Tigers acquire Gerald Laird
According to Jason Beck of mlb.com (click here for the article), the Detroit Tigers have acquired Gerald Laird from the Texas Rangers in exchange for minor league pitchers Guillermo Moscoso and Carlos Melo. This starts to alleve part of the Rangers catching surplus and puts Laird in position to get regular AB’s without much competition.
Last season Laird hit .276 with 6 HR and 41 RBI over 344 AB and has never reached double-digit HR since making his debut in 2003. He’s not one of the elite options and even with the trade shouldn’t be seen as a usable option in leagues that require just one starting catcher. In 2-catcher formats, he’s a good end-game grab, but not much else.
As for the prospects the Rangers got, Moscoso seems to have the brightest upside, ranked by Baseball America as the team’s #10 prospect heading into 2009 after striking out 122 batters in 86.2 innings between Single & Double A. They compare him to Jair Jurrjens, and given what he accomplished last season that’s nothing to sneeze at. Considering the excess catching they had and the constant struggles for pitching, Moscoso seems like a good acquisition in exchange for Laird.
Melo, meanwhile, struggled with a 5.14 ERA in the Rookie League at 17-years old. Obviously, it’s way too early to determine exactly what the Rangers are getting there.
The bigger thing this trade does and open up the Rangers catching position for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden and Max Ramirez. My guess is that Teagarden ends up getting the bulk of the AB’s for the Rangers, but it is still too early to tell since more moves could be in the future. Still, Teagarden showed a lot last season in just 47 AB, hitting .319 with 6 HR. He is the same player who hit 27 HR between Single & Double A in ‘07, before struggling last season before his recall. I would start targeting him in the late rounds of your draft in 2-catcher formats. I’ll also spotlight him in a lot more depth in the coming weeks in order to give you a little bit more information and insight.
The reason I’m leaning towards Teagarden is that I have a feeling Ramirez will ultimately switch positions, leaving it between Teagarden and Saltalamacchia. I know Saltalamacchia has the bigger name, but he struggled last season hitting just .253 with 3 HR over 198 AB. Chances are they split early on, but if Teagarden is outperforming him, the balance is going to shift.
Here’s a question for everyone. If you were the Rangers, who would you rather use as your catcher?
“If you were the Rangers, who would you rather use as your closer?”
catcher*
I’d go with Teagarden… great defense, underrated offensive potential. Salty seems like a bust/a product of overhype and Ramirez is all offense.
I’d go with Tea too. Dude can rake.