PDA

View Full Version : Cubs Send Infante and Ohman To Braves



PureBaseballFan
12-04-2007, 07:54 AM
According to Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio 1000, the Cubs have sent lefty reliever Will Ohman and infielder Omar Infante to the Braves for righty reliever Jose Ascanio.

Ascanio closed a bit for the Braves' Double A affiliate last year; he turns 23 in May. He seems to have strong groundball tendencies.

Infante (acquired for Jacque Jones) and Ohman were a bit redundant on the Cubs' roster. They already had Scott Eyre and perhaps Sean Marshall coming from the left side out of the pen. And they've got plenty of middle infielders in Ronny Cedeno, Mark DeRosa, Mike Fontenot, and Ryan Theriot.

Who knows how this one will play out, but the Braves filled a couple of needs more cheaply than they might've on the open market. Ohman makes $1.6MM next year; Infante should be under $2MM.Not a bad trade considering that Ascanio still needed a year or two more of development. Ohman overall doesn't have good stats but has decent stats against lefties and most of his poor outings were at home in Chicago. Omar is a much better utility guy then Woodward of course that is not really saying much. If this deal is true then overall I like it as they didn't give up a whole lot and filled two needs on the team for pretty cheap.

UPDATE


Braves get Ohman, Infante from Cubs
Ken Rosenthal FOXSports.com

The Braves, filling their need for a left-handed reliever, have acquired Will Ohman and infielder Omar Infante from the Cubs for Class AA reliever Jose Ascanio, according to major-league sources.

The deal, first reported by ESPN Radio in Chicago, creates payroll flexibility for the Cubs for other pursuits. Ohman is under contract for $1.6 million next season while Infante is projected to receive about $1.5 million in arbitration.

The Braves, bracing for the loss of Ron Mahay as a free agent, entered the meetings intent on acquiring a left-handed reliever. Infante presumably will fill a utility role similar to what he did in the past for the Tigers.

Ohman went 2-4 with a 4.95 ERA in 56 games last season, but was expendable because the Cubs are deeper than most clubs in lefty relievers. Infate, acquired in the Jacque Jones trade earlier this off-season, batted .271 in 66 games with the Tigers.

The Braves are awaiting the recovery of left-hander Mike Gonzalez from elbow-ligament transplant surgery; Ohman would become their No. 2 lefty reliever after Gonzalez returns. The team has offered Mahay arbitration, but evidently believes that he will sign a multi-year deal with another club. Infante represents an upgrade over Chris Woodward, who is a free agent.

Ascanio, 22, was 2-2 with a 2.54 ERA and 10 saves at Class AA Mississippi last season.Just another article on it.

chip&smoltz95
12-04-2007, 10:10 AM
yea, this trade sounds good to me. does prado have a shot at being a utility infielder too? what about ayabar? how many backup infielders will the braves carry? i mean i know you need a guy just for chipper, but do you need two more after that?

PureBaseballFan
12-04-2007, 10:18 AM
Also to make room for both Infante and Ohman the Braves made another roster move.


Harris designated for assigment
Trade with Cubs necessitated move with popular player
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com

NASHVILLE -- Willie Harris' career with the Braves may have come to a close. The versatile veteran was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for the two players the Braves acquired from the Cubs on Tuesday.

Once they acquired left-handed reliever Will Ohman and utility infielder Omar Infante from the Cubs in exchange for Jose Ascanio, the Braves notified Harris that he'd been designated. If he's not traded or claimed off waivers by another team in the next 10 days, there's a possibility that he could remain in the Atlanta system.

Harris became a fan favorite after being promoted to Atlanta from Triple-A Richmond on April 30. In his first 45 games with the Braves, the 28-year-old veteran hit .383 with a .440 on-base percentage. But in his final 71 games, he hit .204 with a .297 on-base percentage.

Because of his late-season struggles and the possibility that Brandon Jones will be ready to assume the left-field platoon duties with Matt Diaz, Harris became expendable. There is also a chance that Diaz will be given the chance to play left field on an everyday basis.

Over the course of the past two seasons, the right-handed-hitting Diaz has compiled a .333 batting average. This past season, he hit .318 against right-handed pitchers and .356 against left-handers.No real shock here I think Willie even lost Bobby's faith at the end of the season it seemed.

JCStone07
12-04-2007, 01:33 PM
No real shock here I think Willie even lost Bobby's faith at the end of the season it seemed.

You're right. Willie came on strong and had a Chuckie-T esque rise but then he came back to Earth.

I'm assuming Willie will accept his assignment.

Atlanta Braves Freak
12-05-2007, 02:03 PM
I'm glad to see Frank Wren is making moves like this one. It shows he wants the team to get better talent ASAP.

Extra Innings
12-06-2007, 07:25 AM
I like this trade. Not only do the Braves get another LHRP, but we also get a utility guy that can play the IF and OF. The Cubs might have traded Infante for Ascanio straight up, but we managed to get another player in the deal. Good job Mr. Wren.

JCStone07
12-06-2007, 04:24 PM
I think Ohman will turn it around. If you look at his home/road splits there's a world of difference. So get him out of Wrigley could do a world of good.