Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Sox Trade Iglesias For Jake Peavy. Everyone Including Myself Proceeds to Panic.

I'll admit, when I first heard that this trade was going down I was sort of shell shocked.  After all, Iglesias burst into the big leagues this year flashing a ridiculous glove in the infield, and becoming a master of getting infield singles.  At one point he was hitting .400.  However, lately he's been in a supremely shitty rut.  In his last 18 games he's posted a .169 BA, .169 OBP, and has drawn 0 walks.  He's never been a good hitter his entire career, and it's likely he has finally fallen back down to Earth.  Yet still, he was already becoming a fan favorite amongst the die hard fans.

But with that said, let's take a breath and actually think big picture.  The Sox are getting Jake Peavy, a proven (yet sometime injury prone) veteran who is having a decent season for himself considering he plays for the White Sox.  He's exactly what the Sox need for a strong playoff run.  He'll also give them the flexibility of moving Brandon Workman to the bullpen to give them that right handed reliever that they needed.

Now you're probably sitting there saying to yourself "Well sure that's all fine and good, but they gave away a young SS for a veteran pitcher for probably only 2 years."  Sure that's a valid argument, but take a look at how strong the farm system is.  Xander Boegarts is gonna be a stud.  He's wanted by nearly every team in the legaue.  He's gonna be the shortstop next season, and might even be called up when rosters expand this season.  His hitting will make us soon forget Iglesias.

But what about 3B?  The Sox can fill the 3B spot with Middlebrooks (who's been playing well in AAA) this season, and convert him to 1B in future season.  They have Gavin Ceccini in the farm playing like a stud right now who projects to be the answer at 3B for years to come.

But most of all, let us not forget that the Sox were able to get Peavy without giving up any of their top prospects in the minors.  They can now groom these prospects to join the team in future seasons, or even use them in potential deals to bring in a franchise player such as Giancarlo Stanton.  And if there's a position the Sox need filled for a year or 2 while the young kids groom, they still have more money than almost any team to fill those needs.

So lets not panic and start saying absurd things like this team is trading away its farm like the 2011 team.  It's simply not true.  Hope everyone's ready for some baseball in October!