Ladies and gentlemen, the first big trade of the deadline season!
To the Brewers: Scott Linebrink
To the Padres: Will Inman, Steve Garrison, Joe Thatcher
Giants fans will know Linebrink, a killer out of the Padre bullpen since 2003 and, yes, a former Giant farmhand. (Calm down — it took him three years to get pretty good after leaving the Giants. He was traded for Doug Henry in the 2000 stretch run, I believe.)
So what’s the deal? Breaking up the vaunted San Diego bullpen in the middle of a hot pennant race by trading a 30–year-old workhorse? I’ll answer with another question: Have you seen Linebrink’s stats lately? He’s not the man he used to be. He’s already matched his career high in HRs allowed, and his K rate is way down. He’s no longer a strikeout-per-inning kind of guy. This could change, of course, but relievers who pitch 70 to 90 innings several years running, as Linebrink has since 2003, tend to wear down. See Rodriguez, Felix.
Padres GM Kevin Towers is taking action while Linebrink still has peak value. And in return he’s getting three minor league guys. Apparently Thatcher will join the Padres right away. Between AA and AAA this year, here are his stats:
38 IP / 30 H / zero HR / 9 BB / 53 K
Here’s Towers’ assessment: “He hasn't had a chance yet, but has a tremendous strikeout-to-walk ratio and gets left-handers and right-handers out.”
Notice he didn’t say, “His numbers haven’t been so good recently, but he’s a veteran and he’s been through a pennant race before.”
This is the same Kevin Towers who traded Aki Otsuka and Adam Eaton for Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez, perhaps the steal of the decade. Or the other steal of the decade. The steal of the decade was, oh, never mind.
Kevin Towers Now = Brian Sabean ca. 2000.
