Comments on: Nats trade Rauch to Arizona

By: Stos

Stos — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:10:16 +0000

Getting just one decent prospect for a guy pitching like Rauch was seems bogus to me. The dude’s value should have been seen as a closer since he’s excelled at the job this year, even if the D-Backs are going to use him as setup. One speedy middle infielder with zero pop and a career .338 obp in the minors just doesn’t seem enough in my eyes. If they’d gotten him and, say, some project type that was good on power and eye, but needed work, you could at least come away with it as being a real deal.

As is, you have to hope he really is a leadoff man instead of a #8 hitter, which he is at this point due to his K/BB ratio. Steals be damned.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:47:20 +0000

Ladson says Hanrahan will get the opportunity.

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:43:55 +0000

I love this trade too. Bye bye tallest man to ever play the game! Also THE rudest player to ever play the game. Bonifacio is very fast (the fastest man in Arizona in 2007) - not sure if anyone is faster than him this year or not. If we had Bonifacio and Milledge at the top of the order we could potentially give the opposing pitchers whiplash! ha ha ha ha.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:31:35 +0000

Yeah, I kind of have my doubts he’ll ever be a huge OBP guy in the big leagues unless he hits really well.

If anyone is interested, John Sickels had him rated as a C+ prospect before the season started.

By: Dave at Bottomfeeder Baseball

Dave at Bottomfeeder Baseball — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:20:02 +0000

his OBP last year in the minors was propped up a bit by his hit rate, but he OBP’d .359 in the Dominican last winter too, where he was named player of the year.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:07:58 +0000

Bonifacio’s plate discipline seems to be lacking a bit. ‘06 was his best OBP at .375, and even then his walk to strikeout ratio was 44:104.

Count me as another person who would like to see Hanrahan close, and after Friday in Atlanta, it seems likely.

By: Dave at Bottomfeeder Baseball

Dave at Bottomfeeder Baseball — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:47:22 +0000

i agree, Hanrahan is best suited for the job. hard to say how Manny goes though, if he bypasses two veterans. ultimately, it doesn’t really matter tfor this year (obviously). but if they have the idea of Hanrahan competing for it next year, they might as well give him a shot with what’s left of this year.

but again, LOVE the trade. Bonifacio is exactly the type of player the Nats needed to pick up. allows Guzman to hit in a more appropriate spot. AND allwos teh team to end it’s relationship with Felipe “Bad Attitude” Lopez.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:43:39 +0000

More questions than answers at this point. Thanks for the insight on Bonifacio. There is no doubt that we’re in need of a speedy lead off guy. I still need some time to evaluate all of this. On Guzman, as you mentioned, we need numbers before we can pass judgement.

So how does the bullpen shape up now? I’m guessing that they let Hanrahan try out the closer role first.

So much news in such a short period of time!

By: Dave at Bottomfeeder Baseball

Dave at Bottomfeeder Baseball — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:26:54 +0000

Bonifacio is legit. this is great news that the Nats were able to score someone of his skills for Rauch. let’s be honest, Rauch is a career set-up guy that was thrust into the closer’s role. He’s be a set-up guy in Arizona. closer’s fall off trees. guys that both get on base, then have the speed and skill to wreck havoc on the base paths are a great commodity.