Washington Trades Miscreants, Looks Ahead July 9, 1999
(AP) WASHINGTON--Effective after tomorrow's games, the Washington Sea Dogs
have traded both their starting cornermen, Garret Anderson and Robin
Ventura, to the Edmonton Oil Kings.
In return, Washington receives a pair of Edmonton underachievers, Kevin
Orie and Tim Salmon.
"This is a very important trade for us," GM Aaron Weiner said. "As we
always look to do, we got faster and better by this deal. More
importantly, however, we picked up a player who will certainly fill the
outfield void left by Lance Johnson."
Washington had been playing Ernie Young in right field, Larry Walker in
center and Mickey Kelly in left. Kelly, who has by far the weakest arm
among the three, is expected to be the odd man out.
"We wanted to play Mickey Kelly at first base since the beginning of the
year," Weiner said. "This way, it'll be a smooth transition when Lance
Johnson gets back."
The move presents a possible future problem for the Sea Dogs, as
Washington may have to bench Kelly in favor of Young when Johnson returns.
"Well, with the way Ernie's playing, we have a tough choice," Weiner said.
"There's no reason we can't play both, either, since Ernie can play third
base. But this is the kind of choice you WANT to be able to make."
Ventura was hitting just .242 at the time of the trade with 12 homers and
41 RBI, while Garret Anderson's batting average had dropped from .325 when
he joined the Sea Dogs to .298 at the time of the trade.
Orie, however, has been even worse than Ventura, with just a .193 average
in 306 at bats. Salmon has been solid, with a .262 average and 15 homers.
Both numbers are expected to rise over in the Defiant League.
"We're satisfied with the deal," Weiner said. "We think we're in good
shape for the future."
