Mariners Ship Cruz To Toronto In Effort To Shore Up Their Bullpen
To acquire desperately needed bullpen help, the Mariners completed two trades, but not the one they wanted to make.
It cost them Jose Cruz Jr.
With the trading deadline approaching and his primary target already taken, Woody Woodward pulled the trigger Thursday night on a three-player trade that sent Cruz to the Toronto Blue Jays for relievers Mike Timlin and Paul Spoljaric.
“We are giving up an awfully good prospect for two experienced arms who will add to our bullpen,” said Woodward, the M’s vice president of baseball operations. “I wanted to fill our needs without moving Jose Cruz Jr., but it came down to the 12th hour and we had to make a move.”
They made another one right at the deadline, sending minor-league catcher Jason Varitek and right-handed pitcher Derek Lowe to the Boston Red Sox for reliever Heathcliff Slocumb.
Slocumb made his last appearance with the Red Sox Thursday night, blowing a 2-1 lead in the 10th inning and losing 3-2 to the Royals.
Until then, Slocumb had been on a roll. Since June 14, he had appeared in 19 games, saved 11 and compiled a 1.47 ERA. He had walked eight and struck out 17. This season, Slocumb has 17 saves, five blown saves and a 5.16 ERA.
“In Slocumb we get a guy who has a lot of experience pitching late in the games and a lot of saves over the past couple of years. He has been pitching good baseball lately,” Woodward said.
“In Timlin we get a very good arm with save and playoff experience. And Spoljaric has a very good arm. All of these guys are not rent-a-players. We have a chance to keep them all.”
When Roberto Hernandez, Woodward’s first choice, was traded to San Francisco, the Seattle GM resurrected a trade proposal that had been on hold for about two weeks, realizing it was going to require moving Cruz to bolster a bullpen that has the highest earned-run average and most blown saves (15) in the major leagues.
Cruz, the Mariners’ first-round draft choice in 1995 and an apparent fixture in left field after the Mariners spent 10 years trying to find one, departed County Stadium without comment.
Contacted at the team hotel, Cruz said he had just talked to his father.
“He was like ‘You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s a business move and it might be best for you.
Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise,”’ the younger Cruz said of the conversation.
Cruz was promoted from Class AAA Tacoma on May 31 and has provided consistent offense and defense, batting .268 with 12 home runs and 34 RBIs. The four players used in left field before he arrived hit one homer.
But the bullpen has been a disaster, forcing the moves.
“We’ve all watched a lot of games slip away in the late innings,” Woodward said. “So many games have gotten away. There was not one particular game that prompted this trade, but a number of games. We had to make the move right now.”
After saving a career-high 31 games for the Blue Jays last season, Timlin fell into disfavor with manager Cito Gaston early this season and lost his job to rookie Kelvim Escobar.
Timlin is 0-3 with a 3.19 ERA and three saves this season.
The Mariners could possibly have traded Cruz to Philadelphia for right-handed closer Ricky Bottalico, but both Piniella and Roger Jongewaard, the director of scouting and player personnel, emphasized a trade for American League pitchers because they would be more familiar with A.L. hitters.
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