Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Macay McBride Acquired from Braves

In a swap of young lefties, the Tigers traded Wil Ledezma to the Braves today for Macay McBride. McBride, who is 24 years old, has pitched 112 games as a lefty specialist for the Braves over the past 3 years. Last year, he had a 3.65 ERA and 46/32 K/BB ratio in 56 innings over 71 games. This year, he has a 3.60 ERA and 17/15 K/BB ratio in 15 innings so it's clear that he has control problems. He has a low 90s fastball and a very good slider and is very tough on lefties. Lefties are batting .160 against him this year and .176 in his career.

Wil Ledezma, who is 26 years old, has shown a lot of promise at times but has been inconsistent. After compiling a 3.58 ERA in 60 1/3 innings as a starter and reliever in 2006, he has had a 4.79 ERA with 26 walks in 35 2/3 innings as a reliever this year. One reason for the trade may be that he is out of options and must clear waivers before being sent to the minors. McBride, on the hand, has options remaining which gives them more flexibility. The thinking might also be that Ledezma is better as a starter and they have a biggeer need for relievers. I've always liked Ledezma but it's basically a lateral move of two promising but very inconsistent lefties.

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