Compensated? Not Really

Theo Epstein

The lengthy discussion over compensation for Theo Epstein's move from the Red Sox to the Cubs ended as the two teams agreed that 26-year-old right-hander Chris Carpenter would be enough to 'compensate' the Red Sox.  The Cubs lose their third-round pick in the 2008 draft who made his MLB debut in 2011, pitching in 10 games with a strong 2.79 ERA.

Carpenter has floated around the Cubs' system in recent years, quickly making his way up to AAA Iowa in 2010.  He split 2011 in the minors between AA Tennessee and AAA Iowa and again struggled in Iowa, with an ERA over 6.00 and a ballooning WHIP over 1.8.  He fared well in his major league trial last summer, but it may not have been as good as the ERA would suggest, as he walked seven in those nine and two-thirds innings.  The only national attention he received was serving up a monster home run ball to Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher in a nationally televised Sunday night game on ESPN.

Despite his struggles, this man has tremendous potential.  Not necessarily the same potential that his St. Louis counterpart, also a starter in Chris Carpenter, had, but still this younger version has promising talent.  Most notably there's the 100 mph fastball which has blown away more than a few hitters in his career.  Following that is his average slider, which he throws about one-fourth of the time.

Chris Carpenter

He prefers to work inside and definitely doesn't use the outside part of the plate enough to neither righties nor lefties, but there is a bigger problem in his repertoire.  He needs another pitch.  Carpenter switched to being a reliever this season in the minors and majors but before had been a starter for nearly his entire career.  This season his play suffered out of the bullpen, and his fastball and slider are basically his only two legitimate pitches.  It's awfully hard to keep major league hitters off-balance when you throw a fastball 75% of the time, no matter how fast it is.  If he develops a quality changeup, he'll thrive in either role.

As you've heard here, this dude has potential with the fastball.  A hittable slider and lack of a tertiary pitch have hurt him thus far, however.  That and the tendency of hard-throwers to have shoulder injuries, this makes him a definite high-risk, high-reward type.  Does this sound like fair compensation for executive Theo Epstein?  I do not know.  This compensation process just seems foolish.  Boston's GM swaps teams, and Boston gets to choose one highly-touted Chicago prospect?  Does this make this entire transaction a 'trade'?  If so, we just traded a jersey for a suit.

I don't think executives and players can be measured in team value along the same parameters in which they could be 'traded' for each other.  If Epstein left the Red Sox for the Cubs while under contract, which may have been the case, then the Cubs should have given up a draft pick.  Giving up one volatile prospect is not fair compensation for either side really.  Carpenter isn't a huge loss, but that fact that we lost him is wrong.