The Arziona Diamondbacks added a huge piece to their bullpen by acquiring 6′11 right-handed Jon Rauch for Emilio Bonifacio. This is an interesting trade even though I love quick and easy 1 for 1 deals.
I absolutely love Jon Rauch. 2 years with the MinorLeagueBall community I held control of the Nationals and wheeled and dealed my way to get guys like Josh Barton and Chase Headley and McGowan to name a few. I was on fire to say the least but the one guy the whole league wanted was Jon Rauch and I wouldn’t bite on anything. Rauch has been the model of consistency since pitching for the Montreal Expos organization. This season he was the closer for the Nationals sporting 17 saves with a nice 2.98 ERA. Also a great bonus is that his contract is dirt cheap with 2M for ‘09 and and a 2.9 M club option (that will be picked up). If you think his value is at 8-9 M a year that’s saving at least 11 million for the next two seasons not including the rest of the season.AZ Snake Pit calls him Chad Qualls v. 2.0 which seems to be selling him a bit low, as Rauch proved he can close and he’s slightly better statistically anyway.
Emilio Bonifacio is a speedy 2nd basemen who plays very good defense. He was rated C+ by Sickels. Bonifacio has age on his side as he’s just 23-years old but his problem is that he doesn’t walk enough and has next to zero power. Bonifacio will be a major league player. He’s a .300 hitter in AAA but in what capacity is the real question. He can easily be a utility guy or comes off the bench to pinch run (at worst). Perfect for the National league. He strikes a bit too much or does not walk enough to justify the lack of power. He may turn out to be a bottom of the order player but has a ton of time to improve. Federal Baseball salivates at a future lineup of Ryan Zimmerman, Esmailyn Gonzalez, Emilio Bonifacio and Chris Marrero around the infield.
I personally think Arizona made a great trade. Some people were suggesting that this leaves no options for Arizona to back up Orlando Hudson and they must sign in (Scutaro would be a nice plan B). I wouldn’t want Bonifacio on 2B for this Arizona team that will be on top next year too. Too many growing pains this year for Arizona already anyway.
As for Washington, I don’t understand why they didn’t acquire a top flight talent. Rauch is cheap and isn’t a rental player in the least bit. I really like him too as he’s got decent stuff and he’s been an above average reliever for 4 years. Now that’s not saying much but loogy’s are making 4 million a season if that helps you put it into perspective how important consistent talent is in the majors.
All I know now is bye bye Felipe Lopez. He’ll likely be a bench guy on a playoff team. Belliard will likely be moved too but I’m not sure how much he could fetch anyway.
