Wednesday Bombers #4

Wednesday, 11 July 2012

The trade deadline still looms with several Rockies including Jeremy Guthrie, Ramon Hernandez, and Marco Scutaro among others rumored to be moving elsewhere.  With the trade deadline in mind, last week I discussed one of the major deadline deals from the Blake Street Bombers era, that being the Bret Saberhagen trade of 1995.  This week I am going to take a look at the major trade from the expansion year of 1993 involving the Rockies and their division rivals, the San Diego Padres.

The 1993 Rockies had a lot in common with this year's version of the team.  Much like 2012, the 1993 Rockies needed a veteran presence in their youthful starting rotation.  They had attempted to use former Expo Bryn Smith in that role, but he was largely ineffective and was released in June (much like this year's Rockies and Jamie Moyer).  So throughout their first summer in the league, the Rockies had a young and inexperienced rotation that was susceptible to giving up a lot of runs (man, this sounds familiar). 

Let's analyze the fallout from the Rockies' first big deadline deal.


July 26, 1993

Rockies receive                                                Padres receive
P - Bruce Hurst                                                C - Brad Ausmus
P - Greg Harris                                                 P - Doug Bochtler
                                                                        P - Andy Ashby

ROCKIES HAUL

Bruce Hurst was recovering from shoulder surgery earlier in the season, but the Rockies were confident that he would be okay for the remainder of the season.  They would proven incorrect as Hurst only started 3 games for the Rockies and pitched only 8.2 total innings near the end of the season.  Following the 1993 season, Hurst left the Rockies via free agency and joined the Rangers where he pitched 3 more months before retiring in mid-1994.  The card pictured is actually a Rangers card, but is the closest thing to a Rockies card that Hurst would ever get.

Greg Harris was a great reliever with the Padres that had been converted into a starter a couple of years before.  Harris did not do well with the Rockies by any stretch of the imagination.  Harris had a combined record of 4-20 with a 6.60 ERA over the 1993 and 1994 seasons.  He was released following the 1994 season and pitched one more year in Minnesota before his major league career ended.

PADRES HAUL

Brad Ausmus was selected from the Yankees with the 54th pick in the 1992 Expansion Draft.  He never played in the majors for Colorado, but he arguably had the most successful career of anyone involved in this trade.  He immediately joined the Padres as their starting catcher and played 3 1/2 relatively good seasons for San Diego.  He was traded to the Tigers in mid-1996, before finding his greatest success later in Houston.

Doug Bochtler was selected from the Expos with the 32nd pick in the 1992 Expansion Draft.  Much like Ausmus, Bochtler had never joined the big league club in Colorado.  Unlike Ausmus, it would take Bochtler two more seasons to make the majors.  He joined the Padres bullpen in 1995 and pitched for three seasons with them.  He was pretty good with the Padres posting a 3.78 ERA in 151 games before being traded to Oakland in the 1997 offseason.

Andy Ashby was selected from the Phillies with the 25th pick in the 1992 Expansion Draft.  Ashby was originally a PTBNL in this deal, but he proved to be the crown jewel of the trade (at least for the two teams involved).  Unlike the other two players in this deal, Ashby had already played with the big league club in Colorado going 0-4 with an 8.50 ERA.  He did much better once he joined the Padres.  He spent a total of 8 seasons in San Diego compiling a record of 70-62 with a 3.59 ERA.  He retired after rejoining the Padres in 2005.

THE JUDGMENT

This judgment is absolutely simple, The Padres won this trade by a long shot.  Each of the three players the Padres received in this deal proved to be more successful than both of the Rockies combined.  The Rockies have never had a catcher the caliber of Ausmus in their history, so that would've helped the team immensely throughout the late 20th century.  I still have no idea why the expansion Rockies traded prospects for older pitchers other than for leadership.  It made little to no sense then and continues to this day.  Even if the Padres players had not been successful, this trade was a major head scratcher.

The Rockies lose this deal to make their deadline deal record so far 1-1.

Thanx for reading.

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Wednesday Bombers #3

Wednesday, 4 July 2012

Before I begin, I would like to wish a Happy Fourth of July to everyone in the U.S. and a Happy July 4th (it is still that date) to the rest of the world.  July has always been my favorite month for many reasons.  As a kid, it was the month that was furthest away from school and I have always preferred warm weather.  In baseball season, July is my favorite month for one particular reason...the trade deadline.  I love the season of buyers and sellers and old faces in new places.  In the early years the Rockies were relatively quiet at the deadline, but there were a few deals made in the last week of July.  Throughout this month, I will be shining the spotlight on these deadline deals and seeing whether the trade was beneficial for the Rockies, the other team, or both (or neither for that matter).

Let's start with the rare deal in which the Rockies were the buyers.

July 31, 1995

Rockies receive                                                   Mets receive
Bret Saberhagen                                                  Juan Acevedo
David Swanson                                                   Arnold Gooch

ROCKIES HAUL

Bret Saberhagen was acquired to be the ace that the Rockies had never had.  He is, to this day, the only Cy Young Award winner to ever wear the Rockies uniform.  Saberhagen started 9 games down the stretch for the Rockies and had a 2-1 record with a gaudy 6.28 ERA.  While Saberhagen was not that beneficial for Colorado with regards to stats, his veteran leadership and presence probably helped quite a bit.  It didn't hurt because Colorado ended up winning the Wild Card in 1995 before losing in the playoff to Atlanta.

The following season did not work out that well for Saberhagen.  He injured his shoulder and had major surgery which cost him the entire 1996 season.  The Rockies allowed him to leave via free agency after the season.

David Swanson was a pitcher that was selected in the 9th round pick in the 1991 draft.  He was originally a starter, but was converted to a reliever before he was traded to the Rockies.  He never made it out of Class A and was let go at the end of the 1995 season.

METS HAUL

Juan Acevedo was Colorado's #2 prospect in 1995 (#55 overall) and had already seen the majors earlier in 1995 with moderate success.  The Mets took their time with him.  He went to the minors and spent the rest of 1995, all of 1996, and a good chunk of 1997 with AAA Norfolk.  They called up in mid-1997 and he pitched in 25 games, mostly in relief.  After the 1997 season the Mets traded him to St. Louis for Rigo Beltran, who was later traded to the Rockies in a deadline deal.  Ah, the circle of life.  Acevedo pitched in the majors until 2003, including a second stint with the Rockies.  As of 2012, he is still active in the Mexican League at the age of 42.

Arnold Gooch, who has an awesome name, was a 9th round pick in the 1994 draft.  He was a very young starting pitcher in Class A.  He lasted in the Mets organization until 1998 making it as high as AA Binghamton.

THE JUDGMENT

Saberhagen never became the staff ace that he was acquired to be, but the Rockies made the playoffs.  Acevedo never quite lived up to his top prospect billing, although he did have a decent career as a journeyman middle reliever.  The minor leaguers are an obvious push.

I will give an ever so slight win to the Rockies on the basis of a playoff berth, although it was close to being a push.

Your thoughts?

Thanx for reading.

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