Rockies trade Jeff Baker to Cubs for minor league pitcher Alberto Alburquerque
by Rox Girl on Jul 2, 2009 10:25 AM MDT
in Transactions & Rumors
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According to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago, the Rockies have sent infielder Jeff Baker to the Chicago Cubs for 23 year old RHP Alberto Alburquerque. Baker's been a stalwart on the bench for the Rockies the last few seasons, but had his playing time cut with the emergence of Ian Stewart. The Cubs have been searching for some offensive pop to revive a moribund offense until Aramis Ramirez returns from the disabled list and Baker fits the bill. The Rockies had to make a move with Baker with him set to come off the DL himself.
Not a lot is known about Alburquerque at this point, but he does generate high groundball rates (56% this season at high A Daytona) and some strikeouts, both of which will serve him well at Coors Field, should he make it to the Rockies.
Alburquerque's First Inning Page
I really hate spelling that name. Why couldn't we have traded for Lance Las Cruces, or Trudy Truth (and Consequences)?
Patrick Saunders confirms with Baker, who says he's looking forward to the opportunity.
UPDATE:
Cubs fan toonsterwu from BleedCubbieBlue provides a bit of scouting info on Alburquerque in the comments:
has a good live low-mid 90’s fastball, a solid slider I believe, and a decent change. His stuff has gotten better, and he’s improved his control a bit. While I think he’s a pen arm, I hope he gets a shot to try the rotation a bit, as I’m curious how it plays.
It looks like the fastball's a two seamer from the GB rates, so a low to mid 90's FB with a slider is a prototypical bullpen arm, and the kind of pitcher the Rockies have been targeting for some time now.
And Jack Etkin gives us more information:
Alburquerque, who is 6 feet and 180 pounds, has a plus, plus fastball. He'll sit at 95 mph with the pitch, which ranges from 92-97 mph and has good sinking action, runs in on right-handed hitters and has enough of a downhill plane.
And has an even more detailed scouting report at the link. This dispels the two seam notion I had before, because there's more than a semantic difference between "FB with sinking action and downhill plane" and "sinker".
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Top 3 Jeff Baker moments:
1. RBI Single through the 1B hole during game 3 of the 2007 NLDS to give the Rockies the goahead run.
2. Crushing a PH homer to straightaway CF on opening day, 2007.
3. He batted like .368 during September ’06, and his PotM in 2008 – pick one.
Chris Iannetta status: DOOM
Seth Smith status: Badass
Matt Murton status: Prisoner Exchanged for CarGon
Mike McCoy status: FREE MIKE MCCOY
Home Run Opening Day 2005?
"We made too many wrong mistakes." ~Yogi Berra
"The ballplayer who loses his head, who can't keep his cool, is worse than no ballplayer at all." ~Lou Gehrig
JFK
Is that your top moment?
Because those were mine
Chris Iannetta status: DOOM
Seth Smith status: Badass
Matt Murton status: Prisoner Exchanged for CarGon
Mike McCoy status: FREE MIKE MCCOY
by Andrew Martin on Jul 2, 2009 7:22 PM MDT up reply actions
It is one of the
few Jeff Baker moments that I remember (also forgotten by most since Barmes also hit one that day). The NLDS is probably the other.
"We made too many wrong mistakes." ~Yogi Berra
"The ballplayer who loses his head, who can't keep his cool, is worse than no ballplayer at all." ~Lou Gehrig
JFK
This will be my 3rd repeat of this
But I’d have preferred Harold Hatch
mmm green chile
Chris Iannetta status: DOOM
Seth Smith status: Badass
Matt Murton status: Prisoner Exchanged for CarGon
Mike McCoy status: FREE MIKE MCCOY
As an ex-New Mexico boy from Las Cruces
I am impressed with the knowledge of New Mexico geography being shown in this thread. Some other option
Clay Clayton
Grant Grants
Carl Carlsbad
Sam Santa Rosa
Marvin Mayhill
Arnie Alamogordo
Matt Mesilla
I also propose that rather than Alberto Alburquerque we go with Al Albq
What if the hokey pokey is what it is all about after all????
Steven Silver City
Tom Tyrone
/shudder
Chris Iannetta status: DOOM
Seth Smith status: Badass
Matt Murton status: Prisoner Exchanged for CarGon
Mike McCoy status: FREE MIKE MCCOY
by Andrew Martin on Jul 2, 2009 11:27 AM MDT up reply actions
Guy Gallup, speed guy
and who can forget the Natural…. Roy Hobbs
What if the hokey pokey is what it is all about after all????
Should have held out for Trevor Taos
Seriously, it would have been nice to get some big league bullpen help in the deal, but Baker doesn’t have that kind of juice at this point…
It’s a shame the Sky Sox don’t have any games left with the Isotopes this year. Maybe Al Albq can make it to the Springs by next year for an Alburquerque vs. Albuquerque matchup….
by Junction Rox on Jul 2, 2009 12:40 PM MDT up reply actions
I can't believe
nobody mentioned Ricky Roswell.
What are the chances that this Alberto guy will make it to the big club? This move seems to be more about getting rid of a logjam than anything else, from the rockies’ perspective. Not like I think that’s a bad thing…
You tend to pick up on these when you drive throught the darn state 2 times to get to Spring Training.
Anyway, Lets look for Juan Raton and Jorge Las Vegas.
Jorge DE Las Vegas.
Chris Iannetta status: DOOM
Seth Smith status: Badass
Matt Murton status: Prisoner Exchanged for CarGon
Mike McCoy status: FREE MIKE MCCOY
by Andrew Martin on Jul 2, 2009 1:35 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
As a Cubs fan
I’m fairly pleased with the deal. Baker will give us some flexibility, and Alburquerque wasn’t that high on our pitching depth charts, IMO (while the cubs system isn’t good, the pitching side has developed some good depth in the past year and a half).
In saying that, Alburquerque has talent. He’s a kid who has a good live low-mid 90’s fastball, a solid slider I believe, and a decent change. His stuff has gotten better, and he’s improved his control a bit. While I think he’s a pen arm, I hope he gets a shot to try the rotation a bit, as I’m curious how it plays.
Overall, I like the trade for the Cubs, but I think it was an alright move for you guys as well.
It looks like the FB's a two-seamer by the GB rates, do you know if this is the case?
And while I’m utterly shocked and disappointed we didn’t get Josh Vitters, I’m actually somewhat pleased with the return given that Baker’s presence would have forced Ian Stewart back to AAA or else the Rockies to lose their good luck defensive binky, Omar Quintanilla.
good luck defensive binky, Omar Quintanilla.
That really made me laugh. and sadly a very accurate description too.
That is good.
We need to start calling him ""Binky" or “QBink” in the game threads.
Free Seth Smith!
He's already the team pixie dust maker and mailman
I don’t think he has enough time to do anything else, including play baseball.
by Greg Stanwood on Jul 2, 2009 12:21 PM MDT up reply actions
I'm pretty sure it is
but I’m not 100% certain as I haven’t followed Daytona all that closely this year. He used to have a 4 seamer in the bag as well, I believe, but I’m almost certain the 2-seamer is what he operates with.
injury
the etkins link has the info. has had some injury issues. A long time back, I remember some Cubs fans being concerned about his body in regards to being able to stay healthy while throwing at such high velocity.
This was way back, though, and I haven’t follow Alburquerque all that closely (you’d think with a name like that, he’d grab some attention, but this is coming from a Cubs system that’s seen a couple Rocky’s, a Pie, and a Rebel, amongst other names that have passed through). The Cubs seem to occasionally find their hard throwing, relatively small guy that sort of emerges (Marmol, Mateo, Juan Cruz back in the day, and so forth) so unless they stand out, I sort of lose track of some (there’s a couple more arms like Alburquerque in our system). If Alburquerque can get his control a bit better, he could be a late inning pen arm. Still wonder how his stuff would play as a starter.
Wolf Marauder, I deleted the comment because it was a bit too much of a clip.
And I want people to visit InsidetheRockies themselves so that sort of information keeps on coming for us, but thanks for the tip. It’s now quoted in the updated story.
Okay.
I’ll link directly in the future.
by Greg Stanwood on Jul 2, 2009 12:32 PM MDT up reply actions
Another Cubs fan chimes in.
Alburquerque turned 23 on June 10. He’s got a decent arm, as has been mentioned, but seems a bit old to be playing High-A ball.
He seems to project as a middle reliever.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Good thing he'll immediately report to AA
He didn’t seem to have much trouble in Hi-A, and well, we need help in relief, even in the minors, where our better prospects have contracted to injury plague
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jul 2, 2009 1:21 PM MDT up reply actions
Thanks.
Turning 23 in High-A isn’t all that uncommon, it means that he isn’t an elite level prospect, and there aren’t going to be any Cy Youngs in his future, but we knew that already. Patton was 24 there, last season for instance. What would be bad is if he was in High-A and only threw in the 80’s with no secondary stuff. Since that’s not the case, we’ll take the live arm.
agreed
23 isn’t that bad … a tad old but not that much. That said, the injuries have set him back a bit, as Jack Etkins noted. He was on the radar of some Cubs fans as far back as 05.
and my bad … i really thought he threw a 2 seamer. btw, etkins report of 97 mph is as high as i’ve ever seen listed for al. When he’s on, look for him to sit in the 92-94 mph range.
btw, if you guys are interested in snippets of information on Alburquerque (although part of me thinks that this is the sort of trade where you get interested in the minor leaguer in return on the day of the trade, and then sort of sit back and wait), the best Cubs minor league resource online is ArizonaPhil over at thecubreporter. He posted two snippets last fall
RHP Alberto Alburquerque (April 2008 shoulder surgery) came over from the Fitch Park Rehab Group and got the start on the mound for the Cubs, pitching in his first game action in over a year. The Dominican righthander was surprisingly sharp with his control (16 pitches, only four balls), and while he did allow two (harmless) singles in his one inning of work, he was throwing all of his pitches for strikes, including a fastball with decent velocity.
http://www.thecubreporter.com/2008/09/23/cubs-teach-giants-thing-or-two-fitch
RHP Alberto Alburquerque (April 2008 shoulder surgery) got the start for the Cubs and worked two strong innings, allowing one run on two hits and no walks (29 pitches – 23 strikes), while striking out four. Alburquerque pitched aggressively, with a 91-93 MPH fastball, an outstanding breaking ball, and an effective change working for him, keeping Angels hitters off-balance. If he can stay healthy, Alburquerque could be in the starting rotation at Daytona next April (Daytona manager Jody Davis is the AZIL Cubs manager, so he has witnessed Alburquerque’s two Instructs outings first-hand).
http://www.thecubreporter.com/2008/09/27/cubs-rally-defeat-angels-fitch
"Fitch Park Rehab Group"
I totally read that as Pitch Fork Rehab Group. “Stick a fork in him! He’s done!”
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jul 2, 2009 2:04 PM MDT up reply actions
Thanks again for the info and links.
It sounds like a live fastball, two seamer or not, so that’s a bit less important as long as he keeps things on the ground. We’ve got a pretty high interest in Rockies minor leaguers here, so while our enthusiasm might seem a little overboard, I think most of us have a pretty good idea of where he’s at. It’s clearly a move for 2010 or later from the Rockies standpoint, but it should give us better bullpen depth to work with next season.
Alburquerque?
No. He won’t be on the roster, and as far as I know, has never come anywhere close to being on the Cubs roster. His history from an options standpoint is entirely clean.
by Greg Stanwood on Jul 2, 2009 2:57 PM MDT up reply actions
Nope, not on the 40 man,
But as a 2003 signee, he would need to be on the 40 man after this season or be exposed to the Rule 5 draft.
FINALLY....
….I have been waiting for just such a name in our farm system to go out & buy an official jersey for $270 on the MLB shop. I am going to be the ultimate insider when I’m sporting this at Coors.
And with this.....
Christian Colonel no longer has the coolest name in the Rockies organization.
My favorite Rockie? Why, Ty Van Burkleo, of course!
How come
a family named after a city doesn’t spell the weird last name like the city?
There’s an extra “r” in Alburquerque that’s not in Albuquerque.
Or maybe the family name came first & the city dropped the r, who knows?
If this guy gets to the bigs, someone needs to come up w/ a nickname to use instead of his too long last name.
Quirky?
Kirk?
Al?
“New Mexico”?
No records in the last 10 years should count.
Rich Rifkin at BBTF took some time to look this up, apparently:
From their discussion over at the Newsblog:
In case anyone cares (I cared enough to look this sh## up), the family name Alburquerque comes from a city in Spain near the border with Portugal called Alburquerque. (Notice that unlike the city in New Mexico which was misspelled by its Spanish founders, Alburquerque has two r’s.) The name, like the name of many places in Spain, comes from Arabic. The Moors called the region, ‘Abu al-Qurq,’ meaning “father of the cork oak.” Abu means father and al-qurq is the cork oak tree.
I guess the Arab word ‘qurq’ came from Latin, ‘quercus,’ which is the genus for all species of oaks*, not just corks. (Of course, the English word cork comes from quercus, too.) Long before the Moors conquered Spain, it was a large part of the Roman province of Hispania. I suspect that when the Arabs (aka Moors) arrived in Spain in the 700s, they arabized the Latin quercus to al-qurq.
the city used to have a r
The village was named by the provincial governor Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdes in honour of Don Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, viceroy of New Spain from 1653 to 1660. One of de la Cueva’s aristocratic titles was Duke of Alburquerque, referring to the Spanish town of Alburquerque. The first “r” in “Alburquerque” was dropped at some point in the 19th century, supposedly by an Anglo-American railroad station-master unable to pronounce the city’s name correctly.
(I’ve read it elsewhere as well, but wikipedia was the easiest place to link to)
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