Sea Dogs Trade Larkin, White, MacFarlane June 15, 2000
(AP) WASHINGTON, D. C.--The Washington Sea Dogs made two trades today that
appear to be salary dumps and suggest that last year's only DL 100-game
winners may not be serious about trying for the World Series.
Washington traded struggling catcher Mike Macfarlane and the #14 amateur
draft pick to New Orleans for Kurt Abbott and the #21 pick and
immediately afterward traded shortstop Barry Larkin and center fielder
Devon White to the Sacramento Sea Otters for center fielder Roger Cedeno
and RF/DH Troy O'Leary.
The deal came as a shock to Larkin, who has often commented that he would
have liked to end his career as a Sea Dog.
"This is unreal to me, just completely unreal," Larkin said. "I'm going
from a contender to a contender, but I was happy in Washington. I don't
understand why they did this."
Sea Dogs General Manager Aaron Weiner had the question posed to him of why
he didn't tell Larkin he was being shopped. Weiner, however, denied
Larkin's statement.
"We mentioned that he was being shopped; maybe he didn't take us
seriously," Weiner said. "The truth is, he's a great player, and it made
me sick to lose him, but we couldn't turn down that much for him."
Weiner said that he was pleased from a front-office standpoint about the
deals today, but that he had regrets pulling the deals.
"Trading away Barry was one of the hardest things IO've ever had to do,"
Weiner said. "It didn't help that the man who's replacing him is batting
.220 (O'Leary). But it's a top priority for us to get younger, and the
deals today were a golden opportunity for us to do that."
O'Leary's struggles can be somewhat forgiven, as he has been in and out of
the lineup and has played in the PVBL's best pitcher's park, Sacramento.
However, it wasn't O'Leary's struggles that Weinerw as most concerned iwth
today.
"Mike MacFarlane has always been an exceptional man and a good ballplayer,
but it was time for us to mak a change," wWeiner said. "He was just
beginning to turn it around, but we needed Abbott to play shortstop for
us."
The Sea Dogs will likely play O'Leary against righthanders and platoon
Ernie Young, meaning Young may not have a starting role.
Washington entered the amateur draft break with a .613 winning percentage,
second-best in the Defiant LEague.
