Joe Sheehan's Comments On Recent Trades

At Baseball Prospectus: I think the Jason Giambi signing by the Rockies was interesting largely because it’s for so limited a purpose. There’s no DH, Giambi can barely play one position, and that position is filled on the Rockies by a franchise icon with good defensive skills who is having a bounce-back season. The only thing Giambi is on the roster for is to serve as a pinch-hitter, which he did last night, drawing an RBI walk in the seventh inning. Giambi is a great use of an expanded-roster slot, a player who can reach base and still pop a long ball, making him useful to start and finish an inning. His limitations matter less in a 40-man world—you can always pinch-run for him, and you never need him to don a glove—than on a 25-man roster. He may, should the Rockies reach the postseason, even be worth a spot on the playoff roster. It was a nice, low-cost pickup by the Rockies. ... I love the Scott Kazmir deal for the Rays. He’s just not a particularly good pitcher, and even at hi...