Kenny Lofton has been traded to the Phillies for pitcher Felix Rodriguez.


Ed: added link to Rodriguez's stats

What a ridiculously crooked trade. Felix is a very good reliever, and Lofton is, well, Lofton.

Looks like the Yanks may re-acquire Stanton as well for Felix Horridia.... What the hell are the mets thinking ?

Yeah, but Philly is desperate for a centerfielder after Marlon Byrd went downhill faster than Pekabo Street.



Mets are probably thinking that Stanton is done, which he totally is, and Felix needs a change of scenery. Heredia's still got the tools, but crumbled in the NY spotlight and couldn't throw strikes in big situations. Stanton, on the other hand, is a Torre guy, and there's a level of confidence Torre will have for Stanton that was totally shot for Heredia. And, they are DESPERATE for lefty pitching, because I think they realize that was one of their glaring weaknesses this year, especially against Boston's lineup.

MALC- I was initially surprised the Mets traded Stanton for Heredia - It seemed like he was relatively stable in the Mets Bullpen last year. Objectively speaking, Lefties hit .216 off of Horridia while they hit .269 off of Stanton. 83 games may have a Quantrill-like effect on Stanton as well - so you're right Stanton may be done....

I don't think Stanton will be their LOOGY, but rather a guy who comes in to pitch an inning or two in the 5th or 6th inning to bridge to Quantril/Gordon.

I hate Felix Rodriguez.

Is this possibly more room cleared to bring in Beltran or just giving Bernie the job for one more year?

Nah. I think they just couldn't stand Lofton, didn't like his defense, and weren't that high on his offense either. Although if they get Beltran, it works out nice too.

Lofton is a highly underrated player. He's gone to the playoffs the last 4 years with 4 different teams, and the only team that would have made it without him is the Yanks.

That's highly coincidental. He's a good spare part for a good team, but to be asked to play full-time, he'd be crappy. Plus he'd get mad at something and mentally check out for a month.

I hope you guys know that this is FELIX RODRIGUEZ you're talking about and not FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ.

From what I witnessed from a few Giants buddies of mine and watching a game or two from them, Felix Rodriguez sucked. And he sucked badly. IIRC, I think he gave up back-to-back jacks to Trot and Belli when the Giants faced the Red Sox this season. It's not like Lofton is any better than Felix Rodriguez, though.

This trade also eliminates the A-Rod nickname of "F-Rod"

F-Rod has some heat, but little control. Additionally, he was reluctant to throw any pitch other than his fastball(s).

I can easily see the Sox carving him up easily with patient at-bats. Take, take, wait for the cheese...WAY BACK!

Felix SUCKS. I hated him in SF

Felix R. isn't the setup guy he was a few years ago in SF.
If he was, the Phillies wouldn't have traded him--for anybody.

Neither is Stanton, for that matter.
Which is why the Yankees let him go.

I don't know what the Yankees are doing.
I guess they expect Beltran will come knocking at their door
when they offer him $20 mil for 10 years.

George has spent himself into a corner--and spending more
may not get him out of it.
He has made the Yankees baseball's biggest salary dump.

It is very simple, all the moves made today by the Yanks are meaningless. They traded two useless players (Lofton & Heredia) for two more useless players (Stanton & Rodriguez) . The Yanks bullpen is STILL a mess.

Mike Stanton & Felix Rodriguez have both sucked the last couple of years in the National League so there is no way they will have success in the American League. However, the departure of both Kenny Lofton and Felix Heredia may actually be a classic case of addition by subtraction. Lofton is an ass and Heredia couldn't find the strike zone; so I guess this trade can be called a good one.

Wasn't Stanton on the 1995 East Champs?

Yes he was on that team.

Here is a good website that tracks transactions and frequently updated:
http://www.all-baseball.com/transactionguy/

I'm actually real happy with both deals. Lofton was useless this year for us.. plus he's a 'clubhouse cancer' if you will (whiney complainer)... and let's face it Heredia is just plain terrible... your average major leaguer could hit an RF gray dot softball 400 feet off him.

Stanton will fit right in the clubhouse and adds a lefty specialist who has proven himself in big situations in NY before. Rodriguez (yes I know it's not K-Rod!) is infinately better than Heredia.

See ya Kenny and Felix.... don't let the clubhouse door hit you on the way out!