Lawrie is an average player. Donaldson is a star. Both will be in their first year of arbitration. Yes Donaldson is going to make a lot more but the A's just pissed 10 million a year away on Butler.
GM/Winter Meetings Thread
- Thread starter Tapate50
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Lawrie is an average player. Donaldson is a star. Both will be in their first year of arbitration. Yes Donaldson is going to make a lot more but the A's just pissed 10 million a year away on Butler.
blueagleace1
Playing the Waiting Game
If Lawrie can stay healthy he will be a star himself.
Yeah his raw offensive numbers will get a huge boost. He would be hitting FA at a pretty late age but if he stays healthy he should get a pretty good pay day from playing in Toronto.
Braves1976
It's OVER 5,000!
I have long defended Beane but I tend to agree more with 50 about him lately. That said, I wouldn't mind taking a flyer on Kyle Banks.
Healthy or not he hasn't show any indication in the past 3 years that he could be a star. He's an average at best hitter.
blueagleace1
Playing the Waiting Game
An average hitter??
Here are his 162 game averages: .265 AVG / .323 OBP with 20 HR, 74 RBI, and 14 SB (Extremely good defense)
Josh Donaldson 162 game averages: .268 AVG / .347 OBP with 25 HR, 91 RBI, and 7 SB (Extremely good defense)
Please tell me how one is a "superstar" and the other is "a average player"
Lawrie plays in one of the best hitting parks in america. Donaldson does not. Lawrie has a career WRC+ of 104. Donaldson has a career WRC+ of 127. 100 is considered average. With them switching parks Lawrie would be lucky to get 15 homers in a full season. Donaldson will get close to 40.
lol
good catch
blueagleace1
Playing the Waiting Game
You realize that WRC+ is park adjusted and based off a full season, which Lawrie is yet to complete.
Games played don't matter. He has been a league average hitter in his big league career regardless of how many games he has played.
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
wRC+ is a rate stat. Not an accumulative stat.
50PoundHead
Hessmania Forever
Who me?
I want to make it clear, I don't have a problem with Beane per se. His record speaks for itself. It's the media's fawning portrayal of him that gets under my skin. Someone posted a link to Neyer's article about the trade which gives Beane a huge benefit of the doubt. I'm not defending the Heyward trade, but Neyer basically rips Hart for it although it is a similar deal (and perhaps even more defensible given Heyward's impending free agency).
Lawrie could hit .350 and Donaldson could fall on his face. Shelby Miller could go 20-3 with an ERA of 2.20 and Heyward could hit .235 with 6 HRs. That's why we play the games and that's why GMs take the risks.
A's and Braves are now in similar situations. Good pitching staffs with horsesh*t offenses. I'm not saying the A's got fleeced here, because Donaldson's rapid rise always puzzled me to some extent. Lawrie is the key player and Barreto looks like a good long-term prospect. The two pitchers look to be decent mid-level prospects.
Deester11
Well-known member
Well said 50. Well said.
Sure. That's part of the reason they were able to get Lawrie in return plus the prospects. Lawrie has quite a bit of potential himself if he can stay healthy. Not saying it was smart of Beane to trade JD. I'd rather have Donaldson too, all things being equal. And they still had/have the talent to compete next season and the next few seasons, so trading a controllable player like him doesn't make much sense to me at this point. But either way, the haul they received isn't terrible.
keithlaw
Playing the Waiting Game
I don't think we have a good staff yet and neither does the FO apparently. Teheran, Wood, Miller, and Minor is a very talented quartet, but health and consistency are huge concerns for them. Wood gives us great quality, but prospectors have questioned his durability since he was drafted and he ended the season with a forearm strain. Minor's season was book-ended by shoulder injuries and when he was healthy, he was terrible. Miller has great stuff but mediocre results. On top of that, we don't have anyone in the minors ready to step into the rotation.
Edit: I think I found the key to the Donaldson trade
yeezus
It's OVER 5,000!
I don't think we have a good staff yet and neither does the FO apparently. Teheran, Wood, Miller, and Minor is a very talented quartet, but health and consistency are huge concerns for them. Wood gives us great quality, but prospectors have questioned his durability since he was drafted and he ended the season with a forearm strain. Minor's season was book-ended by shoulder injuries and when he was healthy, he was terrible. Miller has great stuff but mediocre results. On top of that, we don't have anyone in the minors ready to step into the rotation.
Edit: I think I found the key to the Donaldson trade
hey, the assman's in town!
