After first hearing of the Sosa trade today for Nick Green, my first thought was another bad Lamar trade. I was disappointed in the fact that I envisioned Lamar could get an established player from a team like the Pirates who are desperate for some starting pitching. So, other than Lamar picking the wrong team to trade with, I am beginning to see some upside to the deal he made.
If I think back to last season, I remember the Braves going down with all these injuries and the Braves had all these young players filling in providing some surprising offense. Nick Green was one of those players who basically helped save the Braves season.
I would rather have a guy like this filling the utility role rather than a Rey Sanchez or Roberto Alomar. Basically, he fills the role that Antonio Perez might have filled if it was not for the short sighted move of a year ago.
Based on the Dominican League stats I found at the No Pepper, he performed quite well this winter:
Wilson Betemit -- .209/.329/.358 (14-for-67), 2 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 12 BB, 23 SO
Nick Green -- .253/.340/.446 (21-for-83), 5 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 11 BB, 23 SO, SB
From the MVN Braves site, they had this to say about Nick Green:
So now we have two second baseman who both have potential to carry a big stick. This might be a sleeper deal for the Devil Rays.