Red Sox/Rangers Trade: Saltalamacchia for Mendez, McGuiness, and More…

The final trade that involved players immediately changing hands on both sides was a deal that sent catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the Texas Rangers to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for righthanded pitcher Roman Mendez, first baseman Chris McGuiness, a player to be named later, and cash.

Quite a lot to give up for a catcher in Triple-A, huh? Find out if the price is worth it after the jump.

The Obvious

Still just 25 years old, Saltalamacchia has 240 career major league games under his belt, in which he’s hit .251/.313/.388. His stats have gotten worse every year, he isn’t a plus defender, and thus, he’s only been worth 0.7 WAR in his career.

Complicating the picture further are his issues with throwing the ball back to the pitcher, a new problem that’s kept him in the minors for most of 2010. He’s hit just .244/.326/.445 in Triple-A, so he isn’t forcing his way back into the picture. Saltalamacchia doesn’t have the hitting ability to play first base or DH, so that’s not really an option–he’ll have to iron out his problems behind the plate if he’s going to have much more of a career.

Saltalamacchia gets lots of hype for being a young, talented hitter, but that’s largely based on a big 2005 in High-A and 22 Double-A games in 2007. He hasn’t hit particularly well in the bigs or in Triple-A, and he had to repeat Double-A after hitting .230 there the first time around. 2005 is getting further and further in the rearview mirror, and the likelihood that he’ll become a premier offensive player–even for a catcher–has dwindled.

That said, there’s no reason Saltalamacchia can’t be an effective switch-hitting backup if he can throw the ball back to the pitcher. An Adam Melhuse role may not be what everyone thought he’d become, but it’s valuable nonetheless.

The Not-So-Obvious

We’ll start with the prospects.

Roman Mendez recently turned 20 years old. The Dominican righty flunked the Sally League this year largely due to a homer problem and poor defense, but has turned it around in short-season ball, whiffing 35 batters in 33 innings.

Like a lot of young Dominicans, Mendez doesn’t always know where the ball is going, and he has yet to learn that he can’t just blow letter-high fastballs by professional hitters. That leads to lots of walks (19 in those 33 short-season innings) and homers (10 in 48 combined innings this year).

Still, he does have an electric arm, as he can crank his fastball into the 96-97 range. Mendez also throws a slider that’s okay and a changeup that needs work.

He strikes me as a guy who will eventually be moved to relief, but could be a real diamond in the rough there. Arms that touch 98 don’t grow on trees, and Mendez’s walk problems aren’t at the Shooter Hunt/Brett Hunter level, so he’s got time to work on that.

McGuiness is the sort of player I really like–he’s got the old walks and power skillset. He led the NCAA in walks in his final year at The Citadel, and has a ridiculous .298/.416/.504 line in Low-A. He is 22, so he’s a bit old for the level, but he certainly produces.

One thing that jumps out that separates McGuiness from the usual walks-and-power, Jack Cust types is that he doesn’t strike out much–he’s whiffed just 59 times in 78 games to go with his 53 walks.

McGuiness is the sort of player that can’t afford a misstep in his career, lest he be saddled with the Quad-A label, but he’s certainly produced well.

So, the Rangers get one player who’s all projection (Mendez) and another who’s all prodution (McGuiness). That’s more than a reasonable haul for a defensively-challenged catcher who has just an average bat for the position. Somehow, though, they also got a player to be named later and cash in the deal, which makes it a real coup for them.

That’s particularly important because Texas gutted its minor league system with other trades this July, sending out half of its Double-A pitching staff and making some other moves, so restocking for a future where the Angels have money (and Mike Trout) and the A’s and Mariners have a good amount of young talent will be key to making 2010 more than just a blip on the radar, but the start of a strong point for the long-struggling franchise.

Why does Boston need Saltalamacchia this badly? They have a ton of catching depth already, with Victor Martinez backed up by minor leaguers Dusty Brown, Mark Wagner, Luis Exposito, Ryan Lavarnway, Daniel Butler, and Tim Federowicz.

It’s not like the guy’s going to catch Tim Wakefield‘s knuckler, so what’s the deal here? To add to the stable of catchers with long names?

I mean, it’s one thing to like a player, and the Red Sox reportedly like Saltalamacchia. It’s fine to go get guys you like if the price is right. But a guy who throws 98, a very good hitter, a player to be named later, and cash, all for a guy who’s never distinguished himself defensively, and whose entire offensive domination above High-A consists of 37 minor league games in 2007-08?

Conclusions

I’ve criticized the Rangers on a lot of the moves they made this July, but I like this one, as they repair some of the damage to the farm system in exchange for a player they didn’t really need.

I simply don’t understand what the Red Sox are thinking here, though. Saltalamacchia doesn’t fill a tremendous need for the team now or in the future. They may like him, but with no real reason to acquire him, paying this sort of steep price for him makes little sense.