Hot Stove: 12/10

Record of the Day

Most home runs in a single season in the 1800's: Ned Williamson, 27 (1884).

While playing for the Chicago White Stockings in 1884 that included such legends as Cap Anson and King Kelly, Ned Williamson broke out with 27 home runs — nine times his previous career high of 3 — in 107 games. His record, which would stand as the single season record for home runs until Babe Ruth hit 29 in 1919, is still the record for most in the 1800s. We should all remember this was the Dead Ball Era, where balls did not fly as far. Williamson would play five more years until 1889, where he finished his career with 62 home runs over 12 seasons from 1878-1889.

Free Agent Signings

Diamondbacks resigned Lyle Overbay (9 HR, 47 RBI, .234 AVG, 2 SB, 2012 age: 35) to a one year, $1 million deal.

Red Sox resigned Andrew Miller (6-3, 5.54 ERA, .302 BAA, 2012 age: 27) to a one year, $1.04 million deal.

Trades

A's traded Trevor Cahill (12-14, 4.16 ERA, .269 BAA, 2012 age: 24) and Craig Breslow (0-2, 3.79 ERA, .296 BAA, 2012 age: 31) to the Diamondbacks for Jarrod Parker (0-0, 0.00 ERA, .211 BAA, 2012 age: 23), Collin Cowgill (1 HR, 9 RBI, .239 AVG, 4 SB, 2012 age: 26) and Ryan Cook (0-1, 7.04 ERA, .333 BAA, 2012 age: 24-25).

Rockies traded Ian Stewart (0 HR, 6 RBI, .156 AVG, 3 SB, 2012 age: 27) and minor leaguer Casey Weathers (2-2, 5.32 ERA, .199 BAA at AA Tulsa, 2012 age: 27) to the Cubs for Tyler Colvin (6 HR, 20 RBI, .150 AVG, 0 SB, 2012 age: 26) and DJ LeMahieu (0 HR, 4 RBI, .250 AVG, 0 SB, 2012 age: 23-24). 

Nationals traded Collin Balester (1-4, 4.54 ERA, .268 BAA, 2012 age: 26) to the Tigers for Ryan Perry (2-0, 5.35 ERA, .277 BAA, 2012 age: 25).

The Padres sent minor leaguer Nick Schmidt (4-6, 3.91 ERA, .262 BAA at AZL and Class A, 2012 age: 26) to the Rockies to complete the Huston Street trade.
The Trevor Cahill trade was a big one. The A's sent one of their top young pitchers and a reliever to the Diamondbacks for Arizona's top pitching prospect, a rookie outfielder, and a rookie reliever. Diamondbacks side, they saw that they wanted to win now, so they sent their top pitching prospect who wasn't quite ready to take on too much responsibility for a still young, established starter. They also shored up their weak bullpen with Breslow. Cahill, the 23-year-old starter, has pitched three successful seasons in the majors since breaking camp with Oakland in 2009 at 21 years old. That year, Cahill made 32 starts and was 10-13 with a 4.63 ERA. His sophomore season turned out to be his best, where he was a remarkable 18-8 with a 2.97 ERA in 30 starts. In home games at the pitcher-friendly Oakland Alameda Coliseum, he was an incredible 11-3 with a 2.18 ERA. He took a step back last season, dropping to 12-14 with a 4.16 ERA in 34 starts. Over his three-year career, he is 40-35 with a 3.91 ERA in 96 starts. To me, he is overvalued, as he has not shown an ability to pitch on the road in more evenly balanced ballparks. Even in his superb 2010, he was 7-5 with a 3.86 ERA on the road. His career road ERA stands at 4.71, versus a 3.24 home ERA. 

The Diamondbacks also acquired Craig Breslow to shore up their bullpen. Breslow is a veteran reliever who has seen time with the Padres, Red Sox, Indians, Twins, and A's over his six year career. He is typically a seventh inning man, but may be a set-up man to JJ Putz in the shallow Arizona bullpen. Breslow saw his best season in 2008 at 27 years old, splitting the year between the Indians and Twins and ending up with a 1.91 ERA and .202 BAA in 49 appearances. He was one of the most reliable relievers in the game from 2009-2010, pitching in 77 games in 2009 with a 3.36 ERA and in 75 games in 2010 with a 3.01 ERA. In both seasons, he finished second in the American League in appearances. He pitched in 67 games last season, posting a 3.79 ERA.

In return, the A's gained highly-touted pitching prospect Jarrod Parker, who posted a 0.10 ERA as a high schooler in 2007 at 18 years old. He was taken ninth overall in the 2007 draft, and proceeded to transfer nicely to the minors, going 12-5 with a 3.44 ERA in 2008 at Class A South Bend. After posting a 0.95 ERA over four High Class A Visalia starts in 2009, Parker was promoted to AA Mobile, where he was rolling along with a 3.68 ERA through 16 starts until Tommy John surgery shut him down until 2011. After a couple of rough starts to begin 2011 at AA Mobile, he regained his 2009 form and finished the minor league season 11-8 with a 3.79 ERA in 26 starts. He was promoted to the Diamondbacks and made his first and only start on September 27th against the Dodgers. The 22-year-old fired 5 2/3 shutout innings. 

The other two to join Oakland are outfielder Collin Cowgill and reliever Ryan Cook. Cowgill is the more recognizable name, having played in 36 games for the D-Backs this past season. He is a toolsy outfielder who, at 5'9", lacks power, but shows an ability to get on base and run. A former fifth round draft pick, Cowgill saw a breakout season at AAA Reno at 25 years old last season, hitting 13 home runs with an exceptional .354 AVG and 30 stolen bases in 98 games in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He was called up to Arizona in July and again in August, hitting .239 with a homer and four stolen bases in his 36 games. His season highlight came on Aug. 28 against San Diego, where he was 4-4 with his first career home run off Corey Luebke and his first career double off Erik Hamren. Ryan Cook, a solid reliever, will compete for a job in the Oakland bullpen after seeing time at AAA and in the majors last season. After being converted from a starter last season, the 24-year-old posted a 2.21 ERA and 19 saves at 48 games at AAA Reno. Called up in July, he struggled in his four appearances he gave up four earned runs in his first two games and finished ended up 0-1 with a 21.60 ERA in July. He was called up again in September and settled down quite a bit, posting a 3.00 ERA in eight appearances. Overall, his ERA was 7.04 in twelve appearances.  

Colvin-Stewart trade: This trade fits the Cubs' need for a third baseman after Aramis Ramirez' departure, but I believe the Cubs could have gotten much more in this deal. Stewart has proven himself at the major league level, but is on a downward slope in his performance. Colvin too has proven himself in the bigs, but also had a bad year last year. Colvin, I believe, still has more upside than Stewart and instead of a downward slope, Colvin just had one tough season.  In the prospect swap, LeMahieu, who went to the Rockies, is a younger and farther along prospect than Weathers. Bad deal for the Cubs. Stewart was first called up in 2007 at 22 years old, then saw his first significant playing time in 2008. In 81 games, he hit 10 home runs and batted .259. He played a full season in 2009, where his power rose but ability to hit for contact fell, finishing the year with 25 home runs and batting .228 in 147 games. He saw a bit of a put it together season in 2010, hitting 18 home runs and batting .256 in 121 games. Last season, his production fell tremendously, as he went without a home run and batted just .156 in 48 games, prompting the Rockies to demote him to AAA Colorado Springs at multiple points during the season. In 45 games at AAA, he hit 14 home runs and batted .275. Over his five-year major league career, Stewart hit 54 home runs and batted .236 with 16 stolen bases in 432 games.

The Cubs also acquired fringe prospect Casey Weathers, who saw a tough season at AA Tulsa last year. In 44 appearances for the Drillers, he was 2-2 with a 5.32 ERA. Interestingly, he limited opponents to just a .199 BAA despite the high earned run numbers. His downfall was his command, as he walked 48 batters in 45 2/3 innings. 

Tyler Colvin heads to Colorado as the second Tyler C. acquired by the Rockies this offseason. He was a power hitting prospect in the Cubs system at the time of his 2009 call-up, and spent the entire year with Chicago in 2010 as a fringe Rookie of the Year candidate. In 135 games, the 24-year-old hit 20 home runs and batted .254 with six stolen bases for the Cubs. Like Stewart, Colvin saw his numbers drop dramatically in 2011, prompting the Rockies to send him to AAA Colorado Springs for much of the middle months of the season. He finished his major league season with six home runs and a .150 AVG in 80 games. In 50 minor league games, he hit seven home runs and batted .256. Over his three-year big league career, he hit 26 home runs and batted .215 over 221 games. 

The Rockies also acquired rookie second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who has a contact bat with limited power.  LeMahieu owns a .317 career minor league AVG, including a .358 mark at AA Tennessee over 50 games in 2011. In his 37-game debut, the Visalia native batted .250 and played solid defense. He will compete for a middle infield spot.

Perry-Balester trade: Though a minor deal, I am happy to see GM Mike Rizzo getting something done. Collin Balester did not fit in our plans, and Perry has what Rizzo called "high upside." I agree with him. Ryan Perry posted solid seasons in 2009 and 2010, at 22 and 23 years old before a tough year in 2011. In his rookie 2009, the 22-year-old posted a solid 3.79 ERA out of the Detroit 'pen in 53 games. In 60 appearances in 2010, he dropped his ERA to 3.59 and limited opponents to a .243 BAA. He pitched in just 36 games in 2011 at the major league level, posting a mediocre 5.35 ERA. In 20 minor league appearances, he posted a solid 3.03 ERA and limited opponents to a .207 BAA. Over his three-year major league career, he is 5-6 with a 4.07 ERA in 149 appearances. He may not pan out, but if he does, he has the potential to be a very solid reliever. 

Balester was up and down in the major and minor leagues from 2008-2011, never really inserting himself as a mainstay. He posted a 5.51 ERA as a rookie starter in 2008 in 15 starts, but came back with a 6.82 ERA in seven starts in 2009. The Nationals called him up as a reliever in 2010, where he posted a strong 2.57 ERA in 17 games, despite plunking two batters on the head within a few weeks of each other. I watched both live. As a reliever in 2011, he posted a 4.54 ERA in 23 appearances. Over his four-year career, he is 5-16 with a 5.17 ERA in 62 games (22 starts). With his departure, Ian Desmond and Roger Bernadina are the only active Nats to have played in the Expos' farm system.

Other News

David Ortiz accepted the Red Sox' arbitration offer to stay in Boston. Francisco Rodriguez did the same with the Brewers.

A new movie starring Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey and Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson is in the making.  

The Angels will introduce Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson today at 2:30 p.m. 

Matt Moore signed a five-year, $14 million extension to stay with the Rays. The deal also includes three club options to run it to possible eight years.

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Teams followed in this update: Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves

If your team is not included, please leave a comment.

HR: home runs. RBI: runs batted in. AVG: batting average. SB: stolen bases. ERA: earned run average. BAA: batting average against. K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman