Galena, IL (AP) - The Vero Beach Bums have traded 1998 Cy Young winner
Albie Lopez to the Medina Mustangs for pitchers Chad Ogea, Brian Barber,
and recent #1 free agent pick Kelvim Escobar.
"It's really hard to say goodbye to Albie," said Bums owner Jason Gohlke in
a press conference immediately following tonight's free-agent draft. "He
has been the premier pitcher on this staff since the founding of the Vero
Beach Bums. He brought honor to our organization by winning the Cy Young.
He was an integral part of our 1997 World Series team and our 1998 DLCS
team, and we would never have gotten that far without him. He is a true
ace, in every sense of the word. It's hard to break up the "Three Aces"
-- Willie Adams, Ismael Valdes, and Albie, who have been together since the
1997 season.
"However, we needed to shore up our entire pitching staff," Gohlke
continued, "so to turn down an offer like the one we got from Randy [Reese,
Mustangs owner] would have been foolish. In Escobar, an awesome prospect,
we get a power pitcher who still has a measure of control, and excellent
pitches. This is a guy who can start right now, and should become dominant
in time. In Ogea we get a proven starter whose numbers should improve in
Vero Beach. In Barber, we get a strong reliever who can take some of the
setup load off of David Weathers. Randy, on the other hand, adds a quality
pitcher and a great guy to his suddenly excellent staff, and trims down his
pitching surplus. It was a good deal for all involved, and I compliment
Randy on his team and his character."
The numbers:
Lopez: 46-29, 3.06 ERA in 602 1/3 IP; 617 H, 53 HR, 139 BB, 482 K, .263
OppBA, 99 starts, 62 QS, 2 CG
Ogea: 24-36, 4.44 ERA in 486 IP; 538 H, 57 HR, 131 BB, 323 K, .278 OppBA,
84 starts, 41 QS, 5 CG
Barber: 2-8, 9.00 ERA in 26 IP; 45 H, 9 HR, 11 BB, 7 K, .385 OppBA, 1 hold,
1 save
Escobar: no stats
Gant Traded to Houston
Galena, IL (AP) - In their second draft-day deal, the Vero Beach Bums
traded LF Ron Gant, an original member of the franchise, to the Houston
Hellraisers. In return, the Bums receive RF Moises Alou and Houston's 1st
round 2000 amateur draft pick.
