With Michael Young Trade Rumors Swirling, Buyer Beware
For any trade to come together, one obstacle will be the rest of Young’s contract. The 34-year-old is due $16 million each of the next three seasons, and any suitor will probably want the Rangers to throw in a little money to help offset the cost.
But that isn’t the only problem. You see, even Young’s statistics are misleading.
Young’s a career .300 hitter, and he’s batted .295 over the past three seasons with a .797 OPS and a good bit of power. Neat, right? Well sure, that makes him out to be fairly productive. But let’s break his career numbers down to the home/road split:
Young, career, home: .322 average, .372 OBP, .487 slugging percentage
Young, career, road: .279 average, .322 OBP, .411 slugging percentage
The average hitter performs a bit better at home than on the road, so that’s no surprise. What’s alarming is the size of the gap, as Young’s career OPS has been 126 points better in Texas. The Rangers play in a known hitter-friendly ballpark, and based on his numbers, Young has taken total advantage.
For the sake of comparison:
Young, career, home: .859 OPS
Young, career, road: .733 OPS
Carlos Beltran, career: .853 OPS
Juan Uribe, career: .731 OPS
In Texas, Young’s been able to hit like Carlos Beltran. Away from Texas, Young’s hit more like Juan Uribe. It’s interesting; by requesting a trade, Young’s put himself at risk of being exposed. Not exposed as a bad player, mind you - Young isn’t bad. But being exposed as a worse player than he seems on the surface, and he isn’t a guy who’s going to add much value with his glove. Plus, he’s only getting older.
Right now, the Rangers possess a 34-year-old who’s expensive, overrated, and unhappy. That’s a tough sell. The best outcome for Young would probably be getting dealt to hitter-friendly Colorado, where he could keep excelling in his home park, but any team that’s looking into Young will be aware of the fact that he’s played in a helpful environment, and that’s only going to make a deal all the more difficult to reach. Maybe, in the end, Young’ll just patch things up with the Rangers and both parties will move on as if nothing ever happened, just like they did the last time he wanted out.
