheus, currently on the DL with Tommy John, and Fabian. Mattheus can get the fastball to 95 MPH but has an inconsistent track record, though he's been better since moving to relief. Obviously we need to see how he recovers from TJ. 
Fabian also has a live arm with a 95 MPH fastball, but he is a thrower, not a pitcher, and is performing poorly in the South Atlantic League. Basically the Nats added two good arms with big question marks in exchange for Beimel, a pitcher who won't be part of the next good Nats team. I can understand it from both perspectives.