In his weekly notes column in the Sunday Boston Globe, Nick Carfardo opined about the possibility that Red Sox reserve outfielder, Mike Cameron, could be traded.
“He remains the best fit for the Phillies, who are watching top prospect Domonic Brown struggle in spring training. The only problem with a Cameron-Phillies hookup is that he may be a very valuable member of the Red Sox now that he’s completely recovered from abdominal surgery. “I’m feeling healthy and I want to go out there and show I can do some things,’’ Cameron said. “I want to help this team any way I can.’’ Cameron will likely see a lot of action against lefthanded pitching. That may be too valuable for the Sox to give up.”
Typically when a team has surplus in a particular area, it’s usually in the team’s best interest to trade away that surplus in order to address deficiencies in another area. With Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, and J.D. Drew soaking up the majority of outfield playing time, Mike Cameron can be classified as surplus. While we can debate the wisdom behind making such a move, it’s an option the Red Sox front office would be wise to explore. In most trade scenarios, the Red Sox would be trading from a position of strength, which means they could potentially come away with a valuable piece or two to augment current and future playoff runs.
So who might be interested in Cameron? Ultimately, any interested parties will likely be either a projected or fringe contender that has a need for a right-handed hitting outfielder that can fill multiple roles. Let’s take a look at a few of the teams that could be most interested in Cameron.
Phillies – As Carfardo mentioned, the Phillies are an obvious candidate to be in the running for Cameron’s services. At the onset of Spring Training, the Phillies had outfield super-prospect Domonic Brown penciled into right field slot in the lineup, replacing recently departed All-Star Jayson Werth. After struggling to the tune of 2 for 29 in the Dominican Winter League, and then following it up with an unfortunate 0 for 15 start in Spring Training, there’s been much speculation about the Phillies desire to look elsewhere to fill their right field needs. In the wake of Brown’s recent hand injury, which will cause him to miss 3-6 weeks and could require surgery, those rumors have intensified.
Like the Red Sox, the Phillies have a lefty-heavy line-up with Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, and Dominic Brown batting as true lefties, and Shane Victorino and Jimmie Rollins batting switch. By adding Cameron, the Phillies would accomplish three objectives: (1) they’d balance out their lineup by adding a right-handed power bat that works counts and draws walks; (2) they’d shore up their outfield defense in right field; and (3) they’d be afforded the opportunity to give Domonic Brown additional development time in AAA. Cameron’s relatively cheap ($7.5M) short-term contract makes him an ideal option for the Phillies as he gives them an opportunity to win now without sacrificing the future.
Dodgers – After an offseason in which the Dodgers spent $85M on the likes of Juan Uribe, Matt Guerrier, Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda, Jon Garland, and Vincente Padilla, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti somehow forgot to sign someone to replace the recently departed Manny Ramirez in left field. How does one do that? I don’t have the slightest clue, but that appears to be a talent with which few GMs are equipped. As a result of Colletti’s perplexing oversight, the Dodgers are now faced with the idea of watching the nauseating carousel of Marcus Thames, Jay Gibbons, and Tony Gwynn, Jr. troll the Dodger Stadium left field. Clearly, they’re in desperate need of outfield help.
Adding Cameron would not only fill the Dodger’s obvious need, but also allow the team to realign their regrettably misaligned outfield defense. Over the last few seasons, it’s become abundantly clear to anyone with eyes and access to Fangraphs that neither Matt Kemp nor Andre Ethier is equipped to play the positions they currently encumber. By trading for Cameron, the Dodgers would both shore up their outfield defense (Cameron in CF, with Kemp moving from CF to RF, and Ethier from RF to LF), and add a little punch to an otherwise weak lineup. For a team under self-imposed payroll restrictions, the one year at $7.5M remaining on Cameron’s contract seems like an investment the Dodgers could be willing to make.
Braves – Depending on how the next few months play out for incumbent CF Nate McLouth, the Braves could be in the market for an outfielder like Cameron. In 2010, McLouth struggled through a most forgettable season producing a .283 wOBA, -14.3 UZR, and -1.3 fWAR in 88 games respectively. While there’s reason to believe his offensive numbers may have been an aberration, it’s not a foregone conclusion that he’ll return to form in 2011. Of further concern to the Braves is that Jordan Schafer, the Braves potential internal candidate to replace McLouth, has also struggled mightily since hitting two home runs in his major league debut on Opening Day in 2009. Understandably, the Braves have legitimate concerns about the center field position, and will likely monitor the Cameron situation very closely as it continues to develop.
Given McLouth’s $6.5M salary, the Braves will likely give him every chance to prove he can hold down the everyday job in center field. After a couple of months, if it appears that he’s reprising his deplorable 2010 performance, the Braves will likely start looking for short-term solutions to fill the void. If the Braves were to make a deal for Cameron, he’d likely be a sizable upgrade both offensively and defensively over McLouth and/or Schafer. With the Braves projected to be a serious contender for a playoff spot, having a productive CF could be the difference between making and missing the playoffs.
Brewers – When the Brewers pulled the trigger on the deal to bring Zach Greinke to Milwaukee, one of the players they sent to Kansas City was young center fielder Lorenzo Cain. With Cain, 25, out of the picture, the Brewers face the reality of starting either Carlos Gomez or Chris Dickerson at the cornerstone outfield spot. (*cringe*) While there’s no doubt that both players are capable of holding down the position defensively, it’s pretty clear that neither is up to the task of producing offensively–at least not everyday. If one or both players falter (entirely possible), we could see the Brewers wander back into the trade market in search of outfield help. Cameron would be an ideal fit for the Brewers in that he’s a short-term acquisition; makes a reasonable salary; and has an attractive skill set (power, patience, base running, and defense). Furthermore, Cameron played for the Brewers in 2008 and 2009, so the two parties are pretty familiar with one another. With an incredibly shallow farm system, it’s unclear what the Brewers would give up in return. Still, Brewers GM Doug Melvin is pretty creative, so I’m sure (if came down to it) that he could come up with a creative solution.
As I mentioned above, we could easily debate the wisdom behind moving Cameron in a trade. Personally, I’m not a fan of the idea for a few reasons: (1) he provides tremendous depth and versatility in the outfield; (2) he serves as a productive right-handed bat amidst a lefty-dominated outfield; and (3) he gives Francona an opportunity to rest some of his veteran players (Drew, Youkilis, Ortiz) by maneuvering them in and out of the DH role. Still, it’s in the Red Sox best interest to explore every avenue. In this case, that means examining the possibility of trading Cameron. You never know. Occasionally a team will get so desperate, they’ll overpay for a particular player. If you ask me, Ruben Amaro and Ned Colletti seem like just the kind of guys to do it.