NomarFan5
12-13-2004, 03:58 AM
Call it Cash considerations -- Kevin Cash, that is.
The Blue Jays made their first trade of the Winter Meetings on Sunday, sending backup catcher Kevin Cash to Tampa Bay in exchange for young reliever Chad Gaudin.
This move seems to help both parties: Cash is heading to his hometown, while Gaudin joins a team in desperate need of relief help. The right-hander won't turn 22 until the end of Spring Training, but he's already pitched more than 80 big-league innings with a 4.25 ERA.
"Gaudin is a young guy with a good arm who we've always liked. And we had a chance to add him to our system," said J.P. Ricciardi, Toronto's general manager. "We'll bring him in for Spring Training and give him a look, but we see him probably as a Triple-A guy."
That's probably for the best -- with additional time in the minors, Gaudin can consolidate his gains and come to the Majors when he's more of a finished product. He's been hit hard in his brief Major League career, allowing opponents to post a .292 batting average. Still, the potential is obvious: Gaudin was the league's youngest player in 2003, and he wasn't far off in 2004.
Gaudin was able to earn that distinction because of an extremely light minor league workload. He made just three starts at the Double-A level, throwing a seven-inning perfect game in his debut and notching an 0.47 overall ERA. Gaudin also pitched in just 17 games at Triple-A, which means that he's worked fewer innings in the upper minors (66 2/3) than he has in the Major Leagues (82 2/3).
Cash, meanwhile, would have had a hard time cracking Toronto's roster. Ricciardi has repeatedly stated that Cash needed more time to develop into a Major League regular. The Tampa native has a fine reputation as a defensive catcher, but his offense is lagging far behind. In 101 games as a big-leaguer, Cash is hitting just .173.
In the end, Ricciardi thought Cash had fallen too far behind Guillermo Quiroz, another one of his catching prospects. Still, that doesn't speak to the journey he's already made -- Cash learned a new position after signing as an undrafted free agent, and his catcher's glove took him all the way to the sport's highest level. Unfortunately, he's still waiting for his bat to arrive.
"The only way he's going to make our club is if he improves on the things that he's struggling at," Ricciardi said of Cash in his season-ending press conference. "We can't have a lineup where we get no production at all from the catching spot."
Now, the Jays are primed to rely on Greg Myers, who missed most of last season with an ankle injury. Toronto also offered arbitration to Gregg Zaun, who could elect to rejoin the team. If it plays out that way, Quiroz will likely start the season at Triple-A Syracuse and join the parent club a few months later.
While the day's developments were certainly interesting, there's a bigger story out there in dire need of a conclusion. Toronto is reportedly close to finalizing a deal with Canada native Corey Koskie, who would shore up the team's situation at third base and in the middle of the batting order. Ricciardi expressed optimism that it would all be over soon.
"We're still talking. Hopefully, we'll have something tonight or tomorrow," he said. "[Koskie's representatives] are exploring as much as they can explore, but at some point, it has to end."
The same sentiment could be applied to Toronto's other pursuit: Chicago's Matt Clement, one of the most popular attractions on the open market. The going rate for pitchers seems to be escalating in Anaheim, but Ricciardi said the Jays haven't bowed out of the bidding just yet.
"Oh, no," he said about Clement. "We think we're still in it."
The Blue Jays made their first trade of the Winter Meetings on Sunday, sending backup catcher Kevin Cash to Tampa Bay in exchange for young reliever Chad Gaudin.
This move seems to help both parties: Cash is heading to his hometown, while Gaudin joins a team in desperate need of relief help. The right-hander won't turn 22 until the end of Spring Training, but he's already pitched more than 80 big-league innings with a 4.25 ERA.
"Gaudin is a young guy with a good arm who we've always liked. And we had a chance to add him to our system," said J.P. Ricciardi, Toronto's general manager. "We'll bring him in for Spring Training and give him a look, but we see him probably as a Triple-A guy."
That's probably for the best -- with additional time in the minors, Gaudin can consolidate his gains and come to the Majors when he's more of a finished product. He's been hit hard in his brief Major League career, allowing opponents to post a .292 batting average. Still, the potential is obvious: Gaudin was the league's youngest player in 2003, and he wasn't far off in 2004.
Gaudin was able to earn that distinction because of an extremely light minor league workload. He made just three starts at the Double-A level, throwing a seven-inning perfect game in his debut and notching an 0.47 overall ERA. Gaudin also pitched in just 17 games at Triple-A, which means that he's worked fewer innings in the upper minors (66 2/3) than he has in the Major Leagues (82 2/3).
Cash, meanwhile, would have had a hard time cracking Toronto's roster. Ricciardi has repeatedly stated that Cash needed more time to develop into a Major League regular. The Tampa native has a fine reputation as a defensive catcher, but his offense is lagging far behind. In 101 games as a big-leaguer, Cash is hitting just .173.
In the end, Ricciardi thought Cash had fallen too far behind Guillermo Quiroz, another one of his catching prospects. Still, that doesn't speak to the journey he's already made -- Cash learned a new position after signing as an undrafted free agent, and his catcher's glove took him all the way to the sport's highest level. Unfortunately, he's still waiting for his bat to arrive.
"The only way he's going to make our club is if he improves on the things that he's struggling at," Ricciardi said of Cash in his season-ending press conference. "We can't have a lineup where we get no production at all from the catching spot."
Now, the Jays are primed to rely on Greg Myers, who missed most of last season with an ankle injury. Toronto also offered arbitration to Gregg Zaun, who could elect to rejoin the team. If it plays out that way, Quiroz will likely start the season at Triple-A Syracuse and join the parent club a few months later.
While the day's developments were certainly interesting, there's a bigger story out there in dire need of a conclusion. Toronto is reportedly close to finalizing a deal with Canada native Corey Koskie, who would shore up the team's situation at third base and in the middle of the batting order. Ricciardi expressed optimism that it would all be over soon.
"We're still talking. Hopefully, we'll have something tonight or tomorrow," he said. "[Koskie's representatives] are exploring as much as they can explore, but at some point, it has to end."
The same sentiment could be applied to Toronto's other pursuit: Chicago's Matt Clement, one of the most popular attractions on the open market. The going rate for pitchers seems to be escalating in Anaheim, but Ricciardi said the Jays haven't bowed out of the bidding just yet.
"Oh, no," he said about Clement. "We think we're still in it."