TRADE: J.J. Hardy for Carlos Gomez

[vwnut13]

It didn't take long for the Brewers to make the trade everybody saw coming.

The ticker tape was still falling in Manhattan on Friday when the Brewers dealt shortstop J.J. Hardy, a staple of trade rumors this year, to the Twins for speedy center fielder Carlos Gomez. The Brewers announced the trade on their official Twitter feed.

The move could have multiple consequences:

- It eased the shortstop logjam between Hardy, a former All-Star, and Alcides Escobar, the organization's top prospect, essentially handing the baton to Escobar for 2010.

- It gave the Brewers their center fielder and perhaps their leadoff hitter, making Milwaukee even more unlikely to pursue two of outgoing free agents. Mike Cameron, who manned center field at Miller Park in each of the past two seasons, and Felipe Lopez, who was excellent in the leadoff hole after a July 2009 trade from Arizona, will probably move on.

- It could allow the Brewers to use second baseman Rickie Weeks in a spot other than leadoff. Weeks has always been viewed as a future run-producer, but was forced to the top of the order out of necessity.

Gomez does not turn 24 until next month but has already played parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues. In 348 games, he's a .246 hitter with a .292 on-base percentage, 12 home runs, 99 RBIs and 59 stolen bases in 70 tries.

We will be speaking shortly with Brewers general manager Doug Melvin and I will have much more about this trade in the hours ahead.

 

[Jaypers]

Re: J.J. Hardy For Carlos Gomez

I'll wager Alcides Escobar is licking his chops right about now.

 

[mredsox89]

Re: J.J. Hardy For Carlos Gomez

Damn. I was hoping the Sox would pull the trigger on Hardy

 

[nikateen]

Re: J.J. Hardy For Carlos Gomez

Brewers sold really low on Hardy imo. Gomez has been a huge disappoint here in Minnesota. I'm glad they decided to keep Delmon over him.

 

[marterburn]

Re: J.J. Hardy For Carlos Gomez

like, don't love it. The player we got fills a hole, but he's not really that great of a player. Also now have no need to try to re-sign Cameron (not that they were going to succeed), so it frees up some money to throw at another #4-Type ex-cardinals pitcher ::facepalm::

 

[dp33]

Other than a salary dump, I don't see much point in it. Unless they're trying to take some pressure off Escobar by not having him hit leadoff next year.

 

[marterburn]

Hardy was obviously persona non grata to the Brewers front office, so he had...not much trade value, and everyone knew it.

Getting a player who can start in CF was a need that had to be addressed. With that done cheaply, we have more money than the 3.5 mil difference between Hardy and Gomez, since we don't have to offer anything to Cameron, who made 10 million this year and will demand about the same this year.

Other than a salary dump, I don't see much point in it. Unless they're trying to take some pressure off Escobar by not having him hit leadoff next year.

 

[sheetskout]

The kid still has huge upside, can play great defense, and is controlled at league minimum for two more years. I like it.

 

[UMich92]

An interesting trade of two players who disappointed last year. Both teams may benefit from the trade or it's also possible that both players are forgotten in a couple years. Gomez is definitely a Gold Glove caliber center fielder and if he ever makes enough contact he could be a solid leadoff hitter.

I suspect this also means that the Twins will not be looking to resign Orlando Cabrera.

Alex

 

[jrinne]

I like this trade a lot. Im a huge JJ fan but it was time for him to go. The Twins are a good fit for him.

 

[dadofandrew]

Re: J.J. Hardy For Carlos Gomez

like, don't love it. The player we got fills a hole, but he's not really that great of a player. Also now have no need to try to re-sign Cameron (not that they were going to succeed), so it frees up some money to throw at another #4-Type ex-cardinals pitcher ::facepalm::

You guys can have Todd Wellmeyer :lol:

 

[dp33]

Agreed - the Brewers lost any chance of getting decent trade value for him by midseason.

I would question the "start in CF" part since he wasn't starting in Minnesota. Maybe the trade of Brantley and the Lorenzo Cain injury made it more necessary, but he can't really be any less risky than Corey Patterson. And I just don't see any pitching miracle happening for 13.5 million.

I agree that Hardy is a great fit in Minnesota though.

Hardy was obviously persona non grata to the Brewers front office, so he had...not much trade value, and everyone knew it.

Getting a player who can start in CF was a need that had to be addressed. With that done cheaply, we have more money than the 3.5 mil difference between Hardy and Gomez, since we don't have to offer anything to Cameron, who made 10 million this year and will demand about the same this year.

Other than a salary dump, I don't see much point in it. Unless they're trying to take some pressure off Escobar by not having him hit leadoff next year.

 

[Greg Cleveland]

An interesting trade of two players who disappointed last year. Both teams may benefit from the trade or it's also possible that both players are forgotten in a couple years. Gomez is definitely a Gold Glove caliber center fielder and if he ever makes enough contact he could be a solid leadoff hitter.

I suspect this also means that the Twins will not be looking to resign Orlando Cabrera.

Alex

True. Hardy has more pop in his bat than Cabrera, but Orlando really brought a lot of fire to the dugout. It looked like he was always chatting and yelling at something. Twins will miss that.

 

[Slette]

With the Twins as my second-favorite team, I'm quite happy to see Carlos Go-Go-Go somewhere else. His lack of plate discipline and seeming lack of focus outweighed the excitement his play brought to Minnesota. I wish him well, but certainly won't miss him.

 

[sheetskout]

Now that I've had some time to reflect on this, let's remember that the Crew saves around 14 million on this deal. (4.75 from Hardy; which was to increase as well under arby and the potential 10 million from Cameron).

Now we have a ton of cash to spend on a pitcher or two and that's if we don't deal Gamel and others for a starter.

I think this is actually a really savvy deal from Doug Melvin.

 

[The Third Eye]

As a Brewers fan, I like the trade as well. Hopefully, the change of scenery will help both players out next season. Alcides era begins in 2010!

If any of you Twins fans are interested in a JJ Hardy 2003 BCDP Gold Refractor RC drop me a PM.

 

[MacK]

Love it from both sides.

 

[dp33]

Now that I've had some time to reflect on this, let's remember that the Crew saves around 14 million on this deal. (4.75 from Hardy; which was to increase as well under arby and the potential 10 million from Cameron).

Now we have a ton of cash to spend on a pitcher or two and that's if we don't deal Gamel and others for a starter.

I think this is actually a really savvy deal from Doug Melvin.

Well, don't forget that they bought an extra year of non-arbitration with the AAA-move, so that was supposed to count for something in the Brewers return value. Considering that even last year, Hardy was still a +1.4 win player, I'd be willing to bet my not-so-great stack of Escobar cards that the Twins win in this deal. According to FanGraphs, Hardy had the 3rd-best UZR from 2007-2009 of all qualified players - certainly that itself warrants more than a sub-.300 wOBA CF.

And this will sound rhetorical, but what SP can the Crew sign for $14.75 million? Are there enough good candidates out there this year?

 

[sheetskout]

And this will sound rhetorical, but what SP can the Crew sign for $14.75 million? Are there enough good candidates out there this year?

No....and Lackey is not an option. But let's all remember, even though the Brewers need pitching extremely bad....let's not forget who's contract is coming due really soon.

Not saying it's going to happen, but the financial flexibility is nice and Suppan and Hall's contracts will also drop off after next season.

Harden?

 

[Jays_Cards]

Now that I've had some time to reflect on this, let's remember that the Crew saves around 14 million on this deal. (4.75 from Hardy; which was to increase as well under arby and the potential 10 million from Cameron).

Now we have a ton of cash to spend on a pitcher or two and that's if we don't deal Gamel and others for a starter.

I think this is actually a really savvy deal from Doug Melvin.

Well, don't forget that they bought an extra year of non-arbitration with the AAA-move, so that was supposed to count for something in the Brewers return value. Considering that even last year, Hardy was still a +1.4 win player, I'd be willing to bet my not-so-great stack of Escobar cards that the Twins win in this deal. According to FanGraphs, Hardy had the 3rd-best UZR from 2007-2009 of all qualified players - certainly that itself warrants more than a sub-.300 wOBA CF.

And this will sound rhetorical, but what SP can the Crew sign for $14.75 million? Are there enough good candidates out there this year?

I couldnt agree more with this post. I was expecting the Brewers to get SOME talent in return for Hardy, but all they ended up with is a salary dump. Gomez is nothing more than a 4th outfielder/defensive replacement.