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The Phillies and Reds have made a deal, involving a relief pitcher and someone who pitched in relief in 2011.
Jan 25, 2012 - Last May 25, Phillies infielder Wilson Valdez made a bit of history by pitching the last inning of a 19-inning, 5-4 Philadelphia victory over the Reds. When the Phillies won he became the first player to play a position and pitch in the same game and get a victory since Babe Ruth.
The Reds must have taken notice, because on Wednesday, according to the Reds' official Twitter account, Cincinnati acquired him from Philadelphia:
#Reds acquire from Phi Wilson Valdez for Jeremy Horst, Nick Masset signs 2-year deal, IF/OF Willie Harris signs minor deal with ST invite.
Jeremy Horst is a lefthanded reliever who made 12 appearances for the Reds last season and posted a decent 2.93 ERA, though with a fairly high 1.565 WHIP. He'll compete for a spot in the Phillies' bullpen.
Valdez will be a useful bench player for the Reds, backing up Scott Rolen at third base, either Zack Cozart or Paul Janish at shortstop, and Brandon Phillips at second base. Whether manager Dusty Baker wants to use him on the mound is anyone's guess.
Regarding the other notes in that tweet, MLB Trade Rumors' Ben Nicholson-Smith has tweeted some details:
Masset's deal is worth $5.5MM guaranteed and includes bonuses, MLBTR has learned. #Reds
As for Willie Harris, he'll turn 34 in June; if he makes the Reds' roster he'll be playing for his seventh team. You'd have figured he'd be long out of baseball by now, with a career OPS+ of 80 and no longer much speed, but teams seem to keep wanting his "veteran presence", or something like that.
2 comments
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Comments
As noted at TheGoodPhight, this is probably the first trade involving a position player with a perfect pitching record (1-0) and a pitcher with a perfect batting record (1 for 1) in MLB history.
by Phrozen on Jan 25, 2012 7:20 PM EST reply actions
Excellent.
Love it.
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by Al Yellon on Jan 25, 2012 8:50 PM EST up reply actions
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