Cardinals Acquire Khalil Greene

by Charlie Wilmoth on Dec 4, 2008 10:05 PM EST

The Padres have traded shortstop Khalil Greene to the Cardinals for pitcher Mark Worrell and a player to be named. As 25-year-old relief prospects go, Worrell's a pretty good one: he thoroughly dominated the PCL last year. He doesn't throw terribly hard, but he gets batters out with a good slider and a deceptive delivery. Kudos to the blog Future Redbirds for this post, written way back in January:

For someone who is essentially on the cusp of making the big league team, Mark Worrell has had something of an under the radar career. We’ve seen the Padres snatch up under-appreciated relievers like this in recent years (Cla Meredith, Joe Thatcher) and while Petco helps anyone who sets foot on the mound, it’s possible that baseball systematically undervalues deceptive deliverers.

Nailed it!

Anyway, both Worrell and Greene are winners here: Worrell could immediately become a productive part of the Padres' bullpen, and as a flyball pitcher, he's extremely well suited to PETCO Park.

Greene, meanwhile, had a terrible time in PETCO throughout his career--he has a .658 career OPS at home and an .802 OPS on the road. His best asset is his power, but he broke his hand this year, and hand injuries can affect power. If he comes back at full strength, and if the player who hasn't yet been named isn't a great one, this could be a good deal for both teams.

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Oh

I had that backwards, didn’t I?

by bucdaddy on Dec 4, 2008 10:39 PM EST reply actions

Heh.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Dec 4, 2008 10:47 PM EST up reply actions

good trade for the Cards

Despite his troubles last season, Khalil’s a big upgrade on Izturis and it doesn’t appear the Cardinals are giving up much.

by bolton on Dec 4, 2008 11:28 PM EST reply actions

Very good trade for the Cards

They gave up a finese relief prospect that is of less value to them than the other team (because of the ballpark) for a starting shortstop with upside.

If the Bucs can’t do better than this for Jack – and it appears that they may not be able to – they are best to hold onto Jack. Charlie’s earlier post nailed it.

Good day.

by Uncle Nate on Dec 5, 2008 7:50 AM EST reply actions

Not On Topic, but.....

Slate.com has an article about the Pirates signing of Singh and Patel. It’s an interesting article, and this good ’ole website is given a brief mention and link.

http://www.slate.com/id/2206047/

Just an fyi if you have not already seen it.

by Blyleven Curve Ball on Dec 5, 2008 9:59 AM EST reply actions

Getting Greene takes care of part of the MI holes that the.....

Redbirds are trying to fill. He, is in my opinion, a definite upgrade from what the Cards had. In the process they didn’t add a lot of money to the payroll, didn’t give up any of the excess outfielders they can use for trades to fill the 2b hole, another LH relief pitcher or a 5th starter.

For the Padres they get a good middle relief or perhaps closer in Worrell who expressed his dismay, anger and disgruntled outlook for the Cardinals right around the time the trade was made. They also get a PTBNL which is supposed to be some prospect, which could also help them in the future, which seems to be where the Friars are heading towards building right now.

Greene gets out of SD where it was hard for him to hit (like many others have found out) and he gets bigger lumber around him in the Cards lineup which could also help his numbers. Worrell gets to leave the Cardinal organization where he really didn’t want to be. As mentioned above he will get to play and that is great for him. I think he will be a very good player for the Padres.

All around I think it is a good deal for all involved. I know some of the fans in SD don’t feel this way, but I am waiting to see how it turns out. Win/Win is how I see it……. for all involved.

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.-Rogers Hornsby

by thegashousegang on Dec 6, 2008 8:43 AM EST reply actions