Quote:
Originally Posted by fleury
Personally, I feel fielding defence is overrated if the person can't bat. I really wanted Melky back because of his great average. Saunders' bat is pretty decent, so he's just an okay replacement for Melky, but I don't think his defensive effectiveness will make up for Melky either. Sometimes you simply can't replace a great bat. Plus his injury proneness is one of the things that'll bite us in the butt again. I don't hold out much hope for this trade.  |
His defensive value last season was worth just a little less than what Melky's entire contribution on both sides of the coin and he didn't play much. That's more an indication of how terrible Melky was in the field.
Saunders had also had .341 OBP which is only .010 less than Cabrera. He's not quite as good with the bat, but if he remains healthy (played full seasons in the two years prior to this one) then he should be as good if not better overall to Cabrera. He'll also cost about 10-12 million less and we'll get a draft pick for going with him as well.
If they spend that 10-12 million on a good starter like Lester (he'll cost more of course) then it's a huge win overall.