Blake Murphy Sports Writing

Title: Jays Acquire Scott Rolen
Date: January 19, 2008
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: After a summer-and-fall hiatus, I returned to writing thanks to a push from some friends. The ODC took off from here, employing many writers covering many sports (although this particular site displays only my own work). This article looked at the Toronto Blue Jays acquiring Scott Rolen.

Here it is, my first shot at writing a blog of any sort in some time. The topic today, obviously, is the recent Blue Jays-Cardinals third basemen swap. The Jays acquired Scott Rolen and $4M for Troy Glaus and $1.8M. I’m going to try and break this down as best I can, but don’t even ask me to explain why both teams would send each other money instead of just decreasing the sum going one way…bizarre to say the least.

The thing that immediately popped into my head when I heard about this deal was defense. This is a massive upgrade in the field for the Jays, as Rolen is a multi-time gold glove award winner at the hot corner, while Troy Glaus plays worse D than Roger Dorn of Major League (and Major League II) fame. While Glaus’ arm is a cannon, Rolen’s is not far off. On top of that, Rolen has much better range and a great first step, so this move saves us some runs on the left side of the infield. This pickup more than makes up for any defense lost by inserting Eckstein for J-Mac and on days when McDonald plays we may have the best defensive infield in baseball.

Offensively, the effects of this deal are a little unclear. Obviously Glaus has more pop in his bat (in terms of career numbers and over the past few seasons), but the two big men aren’t far apart on RBIs or extra base hits in general. Rolen hits for a better average, whereas Glaus takes more walks, making their OBPs a wash. Given the Jays current lineup, I think Rolen is actually a better fit. While it’s nice to have Glaus’ power, if Vernon plays to his potential we don’t really need it, as Glaus would have two or three 30 home run guys in front of him. The Jays have long struggled with wearing down opposing pitchers (a must in the AL East) and Rolen’s selectivity and ability to hit for a better average makes him a better fit in the 5th batting order slot. In addition, Rolen is a much better base runner than Glaus, but why is that important? Previously, the Jays were skeptical of batting Wells or Rios 6th because their speed on the basepaths would be wasted with Thomas and Glaus in front of them. The large speed upgrade in the 5 spot will allow Gibbons to experiment with Rios or Wells (whoever is performing less) in the 6 spot, leaving the #2 hole open for a more traditional 2 hitter (like Hill) or a lefty (Overbay) to break up our righty-heavy top of the order. Overall, we’ll miss Glaus’ pop but Rolen provides us with more flexibility in the lineup and a batting average improvement.A key issue with this trade is the large unknowns involved. Obviously, I’m speaking to the injuries both players have dealt with in previous seasons: Glaus’ heel and Rolen’s shoulder. I don’t have any real psychic ability, so I can’t be entirely sure how this will pan out, but one thing is clear—Glaus’ heel was not going to get any better playing on turf. The turf at the SkyDome should have no effect on Rolen’s shoulder (which he insists feels great, anyways), and the natural field in St. Louis should benefit Glaus. The point is, even if Glaus outperforms Rolen this season, we can’t look at this trade as a mistake because Glaus was not going to play to his potential in Toronto.

Another key category we have to look at is personality. While Glaus is a good, humble, and committed baseball player, moving him may have been a good idea. Foremost, the fans had begun to turn on Glaus for his poor average and rash of injuries. We’ve all heard about Rolen’s problems in St. Louis, too, but he seems genuinely happy to be in Toronto and already gets along great with the media and GM J.P. Riccardi (if you haven’t watched his introductory press conference yet, it is must see TV…go HERE to check it out). Rolen is a jovial and likable character who fits in with J.P.’s vision to have a few more “dirtbags” in the clubhouse to make us a grittier team. Glaus had also, off the record, asked for J.P. to move him if he could get fair value for him, so it’s clear that this is a case of both teams (and players) needing a fresh start.

Overall, I’d give the trade a B+ for both teams, with A potential in the long term. The Cardinals got a much needed power upgrade, got rid of a player who didn’t get along with the manager, and Glaus will benefit a great deal from playing on a natural surface. The Jays got a huge defensive upgrade, more lineup flexibility, and a good ball player who should fit in well in Toronto. Oh, and the contracts are essentially identical, though Rolen has one extra year on his (and is one year older than Glaus), but you probably won’t get a gold glove third baseman with 90 RBI potential for $10M a season on the open market anyways. This is one of those strange trades where it could really help both teams and both players, a rare case of a win-win trade.

Kudos to J.P. on a risky move like this, and a big welcome to Scott Rolen, the new Blue Jays’ third baseman and stand up comic.

Note: With the relaunch of the blog and the new website, I really want to encourage anyone who reads this to discuss with comments (see the bottom of the post for the comments tab). I’ll be sure to respond and I’d love to get as much feedback and as many opinions as possible.