Mayo on the Vazquez trade

by Ricky O'Donnell on December 5 at 2:36AM

MLB.com's Jonathon Mayo likes the trade from the Sox' perspective...

Whaddaya folks think about the Javy Vazquez trade? Gotmilby (that's Lisa) and I were talking about it and both of us first thought the Braves gave up too much. We saw Tyler Flowers hit in the AFL and color us impressed. Even if he can't catch -- and the guess here is that the Braves think he can't -- that's a big bat to give up for a mediocre starting pitcher and Boone Logan, isn't it? Unless they felt he was incapable of handling any position at all, I was a bit surprised to see Flowers in the deal. Now, the AFL is indeed a small sample size, so we shouldn't go too crazy over what he did there.

The other guys aren't bad, either. Granted, Brent Lillibridge seemed to take a step back in 2008, but I think he still could be a utility guy in the future. Jon Gilmore is just getting started and has a ton of power potential as a third baseman. Santos Rodriguez isn't known to most, having only played in the Gulf Coast League in the U.S., but he's the kind of arm that years from now could end up being the key component in the deal. I don't care what the level is, 45 K in 29 IP makes you take notice. So does the .155 batting average against, not to mention the 6-foot-5, 180-pound frame and age (20).

Thus ends the Jake Peavy drama in Atlanta, huh? Truth be told, I'd rather give a rotation spot to Tommy Hanson on Opening Day than have Javy Vazquez, but those decisions aren't up to me.

Also on MLB.com: the top 50 prospect rankings will be complete in the morning. No Sox yet (and I doubt Beckham cracks the top ten), but Fernando Martinez comes in at 32, which is lower than I expected. A lot of the guys on this list were drafted last year though (I only recognize the names because the Sox looked at lots of them before electing to the go with Beckham), so maybe it's a case of having less things to nitpick on with the new players or something.

Bears column tomorrow afternoon, probably. At this point, I don't even feel like watching the game on Sunday (I seriously just found out they were playing Jacksonville) let alone write about them.

Mayo on the Vazquez trade

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