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Ronny Paulino is a Pirate no more E-mail
Written by Pat Lackey   
Wednesday, 10 December 2008 21:39

Let's just say that I've written out two posts tonight about this article in the BCT, only to have them eaten by the lack of an autosave function on this new-fangled blogging platform, which is something that I'm not used to. I'll probably get to it again later tonight, but I'm not typing it out a third time right now.

Luckily, there's actually some news to talk about instead. DK is reporting tonight that the Pirates have sent Ronny "Ballgame" Paulino to Philadelpha for minor league catcher Jason Jaramillio. Jaramillo's numbers are ... uninspiring, though he played for John Russell in Ottawa in 2007 and I'm guessing the move is at least partially rooted in that. To me, this move looks like a pure, "We don't want you, so pack up your bags and get the hell out" trade. Paulino killed the ball in AAA last year and he's doing it again this winter in the Domincan, so it makes little sense to me to trade him for a guy that's put up an OPS of .711 two straight years in AAA. This is pure speculation on my part, but the Pirates seem like they wanted to rid themselves of Paulino and since his value is pretty low right now, Huntington just went after a guy that got a high recommendation from Russell for whatever reason.

UPDATE: Dejan updated his post while I was typing mine out to say that the Pirates did indeed like Jaramillo because Russell managed him two years ago.


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Comments (3)add comment

gregschuler said:

...
Jaramillo was the Phillies' catcher of the future, but got passed by Lou Marson and Carlos Ruiz. He was never considered for anything even with Ruiz in the tank offensively most of the season. Jaramillo is a year younger than Paulino and has little MLB service time.

I guess the Pirates assume their awesome medical staff is going to keep Doumit healthy all year - woe betide the Pirates if the catching duo is Diaz and Jaramillo.

it also shows how depressed the market was for Paulino. Smart move by Ruben Amaro - if Paulino stays interested and motivated, it gives the Phils a lot of flexibility with their roster. Coste fake a couple of positions and if Ruiz doesn't turn his game around, Paulino will have a chance to impress before Marson arrives.
 
December 11, 2008
Votes: +0

w.k. kortas said:

...
To be honest, I don't know what kind of a park Lehigh Valley is, but I do know Ottawa was a bad place to hit in what is generally a league where no one puts up big offensive numbers, so Jaramillo's numbers, while not great, are not horrible, either. Since the general consensus was that anything with a pulse was reasonable return for Ronny Ballgame, this is OK--I certainly think Jaramillo is much better than what Florida was dangling in front of NH
 
December 11, 2008
Votes: +0

gregschuler said:

...
http://www.minorleaguesplits.c...?pl=452232

See the link above for Jaramillo's splits for AAA last season. he was marginally better away from home (722 OPS versus 698 OPS) but not enough to say that Lehigh Valley is a deathtrap for hitters. With only year of data, it's pretty hard to determine that.

I do agree that quibbling over Jaramillo or Andino is rather pointless - both scream repalcement level and are not better than internal options. However, in the rush to excise Paulino, did the Pirates follow through and pursue the best deal, or take the deal with the player someone knew and liked regardless of the potential production from that player?
 
December 11, 2008
Votes: +0

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