Sabathia headed to Milwaukee

by FuquaManuel on Jul 6, 2008 8:39 PM EDT

The Brewers have traded for C.C. Sabathia. According to the report Sabathia, whose contract expires after this season, will be sent to Milwaukee for a package that includes prospect Matt LaPorta.

Not only does this mean that the Phillies--in need of starting pitching--will not be able to compete for the services of Sabathia, but also that the surging Brewers are now a threat in the NL Central. Considering the strength of the Central with 3 teams (the Cardinals, the Cubs, and the Brewers) all in the running, it appears as if the Wild Card team will almost certainly come out of that division. This means, in essence, that the Phils must win the East or expect to be doing something other than playing baseball in October. But you already knew that.

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there is almost never such a thing as “almost certainly” when we are less than 90 games into the season

by char6587 on Jul 7, 2008 1:45 AM EDT reply actions

Matt LaPorta was ranked the #23 prospect to start the season by Baseball America. The Phillies had no players ranked in the Top 50 and three players ranked in the Top 100. It’s unclear to me how we could have matched Milwaukee’s offer with any package that would have made sense for us.

by taco pal on Jul 7, 2008 10:56 AM EDT reply actions

LaPorta sounds to me like a minimum-salary version of prime-era Jason Giambi. The Indians, looking to replace or reinforce the fading Travis Hafner, did just fine here.

by dajafi on Jul 7, 2008 12:37 PM EDT reply actions

Taco, Daj:

I agree, I think the Indians did well in this deal and there is no way the Phillies could have presented a competitive offer. It might also be worth mentioning that while the Brewers have an excellent 1, 2 punch in their rotation (BIG IF: can Sheets stay healthy?) they still have big questions in their bullpen.

by FuquaManuel on Jul 7, 2008 2:03 PM EDT reply actions