Wackiest Trade Rumor of the Year

March 1, 2009

There have been some wacky trade rumors out there from members of the media, ( I would call them journalists, but most aren't) as anyone who reads mlbtraderumors.com can attest.

This one has to take the cake though.

Its from one of those wacky Angels fans who needed a monkey to get them rallied up.
(Sorry goes out to Sean Smith of Halos Heaven, an Angel Fan who is incredibly knowledgeable about the game of baseball and has a great site.

Unfortunately this one is a MLB Blog so most people are going to take is the official media word about the Angels.

The blog is called Rally Monkeys and the post was entitled Daydream Believers.

I am thinking Mr Spencer was smoking something when he wrote it.

Here is my breakdown of this ludicrous trade proposition.

He is proposing that the Padres trade both Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez to the Angels for Nick Adenhart, Dustin Moseley, Shane Loux, Kevin Jepsen, Erick Aybar, Freddy Sandoval, Matt Brown, Kendry Morales, Reggie Willits and Terry Evans.

His reasoning is that it gives the Padres a whole new team.

Here is my take on his proposed trade:
Nick Adenhart has 3 ML starts and he did worse than LeBlanc in that short stint. He doesn't have an overpowering fastball, his is in the low 90's (91-92 mph) and he has not been a strike out pitcher in the minors.

Dustin Moseley is 27 and has never lived up to his expectations. His 5.52 ERA in 61 ML appearances (20 starts) over 3 seasons doesn't speak well of his talent and his high 80's fastball is not exactly exciting.

Shane Loux is not exactly a good prospect at 29 years old. A reliever, Loux had 5 years between major league appearances (2003-2008).

Kevin Jepsen I like. He is only 24 and he is a hard throwing righty out of the pen.

Erick Aybar (24) is the epitome of the all field, no hit SS. I think the Padres can do as well in house within a couple of years.

Freddy Sandoval is a 3B/DH by trade. Don't think the Padres need another one of those, do you? In fact I think the Padres have better in their farm system in Darnell and Dykstra.

Matt Brown. Another 3B. Why?

Kendry Morales is a good young player at 25, but he is a long way from replacing Gonzalez both with the bat and the glove.

Reggie Willits. Speed and that's it. 5 career home runs in 6 professional seasons. Yes, you read that right, 5 career home runs. None in 583 abs at the ML level. Can you say Juan Pierre?

Terry Evans is an average minor league hitter - 0.285 0.344 0.472 0.816 who plays below average defense. I don't think so.

I really see only three players who could even make the current squad - Aybar because he is much better defensively than anyone the Padres have THIS season, Jepsen, and Morales. Adenhart would have a hard time beating out LeBlanc, Geer, Inman, Correia and Prior.

No Way do I make that trade.

I have had my say. Now what do you think?