Fun with Trade Strings

This has been a busy off-season so far, with some big trades being completed, and I can't resist taking a look at some of the trade strings those trades created.  Obviously, the biggest trade thus far has been the Halladay-Lee swap, so let's start there.  The trade, although I initially thought of as a three-way-trade, was actually more like two separate trades that just happened to be completed on the same day.  The Phillies traded Lee to the Mariners for prospects, and they traded different prospect to the Blue Jays for Roy Halladay.  Here's how it looks visually:

I have to agree with Dave Cameron - I don't have any idea why the Phillies gave up Lee for so little.  Those three prospects aren't near the quality of the prospects that they initially gave up to acquire Lee, and anyway, why not keep Lee?  He's only making around $9M this upcoming season, which is an incredible bargain for his talent, and a rotation that featured Halladay, Lee, and Hamels would be quite formidable.  If they kept Lee for a full season and then let him go as a Type-A free agent, they'd get two picks for him in the upcoming draft, which possibly wouldn't be that far of a downgrade from the talent they received by trading him.

While looking at Cliff Lee's history, I couldn't help but notice what an incredible deal the Indians initially got when they acquired him.  Bartolo Colon for Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore?  Yes, please. 

Despite seeming to make a bad decision trading Brandon Phillips for Jeff Stevens, the Indians even managed to make that work out, eventually turning Stevens into Chris Perez.  That Colon trade just keeps on giving, especially when you consider that Bartolo Colon had only about three and a half more good seasons left in him when they moved him in 2002.

Last, I want to take visually look at the other big trade this off-season: the Curtis Granderson trade.  The Tigers gave up a lot in Jackson and Granderson, but they received Max Scherzer, a solid middle-reliever, and two top prospects.  And remember, the Tigers wouldn't have had Jackson without first trading Matt Joyce.

I'd love to say that the Rays p'owned the Tigers and stole Matt Joyce from them, but Jackson pitched quite well for them this year.  The processes may not have been the best, but the Tigers got lucky and made the most of it.  Yes, Jackson's FIP still wasn't great, but now that he's been traded, the Tigers don't need to worry about him regressing in the future.  Results-wise, he was a great addition this past year and they managed to flip him while his value was high, getting back an incredible young arm in Max Scherzer.  Compare:

Mark this down as a classic example of why ERA stinks as a talent evaluation tool.  Jackson had a significantly better ERA than Scherzer in 2009, but Scherzer was by far the better pitcher.  And then the Tigers also got a strong outfielder prospect in Austin Jackson, a decent reliever in Phil Coke, and a first-round relief prospect in Schlereth.  The comparison between Joyce and Austin Jackson is interesting; Joyce has more power and is more patient, but Jackson plays centerfield and has more speed.  Jackson's about three years younger, though, so he has more time for development.

Anyway, these are just my random thoughts.  Let's see how the off-season continues developing; maybe we'll have more trades showing up.