Nate Robertson was traded to the Marlins yesterday for prospect Jay Voss. Voss was an 8th round pick who spent the past three seasons in the minors. As a starter, Voss struggled mightily, going 3-13 with a 6.9 ERA in A-ball. Yet, he turned it around last season as a middle reliever in AA-ball, posting an impressive 2.7 ERA and 1.16 WHIP.
It's not often, though, that a middle reliever from AA makes a splash in the bigs. Typically, the best prospects are starters who then convert to middle relief or closers just to make the senior club. So, Voss is a nice, low-risk prospect who may develop a few years down the line.
It may seem a minor miracle that Dombrowski convinced any team to pick up Robertson's contract AND throw in a player. The truth is that the Marlins nabbed Robertson for Voss and $400,000. The Tigers will continue to pick up the remainder of Robertson's $10 million contract. So, like Sheffield last season, the Tigers once again are paying a player to leave.
Why make the trade? It's obviously not about money. There was a logjam at starting pitcher, with Willis, Bonderman, and Robertson vying for two spots. Robertson pitched the best in Spring training and has the fewest red flags (though he still has many). He was probably the only player that would net a prospect in return. Willis and Bonderman both possess higher price tags ($12 million each). Willis has "the thing," and Bonderman has a bum shoulder. He can't hit 95mph, nor does he have bite on his out pitch - the slider. Without the slider, Bonderman is as useful as Maggs on the mound.
As an insurance policy, the Tigers have Eddie Bonine and Phil Coke in the pen. Neither player pitched well this Spring, but Bonine did post solid stats late last season. Coke fared well as a starter in the minors (3.2 ERA, 1.2 WHIP), but only pitched long-relief as a big leaguer. Both are safer options than Willis and Bonderman. Yet, W&B get the nod thanks to their ginormous contracts. Dombrowski has to save face somehow.
As for Nate, I'm happy for him. He gets a chance to jump-start his career in the more pitcher-friendly National League. He was the lone Tiger to actually live in the Metro Detroit area and became a fan favorite. He worked his way up to the starting rotation, but never really had that breakout season due to a lack of wins. In '05, he posted a respectable 4.5 ERA, but only managed 7 wins due to horrid run support (2nd worst in the AL). This fact was oft-repeated by color analyst Rod Allen during Tiger games, and it became a running joke amongst Tiger fans.
"Nate never gets run support"
"Yeah, but he's a bulldog on the mound."
Nate's best season - by far - was '06, when he went 13-13 with a solid 3.84 ERA. The highlight of his career was Game 1 of the ALCS when he blanked the Oakland As through 5 innings. Nate continued his impressive run in early '07 until mid-May when he got rocked on back-to-back starts by Seattle and Boston. Nate was worried he was tipping his pitches. Whether he was or not remains a mystery, but his results were never the same. His ERA plummeted from 2.48 prior to the Seattle game to 4.76 by the end of the year. '08 was even worse, as Robertson was flat-out the worst starting pitcher in the American League with a bloated 6.35 ERA. His career as a Tiger seemed likely finished, if not for that enormous contract he signed after the '06 season. Like most of Dombrowski's signigs, Robertson's effectiveness ceased once he signed on that dotted line.
Robertson spent most of last season on the injured list and returned for a few quality starts in August. It left a glimmer of hope that something was left in the tank. Perhaps that glimmer was enough to persuade the Marlins to part with a prospect for him. That, plus the fact they could pay him a measley $400,000, while the Tigers picked up the remaining $9,600,000.
So, farewell Nate. Hope you turn it around down South.
No comments:
Post a Comment