The Yuma Firebirds made a major trade today, dealing ace RHP Carlos Zambrano to Texas in exchange for three prospects; 1B Eric Hosmer, SS Alcides Escobar, and LHP Troy Patton, who was originally released by the Firebirds in the off-season due to salary concerns.
"In my opinion, this deal was a heist," said GM Billy Beane, "With all due respect to Carlos, who served the Firebird organization well, he wasn't a 15 million dollar pitcher, and quite frankly, his bloated salary was choking up our cap space. We had exactly zero dollars to work with in terms of cap room, and know we have over ten. We dealt away a pitcher we had no intention of keeping for next year, and we got more than one measly draft pick in exchange. I couldn't be happier."
Zambrano's inconsistent performances, both during the regular and postseason irritated owner Chris Melkonian, who had been actively shopping Z for sometime. "Big Z's salary was already going to increase, and with the growth of Slowey, Cueto, Price, and Buchholz, we have more than enough room to fill in his shoes," stated GM Chris Melkonian."Not to mention, we addressed two areas of need. We acquired a future impact bat at 1B (Hosmer) for the future and increased our middle infield depth with Escobar, who provides speed and plus-plus D. Not to mention, you can never have enough LHP pitching, and Patton has played well in his return from surgery." The team announced that Kevin Slowey would be inserted into Zambranos fourth spot in the rotation, behind Halladay, Sabathia, Peavy, and in front of Matt Cain.
Texas, meanwhile, makes no secret about their happiness in landing 'Big Z' or in the expected return of All-World IF Alex Rodriguez from the DL, which will give the punchless Tornados (BARB-worst 92 runs scored, less than half of loop-leading Black Mesa's total of 211) a chance to get into some games where their pitching holds up. You can read about Texas's elation here, or leave comments here about which team you think got the better of this swap.
"In my opinion, this deal was a heist," said GM Billy Beane, "With all due respect to Carlos, who served the Firebird organization well, he wasn't a 15 million dollar pitcher, and quite frankly, his bloated salary was choking up our cap space. We had exactly zero dollars to work with in terms of cap room, and know we have over ten. We dealt away a pitcher we had no intention of keeping for next year, and we got more than one measly draft pick in exchange. I couldn't be happier."
Zambrano's inconsistent performances, both during the regular and postseason irritated owner Chris Melkonian, who had been actively shopping Z for sometime. "Big Z's salary was already going to increase, and with the growth of Slowey, Cueto, Price, and Buchholz, we have more than enough room to fill in his shoes," stated GM Chris Melkonian."Not to mention, we addressed two areas of need. We acquired a future impact bat at 1B (Hosmer) for the future and increased our middle infield depth with Escobar, who provides speed and plus-plus D. Not to mention, you can never have enough LHP pitching, and Patton has played well in his return from surgery." The team announced that Kevin Slowey would be inserted into Zambranos fourth spot in the rotation, behind Halladay, Sabathia, Peavy, and in front of Matt Cain.
Texas, meanwhile, makes no secret about their happiness in landing 'Big Z' or in the expected return of All-World IF Alex Rodriguez from the DL, which will give the punchless Tornados (BARB-worst 92 runs scored, less than half of loop-leading Black Mesa's total of 211) a chance to get into some games where their pitching holds up. You can read about Texas's elation here, or leave comments here about which team you think got the better of this swap.
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