Juan Going, Going, Gone for Expos

By Charles Curtis

He coulda been a contender, a somebody in a city that considers baseball a small blip on its sports radar, far behind its beloved hockey Habs. The Texas Rangers were set to send aging right fielder Juan Gonzalez to the Expos for a few farm hands. It was the perfect deal: the Expos, in the heat of the National League Wild Card race, needed a hard-hitting outfielder to help increase their chances. The Rangers, who sit in last place in the American League West, needed to cut payroll and begin a youth movement for the future. But the slugger decided to stay in last place with a $104-million waste of space on the President's favorite team, instead of being shipped to Les Expos, who have some pop in their bats and nasty pitching. While the few Montreal fans cried, "Say it ain't so!" to the news that Gonzalez invoked his no-trade clause in his contract, the possibility of Gonzo's move to Montreal raised questions about the parties involved.

The Expos have been followed by a dark cloud, provided by Major League Baseball, who want to move the franchise to Puerto Rico or Washington. So would the 29 Major League Baseball owners, all of them contributing money to keep the team afloat, make a stink because General Manager Omar Minaya continues to add payroll? Would Gonzalez allow the trade to happen, creating room for the Rangers to begin calling up more young players? But the real intrigue lies in the speculation of whether Gonzalez would have made the impact to push the San Juan... excuse me, Montreal Expos into the playoffs. The deal would have plugged a large hole in the middle of their lineup and helped take the Expos to the playoffs. They haven't had a team this good since the strike-shortened year of 1994, before Montreal fans left Olympic Stadium as the team hit a financial rut.

With Vladimir Guerrero suffering from a herniated disk for over a month, the Expos didn't have a bona fide cleanup hitter. Sure, second baseman Jose Vidro, with his robust .324 average and team-leading 46 RBI can knock a few runs in here and there, but he's not the prototype slugger that Minaya has been searching for. The Expos, who are in the lower half of the National League in runs scored with 385 and slugging a less-than-impressive .405, could have used Gonzo's .541 slugging percentage and his consistency as an RBI-machine to bolster a lineup missing its centerpiece. Imagine NL pitchers having to pitch around Vidro to get to a healthy Vlad. Fine, you walk Vlad, and up comes Juan Gonzalez. The middle of the Expos lineup needs that presence if the team wants to compete for a playoff spot.

Even without Gonzalez, the Expos still have consistent producers like Vidro and reinvigorated shortstop Orlando Cabrera, as well as 2002 Rookie of the Year runner-up Brad Wilkerson. However, Gonzalez would be a welcome improvement over the other two-thirds of Montreal's outfield. Eighth-inning defensive replacement Ron Calloway has filled in nicely in right field, but imagine having Gonzalez, Guerrero (though no one spoke about where he would have played if Gonzalez had come over), and Wilkerson as their outfield. Centerfielder Endy Chavez, with his 15 stolen bases but a dismal .294 on-base percentage, would have become expendable, and the Expos wouldn't have to rely on guys like well-traveled Wil Cordero to drive in runs. Not to mention the added run support that would benefit Montreal's young pitching corps, led by Javier Vasquez and his overpowering 132 Ks. One player could change the face of a ball club that finally has roster to compete in a Yankees-owned world of massive payrolls.

The would-be deal also marks another great moment for Omar Minaya. The Montreal GM ignored monetary problems and talk of contraction last year as he acquired Cliff Floyd and Bartolo Colon. While Colon pitched consistently, Floyd ended up disappointing and was sent to the Boston Red Sox, and is now slugging for the New York Mets. Minaya traded Colon for hard-throwing closer Rocky Biddle in an offseason trade with the Chicago White Sox. This year, Minaya still believes his team can compete, and you can be sure that this isn't the last deal that he tries to make in order to bolster a lineup with a few holes and add a veteran pitcher. Minaya is the perfect fit for the Expos, with his aggressive approach to the team proving that a small budget can take a team to the playoffs, much like the Twins, Athletics, and World Champion Angels have shown in recent years.

Texas GM John Hart is a different story. With expensive failures such as the oft-injured Chan Ho Park on his roster and most of its money pumped into a muscle-infused lineup, the Rangers have waved the white flag for this season, beginning with the trade that sent Carl Everett to the White Sox. The Rangers' side of the deal was a no-brainer: slash its bloated payroll, receive some high-end prospects who could help the team sooner than later (preferably pitchers whose ERA doesn't exceed 6.00), and begin the rebuilding process that will focus on developing pitchers who can benefit from the run support provided by the 252-million-dollar man, Alex Rodriguez, along with future stars Hank Blalock and Mark Texiera.

But the Expos are staring into an abyss after this year. Their logo should be a giant question mark as Commissioner Bud Selig tries to market the team to Puerto Rico and simultaneously find a buyer for a team who attracts 812,000 fans a year. So, would the Gonzalez trade have increased the value of the 'Spos? Imagine Juan stepping up to the plate in Hiram Bithorn Stadium and smacking a dinger over the right field wall. The fans go absolutely nuts for... a hometown hero. Gonzalez is not only the powerful presence the Expos need to fight for a playoff position, he's Puerto Rican as well. How do you say "marketing blue chip" in Spanish?

All these possibilities, however, disappeared for Minaya and his organization when Gonzalez rejected the deal. Some critics think it was Montreal's uncertain future, as well as Gonzalez's reported desire for a long-term big-money contract (Gonzalez is in the final year of a two-year $24M agreement with Texas). The deal made abundant sense for both sides, but when the decision was handed to Juan Gone, it seemed he could only see the questions blanketing the Expos, much like the Astroturf that would have ruined his knees in Olympic Stadium. By having the power to reject the deal, Gonzalez hurt the Rangers' future since they were denied prospects and the chance to start conditioning some of their young guns to the big leagues. In addition, he may have hurt the Expos playoff chances (though Minaya will be searching for further additions before the July 31 deadline) and even the future of a club that will be sold before long. But Gonzalez has only hurt himself in the process: who wants to reward Gonzalez, who has seen his numbers steadily decline in the past three years and has experts questioning his work ethic and desire to play the game, with a long term deal? He may learn that the free agent market is much less rewarding than playing in his birthplace or a contending team that could contend with the big guns this year.