Just under a month ago, I wrote an article about the plight of Andres Torres and Angel Pagan. Both were minor-league warriors turned good. Both were speedy center fielders who came up with offense that no one knew they had. And both were non-tender candidates for some weird reason. On Tuesday, they were traded for each other.
Giants Trade Andres Torres, Ramon Ramirez To Mets For Angel Pagan
The San Francisco Giants traded Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez to the New York Mets for Angel Pagan.
On the surface, the two are very similar players. Pagan hit .262/.322/.372 during an injurious 2011; Torres hit .221/.312/.330 during an injury-filled season himself. In 2010, though, Pagan hit .290/.340/.425 with 37 steals; Torres hit .268/.343/.479 with 26 steals. Both play a good center field, though UZR hated Pagan’s defense last year, which the first year he rated poorly.
If there was a difference between the two for 2012, it's that Torres will be 34, whereas Pagan is 30. That's a significant difference. And it looks like the difference will be made up by Ramon Ramirez, a right-handed reliever who will move to his fifth team. Ramirez was the third or fourth right-handed option for the Giants for most of the season, and he did well, posting a 2.62 ERA with a strikeout rate over his career norms.
All of the players involved are scheduled for their third and final season of arbitration. Ramirez made $1.65 million last season, Torres made $2.2 million, and Pagan made $3.5 million, so the Giants will probably pay out close to the same salary, but also have one more roster spot to fill.
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