Wow! Let me start off by saying this is one trade I did not see coming. Let me add that there IS another one coming VERY SOON involving Mark Teahen.
This morning the Royals and Red Sox finalized a deal to send Ramon Ramirez to BeanTown for speedy outfielder Coco Crisp. The last time we heard about the Royals trading for a speedy outfielder it was J.P. Howell for Joey Gathright, but fear not on this one. Crisp can hit.
After several years in the AL Central with Cleveland, Crisp went over to Boston and has turned in some pretty good numbers over there. There are lots of reasons to like this trade. Yes, we did give up a pretty darned good right handed reliever but Moore - as we all should know by know - has made a promise not to fall in love with relief pitchers.
Crisp is an accomplished base stealer with a career batting average of .280. Also, for a little guy he's got some pop in his bat. To be honest, this guy is much of the same player David DeJesus is only, like I mentioned, he steals bases. We all know how much we love DeJesus when he's hitting, but hate him when he's still standing at first in an obvious stealing situation. To be quite honest, Crisp is going to help this team in a big way.
Obviously, there wasn't room for Crisp in Boston anymore with Jacoby Ellsbury taking over in center. It's not as if other teams around the league didn't want Crisp either. In fact, he was a pretty hot commodity for several teams since Terry Francona designated him to ride the pine. Remember, the Royals gave up a pretty good pitcher in return. There's a reason they did so.
Crisp covers more ground than DeJesus, so he will immediately be penciled in as the everyday starting center fielder. DeJesus is expected to move to left and, yep, Teahen is surely packing his bags as we speak.
This move also shows me that Dayton Moore has a great deal of confidence in pitching coach Bob McClure. This offseason alone the team has traded relievers Leo Nunez and Ramon Ramirez - two of the key figures in the 'pen last season. In years past Moore has dealt Jeremy Affeldt, Mike MacDougal, Andrew Sisco and a score of other relievers. More knows Mac has the knack (rhyme not intended) to place guys where they need to be in the 'pen and help them become successful.
The fact is Moore is building the future of this organization through addition and subtraction in the bullpen. It's certainly not a traditional approach to molding an organization, but the guy is thinking outside the box. I like what he's doing here. So far it's working.
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I think most right-thinking Royals fans see the value in this. Coco seems like the kind of guy who might find consistency if he’s playing every day, not battling for a position with some pretty, boy-faced wonder (Ellsbury, whom we’ll take too, if you Sox management types are drunk and in a reckless mood). From the perspective of a Royals fan, this one was a no-brainer. We can send Gathright off to some team looking for speed and maybe pick up a viable replacement for Ramirez. Meanwhile, we’ve got a solid centerfielder who can steal a base every now and then. Plus, people everywhere will be saying: “Hey! I’ve actually heard of someone who plays for the Royals!”
Ramirez? I don't recall ever shouting "oh, goody!" at the TV screen when he came out to the mound. He was more likely to walk a bunch of runners into scoring position than anybody. Maybe he'll do well for the Sox, but who cares? In KC, he can be replaced. Welcome aboard, CC.
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