Reaction to the Mike Jacobs Trade

In my October 27 post I wrote my views about the rumored trade that would bring 1B Mike Jacobs to the Kansas City Royals. Later in the week it was announced that Kansas City had traded relief pitcher Leo Nunez to the Marlins for Mike Jacobs. Since I have already expressed my opinion of this trade I thought I would use this entry to post what others are saying about the move.

Respected Baseball Prospectus writer Rany Jazayerli wrote the following on his blog before the trade was announced:

"But let me be clear about this: trading for Mike Jacobs is a terrible idea."

"Jacobs wasn’t even all that good in 2008. He certainly had his uses; he hit 32 homers in just 141 games, and slugged .514 for the Marlins. But he drew just 36 walks, and his OBP was .299. Two-ninety-nine."

"The mere fact that Moore is talking to the Marlins about Jacobs tells me he still doesn’t get it. He doesn’t get that what really ails his offense isn’t the lack of power, it’s the lack of walks."

"There were 29 players this season who batted at least 300 times and played at least half their games at first base. Only two of them had a lower OBP than Ross Gload’s .317. One was John Bowker, rookie first baseman for the Giants, who had a .300 OBP. The other – with the lowest OBP of any first baseman in the game – was Jacobs. That’s right: Moore has managed to find a first baseman that actually reached base less often than Ross Gload. And he’s willing to give up talent to get him."

The Miami Herald Newspaper was not complimentary in describing Jacobs.

"...the former catcher [Jacobs] was a defensive liability and had a low on-base percentage."

The Kansas City Star's Upon Further Review blog was not overly critical of the trade, but the writers did point out interesting facts relating to the trade:

"Jacobs and Jose Guillen posted two of the 10-lowest on-base percentages among all qualifying hitters in big-league baseball during the 2008 season. Now they are likely to be paired back-to-back in the Royals' batting order."

"...as I've written many times, the most typical age for a hitter to have his career season is 27. Prior to last season, Jacobs hit 20 and 17 homers for the Marlins in a similar number of plate appearances. So there is a good chance that Mike Jacobs is never going to threaten the 30 home-run mark again."

Ted Carlson, who writes a very good blog for Rototimes.com didn't see Dayton Moore's rational for making the trade:

"But I fail to see this as a necessary upgrade for the Royals. It seems to create more headaches than anything else, and I'm already shuddering at the thought of the club trying to slot Jacobs into the fourth spot. You just know they're going to try it. And Jacobs is going to stink as a No. 4 hitter in the AL, just as he stunk when he tried to be the No. 4 hitter for the Marlins this past year."

The final word on the Royals' ridiculous move comes from fantasy baseball website Rotoworld.com:

"The Royals' finished with a .320 team OBP that ranked 27th in the majors last season, and Dayton Moore's answer to that problem is to pick up a first baseman who finished at .299. Jacobs did hit 32 homers, but he's a 28-year-old with a career .262/.318/.498 line and he's a below average defender at first base."

There is not much to like about this trade and Royals fans can only hope that Dayton Moore does not make anymore senseless moves this off season.