Tyler Skaggs Completes Dan Haren Trade

As widely reported and all but formally acknowledged, Tyler Skaggs is now officially the final piece in the Dan Haren trade.

Here's the team release:

(PHOENIX) - The Arizona Diamondbacks announced today that they have acquired left-handed pitcher Tyler Skaggs from the Los Angeles Angels to complete the July 25 trade for Dan Haren, according to D-backs' interim General Manager Jerry Dipoto.

Skaggs, 19, was named the Angels eighth-best prospect by Baseball America prior to the 2010 season. He went 8-4 with a 3.61 ERA (33 ER in 82.1 IP) and .252 opponents average (78-for-309) with 21 walks and 82 strikeouts in 19 games (14 starts) with Single-A Cedar Rapids this season, garnering Midwest League All-Star honors.

He limited right-handed hitters to a .229 average (48-for-210) with 60 strikeouts, while holding the opposition to 2 runs or less in 11 of his 14 starts. In 24 games (15 starts) over two seasons in the Angels organization, he went 8-4 with a 3.41 ERA (35 ER in 92.1 IP) and .249 opponents average (87-for-349) with 23 walks and 95 strikeouts.

Skaggs was selected by the Angels in the supplemental round (40th overall) of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft.

Skaggs will report to Single-A South Bend.

Audio: Joe Saunders Sad To Leave Cali

Dan Haren was both relieved to be off the trading block but also thrilled to be returning to his hometown Angels where he has the opportunity to play for something meaningful. Wins.

Joe Saunders, however, literally was crying when interviewed about coming Phoenix where he happens to have a home as well. Of course, his house is in Chandler which might explain a lot. Or maybe it's the prospect of playing in front of Chad Qualls.

While Joe's tears were more about leaving the Angel's organization and his buddies on the team, he can't be pleased to be going from a pennant race to the cellar.

Here's the audio via Angel's Insider.

Audio of Saunders tearful comments

I guess no one told Joe, there's no crying in baseball and besides, people love the deal.

Dan Haren Happy To Be Moving On, Diamondbacks' Future In Holding Pattern

Dan Haren was pretty darn happy about being moved to the 52-48 L.A. Angels of Anaheim. Or, the Anaheim Angels. Or, the California Angels. Or, really, who cares what they are called these days? I doubt Haren does as long as they are winning and competing for something and are well-supported by their fans.

"Oh yeah. Just going there and playing in these games that are going to be real meaningful. I know we've got the Red Sox and then the Texas series this weekend that I'm sure I'll be throwing in ... The crowd there is always good," Haren said with a smile. "It's been tough going for starting pitchers; just getting wins here has been tough. When you're not winning, it's not fun."

With this deal, Haren is taking his talents to California where the weather is nice, the crowd is pumped and his wife will be happier.

Now the fun can return to Haren's professional life and his personal one.

"I couldn't wait to call my wife," he said. "She's the most excited of anybody, to be honest with you. She gets to go live right next to her family - her sister, her mom and her brother. So, she's pretty pumped."

And fellas, really... what else can you ask for?

Party line

The Diamondbacks, on the other hand, are doing a good job sounding pumped, as well. And who knows... maybe it will all work out.

Looking at early reaction from around Twitter and whatnot, it's pretty clear that a lot of fans see this as a salary dump and don't feel like their team got fair value.

Needless to say, interim general manager Jerry Dipoto has another point of view.

It should be noted that Jerry has a real future as a GM as long as winning the press conference is considered an important part of the job. That guy is slick as they come in front of the cameras.

"We got to what we wanted to get to," Dipoto said. "We were able to add to our club now, we were able to provide for our club's future and at the same time we were able to create a better balance and flexibility in the way our dollars have been allocated on our major league payroll, in order to better tend to the different holes that exist on the club as it stands today."

So if you follow the party line, here's how this helps the Diamondbacks.

Immediate rotation pitcher

In Joe Saunders, they get a guy who they consider a durable, quality starter with a proven record of winning and experience in the postseason. He's having a down year, but, then again, so is Haren.

Saunders will spend Monday in Anaheim packing his shoes and then join the club in Philly on Tuesday and pitch on Thursday. Welcome, Joe.

Immediate bullpen depth

With Rafael Rodriguez, the D-backs get bullpen depth from a guy who's had a couple of looks at the major league level. He's 25 years old with a power right arm and can step in right away with the big club. Rodriguez will move from Triple-A Salt Lake to Triple-A Reno for the time being.

Left-handed pitching prospects

Partick Corbin is a 21-year-old lefty who's tearing it up in his first year as a pro. He's 13-3 so far and "shows good promise." Corbin will likely finish out the season in the Diamondbacks farm system, pitching for the Visalia Rawhide in California. He was a second round pick by the Angels last year.

"He's got a fastball that will touch, plus he's got a change-up and breaking ball, both of which are advanced for his point in development. We don't want to pin a date on when he'll join the major league club; he's a development prospect right now and we feel excited about his upside," Dipoto said.

The final player to be named later is rumored to be Tyler Skaggs, whom the Diamondbacks liked in last year's draft. Officially, Dipoto has given the Angels a couple of names for that slot and, "We're excited about those names, as well."

Skaggs is another young lefty. Here's the scouting report on him.

Cash money, yo

This deal will save the Diamondbacks a lot of money.

Like maybe $20 million.

"There's no getting around the fact that Dan Haren made more money than Joe Saunders this year," Dipoto said. "But the fact is that Joe Saunders comes in as a very well paid, very accomplished major league pitcher and we feel like he joins our rotation and now affords us some flexibility to be creative in other areas as well."

Patience is called for

We will just have to wait and see if that flexibility turns into paying cheap young talent next year to have another bad season or if this money is used to make the team better. We won't know that answer for some time to come, so it's not fair to call this a straight salary dump.

It is fair to be skeptical and keep a watchful eye on what happens next.

The Padres and Blue Jays made similar deals that traded their ace pitcher away for the kind of package we see here and it worked out well for both clubs and didn't take years to pay dividends, either. That could happen. Or the Diamondbacks could go nowhere.

One thing is clear: in Phoenix, there is not nearly the history and tradition to support a losing team. If they want butts in the seats, they will have to put a quality team on the field. That holds true for every pro team in town, but even moreso for this one.

Press conference audio:

Dipoto press conf. 072510

Haren exit interview 072510

Joe Saunders: Player Profile

Joe Saunders has been pitching consistently in the majors since the 2006 season, and brings a solid lefty pitcher to a Diamondbacks team that needs one desperately.

Lets take a look at Joe Saunders’ scouting report, served up from his player profile on SB Nation.

Assets: Is a battler. Uses a solid fastball and change-up to keep hitters off balance, as well as to challenge them when the need arises. Knows how to pitch to contact.

Flaws: Can be prone to serving up too many long balls, especially when he becomes a little too predictable with his pitches. Doesn’t strike a lot of batters out.

Career Potential: Solid mid-rotation starter.

The switch from the AL West to the NL West might improve Saunders’ numbers, but he needs to keep runners off the basepaths first. His WHIP is 1.48, which is one of the main reasons for his regression to a mid-4 ERA over the past two seasons.

Rafael Rodriguez: Prospect Profile

Rafael Rodriguez is a 25-year old relief pitcher who has spent most of the 2010 season pitching for Triple-A Salt Lake City.

He has served as their closer, posting fairly impressive numbers. He has a 5-3 record with 10 saves and a 3.04 ERA.

Despite pitching 50.1 innings, Rodriguez has only struck out 30 batters, which indicates to me that he is a pitcher that plays to contact.

There is not too much information out there regarding his skill set, but he pitched in Anaheim for 30 innings in the 2009 season (unfortunately, his ERA was 5.58 during that time).

I fully expect to see Rodriguez added to the 25-man roster along with Saunders. A move of this nature has already occurred this season (see: Sam Demel) and fortifying the pen was the main reason for this pickup.

Pat Corbin: Prospect Profile

Before the season began, our friends at Halos Heaven did a prospect analysis of their young guns. Pat Corbin was considered to be the 22nd best prospect in the system according to our SBN blog.

Baseball America thinks a little bit differently, placing him as the fifth best prospect in the Pioneer League going into the 2010 season.

Check out their profile here, but have a quick sample first:

Track Record: As stated above, underwhelming. On the other hand, he did fan a batter an inning with the Owlz, kept the walks to a minimum, and showed some groundball tendencies, all good things that did not show up in the results. We won’t really see what he’s got from a stat standpoint until after a 100 innings in the Midwest League.

Haren Traded To Angels For Saunders, Rodriguez, And Two Prospects

Breaking news: Dan Haren is on the move to Anaheim.

The Diamondbacks will receive four players in return, the top name being Joe Saunders, who has a 6-10 record and a 4.62 ERA this season for the Angels. He is prone to giving up walks, and only has 64 strikeouts in comparison to 45 walks.

Saunders' best season came in 2008, when he went 17-7 with a 3.41 ERA.

Other players include relief pitcher Rafael Rodriguez, who has spent the majority of this season at Anaheim's Triple-A affiliate.

The true value of this trade won't be realized until the PTBNL is named. According to a tweet by Nick Piecoro, "the player to be named in the deal is a top prospect."

Only after that information is released can we truly measure this trade, but my first impression is that I am not blown away by the return.

We'll break down the trade over the course of the next hour, so stay tuned.

For fan reaction, visit AZ Snakepit.com where the general reaction so far is:

I’ll “Wait n’ see” with the trade.

And it’s funny how he went to a team none of them “Insider” people were reporting on. And it IS kinda nice for the Yankees to go 0 for 2 so far in getting pitchers they probably don’t need.