NEW YORK -- Jaret Wright was traded by the New York Yankees to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday for right-handed reliever Chris Britton.
Britton
WrightAs part of the deal, the Yankees will pay $4 million of Wright's $7 million salary next year. New York had until Sunday to opt out of Wright's contract, a move that also would have cost the Yankees a $4 million buyout...
Britton, who turns 24 on Dec. 16, was taken by Baltimore on the eighth round of the 2001 amateur draft. He made his major league debut last season, going 0-1 with one save and a 3.35 ERA in 52 relief appearances with the Orioles. He also was 1-0 with a 2.81 ERA and two saves in 13 games for Bowie of the Double-A Eastern League.
Alright, well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to say that this is a great trade on a Yankee standpoint... but why would the Orioles make a deal like this?
My friend and fellow Empire Elite K responded to my question this way:
K: its all to do with Leo MazzoneK: he had to have been asked about himK: he probably gave the deal his blessingK: told everyone he could make Wright a good starter again
I agree with him, but I don't know whether I would judge Jaret Wright as a "lost cause" in that realm... he's a decent pitcher who couldn't rack up innings... if Mazzone can make Wright a great pitcher again, I'll bow at his feet, but this isn't the Jaret Wright who pitched in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series here...
Now, Britton... a fire-baller with a lot of weight on him... I do believe he'll lose some weight before the start of Spring Training (or during the course of it), but let's look at his minor league numbers for a bit...
From Baseball Cube:
Pitching Statistics
What jumps out at you? For me, it's his strikeouts, numbers, and ERA in class A+ and his ERA straight through his career... anytime you can get more than a K an inning, you're throwing gas and hitting your spots... reminds me of Bruney's season this year (25 Ks in 20.2 innings)...
The Yankees are building their pitching prospects incredibly... 8 out of 10 prospects that made the Yankees' Top 10 prospect list by Baseball America are pitchers, Sanchez and Whelan were both on the Tigers' Top 10 prospect list from last year, and Britton got Baseball America's designation as having the Best Control in the Orioles' prospect list of last year...
The future's bright... but what about the present? We'll see as the off-season goes on...
Happy reading!
B(rent)
Now, Britton... a fire-baller with a lot of weight on him... I do believe he'll lose some weight before the start of Spring Training (or during the course of it), but let's look at his minor league numbers for a bit...
From Baseball Cube:
Pitching Statistics
| Org | Level | W | L | ERA | G | GS | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | WHIP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Bal | Rk | 2 | 3 | 2.76 | 12 | 3 | 32.2 | 35 | 20 | 10 | 3 | 12 | 20 | 1.44 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Bal | Rk | 3 | 0 | 4.54 | 9 | 8 | 35.2 | 30 | 21 | 18 | 5 | 10 | 27 | 1.12 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Bal | A | 9 | 4 | 3.75 | 27 | 8 | 84.0 | 76 | 38 | 35 | 11 | 31 | 80 | 1.27 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Bal | A+ | 6 | 0 | 1.60 | 46 | 0 | 78.2 | 47 | 15 | 14 | 5 | 23 | 110 | 0.89 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Bal | AA | 1 | 0 | 2.81 | 13 | 0 | 16.0 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 24 | 1.25 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Bal | MLB | 0 | 2 | 3.35 | 52 | 0 | 53.2 | 46 | 22 | 20 | 4 | 17 | 41 | 1.17 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | 7 | 2.99 | 107 | 19 | 247.0 | 202 | 99 | 82 | 24 | 82 | 261 | 1.15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
What jumps out at you? For me, it's his strikeouts, numbers, and ERA in class A+ and his ERA straight through his career... anytime you can get more than a K an inning, you're throwing gas and hitting your spots... reminds me of Bruney's season this year (25 Ks in 20.2 innings)...
The Yankees are building their pitching prospects incredibly... 8 out of 10 prospects that made the Yankees' Top 10 prospect list by Baseball America are pitchers, Sanchez and Whelan were both on the Tigers' Top 10 prospect list from last year, and Britton got Baseball America's designation as having the Best Control in the Orioles' prospect list of last year...
The future's bright... but what about the present? We'll see as the off-season goes on...
Happy reading!
B(rent)
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