Will Ryan Raburn be Cards' 2B backup?
by CardsWin on Apr 2, 2009 1:53 AM EDT
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LAKELAND, Fla. – The Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals have recently discussed a trade that would send infielder/outfielder Ryan Raburn to St. Louis, according to one person in the industry with knowledge of the talks.
Raburn has been battling for one of the final spots on Detroit’s Opening Day roster, but left-handed-hitting prospect Jeff Larish may have moved ahead of him in the competition. The Tigers can send Raburn to Triple-A Toledo without putting him through waivers – he has one minor league option remaining – but they may prefer to trade him for a pitching prospect.
Raburn, who turns 28 this month, has played five different positions in the majors – all three in the outfield, in addition to second and third base – and it’s been said that his versatility would make him an ideal player for the National League.
Raburn, a .255 hitter in 153 major league games, is generally regarded as a better defender in the outfield than the infield. Detroit manager Jim Leyland has also said in the past that he could be an emergency catcher.
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Oops!
I just realized that a fanshot was posted early today about Raburn. (I did a search of posts and comments but nothing came up.) Sorry for the redundant information!
My comments didn't post
I wrote an analysis of how Raburn compares with Brendan Ryan and Brian Barden, but it somehow didn’t make it into the post and I didn’t make a copy. This whole fanpost is cursed!
Essentially I noted that Raburn and Thurston have similar skill sets but they bat from opposite sides of the plate. I don’t see that this trade would add much value, if any, kinda like this fanspost, perhaps….
Sorry about that!
except that thurston is much better defensively.
Raburn is actually a better comparison for Skip, defensively, except that we KNOW Raburn is a -20ish run player at second, and he doesn’t get on base like skip does.
- So, to ease his pain, you're supposed to take him to a ball game?
- Yes.
arguing with myself
I guess it’s not fair to say we “know” he’s that bad of a defender, but the evidence points to that being the case. 250 innings at a position isn’t enough to “know” anything, except that it’s not as fun watching him (probably) flounder at 2B, as opposed to watching Skip maybe-not-flounder.
- So, to ease his pain, you're supposed to take him to a ball game?
- Yes.
I have no idea why we made this trade
it was unnecessary
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 2, 2009 2:26 AM EDT reply actions
it's just speculation.
we didn’t actually make the trade . . .
you said “I have no idea why WE MADE this trade.”
On with the (good) youth movement!
yeah
I was just trying to figure out why I thought that… it would be so pointless
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Apr 3, 2009 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions
This might work
CHONE really likes him projecting a .342 wOBA and “only” -4 defense at second. If he would be able to do that for a full season than he would be an above average player. Now, he has had some mixed results in the majors (a .365 wOBA in 07, but under .300 last year), but he is also righthanded and seemingly can play adequate defense. If we could get him for some crappy relief prospect than this would be a good move.
vivaelbeñsheets
I'm not sure how CHONE rates his defense so highly
UZR rates him as a pretty bad defender in all spots, and ABYSMAL at 2B. In fact, at -21 runs/150 (and he’s played 250-odd innings so it’s not a bad sample size) he’s one of the worst 2Bs in baseball, and possibly even worse than Schu…
His AAA hitting stats are kinda interesting, with good power added to a >10% walkrate and reasonable OBP, but bizarrely his walkrate seems to disintegrate in the majors (maybe he struggles vs MLB breaking balls???) and this has adversely affected his power, so it would seem (no power at all at the MLB level, despite being a 20HR hitter in AAA). I don’t really see how he’d be worth much to us – he’s not really an upgrade over anything we’ve got, unless he learns to handle a 2B glove.
Because chicks dig the intentional base on balls.
by Felonius_Monk on Apr 2, 2009 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions
His sample size is real small in the majors
I would think that he is capable of being a ~league average hitter beacause of the factors that you mentioned. Power and walks are the two things that translate well from the minors to the majors. You make a good point about his defense though. I checked up his TZ ratings in the minors and he hasn’t played second since 2005, so he might not be able to be a “good” defender.
vivaelbeñsheets
His MLB sample size is small
I won’t argue with that – but I do think the amazing disappearing walkrate is a cause for concern. Even over a relatively small number of at-bats, he’s still got a good half-season worth, and his BB% is WAY down compared to his AAA numbers. I’m no statistician but it has to be significant… If he’s not walking in the majors and swinging too freely, a guy with marginal power like Raburn is going to see his ISO sapped too…
Because chicks dig the intentional base on balls.
by Felonius_Monk on Apr 3, 2009 9:18 AM EDT up reply actions
Raburn would give us a utility guy
Which the Birds need since Miles and Lopez both left. He could play pretty much any infield spot, or could play all outfield spots. We have 4 outfielders and little depth in the middle infield. Raburn could be a good fit. I wouldn’t mind seeing this trade happen.
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