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April 01, 2006
Trade
Texas traded outfielder DAVID DELLUCCI for Philadelphia for pitcher ROBINSON TEJEDA and outfielder JAKE BLALOCK.
Apparently the Ranger braintrust looked askance at throwing newly acquired John Koronka onto the mound for the fifth game of the season. Despite concerns about Brad Wilkerson’s shoulder, Laynce Nix’s ability to hit MLB pitching, and Gary Matthews’s hamstring, Texas decided to cash in on Dellucci’s fine 2005 and affordability ($900,000 salary) to upgrade the pitching. Since Philly has Pat Burrell and Bobby Abreu as outfield corners and no need for a DH, Dellucci will recede to the status of seldom-used fourth outfielder.
Tejeda turned 24 a few days ago. As a rookie last season, Tejeda lucked into his 3.57 ERA. He walked or hit 16% of the batters he faced and allowed only a .260 average on balls in play. On the other hand, he struck out just under 20% of his opponents and permitted only five homers and a meager .329 slugging percentage. In 2004, as a 22-year-old in AA, he offered promising peripherals (3.5 walks and 8.0 Ks per nine innings) except for Wasdin-esque homer per five innings. With his arrival, John Koronka’s tenure as the fifth starter lasts all of two days. I peg Tejeda for an ERA of 4.80 and a WHIP of 1.50 in Texas.
Blalock is Hank’s kid brother. He batted .279/.359/.388 as a 21-year-old for high-A Clearwater last year. He may begin ’06 in AA Frisco.
Posted by Lucas at April 1, 2006 11:59 PM