There isn’t too much more analysis I can provide on this trade than I already did about the rumor. So go read that but, um, skip the last couple of sentences. New GM Jerry Dipoto made his first move Wednesday by dealing away 21-year-old pitcher Tyler Chatwood to the Rockies for 28-year-old catcher Chris Iannetta.

The move instantly adds offense to a position in which it was sorely lacking and boosts the line-ups overall On Base Percentage. Chatwood, as I noted, is still crazy-young and has a high ceiling but has struggled with command and seems unlikely to reach his potential. Dipoto focused on the difficulty of finding an offense capable catcher…

“It’s not easy to trade away a young pitcher like Tyler Chatwood,” Dipoto said. “You have to give to get, and catching is particularly tough to come by. If you’ve got (Jered) Weaver, (Dan) Haren, (Ervin) Santana, (Jerome) Williams and (Garrett) Richards, you’re not going into it empty-handed.

“Experienced major-league catching, a guy that’s in the top half of offensive performers from behind the plate, is tough to walk away from. … It (the trade) is a little more reflective of how difficult it is to find a major-league catcher with Chris’ ability than it is of Tyler’s development.”

Dipto politely failed to mention Chatwood’s similar 4.50 BB/9 (walk rate) and 4.69 K/9 (strikeout rate) scared the bejesus out of everyone, bar the Rox apparently. I’m not saying Chatwood will be a disaster in Coors Field, I’m not rooting against him, but don’t be surprised when he ends up in the bullpen.

While I’m at it, Iannetta isn’t without his faults. He’s not going to hit for a high average and get used to low BABIPs. Like most Rockies, he has a pronounced home/road split. For his career, Iannetta hit .262/.377/.492 at Coors and .208/.338/.369 everywhere else. His .338 road OBP still puts Jeff Mathis to shame but I think Iannetta is better than that. Iannetta never seemed to get the vote of confidence from the Rockies or manager Jim Tracy and I believe there is still room for improvement.

Dipoto looks like a winner in this deal especially considering the catching mess he had to clean up after the Mike Napoli-Vernon Wells trade disaster of the decade. I was hoping Dipoto had some kind of time machine to fix that trade but I can live with this.

Or so the rumor goes… KFFL is reporting(?) the Rockies asked the Angels for pitcher Tyler Chatwood in exchange for catcher Chris Iannetta. They don’t seem to link to their “source” so I’m just going to assume Troy Renck’s mom has been running her mouth again.

The Angels could use a catcher unless it turns out Jeff Mathis has just been forgetting to bring a bat with him to the plate all these years. The Rockies have never really given Iannetta the full time gig in Colorado and are openly shopping him. Seems like a natural fit. It also seems like a steep asking price after a cursory glance.

Iannetta, already 28-year-old(!), is a career .235/.357/.430 in 1,733 plate appearances. He’s in the second year of a 3-year, $8.35M deal that bought out his arbitration years. Iannetta absolutely mashed minor league pitching from the minute he got to Double-A in 2006. He hit .238/.370/.414 in 2011 over a career high 426 plate appearances. Or nearly double Mathis’ 2011 slash line (kidding, sorta). The only other season Iannetta played over 100 games was in 2008 when he put up a .264/.390/.505 line. I’ll take that every day from my catcher.

Chatwood, almost 22-years-old, came into the season as the Angels second best prospect behind Mike Trout according to Baseball America. Over 142.0 innings, Chatwood posted a 4.75 ERA and a 4.89 FIP (fielding independent pitching). His 4.90 xFIP (expected fielding independent pitching) and 5.62 tERA (true runs allowed) are much more worrisome. What the Angels saw of Chatwood in 2011 is what scouts had concerns about him ever reaching his potential. He lacked command on his best pitches and finished with a 4.50 BB/9 and an equally disappointing 4.69 K/9. Chatwood, a shade under 6-0, has been working in the low 90s with his two-seemer and has seen his K/9 fall to the 4.75 level since entering Double-A.

While still crazy young, I’m afraid we’ve already seen the Chatwood of the future. If his command issues aren’t corrected, it’s likely Chatwood spends his future in the bullpen. The reason the Angels shouldn’t make this deal are because he’s cheap and still has a high ceiling. Chatwood could turn this around in a year or two and be a front end starter. If the Angels were in win-now-mode, I would probably suggest making this deal. I don’t consider rostering the carcasses of Bobby Abreu, Vernon Wells and maybe even Torii Hunter a reason to go “all-in” this year.

Catcher is an obvious need and I’d love to give Iannetta a shot. I wouldn’t trade Chatwood for him but it’s closer than you might think.

Ervin Santana Finally Reversed The Curse

2011 was a superb year for the Angels starting pitching staff. Their 3.59 starters ERA ranked 5th in all of baseball and 2nd in the AL behind Tampa Bay. The big three of Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana carried the teams weak offense on its back at times and for the majority of the season. These three were the only consistent performers on the entire club. The Halos largely have this trio to thank for their improbable post season contention in 2011. With out the performance of their starters all other statistical evidence highlights a team that should have been well below .500 and out of the race by late summer.

Lets take a look at the individual performances of the Angels starting pitchers in 2011.

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