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Daily Email9Dec/092:50 PM
The three-team trade between the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees that will bring right-handed pitchers Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy to the desert and send Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth to Detroit is a done deal.
The Diamondbacks’ willingness to deal Scherzer, their first round pick in 2006 is a little surprising. Scherzer will be 25 years old on opening day in April, and just completed his first full season in the bigs, going 9-11 with a 4.12 ERA, while striking out 174 batters in 170.1 innings. The knock on Scherzer has been his inablity to pitch deep into ball games. Often racking up large pitch count numbers, Scherzer pitched at least 6 innings in only 16 of his 30 starts in 2009. He averaged 5.67 innings per outing, and threw an average of 102.4 pitches per start.
Meanwhile Jackson, a 2009 American League All-Star, is only 10 months older than Scherzer, and has won 27 games in the last two seasons–including 14 for the 2008 American League champion Tampa Bay Rays. Additionally, Jackson excels where Scherzer struggled. In 33 starts, Jackson pitched at least 6 innings 26 times, averaging 6.48 innings and 105 pitches per start.
With Dan Haren, a healthy Brandon Webb and Jackson at the front of the rotation, the Diamondbacks have one of the best 1-2-3 front-of-the-rotation combinations in the National League.
So why has the initial reaction been so negative? Here’s a couple of reasons…
- Untapped potential - Let’s face it, Max Scherzer has nasty stuff. After just one full year in the rotation, the Diamondbacks are moving him. He’s only going to get better, and should thrive in the American League, where he won’t have to be pinch-hit for in close, middle and late-inning situations. But Diamondback fans fear that Scherzer could end up in the same category as Carlos Quentin and Lyle Overbay - two players that never really got a shot in Arizona, but have played well elsewhere.
- Where’s the lefties? - Doug Davis was not offered salary arbitration. He was the only southpaw to start a game for the D-Backs in 2009. Daniel Schlereth, a lefty reliever was also included in the deal and won’t be back in 2010. Scott Schoeneweis and Doug Slaten, two other left handers are out of the mix, meaning the only left handed pitchers on the Diamondbacks’ 40-man roster are Clay Zavada, Jordan Norberto and Leyson Septimo. There is a serious dearth of lefty pitching on this roster, and the free agent market isn’t that great for lefties right now, either.
I honestly don’t know if I like this trade or not. Trading Scherzer for Jackson, at worst, appears to be a wash. But if Kennedy’s health holds up, and he can be counted on as a reliable fourth starter, this trade swings in the Diamondbacks favor.
For a guy who pitched a total of 23 innings in 2009, I realize that is one huge ‘if’.
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December 9th, 2009 2:50 PM PST
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