So everybody is giving Jim Bowden crap for his handling of the Soriano situation and not getting rid of Fonzy at the trade deadline last year and getting at least one or two prospects for him. Probably a legitimate beef. But let's take a look back at a crowning jewel of last season for Jim Bowden and how he absolutely fleeced the Reds in a trade.
On July 13, 2006, Bowden sent RHP Gary Majewski, LHP Bill Bray, RHP Daryl Thompson, and infielders Royce Clayton and Brendan Harris to the Reds for SS Felipe Lopez, RF Austin Kearns, and RHP Ryan Wagner. The Reds desperately needed bullpen pitching to set up their ill-fated and ultimately unfruitful postseason run, and the Nats decimated their bullpen with this trade and acquired Kearns, who made it known to many people that he was unhappy coming to Washington given that he had grown up just outside the 'Natti in northern Kentucky.
Fast forward to today, three days before Opening Day. Let's run through where these players are...
WHO THE REDS RECEIVED:
Bill Bray - Sent down by the Reds at the end of Spring Training to AAA
Gary Majewski - Sent down by the Reds at the end of Spring Training to AAA
Royce Clayton - Contract not picked up by the Reds, now a bench infielder for the Blue Jays.
Brendan Harris - Traded to the Devil Rays in January 2007 for the infamous "player to be named later." Now a bench infielder.
Daryl Thompson - In the Reds minor league system.
WHO THE NATS RECEIVED:
Ryan Wagner - Promoted from AAA, now in the Nats bullpen, a quality set-up man for Chad Cordero.
Felipe Lopez - Batting leadoff for the Nats, possibly a 40 stolen base man, starting at 2B.
Austin Kearns - No longer disgruntled, gave a great interview on The Junkies yesterday about how excited he is to be on the team, to move into the new ballpark next year, power hitter who will bat cleanup for the Nats and start in RF.
This will go down as one of the most lopsided trades in a very, very long time. Lopez and Kearns are seen as two centerpieces for the rebuilding of the Nats, as both are in their 20s and have long careers ahead of them. Credit where credit is due to Jim Bowden.
March 30, 2007
Time to Give Jimbo Some Credit
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Since the Nats effectively are a AAA team, I say the whole trade was a wash.
Nice job pulling the trigger on that Chad Cordero trade too. They waited just long enough for Papelbon to complain about the life of a starting pitcher.
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