Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee

The Rangers won the Carlos Lee sweepstakes this afternoon, trading Kevin Mench, Francisco Cordero, outfielder Laynce Nix, and minor league pitcher Julian Cordero in exchange for Lee and minor league outfielder Nelson Cruz.

Lee was the best regular player on a 48-54 Brewers team that trails Cincinnati by 6 games in the NL Wild Card race, batting .286/.347/.549--or a .296 EqA, worth 27.4 VORP to the team. But, GM Doug Melvin says Lee recently rejected a contract extension of $48 million over 4 years, so he had to be traded to help build towards the future, if not also bolster this year's team for the stretch run at the same time.

So what kind of haul did he bring in?

• Kevin Mench is a 28 year-old corner OF hitting .284/.338/.459, a .270 EqA (.274/.335/.480, .274 EqA career), worth 8.3 VORP so far this season.
• Francisco Cordero is 31, and has a 4.81 ERA, 1.32 WHIP in 48.2 IP (3.44, 1.39 career), worth 7.0 VORP so far this season.
• Laynce Nix is 25, hitting .269/.323/.430 in AAA this season, with a career line of .241/.278/.414 in 869 PA's in the majors.

As for the minor leaguers, the Brewers sent Nelson Cruz, turned 26 this month, hitting .302/.378/.528 with 20 HR and 17 steals in AAA Nashville, who will start in Rightfield for the Rangers after joining the team this weekend. In return comes 21 year-old lefty Julian Cordero, 2-5, 2.91 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 6.49 K/9, 1.89:1 K/BB ratio in Low A Clinton.

Doug Melvin may claim to have immediately multiplied his assets with three players who may make immediate contributions to the Brewers, but it's really a poor return for one of the best trading chips on the market this month. Mench will be with Milwaukee for at least two more years while in his arbitration period, but at 28 he's only an ordinary corner outfielder. Francisco Cordero always puts up a nice K/9 ratio, but otherwise he's a mediocre righty reliever in mid-career who stands to make $5 million next season if the Brewers pick up his option. Nix at this point seems to have marginal offensive skills. And to top it off, it looks like the Rangers got the best of the prospect exchange, too.

Maybe this is just the benefit of dealing with a man who used to run your organization: he still sees Mench, Cordero, and Nix as the bright young things, full of potential, that he used to know when he first acquired them. But it also goes to show how even the best players on the trading block may change teams without exchanging core players or top prospects. In terms of general value measured by VORP, this deal is something like the Twins giving up Luis Castillo, Jesse Crain, Jason Tyner, and a Class A pitcher of no concern, in exchange for a player who would be the best OF bat on the Twins, plus a promising minor league hitter to bolster the bench.

Denizens of Twins Territory, if you feel so inclined, today thank Jobu for not making us Brewers fans.