Having realized the team was headed in the wrong direction early on, Javelina GM Jamie Hoyle and his staff decided there was no better time than the present to plan for the future. An in-season rebuilding project that began with the addition of Hunter Pence has since been expanded with the recent additions of Yadier Molina and Allen Craig.
Hoyle started by first adding All Star back-stop Yadier Molina in a trade that sent Carlos Ruiz and Coco Crisp to the Olivet Killer Eagles. Molina, who is already widely considered the best defensive catcher in baseball, is enjoying a career year at age 30 (.309/.361/.516, 15 HR, 49 RBI, 8 SB). The team feels Molina, like most catchers, has just begun a late prime and is primed for several more good season.
"Yadier is a very good player who is just reaching his prime years," said Hoyle. "He's finally begun to develop power and is proving to be an excellent clutch hitter. We're happy to have him on board."
In a somewhat unexpected move, the team completed a trade with the Atlantic Surge this week. The deal, which saw the team acquire multi-positional Allen Craig, adds yet another potent bat to an outfield that already consists of Alex Gordon and Hunter Pence. Craig, who is enjoying an outstanding first season as an everyday player, is has posted a slash line of .299/.366/.577 to go with 14 HR, 44 RBI and 38 R. He is expected to receive a contract extension and play mostly in the outfield.
"AC is a guy we would have drafted fairly early this year had he been healthy and had a clear path to playing time," said Hoyle. "We feel confident he can be a source of 25-30 HR over a full season while contributing above average totals in three of the other five offensive categories. He can flat hit."
Having added three players who should provide a minimum of 20 HR to the lineup next season, Hoyle has put his team in a unique and exciting position. The lineup for 2013 is essentially complete, with the infield fully loaded and the outfield missing just one piece. They likely already have their DH for next season on the roster in Victor Martinez, as well.
That means the team can take the best available player with their lottery selection in the 2013 draft, then focus entirely on pitching and quality depth the rest of the way. With no pressing offensive needs, the team should be free to build a deep pitching staff, build a quality bench, and invest the necessary picks in star quality relievers. In other words, what looked like a 2-3 year rebuilding project heading into the 2012 draft should be complete heading into Spring Training.
"We hate losing, which has made this year tough," said Hoyle. "But at the end of the day, the lumps we've taken in 2012 should bear fruit in the form of a playoff run in 2013. We should have one of the deeper, more balanced teams heading into next season barring injury."
While the team is likely done adding contracts, they do still have some attractive pieces they could move prior to the trading deadline. Those pieces could include Victor Martinez, Luke Gregerson, Ronald Belisario, Vance Worley, Travis Wood, Derek Holland, Justin Masterson, and others.
Swings and Misses...
After struggling with their plate discipline and power totals for much of the first half, 3B Ryan Zimmerman and 1B Adrian Gonzalez are hitting a combined .403 (46/114) with 9 HR and 28 RBI in July...2B Aaron Hill is hitting .369 with 6HR and 17RBI since hitting for his first of two cycles on June 18th...Before an 0-5 last night, OF Alex Gordon was 8 for his last 18 (.474) and raised his average to .288...Prior to a rough outing on Tuesday, SP Travis Wood had not allowed more than 3 ER in a start since May 28th (7 GS).
Hoyle started by first adding All Star back-stop Yadier Molina in a trade that sent Carlos Ruiz and Coco Crisp to the Olivet Killer Eagles. Molina, who is already widely considered the best defensive catcher in baseball, is enjoying a career year at age 30 (.309/.361/.516, 15 HR, 49 RBI, 8 SB). The team feels Molina, like most catchers, has just begun a late prime and is primed for several more good season.
"Yadier is a very good player who is just reaching his prime years," said Hoyle. "He's finally begun to develop power and is proving to be an excellent clutch hitter. We're happy to have him on board."
In a somewhat unexpected move, the team completed a trade with the Atlantic Surge this week. The deal, which saw the team acquire multi-positional Allen Craig, adds yet another potent bat to an outfield that already consists of Alex Gordon and Hunter Pence. Craig, who is enjoying an outstanding first season as an everyday player, is has posted a slash line of .299/.366/.577 to go with 14 HR, 44 RBI and 38 R. He is expected to receive a contract extension and play mostly in the outfield.
"AC is a guy we would have drafted fairly early this year had he been healthy and had a clear path to playing time," said Hoyle. "We feel confident he can be a source of 25-30 HR over a full season while contributing above average totals in three of the other five offensive categories. He can flat hit."
Having added three players who should provide a minimum of 20 HR to the lineup next season, Hoyle has put his team in a unique and exciting position. The lineup for 2013 is essentially complete, with the infield fully loaded and the outfield missing just one piece. They likely already have their DH for next season on the roster in Victor Martinez, as well.
That means the team can take the best available player with their lottery selection in the 2013 draft, then focus entirely on pitching and quality depth the rest of the way. With no pressing offensive needs, the team should be free to build a deep pitching staff, build a quality bench, and invest the necessary picks in star quality relievers. In other words, what looked like a 2-3 year rebuilding project heading into the 2012 draft should be complete heading into Spring Training.
"We hate losing, which has made this year tough," said Hoyle. "But at the end of the day, the lumps we've taken in 2012 should bear fruit in the form of a playoff run in 2013. We should have one of the deeper, more balanced teams heading into next season barring injury."
While the team is likely done adding contracts, they do still have some attractive pieces they could move prior to the trading deadline. Those pieces could include Victor Martinez, Luke Gregerson, Ronald Belisario, Vance Worley, Travis Wood, Derek Holland, Justin Masterson, and others.
Swings and Misses...
After struggling with their plate discipline and power totals for much of the first half, 3B Ryan Zimmerman and 1B Adrian Gonzalez are hitting a combined .403 (46/114) with 9 HR and 28 RBI in July...2B Aaron Hill is hitting .369 with 6HR and 17RBI since hitting for his first of two cycles on June 18th...Before an 0-5 last night, OF Alex Gordon was 8 for his last 18 (.474) and raised his average to .288...Prior to a rough outing on Tuesday, SP Travis Wood had not allowed more than 3 ER in a start since May 28th (7 GS).
