Trade Wars

Jason Michael Barker

In a probable preview of things to come, two deals went down Wednesday. The first, and much-anticipated, saw Curt Schilling finally get out of Philadelphia and on to a "contender," while the second deal was so minor in comparison you might not even be aware of it (Ismael Valdes back to the Dodgers, details to follow).

Several sources reported last week that Schilling had a short list of teams he'd be willing to go to in trade: the Diamondbacks, Yankees, and Mets. The Yankees already acquired Denny Neagle and David Justice, so I doubt they're looking to make another huge deal (though I wouldn't put it past them, either).

Schilling to the Mets made a good deal of sense, but everybody wants their top prospect, outfielder Alex Escobar, and the Mets don't seem willing to deal him unless it's for Barry Larkin. That left Arizona, whose starting rotation consisted of Randy Johnson and little else this season, even more so than in previous years.

Moving on to the trade itself...

In exchange for Schilling, the Diamondbacks gave up 1B/OF Travis Lee, LHP Omar Daal and RHP's Vicente Padilla and Nelson Figueroa. Give Arizona credit -- Lee was in the minors, Daal had lost his spot in the starting rotation, and they didn't give up their two hottest commodities, Byun-Hyung Kim or Matt Mantei.

From the Arizona standpoint, the only real loss of a player who was contributing this season is Padilla, who the Phillies think can be a closer in the near future. Trading Padilla does leave the already thin Diamondbacks' bullpen a bit thinner, but he wasn't exactly an innings-eater out there, having only thrown 35 innings. They were good innings, to be certain, and he pitched well as a starter in the minors last season, but he's no huge loss for the Diamondbacks.

Lee is certainly young enough to turn things around, though he hasn't hit well at all since pulling a hamstring in 1998, his rookie year. There's some speculation that the hammy never healed all the way, the same story behind why Darren Erstad was so horrible last season and is hitting so well this year. If Lee does indeed have an Erstad-like comeback in him, it might happen elsewhere -- the Phillies don't really seem to have a place for him, with both Pat Burrell and Rico Brogna on the roster, and Lee really isn't an outfielder in the first place.

Perhaps the biggest wildcard in the deal is Omar Daal, just one year removed from a solid year and two from being just as good, if not better, than Schilling. In 1998 and 1999, combined, Daal posted a mediocre 24-21 won-loss record but a very good 3.32 ERA while allowing just 334 hits in 377.1 innings.

He's been horrible this season, to the tune of a 7.22 ERA and 127 hits allowed in 96 innings, but the ability is certainly there. The Phillies obviously think so, having inked Daal to a contract extension through 2001 with a club option for 2002. He's still fairly young (28), and doesn't have much mileage on his arm (less than 700 career innings).

Figueroa is something of a throw-in, just as he was when he came to the Diamondbacks in the Willie Blair/Bernard Gilkey trade with the Mets in 1998. He pitched well last year in the minors, but is too old to be a prospect and doesn't have very good stuff. His control is good, but he doesn't strike out many batters and very well may get slapped around by big league hitters, much as he has been in his three starts this season (7.47 ERA, four homers in 15.2 innings).

As for Schilling, the Diamondbacks still have a relatively weak bullpen, but this move should propel them to the NL West title they were probably going to win anyway. Schilling gives them the best 1-2 punch in baseball with Randy Johnson, and between them that's two games out of every five when the bullpen won't normally have to pitch more than an inning or two, if at all. Schilling also has another year left on his contract, and is a bargain at $6.5M assuming he stays healthy.

Finally, the Cubs sent Ismael Valdes back from whence he came -- Los Angeles. This deal isn't particularly interesting, nor should it help either club all that much. The Dodgers currently sit third in the NL West, and the addition of Valdes isn't enough to lift them over both the D-Backs and Giants, while the Cubs didn't exactly get much in return save some financial relief.

Valdes has been a good pitcher when healthy, though perhaps overrated due to pitching his home games in Dodger Stadium. Interestingly, he pitched well at Wrigley this year but was horrible on the road, so who knows what to make of that other than "small sample size." Throw in shoulder and blister problems this season and you've got a mixed bag of potential and potential bust.

The Dodgers sent Jamie Arnold, a one-time minor league free agent the Braves didn't want, and A-ball OF Jorge Piedra to the Cubs, plus some of the green stuff that makes the world go 'round. Arnold is roster fodder at best, while Piedra has good speed but marginal plate discipline and little power. All in all, not a good haul for Valdes, but then again, the Cubs didn't give up very much to get him in the first place.

While all this trade activity takes place, Jason Michael Barker is thinking of moving, too. Why not tell him how you can help at jmb@strikethree.com?

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