Royals Trade for Gathright

[KCGHOST]

Yesterday the Royals traded J.P. Howell, LHP, to the D'Rays for OF Joey Gathright. Howell, a former high draft pick, had fallen out of fallen with the Royals after they rushed him prematurely to the majors and discovered his upside was probably of the Brian Anderson/Darrell May variety.

The speed merchant Gathright is one of the fastest men in the majors and willbe installed as the Royals starting CF with David DeJesus moving to LF. Emil Brown will take a much deserved place on the bench. I assume Kerry Robinson will be banished to baseball purgatory.

This move cost the Royals a pitching prospect of some value in exchange for a major upgrade to the OF defense and the overall team speed. Not a bad thing. Unfortunately, as a batsman Gathright is a sinking hole (sub .640 OPS). When he does manage to "steal" first he is a monster base runner.

Another upside is that Moore has mandated that this guy be the starting CF. Thus we will be spared the agony of 2005 when Buddy Bell thought playing Terence Long was a better idea than finding out if Matt Diaz had any value.

[kcfan12]

thats a good idea to get gathright he may not be able hit home runs but he can sure steal a bag.

[JohnGelnarFan]

Maybe he'll develop into a Gary Pettis type,in time. I hope he helps improve the team.

[raysnbran]

As a Rays fan, I won't badmouth Gathright. I'll let you guys see him play for a month, then you decide. I've spoken my piece on the trade on the Rays page. Best of luck to Joey, but we need pitching, so we'll see down the road if there's a winner in the deal.

[TheKingofKings]

thats a good idea to get gathright he may not be able hit home runs but he can sure steal a bag.

He's like Dave Roberts .

[KCFAN11]

As a Rays fan, I won't badmouth Gathright. I'll let you guys see him play for a month, then you decide. I've spoken my piece on the trade on the Rays page. Best of luck to Joey, but we need pitching, so we'll see down the road if there's a winner in the deal.

All i know right now is that J.P Howell will suck. He wont be anything. Plus he isnt very smart.

[raysnbran]

All i know right now is that J.P Howell will suck. He wont be anything. Plus he isnt very smart.

So far, he's 1-2 at Durham, with a 2.91 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP, 14 Ks in a little over 20 innings. Last I checked, Gathright is still hovering around the Mendoza line, and was 0 for 3 so far tonight.

His speed is great, but since he doesn't get on base, what good does it do for him, or your team? He doesn't take walks either, so his OBP isn't a whole lot better than his BA.

[albertpujols]

He's like Dave Roberts .

He's like Juan Pierre.

[W_Marone]

He can fly and has a decent glove. I dont think he can hit his weight right now but in the future I'm sure he can turn it around and become like Juan Pierre once was.