Washington/New Orleans Complete Major Deal January 6, 2000
Trade confirmation off the wire from New Orleans:
Amidst whining and dining Washington Owner Aaron Weiner at the New Orleans
Saints' new multi-million dollar sports, gaming and retail facility, a
blockbuster trade was completed. Here's the brief scoop:
To Washington:
3B Matt Williams
P Hideki Irabu
To New Orleans:
3B Bill Mueller
P Nigel Fernandez
Of the deal, New Orleans GM Peter Gammons stated, "We need a top-notch
closer and we went out and got a top notch closer. Our bullpen was a mess
for quite some time. We also got a hot young 3B prospect in Mueller who
should produce right away. His numbers continue to go up. Hideki never
was happy here, especially once Masato (Yoshi) left town. He never
produced here anyway. Matt Williams is a major loss but, given that he
seems to get injured all of the time, we're probably better off with
consistency then ocassional greatness."
