FLURRY OF TRADES FOLLOW DRAFT.Byline: Matt McHale Daily News Staff Writer The Arizona Diamondbacks This article is about the baseball team. For other uses, see Diamondback. The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a Major League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the West Division of the National League. and Tampa Devil Rays drafted for the future. Then they turned around and made deals Tuesday to put teams on the field for 1998. Tampa Bay Tampa Bay, inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, 25 mi (40 km) long and 7 to 12 mi (11.3–19 km) wide, W Fla., separated from the Gulf by numerous small islands; it receives the Hillsborough River. St. acquired first baseman Fred McGriff Early days and the John McGraw era free agent closer Roberto Hernandez. Arizona traded for Detroit third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker Travis Fryman The Diamondbacks also acquired center fielder Devon White
``It has been a busy, busy day,'' Tampa Bay general manager Chuck LaMar said. ``The draft, the trades. Maybe now we can relax a little. Maybe.'' The non-draft trades included the completion of the deal that sent National League Cy Young award winner Pedro Martinez to the Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Red Sox are a member and currently champions of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball’s American League. From to the present, the Red Sox have played in Fenway Park. in exchange for top right-handed prospect Carl Pavano. The Colorado Rockies acquired second baseman Mike Lansing from the Expos for three prospects, right-handers Jake Westbrook and John Nicholson and outfielder Mark Hamlin. ``We are looking down the road and do not expect to win next year, but we plan to be competitive in the future,'' Expos general manager Jim Beattie said. ``We didn't want to give up those guys, but these are the times we live in. We wanted to get an impact player at the major-league level and we think that is Carl Pavano.'' The only member of the Martinez brothers who grew up in the Dodgers organization was Ramon. Younger brother Jesus, a left-hander, was still a few years away. Pedro, 26, was 17-8 with a 1.90 ERA, 13 complete games and four shutouts. He struck out 305 batters in 241 innings. He was the first pitcher since Steve Carlton in 1972 to strike out 300 and have an ERA under two. ``This sends a good message to our fans that we have acquired a premier pitcher in Pedro Martinez,'' said Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette, the former Expos GM. ``We are in a position with our farm system where we felt we could give up something like Carl.'' World Series champion Florida already had traded left-fielder Moises Alou to Houston, which led to the Astros sending highly touted right-fielder Bob Arbeu to Philadelphia for shortstop Kevin Stocker. The Marlins, attempting to dump salaries after losing a reported $30 million last season, sent White to Arizona with one year left on his contract. ``He lives here in the off-season and told me last year he was hoping to get some tickets,'' Arizona GM Joe Garagiola, Jr. said. ``The only ones we had left were in the players' section. Now, that is happening.'' Florida also traded closer Robb Nen to the San Francisco Giants for right-handers Mike Villano, Joe Fontenot and Mike Pageler, all considered prospects. Nen was 9-3 with 35 saves in 1997. Nen goes to a team that just lost Hernandez and is expected to lose closer Rod Beck to free agency. McGriff, left unprotected by the Braves in the expansion draft, returns to his hometown of Tampa. He hit 22 homers and drove in 97 runs for the Braves, the defending National League champion that was eliminated by Florida in the National League Championship Series. ``We had a scenario with just about every team,'' LaMar said. ``The scenario I like is having Fred McGriff in our lineup. Some people think he is past his prime. I'd like to see him put up the same numbers he did last year.'' In other moves: Tampa Bay traded former Yankee right-hander and ex-Seattle shortstop to the San Diego Padres for catcher John Flaherty. . . . Arizona acquired outfielder Harvey Pulliam from Colorado for left-hander Chuck McElroy . . . The Chicago Cubs acquired right-hander Kurt Miller from Florida for a player to be named later The concept of the "player to be named later" is most often associated with Major League Baseball trades. The "player to be named later" (PTBNL) is generally used to postpone a trade's final conditions or terms. This is often done for two reasons. . . . Cincinnati acquired first baseman Dmitri Young from Tampa Bay to complete the Mike Kelly trade and acquired right-hander Scott Winchester from Arizona to complete the Felix Rodriguez trade. . . The Yankees acquired third baseman Scott Brosius from Oakland as the player to be named later in the Kenny Rogers trade. TRADING FRENZY 1B Fred McGriff, from Atlanta to Tampa Bay for future considerations. P Pedro Martinez, from Montreal to Boston for three pitching prospects. P Robb Nen, from Florida to San Francisco for three pitching prospects. 2B Mike Lansing, from Montreal to Colorado for three minor leaguers. OF Devon White, from Florida to Arizona for minor league pitcher Jesus Martinez. Travis Fryman, from Detroit to Arizona for infielder Joe Randa in a four-player deal. CAPTION(S): Box BOX: TRADING FRENZY (see text) |
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