You wanted feisty. You got it. Because somehow Todd Zeile spent roughly nineteen minutes as a member of the Chicago Cubs before being shipped off to the Colorado Rockies for a 1997 third-round pick and a 1998 fourth-round pick. Nineteen. Minutes. At this point I'm not even sure Todd Zeile had time to learn where the clubhouse was. Let's start with Colorado. Because this side is easy. The Rockies needed a catcher. Todd Zeile is a catcher. The...
I've heard the complaints. Too many A's. Too many teams winning trades. Too much optimism. Well congratulations. The Chicago Cubs and Charlotte Knights have finally broken me. The Cubs have traded catcher Chris Hoiles, while eating a staggering $400,000 of the $500,000 remaining on his contract, to the Charlotte Knights in exchange for catcher Todd Zeile and a 1998 third-round pick. And after staring at this trade for far longer than I care to...
There are blockbuster trades. There are rebuilding trades. There are salary dumps. There are "change-of-scenery" trades. And then there are trades like this. The Detroit Tigers have acquired a 1998 third-round pick from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for a 1997 fifth-round pick and a 1998 fourth-round pick. That's it. That's the trade. No players. No salary implications. No franchise-altering decisions. Just two general...
At this point, I'm convinced the Baltimore Orioles are just wandering around the league asking if anyone has a spare first-round pick they'd like to part with. Because somehow they've done it again. The Orioles have traded franchise center fielder Kenny Lofton to the Orlando Devil Rays in exchange for a 2000 first-round pick, pitcher Dale Polley, and outfielder Jon Zuber. And just like most of Baltimore's trades this offseason, the players...
One of the benefits of writing hundreds of words about every trade is that eventually you're going to be wrong. One of the downsides of writing hundreds of words about every trade is that everyone remembers when you're wrong. So let's get this out of the way. I still think the San Diego Padres overpaid for Jeromy Burnitz. There. I said it. You can yell at me in the comments. But I do owe an apology on the Denny Neagle portion of that deal....
Well, that didn't take long. As expected, Chris Nabholz's tenure with the Baltimore Orioles lasted approximately long enough to unpack his bags, try a crab cake, and realize he was getting traded again. The Orioles have shipped Nabholz to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for the 14th overall pick in the upcoming draft, continuing what has become one of the more fascinating asset-conversion projects of the offseason. And honestly? Everybody...
Stop whatever you're doing. The offseason has officially arrived. The Charlotte Knights have acquired Barry Bonds from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Jamie Navarro, Paul Konerko, Shane Mack, Raul Casanova, and Boston's own 1998 first-round pick. My first reaction? What the hell. My second reaction? Charlotte might have just become the favorite. Let's start with the obvious. Barry Bonds is the best player in this trade. By a lot. An absurd...
Some reunions are emotional. Some are inevitable. And some happen because a player bats .197 for his new team and suddenly finds himself without a clear role. The Florida Marlins have finally done what they've been hinting at for most of the offseason, sending Travis Fryman back to the New York Yankees in exchange for Kevin Orie and Quinton McCracken. And honestly, this felt inevitable the moment...
Deep breaths, everybody. We've seen some significant trades already this offseason. We've seen salary dumps. We've seen draft picks moved. We've seen contenders take calculated risks and rebuilding clubs cash out veterans. This is bigger. The owner-less Baltimore Orioles have traded ace starter Steve Avery and outfielder Johnny Damon to the Montreal Expos for Chris Nabholz, the 18th overall pick in the 1997 draft, Montreal's 1998 first-round...
Apparently one trade wasn't enough. Barely had the ink dried on the Matt Nokes deal before the Toronto Blue Jays were back on the phones, this time striking a deal with the Boston Red Sox. Boston acquires Dante Bichette. Toronto acquires Rusty Greer and Terry Jones. And honestly, this feels like one of those trades where both teams looked at a player they didn't quite know what to do with and decided somebody else should have the problem. Let's...