Philadelphia Phillies/Texas Rangers Trade Analysis
Posted by Jeremy on November 21, 2008 under MLB Trade Analysis | 
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Last night’s transaction between the World Series-winning Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers marked an unusual occurrance in baseball trade market as each team exchanged one minor league player for another. Former 2004 1st round pick OF Greg Golson heads to the Texas Rangers in exchange for 2005 1st rounder John Mayberry Jr. Here’s a closer look at the parties involved in the deal.
Greg Golson:
- Golson had a solid season at AA Reading batting .282 with 13 HR 60 RBI and 23 SB. Golson has top of the order speed and enough pop to be an solid top of the lineup offensive catalyst. However, Golson racks up strikeouts at an alarming rate racking up 623 K’s in 511 career games. The Rangers made the deal for Golson due to his Gold Glove caliber defense in CF. This move will allow Josh Hamilton to move to his more natural position of RF, shifting David Murphy to LF. Golson will not need to be a power hitter with the Rangers as their lineup possesses enough to light up all of the state of Texas. Perhaps this will allow for him to focus more on working counts and improving his OB% which was just .333 last season. Golson’s Rangers future is likely as a part-time defensive and baserunning specialist as the starting OF is chocked full of more intriguing hitters like Josh Hamilton, David Murphy, and Nelson Cruz. This doesn’t bode well for his 2004 rookie cards.
John Mayberry Jr.:
- The son of former New York Yankees OF John Mayberry has not fully lived up to the potential that his athletic 6-6 230 lb. frame projects. Mayberry split time between AA Frisco and AAA Oklahoma City batting .264 with 20 HR 74 RBI and 10 SB. On the surface, these numbers are decent, though in hitter friendly environments like Frisco and OKC and given Mayberry’s age and talent, they are quite mediocre. Perhaps the move to the world champs will jump start Mayberry’s career similar to how it did for Jayson Werth. Werth is an ideal comp for Mayberry as a long, strong, and athletic OF who has taken a while to refine his considerable skill set into consistent production. Given Pat Burrell’s inevitable departure via free-agency, Mayberry may get that chance as early as April. Watch to see how Mayberry produces in the Grapefruit League this spring. If he is successful, he may break camp with the Phillies as a 4th outfielder. The Phillies are rumored to be making a push to sign Seattle Mariners free-agent OF Raul Ibanez. If they sign him, this will cut into Mayberry’s opportunities with the big club. At 25 years old, Mayberry needs to take a major step forward this season to show that he can be ready for more regular AB’s in a big league uniform. With much more projectible players like Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor ascending quickly, Mayberry’s greatest value to the Phillies may be as a mid-season trading chip.
This trade was interesting as each side trimmed some of their surplusses in exchange for other needs. Both Golson and Mayberry should play in some capacity with their new teams this season, though it it likely that neither will earn a starting spot this season. If you have any of their rookie cards, wait for a string of good performances (especially in spring training when hope and speculation abounds) and SELL accordingly.