We’ve had some strange trades recently–rather than the typical veteran-for-prospects deals we often see, this week has seen two deals (both involving Mike Napoli) that involved only established MLB players. Now, we’ve got an exchange of minor league pitchers, as the Oakland A’s sent Triple-A righthander Clayton Mortensen to Colorado for Double-A righthander Ethan Hollingsworth.
Is it consequential? Not really. But I’ve got a few things to say here.
Let’s start by asking why anyone would jump to trade for Clayton Mortensen. He’s nearly 26 years old, lacks plus stuff, has been consistently bombed in the majors, and has yet to show himself to be more than an innings-eater at the Triple-A level.
This link says Mortensen will “make up for the loss of Chaz Roe.” He will, but since when did Chaz Roe (5.98 Triple-A ERA last year) really need replacing? What organizational GM goes “Yeah, it’s a big priority to get the back of the Triple-A rotation squared away.”
Mortensen himself can’t be thrilled about moving from Sacramento to Colorado Springs, as that’s the PCL equivalent of going from Petco Park to Coors Field. He’s got a reputation of a sinkerballer, but allowed twenty homers last year anyway–half of them came on the road even though he pitched 25 fewer innings away from home than at Raley Field.
Ethan Hollingsworth is nearly 24, but he just survived the Cal League, so he’s got that going for him. He’s considered a fringy C/C+ grade prospect and lacks plus velocity, but he throws strikes and got nearly a strikeout per inning last year (162/38 K/BB in just over 170 innings).
That’s more interesting statistically than anything Mortensen ever did–Hollingsworth is basically a higher-risk version of Mortensen. We pretty much know what Mortensen is–he’s an emergency-level arm in the majors who can be a third starter in Triple-A. Hollingsworth may never get to that level–perhaps his lack of plus stuff will catch up to him in Double-A, and he’s not young for his levels–but his numbers and command promise the possibility of a brighter future than Mortensen’s.
Mortensen’s chances of being an important contributor to a team are close to zero at this point–if he’s throwing 100 innings for you, you’re probably not in contention. Since he carries so little upside with him, I have to point to the less-known quantity of Hollingsworth as the more valuable commodity in this exchange. So, the A’s win, not that it matters that much.