Michael Young trade is official and it is a good deal for Phillies

I guess Michael Young’s wife, Cristina, or, I mean, Michael Young agreed to waive his no-trade clause and accept a move from the Texas Rangers to the Philadelphia Phillies.

As I mentioned in the last article discussing the possible acquisition of Michael Young, this is Ruben Amaro’s second positive trade in a row (I’ve been waiting so long to say that). This deal improves the Phillies, although how much remains to be seen.

Young provides stability at third base which otherwise would have been missing. Kevin Frandsen had a great season for the Phils in 2012, but he is a far bigger uncertainty than Michael Young. Freddy Galvis dwarfs both Frandsen and Young defensively, but his bat is much weaker. Let’s face it, Young is a significantly better option than Frandsen/Galvis.

Michael Young is a seven-time All-Star with a career .301 batting average, .347 on-base percentage, .444 slugging percentage, and .791 on-base plus slugging. He averaged 16 home runs, 87 runs batted in, and 96 runs scored per 162-game season. The 36-year-old’s numbers declined last year and he finished with a .277 average, .312 OBP, .370 SLG, .682 OPS, eight HR, 67 RBI and 79 runs scored. But Young is just one year removed from hitting .338, leading the American League with 213 hits, and driving in 106 runs while scoring 88.

On base and wins

While it is possible Young has already begun a drastic decline, it is nearly as likely he will bounce back to his past form. He is a professional hitter, plain and simple. He knows how to get on base and the dude knows how to win.

Young has become somewhat of a liability defensively, which is why he was primarily a designated hitter over the last two years.

But Michael Young was extremely well liked in Texas and a good clubhouse leader. The fact that the Texas Rangers will eat roughly $10 million of the $16 million guaranteed to Young in 2013 does sound a bit alarming, but that is mainly because the infield was too crowded with Adrian Beltre, Ian Kinsler, and highly regarded rookie Jurickson Profar. The memory of Freddy Garcia is never far from my thoughts, but I don’t think that is the case here.

Trading Josh Lindblom

Josn Lindblom, dealt by the Phillies for Young,  is still young, pretty cheap, pitched pretty well for the Dodgers, and has more experience than half of the Phillies current bullpen crew. But he allowed 13 home runs in 71 innings and with the Phillies he had a 4.63 earned run average, 6.6 walks per game, and a walks plus hits per inning pitched mark of more than 1.5. Lindblom would have been a fairly central piece to the Phillies’ bullpen, but the Phils have plenty of other young arms waiting and you can always take your chances on the Chad Durbins of the world if need be. That said, the Phillies must bring in some bullpen help to avoid last year’s debacle.

And Michael Young just looks better on the lineup card, doesn’t it?

So completes a fun week of wheeling and dealing for the Phillies.