It's All in the Name
WEEI today was reporting that the Boston Red Sox may be working a deal with the Washington Nationals to trade reliever Manny Delcarmen for left handed, first baseman Nick Johnson.
This trade seems to be pending the return of production from David Ortiz but would definitely bolster a lineup that often needs some coverage in the 1B/3B combo with YOUUUUUK, Lowell, and Papi all being notorious for needing time off throughout the season.
Here are Johnson’s numbers for this season and career-wise according to the National’s website:
JOHNSON’S STATS SUMMARY
| G | AB | R | H | TB | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEASON | 40 | 148 | 27 | 50 | 70 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 25 | 23 | 27 | 1 | 0 | .338 | .435 | .473 | .908 | ||
| CAREER | 677 | 2230 | 365 | 610 | 1020 | 147 | 4 | 85 | 342 | 411 | 466 | 26 | 19 | .274 | .399 | .457 | .856 |
At 30 years old, Johnson definitely still has some kick in the wheels but do we really want to see Boston’s son, Manny Delcarmen, be the next Manny to find his way out the door through a mid-season trade?
Personally, I would rather shoot Buchholz to the Nats and have them throw in a minor leager as well. Delcarmen is doing it well and doing it now, and it seems he has many more years of that in the tank whereas Buchholz seems to do it well in the minor league and still looks like he is going wet himself at the major league level. Despite his no-hitter against the Orioles, Clay just hasn’t looked like he could handle it since. That will obviously turn around but how much and when?
2 Responses to “It's All in the Name”
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As the DC expert I feel that I’d like to shoot a few points off:
Nick Johnson is experiencing a comeback season after spending the last two injured. Is his production for real? It is but I consider him an injury risk, he could provide a cheap productive bat that the Sox could use as long they don’t over pay him.
The Nats are probably happy to hear about the trade talk since I’ve previously written that they are looking to shop him:
http://dc.metblogs.com/2009/03/16/sports-chatter-are-nick-johnsons-days-numbered/
The Nats desperately bullpen help and the bullpen happens to be a place of depth for the Sox- so I can see where Delcarmen fits in. It’s hard because he’s a hometown favorite but the deal looks good if it goes through. Perhaps we could talk the Nats into Buchholz but they are looking good with Zimmermann in their rotation and the possibility of adding Straussburg as soon as the draft.
[...] the options Finn gave: 1B Adrian Gonzalez (SD), SS Omar Vizquel (TEX), C/1B Victor Martinez (CLE), 1B Nick Johnson (WAS), SS Orlando Cabrera (OAK), 1B/DH Aubrey Huff (BAL), OF Adam Dunn (WAS), SS Miguel Tejada (HOU), SS [...]