The GM's Almanac...Vin Scully's Birthday
Monitoring the pulse of the off-season...
Word is the Washington Nationals could be willing to trade Ryan Church, a 28-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder who has played some center field in his brief Major League career.
The Nationals picked him up in a trade with the Cleveland Indians on Jan. 5, 2004 and he has played in 203 Major League games.
In 527 total at-bats, he is hitting .269 with 69 runs scored, 33 doubles, four triples, 20 home runs, 83 RBI, 57 walks and 146 strikeouts. He has a .347 on-base and a .461 slugging percentage.
He's probably better in the corner outfield spots but he has played 73 games in center and his career range factor is 3.15 chances per nine innings. Joey Gathright had a 3.06 range factor last year, the highest among Major League center fielders.
All right, Church can't be that good. Brandon Watson beat him out for the Nationals center field job last Spring and he was up-and-down from the Minors. A ribcage injury and broken toe limited his playing time in 2005 when he looked like he might establish himself as a regular player.
He is a left-handed hittter with just 91 career at-bats against lefties but he's hittting .286 against them with a .462 slugging. He is hitting .266 with a .461 slugging against right-handers.
The Nationals wanted him to play in Mexico this winter to work on hitting breaking balls and changeups but he apparently declined, feeling he has nothing left to prove. That clash may lead to him getting traded.
He's just another option the Rangers can consider when looking at their outfield options. Remember, they want a center fielder and they want somebody who can protect right-handed hitting Nelson Cruz in right.
By the way, Vin Scully is 79
WAHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO!
Go to Church!
(or Anderson or Stewart)
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Or Pat Burrell, who's also strong vs. lefties.
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The problem with Church (or Wilkerson or Nix or any of the other guys the Rangers typically get to play center) is that he's not a "centerfielder." He's a corner outfielder that can play center. Unfortunately, those guys usually get exposed when they're out there for an extended period of time. The unique layout of the ballpark and the way the wind affects positioning almost demands a pure centerfielder to play the position. So my thought is to get Lofton if he's still available (and I'd make **** sure he's available), and then go after Wells or Hunter (preferably Wells) when they hit the market next year. The only way I'd go after Rowand or Anderson is if they are throw-ins on a trade for pitching and you don't have to give up the farm to do it.
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I agree with the assessment that Church and/or Wilkerson are not centerfielders, but I thought Nix was more than capable out there. He did a fine job. Problem with Nix was that he couldn't hit or get on base. If Nix had hit .270 or .280 with 20-25 homers like he's capable, Matthews would never have even seen CF. The job was Nix's to lose and, coupled with an injury, he did just that.
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