Trade Tree: The 2005 Draft & A Bunch of Shit

FOREWORD: This Trade Tree takes a slightly different approach compared to the past two. Instead of an examination of players in an original trade and seeing what has developed since, I am going to discuss someone in the Ners organization and re-work how they got there…and through doing so, show you who they once were – and who they once could have been. So:

Do you know who Luis Caballero could have been?

Do you know who Luis Caballero is?

In a minor league affiliate far, far away, there stands a young man named Luis Caballero. He works as an infield coach for the recently-created Mariners Dominican Republic Academy, buried deep in the Seattle system. Caballero never really had much of a shot in the pros: his four years in the Ners organization saw him bounce between the Clinton LumberKings, High Desert Mavericks, Everett Aquasox, Jackson Generals, and then various other minor league squads such as the (incredibly named) Bakersfield Blaze. In 2015, Caballero retired from baseball. On March 29, 2016, he was named to the staff of the Clinton LumberKings…and then eventually drifted off to the DR. But let’s re-trace Luis’ track.

The Ners acquired Mr. Caballero as the ever-promising “player to be named later” part of a trade in which they sent infielder Jack Wilson to the Braves on August 31, 2011 – a transaction that Lookout Landing described as a “gift” to Atlanta, since the M’s received a “tiny bit of salary relief” and a player who would “surely be of little consequence.” (They were spot on).

Jack Wilson, meanwhile, arrived in Seattle in 2009 as one of two “prized” pieces of a mid-season trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates – with the other piece being dear Ian Snell. Snell went 0-5 in his first few months with Seattle and was quickly ushered to the bullpen, where his baseball career then perished. (It’s all pretty much summed up in this SB Nation article). Wilson, meanwhile, went on to win the 2009 Fielding Bible Award (the poor man’s Gold Glove), and then do pretty much nothing but turn a couple of nifty double-plays with the one and only Chone Figgins. But the biggest piece of interest in this Trade Tree is the guy that the Ners had traded to Pittsburgh for Snell and Wilson.

Meet Jeff Clement. (Or perhaps I should say, retrieve Jeff Clement from that over-stuffed chest under your bed labeled “Mariners We Don’t Talk About Anymore”). In his 2 years with the Ners, Jeff played in 75 baseball games, hit .237, and posted a WAR of -1.2. Despite the poor numbers, Jeff was was once the Mariners prospect, having been drafted…wait for it…3RD OVERALL in 2005, behind Justin Upton (#1 to Arizona) and Alex Gordon (#2 to KC).

Clement being drafted third overall is simply amazing, because 2005 was chalk-full of supreme baseball talent. Would you like me to walk you through a couple of other players that were drafted below Clement, AKA people the Ners could have drafted INSTEAD of him? No? I’m going to anyway.

With the 4th pick in the 2005 MLB Draft, the Washington Nationals selected Ryan Zimmerman. Entering 2017, Zimmerman had already shown that he was great: a career .278 hitter with 36.2 WAR, he has won two Silver Slugger awards at third base. But 2017 has been another level for Zimmerman: he currently leads all baseball in RBI (34), HR (13), and Batting Average (an astounding .435). Could’a been Clement.

With the 5th pick in the 2005 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers selected Ryan Braun. Yea, there’s that weird 2013 steroid thing, but nothing can take away from the fact that Braun has been the face of baseball in Milwaukee for essentially the past decade. A 6-time All-Star, he also won the NL MVP in 2011 and has posted a 44.6 career WAR. Could’a been Clement.

There are a couple of other notables lingering in the selections following, including Troy Tulowitski (44.1 WAR) and Cameron Maybin (11.4 WAR)…but the guy who was selected 11th overall is what makes me angry.

With the 11th pick in the 2005 MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Andrew McCutchen. Andrew McCutchen is good. Real good. He was the 2015 NL MVP, is a 5-time All-Star, a 4-time Silver Slugger, and hits a career .292 with a 37.4 WAR. How did Andrew McCutchen fall to 11th in this draft? How did the Mariners think Jeff Clement was the answer to everything…and passed up on McCutchen, Braun, and Zimmerman?

Le sigh. Obviously, it is impossible to know exactly how draft picks will turn out (shoutout to Dustin Ackley), but damn…this one really hurts. In a minor league affiliate far, far away, there stands a young man named Luis Caballero. Caballero was once Jack Wilson, who was once Jeff Clement, who all along could have been a +35 WAR player.

Aaaaaaaa damnit.

#Hitting #TradeTree