Cubs Deal Michael Barrett to Padres

by Charlie Wilmoth on Jun 20, 2007 4:44 PM EDT in News

The Cubs have traded catcher Michael Barrett to the Padres for catcher Rob Bowen and 19 year-old outfielder Kyler Burke. Barrett had a much-publicized clubhouse fight with pitcher Carlos Zambrano a couple weeks ago, and he also picked a fight with A.J. Pierzynski last year. To be fair, there are probably about five hundred major leaguers who'd like to punch Pierzynski in the face, but Barrett actually did it, and he's been in two fights now, so he probably isn't the world's sweetest guy.

He is, however, a good baseball player, and he'll be an immediate upgrade for the Padres, who've spent too long this year hoping that Josh Bard's fluky 2006 actually meant something. Padres GM Kevin Towers has shown a knack recently for taking advantage when other teams get desperate and/or stupid - he grabbed Cla Meredith and Bard last year when the Red Sox realized that Doug Mirabelli was the only guy who could catch Tim Wakefield, he got Marcus Giles on the cheap last year when the Braves non-tendered him, and he got two young stars in Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young from the Rangers for pennies on the dollar.

Anyway, the key to this trade will probably turn out to be Burke - he's a very young 2006 supplemental pick. He's struggled in the early going, so perhaps the Padres have good reason for not worrying too much about him, but there's still plenty of time for him to turn it around. In the meantime, this trade is a big win for the Padres.

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Nice trade for Towers

It's always fun to see a divisional rival shoot themselves in the kneecap.

by Vlad on Jun 20, 2007 4:53 PM EDT reply actions

Addition by subtraction

A catcher that has had major conflicts with at least 2 of his 5 starting pitchers (Zambrano and Hill we know about) can't be very beneficial to the pitching staff. It may have become a problem in the clubhouse as well(just a wild guess).

by Thunder on Jun 20, 2007 9:50 PM EDT reply actions

Barrett is a good hitter, not a good player

And for that matter, he's having a bad year. No idea what his contract status is.

In football parlance, Barrett's a coach killer. I think Pat, or someone at AOL Fanhouse, documented his screwups. He's a really stupid ballplayer, on the bases, and behind the plate.

by azibuck on Jun 20, 2007 10:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Barrett's contract

He's a FA at the end of the year.

Maybe he's dumb as a brick, but he's still a guy who put up an OPS over .800 in each of the last three seasons. That makes up for a hell of a lot. When you throw in the fact that nobody's ever been able to demonstrate any statistical value for game-calling...

I really like the idea of the Cubs trying to contend with Henry Blanco, Koyie Hill, and Rob Bowen behind the dish. Bowen is probably the best of the three, but that ain't sayin' much.

by Vlad on Jun 20, 2007 11:04 PM EDT up reply actions

To be more specific...

He's got about $2.5M left on his contract for this year, of which the Cubs are picking up about $1.5M (according to Ken Rosenthal).

When evaluating the deal, don't forget that since Barrett is likely a Type A free agent, the Padres will get two draft picks if they offer him arb.

by Vlad on Jun 20, 2007 11:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Furthermore

If the Cubs were winning this season, then it's likely none of these "problems" actually become problems.

by matskralc on Jun 21, 2007 7:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Did the Padres really improve themselves?

I am not sure. Barrett is awful defensively. Much worse than Bard. The Bard/Bowen pairing was basically as productive as Barrett offensively so far this year. I don't really care som much about Barrett's OPS the last three years. He is a 30 year old catcher. They have been known to deteriorate quickly. Now Barrett in the midst of a pretty bad year moves from Wrigley to Petco.

I am also not sure about the draft picks. If Barrett continues to play poorly there is a chance he might actually need to consider accepting arbitration. Which means the Padres depending on how things work out may feel they can't offer him arbitration.

by haven on Jun 21, 2007 9:56 AM EDT reply actions

The Padres offer arbitration to everybody.

Seriously, I can't remember the last time they didn't tender someone.

Barrett's 2007 isn't up to the offensive standard of his last three seasons, but even if we go with the idea that he's already in decline (which I don't buy; he came up as a 3B and hasn't caught all that many innings), he's still an above-average bat for a catcher.

Average NL catcher, 2007: .255/.312/.382
Barrett, 2007: .256/.307/.427

His glove isn't great, but I don't think it's enough to cancel that out.

by Vlad on Jun 21, 2007 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions