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As the baseball world finds out about Dan Haren's trade to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, there seems to be a clear consensus: the Diamondbacks are dumping salary. Here's what ESPN's Buster Olney reported over two tweets:
The D-Backs' trade looks like a pure salary dump. Arizona gets out from under about $30 million in salary obligation, and gets a good (but not great) pitching prospect.
One slight problem: unlike the starter he's being traded for, Dan Haren seems to be underpaid, compared to market value. Says Joe Sheehan:
It's not even an effective salary dump. Saunders will be 4+ and probably make $6M next year. (Haren: $12.75M.)
The linchpin in the deal seems to be the player to be named later; reports are that it's one of the Angels' top prospects, and outfield prospect Mike Trout would be the closest thing to a deal-saver. One tiny problem, per Jeff Passan (emphasis ours)
Unless that PTBNL is Mike Trout -- and it isn't -- the Angels pulled off a whopper of a deal. Inauspicious start for D-Backs without Byrnes.
Both our Angels blog at Halos Heaven and our Diamondbacks blog at AZ Snake Pit have held off on offical stances on the trade so far, but if their reactions fall in line with the outside consensus, they'll come to think that the Deebax have just been fleeced.
As expected, Dan Haren has been traded from the Arizona Diamondbacks today for a stable of young arms. What was not expected, however, is his destination. After being rumored as a target for New York and Philadelphia, Haren instead finds himself on the move to Anaheim, joining the Angels. Per our Arizona Diamondbacks blog, the AZ Snake Pit:
It has just been announced that Dan Haren has been traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for for Joe Saunders, Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez and a player to be named.
Joe Saunders is a left-handed starting pitcher, with a career ERA+ of 104, who is arbitration-eligible for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Patrick Corbin is another lefty, currently starting for the Angels High-A affiliate - he only turned 21 last week. Rafael Rodriguez is a right-handed reliever, who has only thrown 32.2 innings in the majors. Nick Piecoro just tweeted "Told the player to be named in the deal is a top prospect..."
Also, as AZ Snake Pit notes, the deal has benefits that last longer than just the end of the season, unlike most trade-deadline deals; Haren's under a relatively affordable contract for the next few seasons, meaning he can be built around over time. Sure, the Angels lose a few arms, but they've got a proven elite lefty in their rotation now; that's hard to beat.
Meanwhile, the trade is especially tough news for the Yankees; while the Angels aren't likely to take a wild card spot from a New York squad that's 11 games ahead of them, this trade does mean that the team's ability to turn a struggling Joba Chamberlain (and two minor leagers) into a quality starting arm is diminished.
Jon Morosi comes in with an update on the Dan Haren trade rumor situation. Though a number of teams are interested in the idea of landing him, they're separating into tiers:
Tier 1
Yankees - very interested, willing to deal
Phillies - very interested, willing to deal
Tier 2
Tigers - interested, less willing to deal
Cardinals - interested, less willing to deal
Tier 3
Twins - interested, limited contact with Diamondbacks so far
Given the combination of desire, available prospects, and the ability to add payroll, the Yankees look to be the favorites right now if Haren gets moved. The Diamondbacks, however, will not be selling him cheap, and have reportedly already asked the Yankees for a similar or better package than the one they offered for Cliff Lee.
These Dan Haren rumors have picked up more and more steam, and today Jon Heyman put things in compelling terms:
#tigers, #phillies, #yankees, #cardinals said to be in on haren. he is now expected to move. tigers could be favorite.
It was just a few days ago that it seemed Haren would likely stay put. It's possible that some teams are growing frustrated with Houston's incredible demands for Roy Oswalt. If Haren does get dealt, he's a good enough pitcher to change the shape of the race.
Earlier in the week, it seemed like a bit of a long-shot that Diamondbacks ace Dan Haren would be dealt. But, according to a report from The Arizona Republic, it is now more likely that a trade will go down.
Team CEO Derrick Hall on the possibility of trading Haren:
“It would need to be, in our opinion, an A-plus deal. Ideally, what we would ask for is major-league ready pitching, be it starters and/or bullpen, and prospects. If we can get back three or four pieces that bring value now and also are controllable for a number of years, then we’d have to consider.”
The teams reportedly interested in Haren are the same ones that have been trying to trade for Roy Oswalt: Twins, Phillies, Cardinals. Oh, and the Yankees, who are always reportedly interested in everyone.
At $12.75 million per season, Haren is a steal relative to other premiere starting pitchers in baseball.
While Cliff Lee has already been moved and names like Roy Oswalt, Ben Sheets, and Ted Lilly are getting thrown around, one arm who's getting less attention is Arizona's Dan Haren, who is very much on the table for the right price. A complication is that he has a partial no-trade clause, but writes Jack Magruder:
Dan Haren, the Diamondbacks’ most marketable trade chip, got a little more marketable Tuesday when he said he would consider waiving his partial no-trade clause for the right suitor.
"It is most definitely not ‘No way.’ I definitely would consider it," said Haren, whose contract permits him to name a group 12 teams this season and eight teams next year to which he can veto a deal.
Adds Ed Price:
St. Louis, meanwhile, was also believed to be trying to get a starter, with its focus on Cleveland's Jake Westbrook and Arizona's Dan Haren.
With Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse on the disabled list, the Cardinals over the past two months have gotten just two quality starts from a pitcher other than Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter or Jaime Garcia.
Haren's current 4.60 ERA is the highest it's been since he was a rookie, but his strikeout and walk rates are as good as they've ever been, and he's never been on the disabled list. He is, therefore, a very attractive and talented frontline starter. However, the no-trade clause and the fact that he's under contract for a reasonable price through 2012 makes him more difficult to acquire, as some teams will be no-gos, and Arizona will have to be impressed with any offer.
Still, the deadline breeds desperation, and desperation causes funny things, so Haren's name should continue to come up as July 31st approaches and contending teams look to add a big piece for a playoff run. While Haren prefers the West Coast and would like to stay in Arizona, a deal is not an impossibility.
Dan Haren Trade Reactions: On Joe Saunders, Pat Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez, And Tyler Skaggs
Keith Law has checked in with his review of the trade return Arizona got for ace Dan Haren. In order:
Meanwhile, on Skaggs, who is believed to be - but is not certainly - the PTBNL:
Saunders has seen his K/BB drop from 2.0 in 2007 to 1.4 in 2010, and he's only declined since a promising start to his career. Corbin just turned 21 and is all the way down in A-ball. Rodriguez doesn't miss any bats as a reliever. And the 19 year old Skaggs, while talented, is also in A-ball after spending 2009 in short-season. There is just no way to sell this as a good deal for Arizona.
Jul 25 9:56p by Jeff Sullivan - 0 comments