A's acquire Barrett, send him on to Cubs. (merged threads)

[gyb13]

Montreal gets the oft-traded PTBNL

Barrett had been rumored to be on the block over the past couple of seasons, due to the size of his check and the Expos' payroll-paring

Barrett's RCAA's have left much to be desired:
1999 -11
2000 -25
2001 -31
2002 -7
2003 -19

[Wolf Hopper]

for a PTBNL

5 years ago, or so, he was can't miss
maybe he'll be the next Bill Beane?

[LeGrandOrange]

You know, this trade doesn't seem very Billy Beane at all...I thought he only acquired good players. Barrett can't hit and can't throw anybody out...he may play defense well but last year might've been a fluke.

This is maybe the only time I'll like MLB dumping off Expos onto other teams. Schneider basically is Barrett with a throwing arm, and maybe a bat if 2003 was an aberration. Even so, he's better than Michael.

It might be one of the few times that MLB cuts Expo payroll in a way I can be happy with.

[gyb13]

i'll have my faith in him restored if he then swings barrett (and others) to the pirates in acquiring kendall

[sweaver]

Maybe the A's think they can turn Barrett around, as they have done with other players.

[OaktownTribeFan]

Latest reports in the Oakland Tribune say Barrett is just trade bait to be used in yet another Beane move.

[LeGrandOrange]

Rumor is fact...but it isn't much of a deal, it's to the Cubs for yet another Player to be Named.

Umm...huh? I don't get this...you deal a player to be named later to get Barrett, then trade him for another player to be named later? I think they've replaced our regular Billy Beane with Folger's Crystals...these moves CAN'T be made from the real Billy...

[Rajah]

Why not? Assuming Billy has players X that Omar for some silly reason wants and the Cubs have players Y that Billy wants, and Billy knows the Cubs want Barrett, but the Expos don't want any of the players Y. Billy wants one of the Cubs players Y, but the Cubs don't want one of the players X. Thus, Billy uses his roster as a pass through entity facilitating Barrett's move from Montreal to Chicago. In the process, Billy gets to dump one of those players X that he doesn't really want, and gets one of the players Y that he wants.

This, my friends, is a very Billy-esque thing to do. Everyone wins, so Minaya and Hendry are still happy to deal with Billy as well should a more important trade come about.

FWIW, I think the real question should be why one earth would Hendry want Barrett? Here's a few stats. Without looking it up, can you guess which is which?

(OPS/RCAA/at-bats/2003 salary)

.680/-18/352/2,700,000
.678/-19/226/2,600,000
.641/-8/188/750,000

Give up?
In order, Miller, Barrett, Bako. Miller is the oldest, Barrett is the youngest. Bako is really the cheapest and the least bad. I don't really understand why a sane GM would want Barrett.

[LeGrandOrange]

It just seems kind of...well...umm...I don't know the word exactly, but it just has an odd feel to it. I mean, a 3-way deal with more PTBNL's than players just doesn't make a lot of sense to me immediately.

It probably makes sense in the end, but I kind of fail to see the immediate purpose of doing an incomplete trade like this.

[sweaver]

So do the A's get a player from the Cubs and then send him to the Expos? Or will it be two different players?

[SmedIndy]

LGO - Calmate. This is definitely Beane's MO.

[Rajah]

Originally Posted by sweaver

So do the A's get a player from the Cubs and then send him to the Expos? Or will it be two different players?

I would assume they will be different players. Otherwise, why involve the A's?

[nyy26wc]

Originally Posted by sweaver

So do the A's get a player from the Cubs and then send him to the Expos? Or will it be two different players?

It's 2 entirely different trades. As far as the Cubs and Expos are concerned, their part of the trade is as if the A's trade with the other team doesn't exist.

[clemente21]

This is only an interesting move by the Cubs if they decide to keep all three catchers. Barrett has the flexibility to play 3B in a double-switch situation with Ramirez, and can fill in at 1B for the six or seven games a year where Derrek Lee takes a break. Having three catchers would increase the value of Jeremy Burnitz (lefty) and Ramon Martinez (righty), as they'd be able to pinch hit for the starting catcher as well as in the #9 spot.

[Rajah]

Originally Posted by clemente21

This is only an interesting move by the Cubs if they decide to keep all three catchers. Barrett has the flexibility to play 3B in a double-switch situation with Ramirez, and can fill in at 1B for the six or seven games a year where Derrek Lee takes a break. Having three catchers would increase the value of Jeremy Burnitz (lefty) and Ramon Martinez (righty), as they'd be able to pinch hit for the starting catcher as well as in the #9 spot.

The chicago papers are reporting that Damian Miller will eventually be sent to Oakland. I would assume this is contingent upon Barrett taking a pay cut from the $2.6 million he made last year (I'm hearing the Cubs will offer $1.6 million). If he refuses the Cubs plan to nontender Barrett. Barrett has already said that he doesn't think the contract will be a problem and that he wants to play for the Cubs. Obviously, if Barrett is non-tendered, the PTBNL is gonna change.

Now the questions shift back to Oakland and Beane. If Miller does go to the A's, then why? Unless the Cubs are gonna pick up part of that contract, why wouldn't the A's just hold onto Barrett, tender him a nice lil pay cut and drop him if he refuses? Why take a $2.7 million dollar old guy onto the payroll? When you could get a just-as-ineffective young guy for a million bucks less? This does not seem like a Beane type move.