In an unseen and unprecedented move the Jersey Shore D-Bags have traded 26 year old Starting pitching Jerry Paige to the LA Bruins in exchange for "The Eye" Peter Larson and a handful of quality prospects. Jersey in it's existence since joining the league in 2010 has had a weakness in the SP category. Paige was trade for in the 2012 season where Jersey sent highly touted closer Porter Barrette and AAA OF Ricardo Vargas. At the time Paige was the #1 pitching prospect in the game, while Barrette was a can't miss bullpen arm and Vargas was in the midst of his best season in the pros. Who would have known that Barrette would become a Top 10 closer and Vargas is coming off an MVP award.
Paige on the other hand, while pitching decent as a starting in AAA, in his 31 starts for the D-Bags has not posted an ERA under 5, despite throwing gems here and there. There is potential there, who knows if he will reach it or not, but he did turn 27, 2 days after the trade happened. Where else for him to hone his craft but in the pitching mecca of LA? LA GM Mike Brouillette coveted Paige and in the end got his man.
Coming to Jersey in the deal were 4 players, headlined by 27 year old OF Peter Larson. Josh Swain had tried to acquire Larson in 2013 from Madison where he was eventually traded to Greenville. Larson is not known for his power, defense nor speed, but rather his amazing eye and ability to take a walk as well as his high contact and gap power. In his 4th year in the BSA Larson has a career OBP of .415. while touting a .287 career batting average. He has 98 career doubles as well, but his knack has been his ability to get injured. He has been on the DL, 6 times in the last 26 months, which is a concern for Jersey. LA needed a SP to fill the void after dealing Declan Parsons to Reno, and had an OF to spare because of the acquisition of Matt Proctor in the same deal.
If Larson can bring his numbers up to his career averages he would serve as an excellent catalyst for a #2 hole hitter Jersey has lacked all season. With Mike "The Monster" Bryant and Matt "Downhome" Doyle hitting 3 and 4 in the lineup, a 2 hitter who is on base 41% of the time might be nightmares for opposing pitchers. Bryant and Doyle thus far have been one of the meanest middle of the order 1-2 punches in the game and numbers could be on the upswing not having a revolving carousel of options not producing in front of them.
Coming over with Larson are a couple of prized pieces. Starting with 25 year old CH Tim Duncan. Duncan is a former 1st round pick, who was picked 10 picks in front of his teammate Mike Bryant in the 2011 draft. Duncan is a speedy OF with decent power, decent eye, and great defense. He is having his best year in AAA this year and will join Tuscaloosa with aspirations to join the big league club later this year.
Also coming over in the trade are a pair of 19 year olds currently in A ball. The first being Cuban born SP Arturo Cordova. He is in his 2nd year after being discovered by San Fransisco. He sits at 6'3" and throws 5 pitches and is currently 7-0 with a 1.34 ERA pitching for LA's A ball affiliate. Jersey thinks he has the potential to eventually be part of their rotation, even if it is back end. The 4th player is a player by the name of Hidetada Kichida. The Japanese born teen was discovered by LA in 2013 and plays multiple positions but is still trying to find a niche at one. This season he has played every IF positions. He is a high contact, high speed guy, stealing 15 bases in 18 tries this season.
Like we said earlier Larson will be inserted into the #2 slot, mainly against RHP, while the void in the rotation will be filled by Greg Schaefer. Schaef has pitched well in AAA this season, registering an ERA of 3.38, striking out 93 batters in only 74 innings pitched. What encourages the Jersey brass is Schaefer has given up 0 runs in 3 of his last 5 starts, striking out 8, 9 and 10 batters in those 3 starts.
Will this be the last move before the deadline? Only time will tell!
GO D-BAGS!
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