Tuesday trade roundup

Two deals went through yesterday as Las Vegas and Vancouver both tried to upgrade their lineups for a playoff push.

After faltering and losing 6 straight and losing control of the Morris Division, Vancouver has actually turned things around and won 4 straight. Their anemic offense - ranked 13th in OPS (.723) - needed a punch. The Fist grabbed Jason Kubel from Amityville to help provide that punch. Kubel was only hitting .249/.312/.444 this season for the Ant Slayers, but Vancouver thinks he can help the team score some more runs. The Fist gave up pitcher Chad Billingsley, who has been lingering all year in the minors. Billingsley was 11-11 with a 5.12 ERA and 171 strikeouts last season for Vancouver. Billingsley is still young, however, and Amityville thinks that he will rebound. In addition to the players, the two teams exchanged draft picks - Amityville gets a second rounder, and Vancouver gets a 4th.

The bigger trade involved Las Vegas sending a boatload of draft picks to Hoboken in exchange for outfielder Brad Hawpe, reliever Nick Massett, and starter Edwin Jackson. Jackson may be best remembered for being dumped unceremoniously by Blue Ridge a few months back despite having solid numbers. But the Bombers were vindicated by Jackson's putrid record in Hoboken (2-5, 9.14 ERA in 8 starts). Massett was another player that was struggling (2-0, 5.27 in 40 appearances), but Vegas thinks both players could be assets. Outfielder Hawpe is a solid player who was hitting .274/.351/.510 for Hoboken with 12 homers and 32 RBIs. The Cutters received three picks in the 2011 draft (3rd,6th, and 10th) and 2 in 2012 (5th and 12th).

Not content to just make a trade, Las Vegas decided to clean house and parted with some interesting players. Rich Harden, a player that Vegas paid a lot to acquire several years ago from Vancouver, was jettisoned as owner Eric Wickstrom had grown increasingly frustrated by his lack of production. "It's the end of an error" said Wickstrom. Harden was joined on the way out by veterans Jose Contreras, Jeremy Guthrie, and Gary Sheffield. Another interesting castoff is young first baseman Chris Davis. Davis was a high draft selection in the 2009 draft (#2 overall), but his knack for striking out had put him in the Rat Pack's doghouse (or rathouse?). Also joining Davis on the curb is outfielder Scott Hairston. The purge left room for the Rat Pack to sign retreads Randy Wolf, Juan Pierre, and Gabe Kapler. "They may not sound spectacular" said Wickstrom, "but each one has a key role to play on this squad."