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Trade Bait: Heilman to D-Backs
Aaron Heilman’s star has fallen, but he’s still a useful member of a bullpen. At least that’s what the Arizona Diamondbacks think as they traded for him yesterday. The D-Backs sent minor leaguers Scott Maine and Ryne White to the Chicago Cubs.
The 31 year-old right-hander posted a 4.11 ERA in 72.1 innings last season. The ERA and the 1.41 WHIP aren’t too enticing for a starting pitcher, as he was originally groomed to be, or the setup man that he was in New York. But for a middle-reliever, it’s usable if low-priced.
Maine is a lefty with a low-90s fastball and a slurve. Although he’s posted decent ERAs in the minors, he hasn’t had a WHIP below 1.36 in his professional career. He’s been relatively hittable, but it has been the walks that have hurt his WHIP. He may be eventually be a serviceable lefty specialist in the majors, but the high WHIP will likely catch up to him in the majors.
White is a first baseman with a good eye at the plate. But he definitely doesn’t have a first-baseman’s power. He hit only six home runs and had a .356 slugging percentage in 491 plate appearances last season. The outfield could make him a decent infielder/outfielder substitution off the bench in time. But with OBP about the only offensive trait that the 23 year-old brings to the plate, it’s unlikely that he’ll see much time in the majors.
It’s a decent trade for both sides. Heilman is still relatively cheap and he has decent strikeout rates. The D-Backs traded two players that likely won’t see much time in the majors. The Cubs were likely going to non-tender Heilman anyway, so if they get anything out of the players they received, it’ll be a positive.
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