ehhh... for chavez?  always thought chavez would end up being avg, at best.  i guess this is ok.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/...ng-iwamura.html

http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb....sp&c_id=pit

I like it better then Delwyn and can find guys like Chavez anywhere.

DK says Bucs will get a second player also since Chavez is team controlled until 2014 and Iwamura can be a free agent after next season.

Well, I'll say this. First, making any number of deals with Tampa Bay should be a no-brainer with their stacked and loaded farm system. I've been very surprised there haven't been more trades between the two teams over the years. Second, Iwamura and a passable prospect for Chavez is about what I would expect if I were a downtrodden team sending a serviceable reliever to a contender. Sounds about right to me.

So, in the short term, we get an average major league starting second baseman who gives us a small but noticeable upgrade at the big league level while also giving us the luxury of at least one more season to see who rises to the top among the players we have down on the farm. Surely we ought to have at least one player by the end of 2010 who could at least compete for a starting job at one of our middle infield slots by 2011. If we don't, then someone from among Brian Friday, Chase D'Arnaud, Jim Negrych, and Shelby Ford should be ashamed of themselves (to say nothing of looking for another line of work). And meanwhile, Delwyn Young can still work on his game and may yet be the man in 2011, but if not, we can certainly use him as a super-utility guy and all around bat-for-hire.

All in all, this was a sensible trade that works for us. It would be nice if Iwamura were here for more than one season, but unless he plays out of his mind he wouldn't figure to be desireable as a long term starter, and even then, our money would be better spent on better players if we were going to blow some bucks on a veteran. But, he'll do for now.

I don't know about this deal.  It depends to me on who the other player is coming back.  Chavez has a really nice arm and with some time could be a solid set up man or even closer.  Iwamura's option was not going to be picked up by the Rays.  I would rather have waited a month or 2 to see if we could have signed him or another 2B instead of giving up a promisiing reliever.  I have to think that we would have been able to attract someone decent with the $4.5 million we are going to pay Iwamura.  Its going to be interesting to see what Chone Figgins winds up getting.  Maybe NH took a look at the available 2B and felt that the market was going to overpay because there was a lack of talent available  so he had to do something now. 

DK just said it's Chavez for Iwamura.  I'm not sold on this deal.  Granted, most of the time you can't get an everyday player for a reliever, but...I just don't feel right about this deal.  Maybe I'm stupid, who knows?

A 30 year old light hitting second baseman coming off knee surgery for the best lefty reliever on the team. Did Dave Littlefield come back?

Milfman wrote:

A 30 year old light hitting second baseman coming off knee surgery for the best lefty reliever on the team. Did Dave Littlefield come back?

Chavez is a righty buddy!!

Milfman may have gotten the arm wrong, but his question about whether or not DL has come back is exactly what went through my mind.  I don't like it, especially since there seems to be no 2nd player coming to us.  A good young stud arm, for a guy coming off injury who we will have for 1 year.  This is crap.  We are going nowhere next year.  Seems to me NH is feeling the heat a bit.

The timing of this is a curiousity. Trades aren't usually made while the World Series is going on.  MLB wants all the focus to be on the Series and doesn't want other baseball news to detract from it.

That said, my thought is that, since NH made this deal prior to the Winter Meeting, he might be thinking of flipping him there for someone else he really wants or more prospects.

NittanyBuff wrote:

 

Milfman wrote:

A 30 year old light hitting second baseman coming off knee surgery for the best lefty reliever on the team. Did Dave Littlefield come back?

Chavez is a righty buddy!!

Whatever, it's still a dumb move reminiscent of the Derek Bell, Jeromy Burnitz moves that did nothing to improve the Bucs.

The Minnesota Twins have created the blueprint for competing as a small market team. It's too bad that while they've been doing it for years the Pirates have failed to replicate it. Just when it looked like our front office was getting it, they go and pull a stupid trade showing they still don't get it.

tornadowatch wrote:

The timing of this is a curiousity. Trades aren't usually made while the World Series is going on.  MLB wants all the focus to be on the Series and doesn't want other baseball news to detract from it.

 

That said, my thought is that, since NH made this deal prior to the Winter Meeting, he might be thinking of flipping him there for someone else he really wants or more prospects.

I sure hope you're right. THEN, it would make sense.

Psssshhh.  Chavez is a nothing on most other teams.  Whatever, I take this deal any day of the week, thank you sir, pour me another.

I guess we can subtract 5 years of club control from the blueprint.  I don't understand this deal.  Seems like we just traded our potential closer for a one year patch. 

Iwamura had lost his job to Ben Zobrist (27 HR's, 91 RBI, .297 BA).   I don't think the Rays were going to pick up his option and buy him out for 550K. I don't understand the urgency.  I guess in this scenario, Iwamura doesn't have a choice - he has to play for the Pirates. 

Great discipline by the Rays.  They pick up a live arm and save the 550K buyout.  Hopefully we learned something from them.

I think he replaced him because of the injury, however, after the numbers Zobrist put up there was no looking back - clearly Zobrist had taken his job - especially with Zobrist being 2 years younger and having an extra year or two of club control.

Dejan has reported that the Rays were not going to pick up Iwamura's option.  God those guys are good.

Here's a good quote from Iwamura:

On staying longer than a year: "I'm definitely interested in the long term, but I first have to do what I can do. We'll see what happens. Hopefully, we can go to the playoffs next season."

What Iwamura does give you is a great OPB guy for the likes of Garret Jones. A 2 year deal with Abreu would make a good balanced lineup ,well....except for the 3b slot. Nobody goos stays here for more then 2 yrs anyway so moving jones to 1st and Abreu to RF would be good.

McCutchen

Iwamura

Abreu

Jones..........would be a good starting cast.

Then you would have to get Harden, Marquis for innings and Gonzalez back to close to be a better then 500 team.

Back to topic, this is a good move to add a solid 285-290 hitter with that decent a OBP. Obviuosly he has a good eye.

While I agree that it was not good to lose four years of player salary control in Chavez, what the naysayers on this thread are missing is the fact that we did not have a major league caliber second baseman anywhere in our organization at the end of the 2009 season.   Delwyn Young faded badly at the end of the year.  While I still like him, is there any doubt that Iwamura is the better defender and better all-around player, at least at this point?  And, why the vitriol when so many around here were in favor of signing a free agent 2B?  This trade is essentially the equivalent of bringing in a veteran free agent to play second so we gain another year to see what our kids in the minors can do.  Chavez was a decent setup guy, but not more than that (though who knows what he'll become, but that's the chance you take). 

Sorry, I still like this deal.