Spring Trading
March 27, 2004
Next week, we'll take a look at how the spring training position battles have shaped up and what the lineups look like heading into opening day. This week we'll take a look at three trades that brought more pitching talent to the NL East.
The Braves acquired RHP Chris Reitsma from the Reds for LHP Jung Bong and RHP Bubba Nelson
The Braves acquired RHP Juan Cruz and LHP Steve Smyth from the Cubs for LHP Andy Pratt and 2B Richard Lewis
The Braves made two trades this week in an effort to bolster their biggest weakness heading into the season, their bullpen. GM John Schuerholz was obviously concerned with the spring performances of the Braves set-up men like Antonio Alfonseca (10.13 ERA), Armando Almanza (6.75 ERA), Kevin Gryboski (6.00 ERA) and Wil Cunnane (6.00 ERA). So Schuerholz went to the his seemingly endless supply of pitching prospects and dealt three of them for two very talented arms.
Chris Reitsma will likely be used as the Braves primary set-up man to bridge the 8th inning to closer John Smoltz. Last season, Reitsma found his niche in the Reds bullpen going 8-4 with 12 saves, a 3.51 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 47 strikeouts in 66.2 innings. Reitsma throws an explosive sinker, a four-seam fastball and a changeup. His biggest weakness is that he tends to leave his four-seamer over the plate which tends to be hit a long way (he allowed 14 homers in 84 innings last season). If you league counts holds, Reitsma is definitely worth a look because he should pick up holds and he'll also serve as insurance for John Smoltz's aging arm/elbow.
Juan Cruz comes to the Braves as a project for pitching coach Leo Mazzone. Cruz has always wowed the scouts with his raw stuff but he's been unable to harness it to become a dominant force at the major league level (as evidenced by his 104 walks in 203 career innings). Two years ago, Cruz and Prior were ranked as the Cubs top prospects, but the Cubs have finally grown tired of waiting for him to realize his potential. Cruz throws a mid-90s fastball with good movement; along with a darting slider and sinking change - all three pitches are considered plus pitches. In the past, commentators have questioned if he'd end up in the bullpen due to his slight role and it is easy to draw comparisons between Cruz and Houston's Octavio Dotel. The Braves intent to use Cruz out of the pen; but if Jaret Wright falters, he may eventually get a shot at the starting rotation. As a fantasy manager, there's no need to jump on the Juan Cruz bandwagon as of yet, but Leo Mazzone has made great relievers of lesser talents (Chris Hammond, Darren Holmes) so don't be surprised to see Cruz as a dominant reliever in due time.
The cost to the Braves is three solid pitching prospects in Bubba Nelson, Jung Bong (a favorite among college students I'm sure) and Andy Pratt. The most talented of the three is Bubba Nelson, who was ranked the #4 prospect in the Braves minor league system by Baseball Americain. The Reds are in desperate need of pitching help, so Nelson may get his chance immediately in the Reds rotation. Nelson has three solid pitches: a 92-93 mph fastball with outstanding movement, a hard slider and slurve. Last year at Double-A Greenville, Nelson went 8-10 with a 3.18 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 77 Ks in 119 innings.
This offseason, the Braves have traded their top two pitching prospects, Adam Wainwright and Bubba Nelson, and only time will tell if these deals will come back to haunt them in the long run. Considering that the Braves minor league system is stacked with right-handed pitching prospects, especially at the lower levels, the Braves probably won't miss Wainwright or Nelson.
The Expos acquired John Patterson from the Diamondbacks for LHP Randy Choate
John Patterson returns to Montreal, who was the team that originally drafted him in 1996. The Expos picked Patterson in the 1st round, but lost him when he was declared a free agent due to a technicality. Arizona manager Bob Brenly never seemed to give Patterson legitimate shot at the starting rotation and he was bounced from the majors and minors over the last couple of years. Since he was out of options, the D'Backs decided to trade the right-hander rather than lose him via waivers.
Patterson, 26, has a nasty 12-6 curveball and a fastball in the low 90s. His problem has been finding a consistent third pitch that is necessary to succeed as a major league starter. Patterson will likely get a chance at the Expos starting rotation with Tony Armas headed to the DL with a pulled muscle in his side. He's someone to keep on your radar screen but his lack of control (73 walks in 163 innings) will remain a problem in 2004.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this column, please use the comments section below or feel free to e-mail me at cwang@fantasyinfocentral.com.
