Baseball In The Trade Time: Snot On The Ball

Hey there folks, this is Old No. 7 checking in. I'm required by my parole officer to post once a month. But I'm not actually going to write anything, I've delegated the heavy lifting to my distant relative Anachro Capitalist. With the trading deadline in MLB just a couple hours off, AC weighs in on the Mark Teixiera (pronounced "Renteria") trade by his beloved Angels. This is the first in a soon-to-be-forgotten long-running series called "Snot On The Ball," in which Anachro will pumble you with baseball. Lots and lots of baseball.

A few weeks back, two handsome trades occurred in the National League Central Division. Cecil wrote about one here, and Old No. 7 wrote about one here. Today is my turn to discuss the third major trade that occurred just yesterday (no offense Humberto/Casey Blake). The trade I speak of involved the Angelitos de Los Anaheim and the Team of the Nineties- your Atlanta Braves.

Due to many reasons, mostly including injuries to key starters, the Braves have surrendered their season and given up on any attempt to sign Mark Teixiera to a long term deal. At this time of the season, this makes the Braves “sellers” in the trade circuit. In contrast, the Angels came into this week with a commanding division lead and the playoffs on their collective horizon. With many baseball pundits claiming that the angels were missing one piece to get to the glory hole land. By all accounts, this piece was “another big bat in the lineup”. This, my friends, would make the Angels “buyers”.

Among the rumored teams that were courting the services of Mark Teixiera, the Angels had the distinct advantage of being able to offer up an everyday replacement at first base, as well as a host of prospects. This year, however, the market has changed. Gone are the days of yesteryear when a team would literally sell their arsenal of future stars to “rent” a proven stud for the last months of the current season. Just like the embattled housing market, this year’s MLB trade deadline has become a buyers market.

While the details surrounding how the Casey Kotchman/Steve Marek for Mark Teixiera actually went down are unclear, it is apparent that sometime between the text messages while sitting on the throne and instant message chats, Angels GM Tony Reagins put an end to the days of not dealing before the trade deadline. In the past, Ex-Angels GM Bill Stoneman had been reluctant to trade away anybody to rent a player for the postseason run. With this move, Reagins sent a message to the Angels faithful that management wants to win it all, and win it now.

At first glance, this trade makes a ton of sense for both teams. The Braves acquire an exceptional defensive first baseman with a good bat. While Kotchman will never compete with Texiera in sheer power, he has proven himself as a quality contact hitter who does not strikeout. Kotchman is a young talent, and with more at bats, he should turn into a player of Don Mattingly’s caliber. The Angels will be able to give Vlad Guerrero much needed protection in an already potent lineup. The 1-2 punch of Guerrero/Texiera will be an ample anecdote to the Ortiz/Ramirez 1-2 in Boston that has been devastating to American League pitching for quite some time.

Turn the page to next season and this deal will leave many Angels fans with unanswered questions. Teixiera is an unrestricted free agent after the season and has no Southern California ties. In fact, Teixiera has expressed interest in playing for his home town Orioles. Scott Boras, noted super agent, represents Teixiera- a fact that is troubling for any team hoping to sign him. Despite the fact that Rex Hudler, Angels color man on TV, has noted that in private conversations with Teixiera he has expressed interest in playing for the Angels, there is no certain future for him with the Halos. If attempts at signing Texiera to a long term deal after the World Series fail, the Angels will have the services of unproven Cuban defector Kendry Morales at 1st base and a compensatory draft pick. Pair this with the Angels recent domination of their once-nemesis Boston Red Stockings, and you may be left shaking your head.

Fear not, Halo fans. The most important objective of the season is winning a World Series ring. Let the chips fall where they may regarding the signing of Teixiera to a long term deal. The point is, there is new blood in the front office and it doesn’t want to sit on its hands any longer. Sure, the media will still focus on the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets, but it doesn’t matter much when they’re watching the Angels beat the Cubs in the World Series.