What do you do with Matt Maloney?
Here's a kid that just doesn't have the youth or upside of the other pitching options the Reds have right now... However, I think on the right club, with the right park, he could prove to be a very valuable 3/4 type of starter...
Here's a list of teams that I think Maloney would make a great fit for:
Minn Twins
OAK A's
NY Mets
Pitt Pirates
Sea Mariners
SF Giants
KC Royals
SD Padres
FL Marlins
Was Nationals
LA Dodgers
These are the teams that from what I can tell (really want to dig into this deeper though) that would fit his game the most due to park factors... Clearly his best fit overall would be to a NL West team, as they have 3 of the most conducive parks to his pitching style...
Maloney's fly-ball tendencies would get lost in most of these parks, at which point he becomes a very solid lefty starting option....
Pretty much, point is... IMO he would have a pretty decent value to the right team.
Re: What do you do with Matt Maloney?
Can't disagree, but most pitchers would be better in bigger parks. I'm not convinced he'd be more desirable to teams in bigger parks than he would anyone else if they had all the arms in baseball to choose from. They know they could get a lot of ham and egger types and make them look good with a big park and some good outfielders. Not sure they would give up any more than any other team would really.
Re: What do you do with Matt Maloney?
if i were Maloney at some point I'd asked to be dealt or released. It doesn't seem like he will ever get a shot here despite an ERA+ of 97 in 52 career IP.
Question: don't players become minor league free agents after so many years? At what point does he get to leave on his own accord & market his services to a west coast team?
Re: What do you do with Matt Maloney?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Will M
if i were Maloney at some point I'd asked to be dealt or released. It doesn't seem like he will ever get a shot here despite an ERA+ of 97 in 52 career IP.
Question: don't players become minor league free agents after so many years? At what point does he get to leave on his own accord & market his services to a west coast team?
A player becomes a minor league ("six year") free agent if the team doesn't put him on the 40 man roster. The Reds have put him on there so he now needs to qualify for major league free agency or run out of options.
Re: What do you do with Matt Maloney?
Trade him if a good offer comes up, otherwise I love having him @ Louisville in case of an injury up the road...your ideal AAA starter.
Re: What do you do with Matt Maloney?
Definitely an ideal AAA starter, but I can't help but wonder just how valuable he'd be to a NL West squad, and especially the Dodgers... He'd get the majority of his starts in LA, SD, and SF... 3 wonderful parks that would nearly erase his one drawback as a pitcher...
If I'm Jocketty, I'm approaching the Dodgers and offering Maloney, Frazier, and any prospect not named Alonso, Mesoraco, or Yorman for Dee Gordon...
Another team/player I would approach and target would be Lonnie Chisenhall of the Indians... Pretty much the same type of offer... Maloney +1, but not including the 3 named above...
Re: What do you do with Matt Maloney?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kaldaniels
Trade him if a good offer comes up, otherwise I love having him @ Louisville in case of an injury up the road...your ideal AAA starter.
Yeah, he has value as a #6-7 guy for this team.
Re: What do you do with Matt Maloney?
It's not fair to him, but I'd keep him stashed in AAA. Just don't think his trade value is that high. With the emergence of Leake and Wood, and the return of Volquez, he doesn't have a role here now or in the future aside from depth starter.
Maloney's opportunity was last season when the competition was weak. I felt like he didn't get as many opportunities as he should have (Kip Wells and Justin Lehr had as many or more starts than Maloney did). And when he got his chances, he was steady but not spectacular. He needed a very strong debut that made it hard for the FO to discount him and that didn't happen.
In a perfect world he'd have gotten 20 starts last year, hopefully kept that ERA near league average, and he'd have some trade value right now (or last winter). It didn't work out that way.
Re: What do you do with Matt Maloney?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kaldaniels
Trade him if a good offer comes up, otherwise I love having him @ Louisville in case of an injury up the road...your ideal AAA starter.
Here is my issue with Maloney. I keep hearing trade him, do something with him, etc. But the way I see it Maloney has more value to the Reds than anything he can bring in a trade. His trade value is pretty low and may bring nothing more than a utility infielder or a 5th OF type. But his value to the Reds as a 6th or 7th starter is much higher. What if Maloney allowed the Reds to not pick up Harang and Arroyo's options. What if the Reds would be comfortable with Maloney as a 5th starter if need be? It allows the team flexibility and with the current options on the books may allow the team financial flexibility.
