The Red Sox designated reliever Robert Coello for assignment last week, and since Coello had an excellent 2010 season, the 26-year-old swingman was certain to be claimed.
Attempting to get something back for Coello, the Red Sox took advantage of the demand for the righty by attempting to work out trades with interested teams. Finally, they reached an agreement with the Cubs to receive minor league second baseman Tony Thomas in exchange for Coello.
The deal exchanges two players with obvious strengths and weaknesses.
Coello got lots of strikeouts in Triple-A (79 in 64 innings). You don’t put up that many strikeouts without doing something right.
However, Coello has a few problems. First of all, he walks too many batters (30 in AAA, and another five in 5 2/3 MLB innings). Sec0nd, he allowed ten homers in Triple-A, and Pawtucket isn’t exactly a hitter’s haven. Third, he relies almost exclusively on his 90-91 mph fastball, which isn’t exactly a recipe for dominance in the major leagues. At age 26, he’s close to maxed out, skill-wise, and while he’s ready to contribute immediately, it’s difficult to see him as anything more than, say, a sixth-inning reliever. Still, he’s ready for that role right now.
Thomas, on the other hand, is a small second baseman. He’s two years younger than Coello, but he’s 24 and has yet to play in Triple-A, so he’s not some sort of top prospect either. Despite his small stature, Thomas has occasionally driven the ball in the minors, slugging .544 in short-season ball in 2007 and .485 in Double-A last year.
An okay defensive second baseman, Thomas does have solid speed (15-for-17 on the bases), but isn’t going to be a game-changer in the speed-and-defense arena. He has some power, but also strikes out far too much for a gap hitter, striking out around 25% of the time. He makes up for that somewhat with decent plate discipline.
It seems like Thomas has every skill you’d want, but never shows them all at the same time. In 2007 he hit for power. In 2008, the power vanished, but he played great defense. In 2009, he drew a good amount of walks. In 2010, he lost the walks, but added a bunch of triples and a higher percentage of successful steals.
Players like this tend to wind up with utility careers, but it’s an open question as to whether Thomas, a second baseman for his whole career, has the arm for the left side of the infield, or if he could take to the outfield. It doesn’t seem likely that he’ll hit enough to be an everyday second baseman (not that Boston needs one), so he’ll need to diversify his defensive portfolio to get to Boston.
So, who wins the deal? I’d say both teams do, here.
The Cubs get the more certain MLB player, and they need relief help, since they posted the second-worst relief ERA in baseball last year (4.72, ahead of only the historically-awful Diamondbacks). Considering Carlos Marmol was in the Cubs’ ‘pen, the rest was an Arizona-level disaster, and Coello should immediately help.
The Red Sox, of course, were going to lose Coello anyway, so getting anything in return is a bonus. Thomas has a broad base of skills, and sometimes players like him are a new coaching staff away from turning into something. He’s certainly got a chance at a career, and isn’t just a complete shot-in-the-dark player; when trading away a player of Coello’s worth with no leverage, that’s a pretty solid return.