Cubs Trade Hairston to Texas for Phil Nevin
Source:
The Cubs have just traded Jerry Hairston, Jr., aka One Of Dusty Baker's Least Favorite Players, to the Texas Rangers for Phil Nevin. Nevin is currently batting .216/.307/.415 with 9 HR & 31 RBI. While these are hardly legendary numbers, Nevin is an upgrade over the 2006 version of Hairston and should fill in for the still absent Derrek Lee. Also, it is this writer's understanding that Nevin has been a clubhouse leader wherever he's played and that is undoubtedly a big plus in GM Hendry's eyes.
Thus far, the fan reaction based on threads at InsideTheIvy & the North Side Baseball Board as well as the comment thread at Bleed Cubbie Blue has been overwhelmingly negative. This is to be expected since the way that the Cubs season has unfolded, you would think that Hendry & Co. would go for a bigger upgrade than the 35 year old Nevin.
- Charles Rector's blog
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Nevin
I think I mostly agree with your analysis, although I find this trade unfortunate in two related aspects:
1) I can't think of anything that Nevin can do that, say, Michael Restovich can't probably do better. I don't think Hairston's a huge price to pay for Nevin, but...
2) Although I'm not sad to see Hairston go, and I certainly appreciate the need to whittle down the number of bad backup infielders on the roster, he's actually the best of the Hairston/Perez/Bynum/Womack quartet.
Otherwise, this looks like a classic no-risk/no-reward kind of trade, tailored more to PR needs than providing actual baseball solutions.
Nevin
I can't aggree with you more. I really believe that we had the answer sitting on the bench when Restovich was up. Dusty's unwillingness to use him baffles.
Nevin
Okay, I wasn't jumping for joy, but let's be real. It's now just June what teams were going to trade anyone worth anything at this point of the season. With the exception of Kansas City, who's going to part with a top caliber player. I see no downside to this trade. The Cubs will be no worse off than they were before. Only a couple of years ago Nevin was the best hitter on San Diego. Not many options until July. As far as Michael Restovich, we can't rely on any more rookies. Murton & Cedeno have been OK. The only rookie I'd welcome is Pie, and that probably won't happen till September or sooner if the Cubs don't right the ship.
Why Not Thomas?
What I don't get about this trade is why didn't GM Hendry opt to trade for Frank Thomas? Thomas is a player with a much lower salary than Nevin and has shown that he hits very well at Wrigley Field. He also has similar stats to Nevin this year except that Thomas's walks and OBA are much better. He would provide better protection to ARam than Nevin would.
Adding Thomas would gain the team roster a player with a huge personal following in Chicago and that would help a lot more in the PR department than picking up Nevin.
Thomas
Where's he going to play in the field? I'm not one to worry much about first base defense, but come on.
Where Will Nevin Play?
According to Dan Bernstein on WSCR AM 670, Texas was on the verge of releasing Nevin outright before Hendry came around with his trade proposition. This would indicate that Nevin's usefulness was pretty limited, at least in the eyes of his coaches and manager.
Question: Where will Nevin play?
Probable answer: As a DH in interleague games and as a pinch hitter. In other words, Nevin would play where Thomas in a Cubs uniform would play.
To be perfectly honest, the more that I think about it, this looks like a bad trade in that Hairston will very likely pull a Corey Patterson type improvement now that he's away from the likes of Baker & Clines while the Cubs will be stuck with a player in sharp decline.
re: Nevin
I would assume that Nevin will play first, and Walker will move back to second. Nevin played there on a regular basis as recently as the first half of last year, and handled it adequately. Thomas is simply not an acceptable defensive player, and never really has been. There's a reason he's spent his whole career in the AL.
Texas didn't need Nevin anymore, as they feel that Jason Botts can handle the job. They're probably right - unlike some teams I can think of, the Rangers have done a pretty good job of developing offensive players in recent years.
You're probably right about Nevin not having an impact. But, even if he tanks, the Cubs won't be any worse off than they are now. So I'd say it's not a bad trade so much as a likely inconsequential one.
The Womack Problem
I would assume that Nevin will play first, and Walker will move back to second.
I think Tony Womack, or at least Dusty Baker's view of Tony Womack, gets in the way of this. I think it's just as likely that Nevin platoons with Todd Walker at first base, with Nevin playing against lefties, while Womack continues to play second base, at least against righties. Nevin had a 924 OPS against lefties from 2003-05.
Michael Barrett will begin his suspension sometime here. What about sticking Nevin behind the plate for 10 games? Given that Nevin hasn't played there regularly since 1999, it'd be risky.
re: Womack problem
Yeah, it sounds like you're right:
Oh well. I'm not going to pretend that Nevin is very good, but the way things are going, why acquire someone who won't even play? That doesn't even work as a PR trade.
There's a metaphor here somewhere ... I forget how it goes, exactly. Something like fiddling while Rome burns?
Nevin being released
If what you are reporting is true, then I have to believe that this deal could have been made sooner than 6 weeks after D-Lee's injury. After D-Lee returns I am not sure where Nevin will fit in. Does this mean that Bynum is on his way out?
What happens to the roster when DLee returns
It's either Bynum or one of the 7 relief pitchers (likely Novoa, Ohman, or Aardsma). Now that Hairston is gone, without Bynum, the Cubs would not have a backup centerfielder. Not that Juan Pierre ever comes out of the game anyway, and I suppose Jacque Jones could play there in a pinch.
Nevin Can Play More than First Base and DH
Phil Nevin can play first base, third base, and the corner outfield spots. I also don't think Jerry Hairston is the next Lou Brock either. This trade will be balanced for both teams, I mean the Cubs needed power and that's what they got. Nevin was the best guy available right now, more trading will open up near the deadline. I do agree with the Corey Patterson trade. The Cubs got absolutely nothing for him, but oh well what do you expect from the Cubs.
Who Cares About Thomas
Is Thomas even being shopped around? I can think of 100 players I would rather trade Hairston for, but are those trades likely? It is great to sit back and say "why didn't they trade for this guy?" without knowing if that team was willing to trade that player and what that team wanted for him. It also does not matter if Hairston becomes an All-Star in Texas. If he can't play well for us, then we can't gain by keeping him. Unless you are helping a direct rival beat you, worrying about the potential of a player like Hairston is fruitless. We aren't trading what Hairston does in the future for Nevin, we are trading what we think Hairston will do in the future based on past performance (more of the same poor play) for what we think Nevin will do in the future (not much better, but still better).
Jerry Hairston, Jr - one of my fav players
In past years I've been choosing 4 Cubs players as my favorite players.
Jerry Hairston, Jr was one of the 4 this year and last year.
The other fav players this year are:
Carlos Zambrano
Matt Murton
Juan Pierre
and I guess I'll probably replace Jerry with Ronny Cedeno, since my dog is named after him too.
My minor league fav is Adam Greenberg, who I hope to add to my MLB fav Cubs list soon.
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Photos from Ryne Sandberg Day at Wrigley Field
Meet Ronnie the Collie
Sosa, Hairston, Fontenot and Cruthers
Now that the Cubs have traded Jerry Hairston Jr, I was curious what happened to the rest of the players in the Sammy Sosa trade with the Orioles.
From what I've read, Sosa was traded to the Orioles for Hairston, Mike Fontenot and David Crouthers during the 2005 offseason.
Sammy Sosa appears to have taken a sabbatical from baseball, Cruthers was released by the Cubs, Mike Fontenot appears to be with the Cubs AAA team.
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Sammy Sosa photos
Signs of a Cubs win
Happy for Hairston
Well, some change is better than no change. Trading Hairston has to make Hairston happy. He is free at last of not being a fave of Dusty Baker, and he now can emerge from the great cloud of loser gas surrounding Cubdom these days.
From where I sit I would play Nevin at first. I would keep Walker in the lineup, playing second mostly. I would try to trade Perez for an outfielder who can hit better than Murton, or for a reliever whose specialty is getting balls over the plate.
Womack is a mystery to me. He shows up as a surprise pinch hitter yesterday for Zambrano, fails miserably, and then (unless I missed it) does not take the field. Then three Cub relief pitchers are used to worse than no effect in the next inning and a half. Where's the sense in some of this? Wish there was some. (Some oaf near me in the stands swore loudly at Juan Pierre as he went to the plate, and Pierre promptly hit a single. Up to then Pierre was the ONLY Cub with a hit in the game in the first five or six innings (Pierre had the only two hits to that time) off of a Reds pitcher with an ERA over 7! Yikes, it is bad.)
As for Nevin I hope the change energizes him and I hope he can help the Cubs break their trancelike state.
Respectfully,
FEARLESS BEAR
Jerry Hairston, Jr. going away party
Stella's column at:
www.suntimes.com/output/foster/cst-nws-stella06.html
mentions Jerry Hairston's going away party.
Since the Rangers were heading to Chicago for a weekend series with the White Sox, did Jerry just stay in Chicago til his new team arrived?
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Photos from Ryne Sandberg Day at Wrigley Field
Meet Ronnie the Collie
Jerry Hairston Update
http://www.examiner.com/a-177886~Two_tea...
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What the Cubs need to win
When baseball fans name subdivision streets...