A’s Dump Kendall on Cubs
July 16, 2007 by Geoff Young
Filed under Personalities, Transactions
The Oakland A’s have traded veteran catcher Jason Kendall to the Chicago Cubs for left-hander Jerry Blevins and catcher Rob Bowen. The linked article’s headline reads “Cubs strengthen catcher position,” but I don’t see how.
Kendall is batting .226/.261/.281 this season, and he’s 33 years old. Since the start of the 2005 season, his line is a surreal .271/.337/.321. Kendall’s slugging percentage is the lowest in the big leagues during that stretch:
Lowest Slugging Percentages, 2005 – 2007
Player
BA
OBP
SLG
ISO
Stats are through games of July 15, 2007, and are courtesy of David Pinto’s Day by Day Database. Minimum 1500 plate appearances.
Jason Kendall
.271
.337
.321
.050
Willy Taveras
.292
.337
.350
.058
Omar Vizquel
.275
.339
.355
.080
Juan …read more
