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Friday, July 31, 2009

O-Cab to Twins

Posted by Derek Carty at 4:07pm

The trade: A's SS Orlando Cabrera for Twins' SS Tyler Ladendorf.

Cabrera's K% should increase, but so should his BABIP, so his batting average probably won't change too much. The power should also stay the same, so the lineup around him is really the only difference. Cabrera had been batting second for the A's, and the Twins could do the same with him (as they did with 2B Alexi Casilla and Brendan Harris to start the season) and push Joe Mauer to #3 and Justin Morneau to #4. In this case, his run scoring should see a solid increase and he could net a few more RBIs as well.

Cabrera will likely take lots of time away from Nick Punto and Harris unless the team decides it wants to demote Casilla again and let Punto play second.

In Oakland, the big beneficiary is Cliff Pennington. He's a very speed SS prospect who will get a chance to start everyday. He has almost no power, won't post a great batting average, and will likely bat towards the bottom of the order, so he's strictly an AL-only play. If you need speed, though, there may not be a better guy coming. The #2 hole will now be open, but it's not clear who will occupy it yet. Whoever does will get a nice boost in value.

Ladendorf is still far away from the majors.



Derek Carty, 23, has also been published by NBC's Rotoworld, Sports Illustrated, FOX Sports, and USA Today. This season, he'll be contributing to FanDuel and will be linking to all of his work at DerekCarty.com. In his three years competing in expert leagues, he has won 2 titles with 4 top three finishes, including a LABR NL title in 2009, making him the youngest person to ever win a major expert league title. Derek is a proud graduate of the MLB Scouting Bureau's Scout Development Program and is a firm believer in the importance of combining stats and scouting. He welcomes questions via e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter.

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