Jim Bowden Strikes Again
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But not in a bad way. Recently, the Nationals agreed to send Jose Vidro (with a portion of his 2007 salary paid) to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Chris Snelling & Emiliano Fruto. Let’s take a closer look at the parties involved.
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To Seattle
Jose Vidro (32) was once an all-star caliber second basemen, averaging an OPS of over .860 from 1998 – 2004. But since the move to Washington, Vidro’s production has declined, with OPS’ of .763 & .743 over the past two seasons. The Nationals have agreed to pay a portion of Vidro’s (which is $7 million.) What doesn’t make sense to me about this trade is that the Mariners already have a young, capable, and improving second baseman in Jose Lopez (.724 OPS, 79 RBI in 2006). On top of that, Lopez will make around $350,000 in 2007. There is talk of Vidro playing as DH, but with the recent decline in production, along with the dimensions of Safeco Field, & Ben Broussard coming off of a career year, this deal makes little sense from the Mariners perspective.
To Washington
Chris Snelling (25), once a top 10 prospect, has suffered with injuries throughout his career. But when he’s healthy, the kid can mash. After an 8 game stint in the majors at the age of 20, Snelling developed the injury bug and has missed time in each of the past four seasons. Primarily a doubles hitter, Snelling has a career .312/.396/.476 line in the minors. If Snelling can remain healthy (big if), I think he could project into a .300/.360/.440 type MLB hitter.
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Scouts have reported Emiliano Fruto as a hard thrower that reaches the mid-ninties with his fastball. Fruto (22) had a K/9 IP ratio of 10.92, with 10 saves last season in the PCL and was later promoted to the majors, struggling with his command. This has been the story of Fruto’s career, and Bowden & the Nationals are counting on their staff to straighten this problem out.
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Bowden Strikes Again
Jim Bowden Strikes Again
Â
But not in a bad way. Recently, the Nationals agreed to send Jose Vidro (with a portion of his 2007 salary paid) to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Chris Snelling & Emiliano Fruto. Let’s take a closer look at the parties involved.
Â
Â
To Seattle
Jose Vidro (32) was once an all-star caliber second basemen, averaging an OPS of over .860 from 1998 – 2004. But since the move to Washington, Vidro’s production has declined, with OPS’ of .763 & .743 over the past two seasons. The Nationals have agreed to pay a portion of Vidro’s (which is $7 million.) What doesn’t make sense to me about this trade is that the Mariners already have a young, capable, and improving second baseman in Jose Lopez (.724 OPS, 79 RBI in 2006). On top of that, Lopez will make around $350,000 in 2007. There is talk of Vidro playing as DH, but with the recent decline in production, along with the dimensions of Safeco Field, & Ben Broussard coming off of a career year, this deal makes little sense from the Mariners perspective.
To Washington
Chris Snelling (25), once a top 10 prospect, has suffered with injuries throughout his career. But when he’s healthy, the kid can mash. After an 8 game stint in the majors at the age of 20, Snelling developed the injury bug and has missed time in each of the past four seasons. Primarily a doubles hitter, Snelling has a career .312/.396/.476 line in the minors. If Snelling can remain healthy (big if), I think he could project into a .300/.360/.440 type MLB hitter.
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Scouts have reported Emiliano Fruto as a hard thrower that reaches the mid-ninties with his fastball. Fruto (22) had a K/9 IP ratio of 10.92, with 10 saves last season in the PCL and was later promoted to the majors, struggling with his command. This has been the story of Fruto’s career, and Bowden & the Nationals are counting on their staff to straighten this problem out.
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Matthias Koster has written for mopupduty.com since 2006. Follow Matthias on Twitter, Facebook and Google +