Trade Reactions, Part Two

Johnny Peralta from the Indians to the Tigers for LHP Giovanni Soto. Soto is an interesting sleeper prospect, who doesn't throw hard  but is projectable and has a good statistical set this year in the Midwest League. Peralta had little additional value for the Indians, but is a nice asset for a contending team like the Tigers. I think this is a fair value for both clubs.

Scott Podsednik from Kansas City to Los Angeles for Lucas May and Elisaul Pimentel. I'm not wild about Lucas May, I don't think he'll hit or field enough to be especially useful for the Royals except as a marginal reserve. Pimentel has a live arm with fairly good results in the Midwest League at age 22. I'd rate both of them as Grade C prospects at this point, but at least they add some additional depth to the system, and it's not like Pods was part of the wave of the future in KC. It is a decent deal for both teams I think.

Roy Oswalt to the Phillies for J.A. Happ, Anthony Gose, and Jonathan Villar, then Gose on to Toronto for Brett Wallace. I've always loved Roy Oswalt, but the Astros needed to close the door on the Oswalt/Berkman Era and move forward. Happ has been crap this year, but if his elbow gets back to normal and he returns close to his 2009 level of performance next year, the difference between him and Roy isn't that great. Add in a new first baseman in Brett Wallace, and the deal makes a lot of sense. I'm not a huge Gose guy; I respect his tools and speed, but he's still very raw, and the Astros already have guys like that in the system, so swapping him to Toronto for the almost-ready Wallace also makes sense. Villar is an interesting risk/reward prospect; he'll probably bust, but if he doesn't he could be quite good. Overall I think the Astros did well here.

Lance Berkman to the Yankees for Jimmy Paredes and Mark Melancon. This haul isn't as impressive as what they got for Oswalt, but if you look at it within the context of their other moves, it is a fair exchange of talent, with Wallace replacing Berkman in the future lineup and some additional talent brought onto the pitching staff and system depth. Paredes is toolsy but raw (like Villar), while Melancon should be able to help in the pen soon.


More to come.