The Washington Nationals today acquired second baseman Junior Spivey [click here for career stats and scouting report] from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Tomo Ohka. Nationals Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden made the announcement.
Spivey, who set career highs by hitting .301 with 16 home runs and 78 RBI in 2002 and earned a spot on the National League All-Star team, joins the Nationals after hitting .236 with five home runs and 17 RBI in 49 games for Milwaukee. Spivey, who brings additional post-season experience to the Nationals roster, is a career .308 hitter (139-for-452) against left-handed pitchers.

The 30-year-old is a career .272 hitter with 83 doubles, 46 home runs, 194 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 429 big league games spanning parts of five big league seasons with Arizona and Milwaukee.

Ohka, who was scheduled to start tonight's contest vs. Seattle, was 4-3 with a 3.33 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) for the Nationals this season.


Thank goodness that Jim Bowden didn't just trade our number three starter without a backup plan. While watching the waiver wire a few days ago, he came accross an interesting name: Texas Rangers starter Ryan Drese. Drese had a great year in 2004, going 14-10 with a very good 4.20 ERA [the NL equivilent of a 3.30 ERA]. Over a five year major league career, Drese is 31-31 with 5.35 ERA [again, comparable to a NL 4.40 ERA] This year, Drese is 4-6 with a high 6.45 ERA. So if the pitching starved Rangers placed him on waivers, why would we want him? He must have lost his stuff, right? Well, here is the explanation from Jim Bowden who appeared on XM radio with Ron Dibble and Kevin Kennedy this afternoon:

"Drese has done very well over the past couple of years, but his mechanics are off just a bit right now. Their [the Rangers] hope was to clear him through waivers, send him to AAA for a couple of months, and then bring him back to the big club ready to go. Because he's making $1,175,000,00, the Rangers didn't think any team would take a chance of claiming him off the waiver wire. They were wrong. I talked to some of our coaches who feel they can fix the mechanics problem. I like his makeup, both physical and mental. I think he's a real find for the Nationals. We had to make a move with Ohka. He told us May 9th that he didn't want to be a part of the team anymore, and we certainly don't want any player who has a problem playing for a first place club. I'm sure he'll be happy in Milwaukee."

Let's look at the scouting report for Ryan Drese from TSN:
"Has hot, mid-90s heat in an arsenal that includes a great slider, plus a curve and change. He's also got attitude out there and has learned to get ahead in the count. He is for sure going to be a plus .500 pitcher for his career."

He was considered such a prospect that the Rangers traded Travis Hafner and Aaron Myette to get him.

My only concern with Junior Spivey is that he is signed to only a one year contract and will be a free agent by end of the year. Bowden said that he'll be on the bench when Vidro comes back, which all but guarantees that Spivey will look for a team where he can start next season. So, we basically give Tomo Ohka away. However, on the positive side, we're getting Tomo Ohka's replacement for nothing [off the waiver wire], so in essence, we've traded Tomo Ohka for Ryan Drese.

I can't say for sure that this trade will help the club this year, but I think it will. But more importantly, Trader Jim has told us that he won't keep problem players, and he will pull the "trigger" any time he thinks he can help the team.

Way to go Jim. So, what's next??

# posted by Farid Rushdi @ 12:45 PM