Traded: Mark Teahen for Chris Getz, Josh Fields
The Chicago White Sox organization has traded rookie second baseman Chris Getz and disappointing third baseman Josh Fields, a former first round draft pick, to the Kansas City Royals for infielder/outfielder Mark Teahen.
With a .323 wOBA in ’09, Teahen is nothing special as a hitter, especially for someone who spends most of his time at third base or in right field. The 28-year-old posted a 0.3 WAR in ’09 and was a both a below-average hitter and a below-average fielder at every position he played at. For fantasy managers, Teahen has value simply because of his versatility; he should be eligible for third base and the outfield in all formats, while he also appeared in 11 games at first base and three games at second base. He is good for a batting average of about .250-270 and, if he plays everyday, he should produce 12-18 homers, although the move to Chicago could inflate his offensive numbers. With the outfield depth looking pretty good, Teahen should see everyday duty at third base with Gordon Beckham moving back to his natural position at shortstop and Alexei Ramirez sliding back to second base.
Fields wore out his welcome in Chicago in ’09 with another disappointing season. He hit just .222/.301/.347 in 239 at-bats and was eventually pushed aside by Beckham. Fields will turn 27 in December so time is running out for him to reclaim the form that saw him slug 23 homers in 373 at-bats for the White Sox in ’07. Even then, though, he hit just .244/.308/.480. He has enough power to be valuable in deep AL formats, but he will likely do a lot of damage in batting average and he doesn’t get on base enough to help in runs. Fields made 17 appearances at first base in ’09 so he should be eligible there, as well as at the hot corner. Don’t expect him to see much playing time if Alex Gordon can turn things around.
The White Sox organization parts ways with Getz after handing the rookie the starting second base job in ’09. The 26-year-old infielder missed time with injuries but he hit .261/.324/.347 in 375 at-bats and stole 25 bases in 27 attempts. His speed makes him an interesting fantasy player, as he should improve offensively in ’10, although the lineup around him could be weaker. Getz isn’t going to drive in runs so he needs to improve his walk rate (7.4%) so he can throw up a better runs-scored total. He was overpowered by good fastballs in ’09, but hopefully that was caused – at least somewhat – by the broken finger and oblique injuries (His slugging percentage plummeted in the last two months of the season). Because of his speed, Getz is potentially a better fantasy option at second base than Royals incumbent Alberto Callaspo, who probably won’t drive in 70+ runs again and his power output exceeded expectations based on his minor-league numbers. Monitor the race in spring training, though, to see if Getz will earn enough playing time to be of value.
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The trade as reported on the daily news noted that the plan was for Teahan to replace Dye in the outfield, not play the infield.
I think that’s purely speculative at this point, as is assuming that the Sox would give up on Ramirez at SS and Beckham at 3B, moving each one position to the right. Hopefully, there are some more deals on hand from both teams … replacing Dye with Kotsay and Getz with Teahan doesn’t excite me, and the Royals suddenly have 729 second basemen.
ESPN also notes that it may be to replace Dye. Not that I’m saying that is right, but this article just assumes he’s moving to third and shifting everyone over, when the reports seem to indicate otherwise. The article should have at least noted that Teahan is claimed to be replacing Dye.
I think Jayson Nix is probably a better player than Getz anyway, so maybe they’ll just start Nix instead.
I always heard that Callaspo had the chance to develop a little power. With 41 doubles, he might even be able to add a few homeruns. a) minor league stats can’t be taken at face value and b) even if you want to just look at stats he has displayed 10+ hr power in the minors several times. Not sure how he exceeded expectations by any means.
Purely speculative, but the acquisition of Teahen gives them a couple of options. I originally believed the Getz/Fields trade signified regular duty at 2B for Nix and at least one more season of Beckham at 3B and Alexei at SS with Teahen playing the super utility role. However, it could also mean they will experiment with Alexei in the OF and move Gordon back to his natural SS position. In this scenario, Teahen would be a fallback option at 3B if they fail to sign Chone Figgins, who Kenny Williams adores, or Adrian Beltre.
Either way, I don’t think 2B is an option for Alexei barring a complete face plant from Nix in the spring.
As for the Royals, they could start Getz at 2B, shift Callaspo to 3B and demote Gordon to one of the OF corners. Gordon’s range at 3B is poor and I’m guessing hip surgery won’t improve his lateral burst. Fields is sort of a reclamation project, but he could contribute immediately as a DH if he finds his stroke this spring. He can’t be any worse than Mike Jacobs.
Ramirez and Beckham ARE NOT moving. There’s nothing wrong with Ramirez’s defense. In fact, Ozzie Guillen believes he can win a Gold Glove; his error total was mostly a result of botching easy plays because he got lazy on the throws. Beckham, meanwhile, became an adequate third baseman by season’s end, and should only continue to improve. The last thing the Sox want to do is cut off both players just as they’re getting comfortable at their positions.
As far as the trade goes, if it’s true, I’m not excited about it. As AL Central opponents, we’ve seen what Teahen can do… he just hasn’t done it consistently. I knew Fields was getting traded, since there’s no more room for him. I just don’t understand why Williams would trade Getz, a player important to the speed of the lineup, over Nix, who is fast but not that fast. The Sox don’t need another low-average power bat. They need OBP and SB.
Wow, so much for this, huh? Williams said on the conference call today that Beckham is moving to second.
Yes I read that Beckham will be moving to 2B with Teahen playing 3B (his natural position). I like this move for the White Sox. They needed to improve their team defensively and getting Teahen to play the hot corner is a good move, and they didn’t give up much of anything to get him.
What does the brain trust at Fangraphs think about Beckham moving forward, as a 2B fantasy option?