Maddux to Dodgers, Casey to Tigers among deals
By the Heckler
BaseballBigMouth.com baseball blog
Well, that was . . . relatively uneventful, wasn’t it? Despite a series of rumors being floated about all day on sports radio stations across North America, in the end, only a handful of moves actually transpired – with the most notable name out there, Alfonso Soriano, remaining with his parent team, the Washington Nationals. Ditto for Miguel Tejada. And Andruw Jones is still an Atlanta Brave. As for the moves that actually went down, BaseballBigMouth.com brings you the news and views . . .
The Detroit Tigers tweaked their lineup prior to today’s MLB trading deadline by picking up left-hand hitting first baseman Sean Casey from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for minor league pitcher Brian Rogers. To make room for Casey on the roster, the Tigers optioned first baseman Chris Shelton to AAA Toledo.
The Tigers add a veteran left-handed stick in Casey to a righty-heavy lineup without giving away one of their top prospects, but the cost is the deletion of Shelton. Since rocketing out of the gate in April with 10 home runs and 20 RBIs, Shelton has hit only .244 with six home runs with 25 RBIs. Even worse, he has looked lost at times at the plate. Time spent with Toledo hitting guru Leon “Bull” Durham should do wonders for Shelton. He is still a solid bet to be included on the Tigers’ post-season roster. The free agent-to-be Casey entered today hitting .296 with three home runs and 29 RBIs in 59 games for the Pirates. He has a career .304 average and is a former NL All-Star three-times over with the Cincinnati Reds. He missed six weeks earlier this year with two back fractures suffered in a collision at first base. Of late, he was out with an oblique strain. Overall, not a huge move on paper, but one that inevitably makes Detroit’s lineup a little more solid from a contact perspective. Casey is also a well-liked teammate in every venue he has ever called home.
The Los Angeles Dodgers picked up former all-world pitcher Greg Maddux from the Chicago Cubs for shortstop Cesar Izturis. In a separate move, the Dodgers also snagged Julio Lugo from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for highly-touted minor league prospect Joel Guzman, along with fellow minor-leaguer Sergio Pedroza.
The ol’grey mare, she ain’t what she used to be – and neither is Maddux. The 327-game winner waived his no-trade clause to end his second go-round with the Cubs, and takes his 9-11 record (with 4.69 ERA) along with him. Trading Izturis is a cheap price to pay to get a vet like Maddux for the stretch drive, but keep in mind, Maddux has never exactly lit it up in the post-season (10-10 record), even in his best days. Lugo is a nice upgrade over Izturis (with Lugo actually expected to play 2B with Jeff Kent moving to 1B) but it came at a steep price. The 22-year-old was the Dodgers third-best up-and-comer, with an ability to play short, third and the outfield. In AAA this year, he hit .297 with 11 HRs and 55 RBI in 85 games with nine steals.
The St. Louis Cardinals acquired second baseman Ronnie Belliard from the Cleveland Indians for Hector Luna.
The Heckler almost feels sorry for the Cleveland Indians today . . . but not quite. I mean, if you had to sit next to their fans during an entire baseball game, you’d know why. That being said – what the hell are they thinking? Belliard, a former all-star who is eligible for free-agency at year’s end, now gives the Cardinals an all-star at every infield position (including 1B Albert Pujols, 3B Scott Rolen and SS David Eckstein). And further? He’s a big-game player, flat-out, that Tony LaRussa is thrilled to have added to his roster. No kidding. The firesale is now complete for the failed 2006 edition of the Indians, with Belliard joining fellow-departees Bob Wickman, Ben Broussard and Eduardo Perez. There’s always next year, Cleveland - right?
In other moves . . . The Mets picked-up left-hander Oliver Perez and veteran reliever Roberto Hernandez from the Pirates for outfielder Xavier Nady; The Texas Rangers picked up veteran Matt Stairs from the Royals for a minor leaguer, along with Kip Wells from the Pirates; The Cincinnati Reds added left-hander Rheal Cormier from Philadelphia for right-hander Justin Germano, plus, added Kyle Loshe from the Twins; San Diego picked up Todd Walker from the Cubs for a minor-leaguer; the Yankees added Craig Wilson from the Pirates for pitcher Shawn Chacon.
Okay, raise your hands baseball-fans (and be honest) - how many out there even knew that Roberto Hernandez was still in the big leagues?!? Sheesh! Stairs is a good bat to add to any lineup (even one that was so not in need of another, like Texas) while the Yankees picking up Wilson a tad intriguing. He’s put up decent numbers almost invisibly while in Pittsburgh. We’ll see how he likes the Big Apple . . .