Is Brandon Moss Worthy of Rob Kaminsky in MLB Lines?

Posted by Alex Murphy on Tuesday,August 4, 2015 2:27, EDT in

To the untrained eye, the back-to-back shutout losses by the Cardinals last week was simply coincidental of a bad run. But to the observant baseball diehard that has a keen eye for detail, the shutouts were probably just a ploy from the St. Louis team to force to force general manager John Mozeliak into recognize the need to acquire a power potential hitter during the MLB Trade Deadline, especially because Matt Holliday had suffered an injury the day before. Needless to say, the plan worked to meticulous perfection! Immediately after the shutout losses, Mozeliak hurriedly jumped into the market, initiating a series of trades that brought Tribe-man Brandon Moss to St. Louis in the MLB betting odds.

In the end, it was a win-win situation for everybody…

…Mozeliak and his player were happy, they got the much-needed offensive help they wanted.

…the fans in St. Louis were happier, getting the big-name signing they’d craved for.

…the Indians? Well, they were the happiest of all the parties, and for really good reasons.

Why Is Brandon Moss Worthy of Rob Kaminsky in MLB Lines?

Seeing how Mozeliak was blinded by Moss’ glittering career and the clouded judgment of an urgent fix for the St Louis offense, the Indians did what the Indians are known to do—raise the stakes and capitalize on the trade for maximum profits.

In exchange for Moss, who’s had a mixed year in Cleveland since being traded from Oakland in the offseason, the Indians got 20-year-old Rob Kaminsky, a left-handed pitcher with many upsides, ranked as the 10th-best left-handed pitching prospect in baseball, as per MLB Pipeline.

What Does Moss Bring to the MLB Lines?

Besides his veteran experience that is likely to prove important for the Cardinals as they continue to push for a playoff spot and run at the 2015 World Series, Moss recently posted a .217/.288/.407 batting line with a 0.8 fWAR and 94 wRC+. Judging by the numbers he’s produced in his career, this year’s stats could be described as a down-year for him. Even so, the season projections have it that his numbers will be slightly better, as he progresses in the remainder of the season.

What Does Kaminsky Bring to the MLB Lines?

On his part, Kaminsky (a 28th overall selection in the MLB Draft) posted a solid 2.15 ERA in his first 43 appearances for his team. More notably, his 2015 numbers were really good for Class A Advanced Palm Beach, as he tallied a respectable stat line of 2.09 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 94 2/3 innings.

Rejoinder on the Moss Deal

Obviously, having Moss in the team makes the Cardinals a better offensive unit in 2015, something that could be invaluable, especially if they make it to the playoffs, where they will need a well-experienced team. The fact that Holliday suffered an injury last Wednesday and he will be out of the team for a while also vindicates the importance of the deal, as forging ahead without the production from Holliday (who was projected by ZiPS to produce 1.0 WAR for the remaining part of the season) would have been detrimental to the team.

With that being said, Moss’ deal doesn’t drastically improve the Cards and their MLB odds to make it to the 2015 MLB playoffs or win the 2015 World Series, kind of like the Jays improved their odds with their MLB Trade Deadline deals. For that reason, losing a talented player like Kaminsky, who is just getting started in the MLB and potentially has a lot of good years ahead of his Major League career, for a hitter who is already in his prime, is simply not a good bargain. This was proven by Moss, when he made his debut in the team’s 9-8 win, as his presence didn’t make that much of a difference. Of course, Moss currently fills an important hole at first base and on offense and the well-rounded St. Louis team could encourage more success for him at personal and team level than in Cleveland. Even so, there’s no denying that the Cardinals paid far too much a premium price for Moss, and in the long run, dealing away Kaminsky is likely to haunt them in a big way, unless Moss goes on an epic tear and directly helps the Cards to clinch the 2015 World Series title.