Revisiting the Adrian Gonzalez Trade

Jed Hoyer’s short lived legacy as general manager of the San Diego Padres will solely be based on the Adrian Gonzalez trade. And as of now, his legacy is off to a really bad start. In case you’ve might have forgotten, the trade sent the super star first baseman to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for three top flight Red Sox prospects, and a player to be named later.

The trade was supposed to bulk up the Friars depleted farm system and set the team quite nicely in the immediate future. The trio of prospects the Padres received in the trade were first baseman Anthony Rizzo, right-h right-handed pitcher Casey Kelly, and outfielder Reymond Fuentes. The player to be named was utility man Eric Patterson.

The deal was consummated because the Padres knew they wouldn’t have the financial backing to keep Gonzalez in a Padres uniform. So the rational thinking was to trade Gonzalez and get something for him, instead of letting him walk scotch free and not get anything in return.

Of the four players received for Gonzo, only half remain in the Padres organization. Eric Patterson only played 47 games before he was designated for assignment and was never heard of again. As for Anthony Rizzo, well, he fell out of favor in San Diego after proving in a small sample size that he could not hit Major League Pitching, thus, prompting new general manager, Josh Byrnes to trade for another first baseman in Yonder Alonso.  Rizzo was finally sent packing to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for fireballer Andrew Cashner.

So as it stands right now, the Padres really traded Adrian Gonzalez for Casey Kelly and Reymond Fuentes. You can even throw in Cashner in there association.

Many scouts project Kelly to be a number three guy in the rotation at best. He is a converted catcher still learning how to pitch. He has shown that he has great stuff that can make him a successful major league pitcher. The only knock on him is that he has given up way to many hits than innings pitched. In 2011, Kelly pitched 142.1 innings while allowing 153 hits.

Fuentes on the other hand, has a high ceiling. He is the cousin of current major leaguer Carlos Beltran. Fuentes is fast and is suited to play any of the three outfield positions. He is projected by many scouts to be a top of the order guy.

It is clear that the Red Sox got the better part of the deal, but only time will tell to see how Kelly and Fuentes pan out. Personally I think the Red Sox undersold the Padres. Now with Rizzo out of the Padres organization the Gonzalez trade looks more like it was a two fer one deal. Sorry Hoyer but you got suckered.

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