Re: Cleveland Indians DFA Andy Marte

[Mephistopheles]

How many years has it been now that Marte was minor league player of the year? Seems like 5 or 6, but he's only 25 now? :shock:

 

He didn't turn 25 until last September.

[BigbadB]

Byrnes had a career year and was a team leader for that young team. Meanwhile, Carlos Quentin struggled to hit for the power he showed in the minors at a major league level, and pretty much struggled to do much of anything at the plate while he had the starting job in 2007. All the while Justin Upton was scorching through the minors at age 19 ready to be the second coming of Jesus.

 

So what do you do? Do you bid farewell to a team leader who had a career year or trade the guy who, for all intents and purposes, sucked and was playing a position that was blocking Jesus Squared?

 

They trade him. It makes sense. In the end they got Dan Haren because of Carlos Quentin, which I would say is kind of a wash now. But it would've been a steal. there was no way of knowing that Carlos Quentin was going to produce like he did last year. He dwarfed his best minor league numbers a year after he put up a 63 OPS+ in the majors while playing in "the worst division in baseball" at the time. While none of us would've resigned Byrnes like the D-Backs did, I think if we were faced with the decision at the end of 2007 to keep Byrnes, replace Quentin with Upton, and trade Quentin to complete a deal for Haren, we'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

That being said, Eric Byrnes is on my list of people I want to punch in the face for being a douche

 

Are we sure that Byrnes signed that contract after Quentin was traded? I could swear he signed it before Quentin was traded, and also before Justin Upton got his first call to the majors.

 

I kind of thought Quentin was traded because Byrnes already had a long term deal, Young already had CF locked up, and Upton had the brighter future.

[Clem Fandango]

Byrnes had a career year and was a team leader for that young team. Meanwhile, Carlos Quentin struggled to hit for the power he showed in the minors at a major league level, and pretty much struggled to do much of anything at the plate while he had the starting job in 2007. All the while Justin Upton was scorching through the minors at age 19 ready to be the second coming of Jesus.

 

So what do you do? Do you bid farewell to a team leader who had a career year or trade the guy who, for all intents and purposes, sucked and was playing a position that was blocking Jesus Squared?

 

They trade him. It makes sense. In the end they got Dan Haren because of Carlos Quentin, which I would say is kind of a wash now. But it would've been a steal. there was no way of knowing that Carlos Quentin was going to produce like he did last year. He dwarfed his best minor league numbers a year after he put up a 63 OPS+ in the majors while playing in "the worst division in baseball" at the time. While none of us would've resigned Byrnes like the D-Backs did, I think if we were faced with the decision at the end of 2007 to keep Byrnes, replace Quentin with Upton, and trade Quentin to complete a deal for Haren, we'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

That being said, Eric Byrnes is on my list of people I want to punch in the face for being a douche

 

Are we sure that Byrnes signed that contract after Quentin was traded? I could swear he signed it before Quentin was traded, and also before Justin Upton got his first call to the majors.

 

I kind of thought Quentin was traded because Byrnes already had a long term deal, Young already had CF locked up, and Upton had the brighter future.

 

IIRC, Upton was called up for a cup of coffee in 2007. He's on the 07 roster on the BR page with minimal at bats. Byrnes signed the extension in August. So yeah, they traded Quentin in the offseason (December, for Cris Carter, who was sent over to complete the Haren deal). Perhaps they intended on trading him after his poor showing to make room for Upton?

 

So in reality, they had already signed Byrnes, so they had a logjam in RF. Either way, they made the right decision at the time. I'd have traded Quentin as well

[17 Seconds]

Byrnes had a career year and was a team leader for that young team. Meanwhile, Carlos Quentin struggled to hit for the power he showed in the minors at a major league level, and pretty much struggled to do much of anything at the plate while he had the starting job in 2007. All the while Justin Upton was scorching through the minors at age 19 ready to be the second coming of Jesus.

 

So what do you do? Do you bid farewell to a team leader who had a career year or trade the guy who, for all intents and purposes, sucked and was playing a position that was blocking Jesus Squared?

 

They trade him. It makes sense. In the end they got Dan Haren because of Carlos Quentin, which I would say is kind of a wash now. But it would've been a steal. there was no way of knowing that Carlos Quentin was going to produce like he did last year. He dwarfed his best minor league numbers a year after he put up a 63 OPS+ in the majors while playing in "the worst division in baseball" at the time. While none of us would've resigned Byrnes like the D-Backs did, I think if we were faced with the decision at the end of 2007 to keep Byrnes, replace Quentin with Upton, and trade Quentin to complete a deal for Haren, we'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

That being said, Eric Byrnes is on my list of people I want to punch in the face for being a douche

 

Are we sure that Byrnes signed that contract after Quentin was traded? I could swear he signed it before Quentin was traded, and also before Justin Upton got his first call to the majors.

 

I kind of thought Quentin was traded because Byrnes already had a long term deal, Young already had CF locked up, and Upton had the brighter future.

 

IIRC, Upton was called up for a cup of coffee in 2007. He's on the 07 roster on the BR page with minimal at bats. Byrnes signed the extension in August. So yeah, they traded Quentin in the offseason (December, for Cris Carter, who was sent over to complete the Haren deal). Perhaps they intended on trading him after his poor showing to make room for Upton?

 

So in reality, they had already signed Byrnes, so they had a logjam in RF. Either way, they made the right decision at the time. I'd have traded Quentin as well

 

You'd give up on a stud prospect early so you can lock up a below average LF just because of clubhouse presence and intangibles?

[SouthSideRyan]

IIRC, Upton was called up for a cup of coffee in 2007. He's on the 07 roster on the BR page with minimal at bats. Byrnes signed the extension in August. So yeah, they traded Quentin in the offseason (December, for Cris Carter, who was sent over to complete the Haren deal). Perhaps they intended on trading him after his poor showing to make room for Upton?

 

So in reality, they had already signed Byrnes, so they had a logjam in RF. Either way, they made the right decision at the time. I'd have traded Quentin as well

 

Right, they extended the thoroughly mediocre Byrnes for his career year that wasn't really that great to begin with. All the while knowing they had Quentin rotting in AAA and Upton just about ready to play. It's not like mediocre corner OFs were in high demand, you can find an Eric Byrnes anywhere, the best they could've expected was him being Reggie Sanders. That's not something you make sure to lock up.

[BigbadB]

Byrnes had a career year and was a team leader for that young team. Meanwhile, Carlos Quentin struggled to hit for the power he showed in the minors at a major league level, and pretty much struggled to do much of anything at the plate while he had the starting job in 2007. All the while Justin Upton was scorching through the minors at age 19 ready to be the second coming of Jesus.

 

So what do you do? Do you bid farewell to a team leader who had a career year or trade the guy who, for all intents and purposes, sucked and was playing a position that was blocking Jesus Squared?

 

They trade him. It makes sense. In the end they got Dan Haren because of Carlos Quentin, which I would say is kind of a wash now. But it would've been a steal. there was no way of knowing that Carlos Quentin was going to produce like he did last year. He dwarfed his best minor league numbers a year after he put up a 63 OPS+ in the majors while playing in "the worst division in baseball" at the time. While none of us would've resigned Byrnes like the D-Backs did, I think if we were faced with the decision at the end of 2007 to keep Byrnes, replace Quentin with Upton, and trade Quentin to complete a deal for Haren, we'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

That being said, Eric Byrnes is on my list of people I want to punch in the face for being a douche

 

Are we sure that Byrnes signed that contract after Quentin was traded? I could swear he signed it before Quentin was traded, and also before Justin Upton got his first call to the majors.

 

I kind of thought Quentin was traded because Byrnes already had a long term deal, Young already had CF locked up, and Upton had the brighter future.

 

IIRC, Upton was called up for a cup of coffee in 2007. He's on the 07 roster on the BR page with minimal at bats. Byrnes signed the extension in August. So yeah, they traded Quentin in the offseason (December, for Cris Carter, who was sent over to complete the Haren deal). Perhaps they intended on trading him after his poor showing to make room for Upton?

 

So in reality, they had already signed Byrnes, so they had a logjam in RF. Either way, they made the right decision at the time. I'd have traded Quentin as well

 

You'd give up on a stud prospect early so you can lock up a below average LF just because of clubhouse presence and intangibles?

 

They didn't do that. They signed Byrnes before they traded Quentin and once Byrnes was signed, it became a bad contract that they weren't going to be able to move. Quentin got them Haren, which in my mind is a pretty good deal.

 

They probably never should have given Byrnes a long term deal, but since the damage was done, they made the best of the situation by trading one of their young stud outfielders for a stud pitcher, which they needed. With Byrnes hurt last year, they were able to move Conor Jackson back to the outfield, so it's not like they were left with no options.

[Mephistopheles]

They didn't "give up" on him. They traded him in a deal for Dan Haren, which was smart. They had a HUGE logjam in the outfield at the time. They had Eric Byrnes, Justin Upton and Chris Young. They had Carlos Gonzalez and Carlos Quentin waiting in the wings. They had an opportunity to trade for Dan Haren. Byrnes had no chance of being dealt, Justin Upton was untouchable and Quentin can't play center. It was a no-brainer.

[SouthSideRyan]

Carlos Quentin didn't appear out of nowhere. Eric Byrnes didn't suck out of nowhere.

 

And Chris Carter certainly wasn't what acquired Dan Haren. There were six players involved in that trade and Carter was probably the 3rd best prospect of the 6.

[Mephistopheles]

Carlos Quentin didn't appear out of nowhere. Eric Byrnes didn't suck out of nowhere.

 

And Chris Carter certainly wasn't what acquired Dan Haren. There were six players involved in that trade and Carter was probably the 3rd best prospect of the 6.

 

Fourth or fifth. Carlos Gonzalez and Carlos Quentin was better than him and so was Brett Anderson. Gio Gonzalez might have.

[SouthSideRyan]

They didn't "give up" on him. They traded him in a deal for Dan Haren, which was smart. They had a HUGE logjam in the outfield at the time. They had Eric Byrnes, Justin Upton and Chris Young. They had Carlos Gonzalez and Carlos Quentin waiting in the wings. They had an opportunity to trade for Dan Haren. Byrnes had no chance of being dealt, Justin Upton was untouchable and Quentin can't play center. It was a no-brainer.

 

How is it a no brainer to hold on to the worst of your 5 OFs?

[SouthSideRyan]

Carlos Quentin didn't appear out of nowhere. Eric Byrnes didn't suck out of nowhere.

 

And Chris Carter certainly wasn't what acquired Dan Haren. There were six players involved in that trade and Carter was probably the 3rd best prospect of the 6.

 

Fourth or fifth. Carlos Gonzalez and Carlos Quentin was better than him and so was Brett Anderson. Gio Gonzalez might have.

 

They were separate trades. Quentin went for Carter.

 

Gonzalez and De Los Santos went for Swisher

 

Carter, CarGo, Cunningham, Smith, Eveland and Anderson went for Haren & Connor Robertson.

[BigbadB]

They didn't "give up" on him. They traded him in a deal for Dan Haren, which was smart. They had a HUGE logjam in the outfield at the time. They had Eric Byrnes, Justin Upton and Chris Young. They had Carlos Gonzalez and Carlos Quentin waiting in the wings. They had an opportunity to trade for Dan Haren. Byrnes had no chance of being dealt, Justin Upton was untouchable and Quentin can't play center. It was a no-brainer.

 

How is it a no brainer to hold on to the worst of your 5 OFs?

 

The ink was dry on his contract.

[SouthSideRyan]

They didn't "give up" on him. They traded him in a deal for Dan Haren, which was smart. They had a HUGE logjam in the outfield at the time. They had Eric Byrnes, Justin Upton and Chris Young. They had Carlos Gonzalez and Carlos Quentin waiting in the wings. They had an opportunity to trade for Dan Haren. Byrnes had no chance of being dealt, Justin Upton was untouchable and Quentin can't play center. It was a no-brainer.

 

How is it a no brainer to hold on to the worst of your 5 OFs?

 

The ink was dry on his contract.

 

As I said, the crowded OF didn't all of a sudden come up in October. They knew what they had when they signed that moronic contract. Whether it was pressure from Moorad as rumored, or Byrnes falling in love with the grit, it was a terrible decision.

[17 Seconds]

Why do people keep acting like Carter got them Haren? Gonzalez got them Haren. They most likely could have gotten Haren without Carter.

 

They should have Quentin AND Haren right now.

[BigbadB]

They didn't "give up" on him. They traded him in a deal for Dan Haren, which was smart. They had a HUGE logjam in the outfield at the time. They had Eric Byrnes, Justin Upton and Chris Young. They had Carlos Gonzalez and Carlos Quentin waiting in the wings. They had an opportunity to trade for Dan Haren. Byrnes had no chance of being dealt, Justin Upton was untouchable and Quentin can't play center. It was a no-brainer.

 

How is it a no brainer to hold on to the worst of your 5 OFs?

 

The ink was dry on his contract.

 

As I said, the crowded OF didn't all of a sudden come up in October. They knew what they had when they signed that moronic contract. Whether it was pressure from Moorad as rumored, or Byrnes falling in love with the grit, it was a terrible decision.

 

You probably won't find anyone willing to argue with you that it was a horribly moronic contract. But, as it was stated above, Byrnes signed it in August. It's possible that Quentin was going to get the RF job, but when they promoted Upton in September, he played well enough to create the logjam. Realistically, DBack's brass probably didn't envision Upton sticking with the big club at such a young age.

 

And Quentin didn't exactly set the world on fire with his first two promotions to the bigs.

[17 Seconds]

Byrnes had a career year and was a team leader for that young team. Meanwhile, Carlos Quentin struggled to hit for the power he showed in the minors at a major league level, and pretty much struggled to do much of anything at the plate while he had the starting job in 2007. All the while Justin Upton was scorching through the minors at age 19 ready to be the second coming of Jesus.

 

So what do you do? Do you bid farewell to a team leader who had a career year or trade the guy who, for all intents and purposes, sucked and was playing a position that was blocking Jesus Squared?

 

They trade him. It makes sense. In the end they got Dan Haren because of Carlos Quentin, which I would say is kind of a wash now. But it would've been a steal. there was no way of knowing that Carlos Quentin was going to produce like he did last year. He dwarfed his best minor league numbers a year after he put up a 63 OPS+ in the majors while playing in "the worst division in baseball" at the time. While none of us would've resigned Byrnes like the D-Backs did, I think if we were faced with the decision at the end of 2007 to keep Byrnes, replace Quentin with Upton, and trade Quentin to complete a deal for Haren, we'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

That being said, Eric Byrnes is on my list of people I want to punch in the face for being a douche

 

Are we sure that Byrnes signed that contract after Quentin was traded? I could swear he signed it before Quentin was traded, and also before Justin Upton got his first call to the majors.

 

I kind of thought Quentin was traded because Byrnes already had a long term deal, Young already had CF locked up, and Upton had the brighter future.

 

IIRC, Upton was called up for a cup of coffee in 2007. He's on the 07 roster on the BR page with minimal at bats. Byrnes signed the extension in August. So yeah, they traded Quentin in the offseason (December, for Cris Carter, who was sent over to complete the Haren deal). Perhaps they intended on trading him after his poor showing to make room for Upton?

 

So in reality, they had already signed Byrnes, so they had a logjam in RF. Either way, they made the right decision at the time. I'd have traded Quentin as well

 

You'd give up on a stud prospect early so you can lock up a below average LF just because of clubhouse presence and intangibles?

 

They didn't do that. They signed Byrnes before they traded Quentin and once Byrnes was signed, it became a bad contract that they weren't going to be able to move. Quentin got them Haren, which in my mind is a pretty good deal.

 

They probably never should have given Byrnes a long term deal, but since the damage was done, they made the best of the situation by trading one of their young stud outfielders for a stud pitcher, which they needed. With Byrnes hurt last year, they were able to move Conor Jackson back to the outfield, so it's not like they were left with no options.

 

What?

 

Eric Byrnes was extended on August 7, 2007.

 

Carlos Quentin was traded on December 3, 2007.

 

So they locked up Byrnes and then 2 months later realized he wasn't worth it?

 

I think it's pretty clear that when they signed Byrnes they had a plan to trade Quentin in the offseason.

[17 Seconds]

They didn't "give up" on him. They traded him in a deal for Dan Haren, which was smart. They had a HUGE logjam in the outfield at the time. They had Eric Byrnes, Justin Upton and Chris Young. They had Carlos Gonzalez and Carlos Quentin waiting in the wings. They had an opportunity to trade for Dan Haren. Byrnes had no chance of being dealt, Justin Upton was untouchable and Quentin can't play center. It was a no-brainer.

 

How is it a no brainer to hold on to the worst of your 5 OFs?

 

The ink was dry on his contract.

 

As I said, the crowded OF didn't all of a sudden come up in October. They knew what they had when they signed that moronic contract. Whether it was pressure from Moorad as rumored, or Byrnes falling in love with the grit, it was a terrible decision.

 

Yeah, it's not like the Diamondbacks weren't aware that Upton was closing to being called up. They knew perfectly well when thy extended Byrnes that they were dumping Quentin, and that's a really bad move IMO. I don't see how you can justify that.

 

If they traded Quentin for another top prospect that then ended up being the centerpiece in a Harne trade, okay. But that's not what happened. I don't know why people are acting like they traded Quentin for Haren.

[BigbadB]

Byrnes had a career year and was a team leader for that young team. Meanwhile, Carlos Quentin struggled to hit for the power he showed in the minors at a major league level, and pretty much struggled to do much of anything at the plate while he had the starting job in 2007. All the while Justin Upton was scorching through the minors at age 19 ready to be the second coming of Jesus.

 

So what do you do? Do you bid farewell to a team leader who had a career year or trade the guy who, for all intents and purposes, sucked and was playing a position that was blocking Jesus Squared?

 

They trade him. It makes sense. In the end they got Dan Haren because of Carlos Quentin, which I would say is kind of a wash now. But it would've been a steal. there was no way of knowing that Carlos Quentin was going to produce like he did last year. He dwarfed his best minor league numbers a year after he put up a 63 OPS+ in the majors while playing in "the worst division in baseball" at the time. While none of us would've resigned Byrnes like the D-Backs did, I think if we were faced with the decision at the end of 2007 to keep Byrnes, replace Quentin with Upton, and trade Quentin to complete a deal for Haren, we'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

That being said, Eric Byrnes is on my list of people I want to punch in the face for being a douche

 

Are we sure that Byrnes signed that contract after Quentin was traded? I could swear he signed it before Quentin was traded, and also before Justin Upton got his first call to the majors.

 

I kind of thought Quentin was traded because Byrnes already had a long term deal, Young already had CF locked up, and Upton had the brighter future.

 

IIRC, Upton was called up for a cup of coffee in 2007. He's on the 07 roster on the BR page with minimal at bats. Byrnes signed the extension in August. So yeah, they traded Quentin in the offseason (December, for Cris Carter, who was sent over to complete the Haren deal). Perhaps they intended on trading him after his poor showing to make room for Upton?

 

So in reality, they had already signed Byrnes, so they had a logjam in RF. Either way, they made the right decision at the time. I'd have traded Quentin as well

 

You'd give up on a stud prospect early so you can lock up a below average LF just because of clubhouse presence and intangibles?

 

They didn't do that. They signed Byrnes before they traded Quentin and once Byrnes was signed, it became a bad contract that they weren't going to be able to move. Quentin got them Haren, which in my mind is a pretty good deal.

 

They probably never should have given Byrnes a long term deal, but since the damage was done, they made the best of the situation by trading one of their young stud outfielders for a stud pitcher, which they needed. With Byrnes hurt last year, they were able to move Conor Jackson back to the outfield, so it's not like they were left with no options.

 

What?

 

Eric Byrnes was extended on August 7, 2007.

 

Carlos Quentin was traded on December 3, 2007.

 

So they locked up Byrnes and then 2 months later realized he wasn't worth it?

 

I think it's pretty clear that when they signed Byrnes they had a plan to trade Quentin in the offseason.

 

I think it's pretty clear that they had designs on Byrnes in LF, Young in CF, Quentin in RF and Upton in AA. When Upton impressed with his September call up, they decided to trade outfield depth for a stud starting pitcher.

[SouthSideRyan]

Justin Upton made his major league debut 5 days before Byrnes signed his extention

[BigbadB]

If they traded Quentin for another top prospect that then ended up being the centerpiece in a Harne trade, okay. But that's not what happened. I don't know why people are acting like they traded Quentin for Haren.

 

And I don't know why you have to turn every baseball discussion into this dramatic episode of "As the World Turns". Seriously, it's a baseball discussion. It's not life or death.

[17 Seconds]

If they traded Quentin for another top prospect that then ended up being the centerpiece in a Harne trade, okay. But that's not what happened. I don't know why people are acting like they traded Quentin for Haren.

 

And I don't know why you have to turn every baseball discussion into this dramatic episode of "As the World Turns". Seriously, it's a baseball discussion. It's not life or death.

 

I'm pretty sure I'm discussing baseball. I'm not the one who just made a post about something else.

[17 Seconds]

Justin Upton made his major league debut 5 days before Byrnes signed his extention

 

and boom goes the dynamite

 

They chose Byrnes/a bad contract/Carter over Quentin. Period.

[17 Seconds]

Byrnes had a career year and was a team leader for that young team. Meanwhile, Carlos Quentin struggled to hit for the power he showed in the minors at a major league level, and pretty much struggled to do much of anything at the plate while he had the starting job in 2007. All the while Justin Upton was scorching through the minors at age 19 ready to be the second coming of Jesus.

 

So what do you do? Do you bid farewell to a team leader who had a career year or trade the guy who, for all intents and purposes, sucked and was playing a position that was blocking Jesus Squared?

 

They trade him. It makes sense. In the end they got Dan Haren because of Carlos Quentin, which I would say is kind of a wash now. But it would've been a steal. there was no way of knowing that Carlos Quentin was going to produce like he did last year. He dwarfed his best minor league numbers a year after he put up a 63 OPS+ in the majors while playing in "the worst division in baseball" at the time. While none of us would've resigned Byrnes like the D-Backs did, I think if we were faced with the decision at the end of 2007 to keep Byrnes, replace Quentin with Upton, and trade Quentin to complete a deal for Haren, we'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

That being said, Eric Byrnes is on my list of people I want to punch in the face for being a douche

 

Are we sure that Byrnes signed that contract after Quentin was traded? I could swear he signed it before Quentin was traded, and also before Justin Upton got his first call to the majors.

 

I kind of thought Quentin was traded because Byrnes already had a long term deal, Young already had CF locked up, and Upton had the brighter future.

 

IIRC, Upton was called up for a cup of coffee in 2007. He's on the 07 roster on the BR page with minimal at bats. Byrnes signed the extension in August. So yeah, they traded Quentin in the offseason (December, for Cris Carter, who was sent over to complete the Haren deal). Perhaps they intended on trading him after his poor showing to make room for Upton?

 

So in reality, they had already signed Byrnes, so they had a logjam in RF. Either way, they made the right decision at the time. I'd have traded Quentin as well

 

You'd give up on a stud prospect early so you can lock up a below average LF just because of clubhouse presence and intangibles?

 

They didn't do that. They signed Byrnes before they traded Quentin and once Byrnes was signed, it became a bad contract that they weren't going to be able to move. Quentin got them Haren, which in my mind is a pretty good deal.

 

They probably never should have given Byrnes a long term deal, but since the damage was done, they made the best of the situation by trading one of their young stud outfielders for a stud pitcher, which they needed. With Byrnes hurt last year, they were able to move Conor Jackson back to the outfield, so it's not like they were left with no options.

 

What?

 

Eric Byrnes was extended on August 7, 2007.

 

Carlos Quentin was traded on December 3, 2007.

 

So they locked up Byrnes and then 2 months later realized he wasn't worth it?

 

I think it's pretty clear that when they signed Byrnes they had a plan to trade Quentin in the offseason.

 

I think it's pretty clear that they had designs on Byrnes in LF, Young in CF, Quentin in RF and Upton in AA. When Upton impressed with his September call up, they decided to trade outfield depth for a stud starting pitcher.

 

He went .221/.283/.364 in his September callup.

[BigbadB]

Byrnes had a career year and was a team leader for that young team. Meanwhile, Carlos Quentin struggled to hit for the power he showed in the minors at a major league level, and pretty much struggled to do much of anything at the plate while he had the starting job in 2007. All the while Justin Upton was scorching through the minors at age 19 ready to be the second coming of Jesus.

 

So what do you do? Do you bid farewell to a team leader who had a career year or trade the guy who, for all intents and purposes, sucked and was playing a position that was blocking Jesus Squared?

 

They trade him. It makes sense. In the end they got Dan Haren because of Carlos Quentin, which I would say is kind of a wash now. But it would've been a steal. there was no way of knowing that Carlos Quentin was going to produce like he did last year. He dwarfed his best minor league numbers a year after he put up a 63 OPS+ in the majors while playing in "the worst division in baseball" at the time. While none of us would've resigned Byrnes like the D-Backs did, I think if we were faced with the decision at the end of 2007 to keep Byrnes, replace Quentin with Upton, and trade Quentin to complete a deal for Haren, we'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

That being said, Eric Byrnes is on my list of people I want to punch in the face for being a douche

 

Are we sure that Byrnes signed that contract after Quentin was traded? I could swear he signed it before Quentin was traded, and also before Justin Upton got his first call to the majors.

 

I kind of thought Quentin was traded because Byrnes already had a long term deal, Young already had CF locked up, and Upton had the brighter future.

 

IIRC, Upton was called up for a cup of coffee in 2007. He's on the 07 roster on the BR page with minimal at bats. Byrnes signed the extension in August. So yeah, they traded Quentin in the offseason (December, for Cris Carter, who was sent over to complete the Haren deal). Perhaps they intended on trading him after his poor showing to make room for Upton?

 

So in reality, they had already signed Byrnes, so they had a logjam in RF. Either way, they made the right decision at the time. I'd have traded Quentin as well

 

You'd give up on a stud prospect early so you can lock up a below average LF just because of clubhouse presence and intangibles?

 

They didn't do that. They signed Byrnes before they traded Quentin and once Byrnes was signed, it became a bad contract that they weren't going to be able to move. Quentin got them Haren, which in my mind is a pretty good deal.

 

They probably never should have given Byrnes a long term deal, but since the damage was done, they made the best of the situation by trading one of their young stud outfielders for a stud pitcher, which they needed. With Byrnes hurt last year, they were able to move Conor Jackson back to the outfield, so it's not like they were left with no options.

 

What?

 

Eric Byrnes was extended on August 7, 2007.

 

Carlos Quentin was traded on December 3, 2007.

 

So they locked up Byrnes and then 2 months later realized he wasn't worth it?

 

I think it's pretty clear that when they signed Byrnes they had a plan to trade Quentin in the offseason.

 

I think it's pretty clear that they had designs on Byrnes in LF, Young in CF, Quentin in RF and Upton in AA. When Upton impressed with his September call up, they decided to trade outfield depth for a stud starting pitcher.

 

He went .221/.283/.364 in his September callup.

 

So what?

[17 Seconds]

Byrnes had a career year and was a team leader for that young team. Meanwhile, Carlos Quentin struggled to hit for the power he showed in the minors at a major league level, and pretty much struggled to do much of anything at the plate while he had the starting job in 2007. All the while Justin Upton was scorching through the minors at age 19 ready to be the second coming of Jesus.

 

So what do you do? Do you bid farewell to a team leader who had a career year or trade the guy who, for all intents and purposes, sucked and was playing a position that was blocking Jesus Squared?

 

They trade him. It makes sense. In the end they got Dan Haren because of Carlos Quentin, which I would say is kind of a wash now. But it would've been a steal. there was no way of knowing that Carlos Quentin was going to produce like he did last year. He dwarfed his best minor league numbers a year after he put up a 63 OPS+ in the majors while playing in "the worst division in baseball" at the time. While none of us would've resigned Byrnes like the D-Backs did, I think if we were faced with the decision at the end of 2007 to keep Byrnes, replace Quentin with Upton, and trade Quentin to complete a deal for Haren, we'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

That being said, Eric Byrnes is on my list of people I want to punch in the face for being a douche

 

Are we sure that Byrnes signed that contract after Quentin was traded? I could swear he signed it before Quentin was traded, and also before Justin Upton got his first call to the majors.

 

I kind of thought Quentin was traded because Byrnes already had a long term deal, Young already had CF locked up, and Upton had the brighter future.

 

IIRC, Upton was called up for a cup of coffee in 2007. He's on the 07 roster on the BR page with minimal at bats. Byrnes signed the extension in August. So yeah, they traded Quentin in the offseason (December, for Cris Carter, who was sent over to complete the Haren deal). Perhaps they intended on trading him after his poor showing to make room for Upton?

 

So in reality, they had already signed Byrnes, so they had a logjam in RF. Either way, they made the right decision at the time. I'd have traded Quentin as well

 

You'd give up on a stud prospect early so you can lock up a below average LF just because of clubhouse presence and intangibles?

 

They didn't do that. They signed Byrnes before they traded Quentin and once Byrnes was signed, it became a bad contract that they weren't going to be able to move. Quentin got them Haren, which in my mind is a pretty good deal.

 

They probably never should have given Byrnes a long term deal, but since the damage was done, they made the best of the situation by trading one of their young stud outfielders for a stud pitcher, which they needed. With Byrnes hurt last year, they were able to move Conor Jackson back to the outfield, so it's not like they were left with no options.

 

What?

 

Eric Byrnes was extended on August 7, 2007.

 

Carlos Quentin was traded on December 3, 2007.

 

So they locked up Byrnes and then 2 months later realized he wasn't worth it?

 

I think it's pretty clear that when they signed Byrnes they had a plan to trade Quentin in the offseason.

 

I think it's pretty clear that they had designs on Byrnes in LF, Young in CF, Quentin in RF and Upton in AA. When Upton impressed with his September call up, they decided to trade outfield depth for a stud starting pitcher.

 

He went .221/.283/.364 in his September callup.

 

So what?

 

You said they planned on Quentin in RF for 2008 and that those plans changed when Upton impressed in his September callup. So his .221/.283/.364 made Josh Byrnes go "man, I really wanted Quentin in RF next season, but I don't see how we can deny Upton that job after his 62 OPS+ in his callup. Screw it, I've gotta trade Quentin... it's the only way".

 

Which is more likely... that scenario, or the fact that they had planned on Upton in right all along and trading Quentin?

 

I'd think a GM has a plan when giving out a 3 year contract. I think it's obvious the plan was to trade Quentin. I don't see any other reasonable theory. They knew Upton was close to being ready and they knew Upton was locked in at center. There was nowhere for Quentin to play.