Cubs Make Another Trade
Today the Cubs traded Will Ohman and Omar Infante to the Braves for 22-year-old fireballer Jose Ascanio. It's another underwhelming move in a series of underwhelming moves by Jim Hendry this offseason.
There's not a whole lot to say about this one. I don't know anything about the new guy, other than what his stats say. He had a pretty good year this year in AA, though it was probably his only good year in the minors. But what's not to like about 22-year-olds with live arms?
Will Ohman, the second-longest tenured Cub (to Kerry Wood), was a solid LOOGY for a number of years before this year when he sort of fell apart. I think his crappiness was probably due to him being used wrongly by Lou more than it was Ohman's fault, as he was still rather effective against left-handers. But when he was brought in to face righties, he was pure Alfonseca. Still, even if returned to the proper role at the established level, he probably wasn't worth the $1.6 million he was scheduled to make. And as for Infante, we hardly knew ye. I just knew ye wasn't nearly worth the $3 mil ye was supposed to make as a backup infielder.
This move, like the Jones trade, is a pure salary dump. It also removed some rank fodder from the 40-man roster, signifying moves to come. (at least it better.) If this move clears enough salary to sign both Fukudome and another difference maker, then I'm all for it.