Around The Majors

Sorry for the lack o’ posts yesterday. I got home very late and work has been beyond hectic lately. So what I thought I would do is put a couple of posts into one, so I can cover a bunch of topics.

Here are some thoughts on some of the moves that have happened over the last day or two…

D-Lee is headed south to the A-T-L

Braves acquire Derrek Lee: With Troy Glaus essentially playing on one leg for the past month, the Atlanta Braves really needed to find an upgrade at first base. Enter Derrek Lee. The Braves acquired Lee from the Chicago Cubs for minor leaguers Robinson Lopez, Jeffrey Lorick, and Tyrelle Harris.

Lee is no longer the offensive force he was just a couple of years ago, but he is batting .313/.356/.583 in the second half with six HR’s and at this point is a definite upgrade over Glaus both offensively and defensively at first.

Lee is currently on the DL with a bad back, but will be activated today by the Braves.

Lopez is probably the best prospect the Cubs acquired. He is a 19-year-old pitcher in High Single-A, who has a fastball in the mid-90′s.

Good acquisition by the Braves, who are clearly going for it all this year and I salute them for that.

Cardinals acquire Pedro Feliz: I guess desperate times call for desperate measures. With David Freese sidelined for the year and with Felipe Lopez hitting just .137 in August, the St. Louis Cardinals went out and got themselves another third baseman.

The Cardinals obtained Pedro Feliz from the Houston Astros for minor league pitcher Dan Carpenter (no relation to Cardinals’ ace Chris). I will say Feliz will be just a warm body for the Cardinals.

Feliz doesn’t do anything particularly well. He doesn’t hit (.221 avg). He doesn’t get on base (.283 OBP). He can’t run (one SB). And he is a below average fielder (-2.8 UZR).

I am really not sure how much Feliz can help the Cardinals if at all.

Carpenter is a fringe pitching prospect, who was the Cardinals’ High Single-A team closer this year. Being 25 and still in High Single-A is never a good sign.

Rockies release Brad Hawpe: What a difference a year makes. Last year Hawpe was an All-Star and hit .285 with 23 HR’s and had a .906 OPS. This year he was released. Amazing.

Hawpe was placed on waivers earlier in the week and when the Colorado Rockies couldn’t find a taker, they just released the 28-year-old from Texas. I would imagine Hawpe would receive quite a bit of interest on the free agent market.

I could see the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, and Minnesota Twins as possible destinations for Hawpe. Last year I wrote a “What’s his trade market?” piece on Hawpe outlining his pros and cons.

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