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The Chad Tracy Question

Chad Tracy’s return is just around the corner. From The Arizona Republic’s Bob McManaman:

For the first time in his recovery from microfracture knee surgery, infielder Chad Tracy ran the bases in cleats at full speed Saturday and reported no pain or problem afterward.

Melvin said it would be at least a few more days before Tracy begins a minor-league rehab assignment. Once there, he will need about 40 plate appearances before activation.

With Conor Jackson and Mark Reynolds hitting incredibly well, Tracy doesn’t exactly have a position to play. Given his career stats, a case could be made to use Tracy in a platoon. Tracy, a left-handed hitter, has always hit RHPs well (.308/.371/.508) but has never had much success against southpaws (.222/.271/.337).

Neither Jackson nor Reynolds, both right-handed hitters, deserve to be put into a platoon. Reynolds’ only real problem at the plate has been his tendency to swing and miss. His split statistics are enouraging, and he’s actually hit righties better than he has lefties. Jackson has never hit poorly against righties (.271, .352, .431), but his numbers are much, much better against lefties (.309/.397/.498). Co-Jack has taken advantage of being the sole healthy 1B on the team this year, and he currently leads the team with an OPS of 1.144. The bottom line: it’s not fair to either Reynolds or Jackson to put them in a platoon.

Tracy will only see the occasional start at first or third (maybe two or three a week). Once interleague play rolls around, he’s the obvious choice as the team’s extra hitter. And I suppose when Tracy isn’t starting, he’ll be the team’s primary pinch hitter. The team has tried Tracy in the outfield before, but his recent injuries (in addition to stellar hitting from Eric Byrnes, Chris Young, and Justin Upton) make the outfield an unlikely scenario.

The easy solution, then, is that Josh Byrnes will have to trade Chad Tracy. Tracy is guaranteed $3.75 million in 2008 and $4.75 million in 2009, and the D-backs have a club option for $7 million for 2010. If Tracy is healthy and gets to play everyday, the contract is a steal, especially if Tracy approaches his 2005 numbers.

The problem, of course, is that Tracy has not been healthy, and he only has one really solid season under his belt. The D-backs might need to let him play to increase his trade value. What teams could use a corner infielder?

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates have Adam LaRoche at first and Jose Bautista at third. Both are struggling in 2008 (.143/.236/.224 for LaRoche and .177/.224/.290 for Bautista). LaRoche and Tracy have fairly comparable careers, each with one big season surrounded by average years. Bautista has shown occasional power but not much else in the big leagues. The Pirates had expressed interest in acquing Tracy after the 2006 season but went with LaRoche instead. New general management is more likely to move bats like LaRoche and Jason Bay, however, than it is to acquire another veteran hitter who is not really going to put the Pirates in a position to compete.

Los Angeles Dodgers/San Francisco Giants

Josh Byrnes got a lot of flack for sending Scott Hairston to a divisional rival last year, and I can’t imagine him making a similar mistake again, particularly to a team as good as L.A. (the Dodgers have never seemed happy with Andy LaRoche or Nomar Garciaparra at third). The Giants are just depressing, and they could use any help they could get, but aside from their surplus of young pitching, they don’t have much to offer (and though it’s easy to say that you can never have enough pitching, the D-backs are pretty happy with what they have for now).

New York Yankees

Jason Giambi is terrible. The Yankees could use another first baseman. Many nostalgic Yankees fans are hoping the Bombers will reacquire Nick Johnson from Washington sometime this year. The Yankees might also wait for the offseason to sign a free agent like Mark Teixeira or Pat Burrell. A trade for Tracy is unlikely.

Texas Rangers

This is a possible trade that might only exist in the fantasy world of my mind. It also can’t happen during this season. Texas currently has Hank Blalock at third, and Blalock is another guy with similar numbers to Tracy’s. The Rangers have a $6.2 million dollar option on him for 2009, and they are likely to exercise it. Tracy fills a void at first, where Texas is currently starting Ben Broussard. Tracy would be a big improvement at first.

One big need for the D-backs after this season is that they’ll need a replacement for Orlando Hudson, who wants too much money and is leaving his prime. Texas has a rising star at second in Ian Kinsler, who, at 26, is just entering his prime and is already putting up offensive numbers near Hudson’s but with much more potential, particularly to hit for more power. Kinsler is one of those young players with a cheap, long-term contract. He signed a large extension in February through 2012 (at $3M, $4M, $6M, and $7M from 2009-2012) with a $10M club option for 2013.

I have long expressed my dissatisfaction with Emilio Bonifacio as Hudson’s long-term replacement. Kinsler is ideal, but the Rangers are unlikely to part with him. It would probably take more than just Tracy and Bonifacio. Texas would probably want a pitcher (and I’m not about to give up Max Scherzer or Jarrod Parker). Another option would be to keep Tracy and trade Reynolds instead. Reynolds will be cheaper and with more potential than Tracy, and Texas may find him more attractive. If I were Josh Byrnes, I’d strongly consider making that move after this season.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 20th, 2008 at 1:14 pm and is filed under Opinions & Analysis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.