Well, the Mariners have officially made the trade to acquire catcher Jesus Montero and pitcher Hector Noesi from the New York Yankees for pitcher Michael Pineda and pitcher Jose Campos. You might be wondering how I see this trade or what I think of it. Well, I don’t like it, at least right now. If you think about it, we traded an All-Star pitcher, and a good young pitching prospect, for a hitting prospect and a relief pitcher with no outstanding qualities. We traded an All-Star, and we got only “potential” in return. If I was a GM, this is exactly the kind of trade I would never make, especially considering that “All-Star” is still only 23 years old. Another way I look at it is this: You have 9 hitters in your lineup, but only 5 (and it goes down to 3 or 4 in the postseason) starting pitchers. To me, starting pitchers are more valuable than hitters.
But we also must consider Montero’s potential. He is widely considered not only the best catching prospect, but one of the game’s best future hitters. His only concern is if he can handle the position of catcher, given his size. But Montero is one of the surest young hitters, and almost all baseball writers and insiders believe he will be an All-Star someday. He has all the tools to be a .300 avg, 30+ HR and 100+ RBI guy.
But that’s the problem I have with it. Montero COULD and SHOULD be an All-Star someday, but WILL he? You can’t guarantee it. We’ve seen young Mariner hitters struggle coming up from the minor leagues. He also might not like playing in Seattle very much. Even if he does produce, he could want out of here once his contract expires, and then what? We traded an All-Star for a couple of years of a young catcher.
GM Jack Zduriencik made this trade because we had a need: A need for a power hitter at either LF, 3B, 1B/DH, or Catcher. He filled one of those needs. We couldn’t get Fielder, but we got someone with more years left to play. But my problem with this is what we had to give up: Michael Pineda. I can almost guarantee Pineda will end up beating the Mariners, perhaps even in the playoffs. I’d be a little happier with this trade if it was with an NL club, so we wouldn’t have to face Pineda. But Montero was on an AL team, the Yankees, and now the Yankees have added a huge young arm to their rotation, to go along with their monster hitters. And we can’t forget giving up pitcher Jose Campos, who could also turn out to be a decent pitcher.
I’ve witnessed many Mariner trades in my lifetime, from the Big Unit trade, to the Griffey trade, to the Erik Bedard trade. But really none of them made me feel this uncomfortable about our future. This trade will really have an impact on the legacy of “Trader Jack” as GM for the Mariners, just like the Bedard trade did for Bill Bavasi. I just have a feeling we gave up a future Cy Young award winner for a catcher who will sign elsewhere when he can. I’ll just try to assure myself that we will be able to fill Pineda’s spot in the rotation and that Montero will be another young hitter that will help this team get back to the playoffs.
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