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December 12, 2012 12-13 Offseason Joe Janish

Blockbuster Sends Choo To Cincinnati

According to various reports, the Indians, Diamondbacks, and Reds have completed a deal that sends outfielder Shin-Soo Choo to Cincinnati.

Reportedly, Choo will slot in as the Reds’ leadoff hitter and play centerfield — a position he hasn’t handled with any regularity since 2009.

The Reds also get utility infielder Jason Donald (from the Indians) and send away Drew Stubbs, who joins the Indians, as well as shortstop prospect Didi Gregorius, who moves on to Arizona. The Indians also acquire phenom Trevor Bauer and relievers Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw from the Diamondbacks as part of the trade. In addition to Gregorius, Arizona gets LHP Tony Sipp and minor league first baseman Lars Anderson from Cleveland.

Got all that? I’m not sure I do.

Maybe I’m not entirely up to speed on Gregorius, but how does Arizona give up so much in this trade? I was under the impression that the 21-year-old Bauer was a top-10 prospect in all of baseball, and the next Tom Seaver. Would the Mets have traded Matt Harvey, PLUS two viable MLB relievers, in return for Gregorius and two AAAA guys? I haven’t seen Gregorius play, but his offensive numbers are only so-so; I guess he’s Ozzie Smith in the field?

Someone please help me figure this out, from the perspective of the Diamondbacks, because I don’t quite get it. Was there something about Bauer that made Arizona hot to move him?

I have to wonder — if the Diamondbacks were willing to essentially give up Bauer for a young, light-hitting, unproven, defensive-minded, 22-year-old shortstop like Gregorius, wouldn’t they have been open to sending Bauer to the Mets for 23-year-old Ruben Tejada? If so, wouldn’t the Mets have jumped at the opportunity to get a rare arm like that?

As much as the Mets don’t need another hole to fill, I’d have to think that things would REALLY look bright if the pitching staff of the future included Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Bauer.

Interested to hear your comments.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. argonbunnies December 12, 2012 at 2:50 am
    Yup, we missed the boat on Bauer. D’backs soured on him because of mechanics/coachability/control issues. Ask Scott Kazmir if that sounds familiar. Like Kazmir, Bauer was a K machine in the minors, and should have pretty awesome peak value.

    Tejada is light-hit, solid glove, okay projection. Gregorius is light-hit, great glove, good projection. The D’backs are taking an upside gamble. Would they prefer the player with an MLB track record? Well, I guess we’ll never know.

    Our roster needs every improvement it can get. Identifying teams who are selling low is something we really have to do.

  2. Dan Capwell December 12, 2012 at 7:01 am
    Arizona called, but Sandy was taking a nap, DePo was at the Mall telling the cashier “I’m Peter Brand from that movie” and JP was going thru his Toronto Blue Jay baseball card collection.
  3. Izzy December 12, 2012 at 9:31 am
    I think the new Met GM is Alfred E Newman: What me worry?, What me make a move?
    • DaveSchneck December 12, 2012 at 12:21 pm
      Izzy,
      Good analogy but one correction – the new GM is really not that new anymore.
      • friend December 12, 2012 at 4:59 pm
        He still has that new GM smell.
  4. Joe December 12, 2012 at 9:03 pm
    Sounds like a few teams made good moves but multiple teams did not. But, hey, the Mets are in NYC, so they are special. We are supposed to be smarter here or something. Not really.
  5. Dan December 12, 2012 at 9:57 pm
    Bauer being Bauer is the problem, until he ditches the pregame ritual and other such aberrations that he dearly treasures I don’t see how he can succeed beyond AAA. AZ promised that they wouldn’t mess with his technique, and must certainly regret that decision after seeing him hit resistance in AAA and a brick wall in the majors. I don’t think he would survive in NYC, at least not until he straightens himself out in a lower pressure environment, away from the promise of never changing his approach.