Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Nestor, we hardly knew you

ALEX ANTHOPOULOS: "I went to Winter Meetings, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt -- and a closer." (OK, you got me. The Toronto GM didn't really say that.) Today the Blue Jays re-acquired old friend Sergio Santos by trading top pitching prospect Nestor Molina in a straight-up deal with the White Sox. The Jays believe Santos -- a former New Hampshire Fisher Cats shortstop -- will continue to blossom into one of baseball's top closers. The deal comes with cost certainty, with Santos signed through 2014 and team options for the following three seasons. Sergio would stay on the books for no more than $31.5 million over six years as the Jays Prospects laid this out quite nicely.

Question. Do you want to win games or save money? Toronto's biggest need is starting pitching, and Molina's stuff is so good that he would have filled that void. I envisioned him as Toronto's No. 2 or 3 starter by 2013, so it's tough to see him go. Had the Jays called him up next season, Molina would have been under control for six years at bargain-basement prices. For the record, I think this trade will come back to haunt the Jays. Funny we're even having this discussion because I remember Santos throwing a bullpen session for the Fisher Cats in 2007. He had 20 homers that year and won the Eastern League Home Run Derby ... Shout out to Drew Hutchison, who has just become Toronto's top pitching prospect.

2 comments:

Mylegacy said...

Well, while the Jay’s had a dozen or so high end starters in the minors it was widely accepted in particular they had FIVE very high end YOUNG starters: Hutchison, Syndergaard, Nicolini, Norris, and Molina.

They’ve just traded the oldest Molina (22), for a closer with the "best slider in the show" of whom KLaw says its late break makes it "look like it fell off a cliff" and over whom they’ll have 6 years of control! Not to mention 42 hits in 63 innings and 93 SO's.

AA continues to be – without question – the master of the dance, the Silent Assassin! He is clearly reading from a play book other GM’s didn’t even know exists.

margie sears sherman said...

wow, I have to say I think it is a good trade, but what do I know????.....perhaps, I just like Sergio.....:-)