[外電] Orioles, Cubs work out deal for Freel
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Orioles, Cubs work out deal for Freel
Baltimore also sends cash, receives outfielder Gathright
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com
05/08/09 6:35 PM ET
BALTIMORE -- The Orioles clarified their bench picture Friday by trading
disgruntled utilityman Ryan Freel to the Cubs in exchange for outfielder Joey
Gathright. Freel, who had been on the disabled list with a head injury, will
go to Chicago along with a significant cash amount designed to even out the
team's obligations.
Andy MacPhail, Balitmore's president of baseball operations, said that the
deal took around four days to complete and that both the Cubs and Orioles
were trying to fix an organizational surplus. Freel didn't play much for the
Orioles, and MacPhail said that situation probably wouldn't have changed
going forward.
"I think it's the same thing on both sides of the equation," he said. "Since
we acquired Ryan, we ended up acquiring [Ty] Wigginton, who can play third
base and bats right-handed. And we acquired [Robert] Andino, who can play
shortstop and second base. So we didn't get the at-bats there that we
originally anticipated. It's just one of those things that sort of evolved. I
think the Cubs had the same thing on the Gathright side. [Kosuke] Fukudome
got off to such a hot start that how much they envisioned using Joey
initially didn't pan out either."
Freel, who was acquired from Cincinnati in the offseason as part of a deal
for Ramon Hernandez, hit just .133 in nine games with the Orioles. The
veteran was hit in the head by an errant pickoff throw two weeks ago in
Boston and has been on the disabled list since, bedeviled by a problematic
rehab assignment.
Freel had one game scratched because he couldn't pass an impact test, and he
sat out both ends of a rain-strewed doubleheader for Double-A Bowie this
week. Freel, a career .271 hitter, had gone to speak to MacPhail about his
role multiple times this season and ended up getting exactly what he wanted.
"It's just one of those star-crossed things," said MacPhail. "Ryan and I
talked a couple times, and he saw himself more as a National League player.
Double-switch, get to play there more than he did here. And I really couldn't
fault his logic. To me, you could kind of see that there wasn't going to be
as many at-bats here as we originally forecast. I think this gives him a new
lease, and hopefully he'll get back to the type of player he was before."
Freel had nearly $4 million remaining on his contract when he was originally
traded, and Gathright was owed less than $1 million. The Orioles apparently
kicked in more than $1 million to even out the scales, which is why the trade
required approval from the Commissioner's Office before it could be approved
and announced.
Gathright gives the Orioles another veteran outfielder to serve as injury
insurance at Triple-A Norfolk. The 28-year-old is hitting .214 this season
and .262 for his career, and he's known as a defensive-minded speedster.
In the short term, reserve Lou Montanez appears to be the greatest
beneficiary of the trade. Montanez has steadily been carving playing time
away from Felix Pie during Freel's absence, an experiment that will likely
continue. Baltimore may eventually turn to prospect Nolan Reimold, who has
gotten off to a hot start at Norfolk.
--
Freel←→Gathright
不過外野人已經很滿了，Jones和Markakis是不動先發，剩一個位置
由Pie和Montanez競爭，在3A表現火熱的Reimold之後也可能參與兢
爭，所以看到Gathright的機會應該不多。
--
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