Just after the Friday night game against the Mets ended, the master of the deadline deals pulled off another trade for a valuable bullpen arm. John Schuerholz and the Atlanta Braves sent uber utility infielder Wilson Betemit to the Los Angeles Dodgers for right-handed pitcher Danys Baez and infielder Willy Aybar. When asked if he was done trading, Schuerholz wiped his hand slowly across his forehead and with an exhausted look on his face said, "We're done for tonight."
As thrilled as both Bobby Cox and John Schuerholz were to once again make a substantial upgrade to their bullpen, they also seemed more than thrilled to have acquired Aybar. A quick glance over his Minor League and Major League stats and nothing initially stand out, but the kid looks like a quality infielder. His .250 batting average with the Dodgers this year is also not that impressive, but look again and you'll see a .356 on-base percentage and more walks than strikeouts, and you realize that's the kind of player this strikeout prone Braves team needs. Aybar strikes out only once every 8.5 plate appearances compared to Betemit who strikes out once every 3.8 plate appearances.
Bobby Cox said of the trade, "Another closer that two years ago back to back he had close to 80 saves. And Aybar's one of the better prospects around. He's up there now, switch hitter, 23 years old; he's supposed to be a great looking player." Cox must be thrilled to have two proven closers in his bullpen after having previously had three failed closers.
Schuerholz heaped all sorts of praise on the new infielder he had just acquired. "Aybar's a very talented young player," said the GM. "Outstanding reports on him throughout his Minor League career and we like him a lot. Aybar's a 23 year old whose abilities are well appreciated by our scouting staff out there who have seen him, both in the Minor Leagues and in the Major Leagues." He continued, saying Willy's a "strong offensive player, a switch-hitter, and we get an arm for our bullpen for this year and we'll see beyond that."
About Baez the GM said, "We like how he pitched in Tampa Bay the last two years. We think in the role he's going to fill for us, he'll be another big arm to add to our bullpen to make it stronger." He stated that Baez will be the setup man for Wickman, but will also be able to close on days when Wickman can't go.
When a reporter brought up that Schuerholz finally got two of the guys they were talking about getting in Dallas during the Winter Meetings last off-season, the embattled GM once again put his hand on his forehead, took a deep breath and said, "It took a few months, but we got them."
Who will he be sending down from the bullpen? "Oh, oh I don't know," said the GM. "We haven't discussed that yet." Schuerholz looked exhausted, but he also seemed satisfied at what he had accomplished.