What to Do With Gordon Beckham
by Satchel Price on Nov 11, 2010 4:12 PM EST
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PrintYahoo's Tim Brown reported yesterday that rival executives believe that the White Sox would listen to offers on second baseman Gordon Beckham.
I was just wondering what everyone thinks about this possibility- if you were Kenny Williams, what would rival teams have to offer to entice you to deal your 24-year-old second baseman? He's under control through 2015, and while he struggled greatly for the first half of last season, he batted .310/.369/.516 in his final 238 PA from late June through the end of the season.
I certainly didn't expect this given that Beckham's become one of the franchise's cornerstones, but when it comes to the White Sox they're always willing to make some pretty rash moves.
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yes. listening to offers is a rash move.
some might say it’s a rash move to refuse to listen to offers.
A GM should always, ALWAYS listen to offers no matter who the player
The Cardinals should at least listen to offers for Pujols if they get any. It doesn’t mean they should be looking to trade him, but a GM isn’t doing is job if he doesn’t listen to what the other guy has to say.
www.zekeishungry.com
by thejd44 on Nov 12, 2010 6:25 PM EST up reply actions
I meant that dealing Beckham would seem to be a rash move
Generally guys don’t go from cornerstone to trade bait in one year.
Baseball is my preferred sport. It should be yours, too.
I'm an editor for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.
by Satchel Price on Nov 13, 2010 11:56 AM EST up reply actions
this is why i just love early november.
some reporter hears from “rival executives” that they “believe” kenny williams “would listen” to offers for gordon beckham and all of the sudden he’s trade bait. rival executives believing that aGM, let alone kenny williams, would listen to an offer for any player is like believing water is wet.
I dont get it
The reason theyd trade him is the exact reason why teams WOULDNT trade for him. If the team is willing to give up that easily, I think that should tell teams to stay away, even if he has as much potential as he does
by lakersdodgersyankees4life on Nov 11, 2010 5:35 PM EST reply actions
Nothing wrong with testing the waters...
It doesn’t mean they’ll trade him, but some team might be willing to overpay.
Its Kenny Williams...
so the answer is probably trade Beckham and Chris Sale for Chone Figgins and a reliever. Or maybe Aaron Hill and immediately give him a huge extension.
Bullpen Banter
www.bullpenbanter.com
twitter: @alskor
and of course
Figgins or Hill would then have a monster 2011 to spite rational thinkers everywhere.
Bullpen Banter
www.bullpenbanter.com
twitter: @alskor
I agree that in terms of process Williams' moves
seem bad and then they somehow work out.
When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream.
Has he ever given up anything of value?
Almost all of his big trades were buy low, sell high aside from the Daniel Hudson for Edwin Jackson.
It’s not like he’s a guy giving up top prospects.
I think Brandon Allen will have value.
Others aren’t as sold on him though.
He did trade Carlos Lee for a bucket of balls several years ago, but he did a masterful job of spending the extra few million he got as a result of the trade, and the team won the World Series the following year.
Overall, though...
I think Williams is a somewhat underrated GM. He has a problem with overvaluing certain guys (like Pods and Juan Pierre), but I’m not convinced that a lot of that isn’t Ozzie saying he needs a burner and Williams being too obliging.
To be fair
I don’t like Podsednik but he was a key player in their World Series victory that year.
by King Billy Royal on Nov 11, 2010 10:12 PM EST up reply actions
You're right.
But the other pieces he picked up that offseason with the $7 million he saved by downgrading from Lee to Pods brought back some valuable pieces.
Wow...
that was a jumble of words that made no sense. My bad. The extra $7 million brought back some valuable pieces that contributed meaningfully to the WS title.*
He was a below average player in 2005.
www.zekeishungry.com
by thejd44 on Nov 12, 2010 6:26 PM EST up reply actions
That too.
Pods was on the WS team, and he played. He wasn’t exactly a “key player.” I was out of it in my earlier replies – I actually read KBR’s post as “he wasn’t really a key player in their WS victory…” Whups :)
Pods had a .319 wOBA that year. If you believe UZR that he was really a +8 fielder, he was actually just about average over 600PAs, but it looks like a 1-year blip for a guy who’s generally in the 0 < x < 3 range.
I'm not arguing any of this
However, that season he was a key guy on their World Series team and was a central figure for them in the playoffs. I REALLY don’t like Pods but he worked out for the Sox. Kenny just seems to have a knack for making trades that look terrible and then actually work out for Chicago.
by King Billy Royal on Nov 14, 2010 1:05 PM EST up reply actions
+1
As a Chicago guy that watched a ton of that team, he absolutely was a big part of their winning effort.
Their top of the order was essentially non-existent in 2004, and then they went out and added Podsednik and Iguchi. It totally changed the makeup of the lineup, and while they were definitely a pretty lucky team, I think Pods was actually pretty huge for them.
Baseball is my preferred sport. It should be yours, too.
I'm an editor for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.
by Satchel Price on Nov 17, 2010 10:59 AM EST up reply actions
+1
That move makes me sick. I get that they saved money, but Betemit sucked, and Marquez and Nunez have sucked for a while.
Baseball is my preferred sport. It should be yours, too.
I'm an editor for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.
by Satchel Price on Nov 13, 2010 11:58 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah...
I never understood that one at all. Total oversight on my part. Just an awful, awful move.
Ozzie didn't like Swish.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Nov 13, 2010 10:08 PM EST up reply actions
different personalities in the clubhouses.
of course, acting like a fratboy works a whole lot better with your teammates when you’re batting higher than .220.
But the front office should've been smart enough to notice that it was a fluke
You don’t just sell low on a guy because he didn’t fit into the clubhouse. He was batting .220 with a .250 BABIP despite the highest LD rate of his career. He clearly was going to bounce back in 2009. It was just a dumb trade.
Baseball is my preferred sport. It should be yours, too.
I'm an editor for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.
by Satchel Price on Nov 17, 2010 11:01 AM EST up reply actions
I guess you’d have to say Chris Young he didn’t get much value back on. Otherwise, I can’t think of much. Jon Rauch was very highly rated and has been decently productive and all he got for him was a year and a half of Carl Everett’s decline (that was a weird trade, Everett had just left Chicago as a FA six months earlier). And depending on what exactly they get out of Peavy, maybe Clayton Richards or Aaron Poreda will be missed. But on balance, not a lot of talent squandered.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
jon rauch ran himself out of town with his attitude.
and, if you believe fWAR, the white sox got plenty of value back from chris young.
The Peavy deal
While it seems unlikely any of the other three pieces in that deal will ever add much value, Clayton Richard was a 1.5-2.5 WAR (depending on which flavor you like), 26-year-old lefty who logged 200 innings for $423,000 last year. That’s some value.
by realitypolice on Nov 18, 2010 4:01 PM EST up reply actions
Richard + salary relief = good deal for the Padres
They were dealing with a very highly paid starter wielding a no-trade clause. Landing a young, durable starter and a couple intriguing young arms was a good return.
Baseball is my preferred sport. It should be yours, too.
I'm an editor for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.
by Satchel Price on Nov 18, 2010 4:58 PM EST up reply actions
What to do with Beckham?
Play him everyday and enjoy his breakout 2011 campaign. Still a big believer.
+1
I heard Tim Lincecum will win 1 Cy Young & 11 Tim Lincecums. Question is, how many Cole Hamels will he win?
by the pinstripes on Nov 11, 2010 10:40 PM EST up reply actions
+1
dude had a sophmore slump, it happens! big 2011 coming
I pray that there is a magical way for the Cardinals to get him without giving up Rasmus
Seems like one of the best trade destinations for him if a deal could somehow be worked out, but it seems like Rasmus would be the only option to move considering how the White Sox had already shown some interest in Colby last week.
If I was the Braves I'd offer up Prado plus a pitcher or two from the Beachy/Hoover/Dunn level
Probably not enough, but maybe Guillen/Williams is in love with a guy like Prado to the point where they’d do the deal. I’d love to see Beckham back home in the ATL.
That being said, I don’t buy this rumor. I think the White Sox like Beckham too much to deal unless they get completely overwhelmed.
I'd be down with that
as a braves fan.
+Beckham is a U Georgia kid
by son.of.sourman on Nov 11, 2010 9:36 PM EST up reply actions
He grew up in Atlanta as well
He was two years behind me at my high school’s rival. Played against him in football. From what I’ve heard he’s a pretty good guy.
Also allegedly bagged Erin Andrews during the CWS, so good for him if that’s true.
I now know more about Gordon Beckham
Than I ever wanted to. Thanks a million.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU_9zTD9B98&feature=related
Apparently there's an epilepsy warning on this video. But it's so incredibly cool.
by Dan Strittmatter on Nov 11, 2010 10:15 PM EST up reply actions
I just think its funny because EA is apparently a huge cleat chaser
Wonder why she got into that profession?
Lovett?
He was in my class at Westminster. Played little league with him :)
by sunking1056 on Nov 12, 2010 11:52 AM EST up reply actions
so basically, you're hoping for total incompetence out of Chicago?
That type of trade goes down on a Tuesday, I’m assuming Kenny is fired by Thursday . . .and “surprisingly” working for the Braves by Monday.
Total incompetence?
Not sure I’d consider a 2B that’s currently an ~3.5 WAR player under control for 3 years (I initially thought 4, but pretty sure that was wrong) and 2 decent B- pitching prospects an incompetent deal. Sure Beckham’s got more upside, but there’s a pretty good chance he’s never better than Prado currently is and he may never even be that good. Prado cracked the top 50 in this year’s FG trade value series…I honestly think you’re underestimating his value.
And honestly calling Prado a 3.5 WAR player might be selling him short
He’s been worth 7 WAR in just 268 games over the past 2 seasons (a pace of over 3.9 per 150 games) and he’s entering his age 27 season. Honestly, outside of the elite tier of Utley, Cano, and Pedroia (I guess Zobrist if you want to count him as a 2B), he’s as good as anyone else at the position in the game.
i i like this trade for the White Sox
I consider Prado and Beckham to be almost comparable in trade value. Prado has the track record but I think Beckham gets the slight edge due to service time. I’m a big fan of Brandon Beachy though, and I think his inclusion would make the White Sox the clear winners of this trade.
If knowledge is the key, then just show me the lock.
Got the scrawny legs but I move just like Lou Brock.
Listen to offers
Shouldn’t every GM listen to offers for everybody?
yes, absolutely
personally, i think the phils should listen to any offer the yanks dole out and take it.
I heard Tim Lincecum will win 1 Cy Young & 11 Tim Lincecums. Question is, how many Cole Hamels will he win?
by the pinstripes on Nov 11, 2010 10:43 PM EST up reply actions
for cole hamels that is
I heard Tim Lincecum will win 1 Cy Young & 11 Tim Lincecums. Question is, how many Cole Hamels will he win?
by the pinstripes on Nov 11, 2010 10:44 PM EST up reply actions
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