1996 Rule V Draft

[Washington9]

Spoljaric out, Acaron in
Washington sees shuffle in Rule V Draft
December 1, 1996

WASHINGTON D.C. — The Bobwhites lost a player and picked one up in today annual Rule V Draft, creating an orginizational roster shuffle.

Shaun Moriarty, the club's new General Manager, announced the acquisition of outfielder Javier Acaron and the loss of pitcher Paul Spoljaric.

"Unfortunately, we no longer have Paul in our organization," said Moriarty. "He was selected by Des Moines and will be pitching for the Kernels next season."

Spoljaric, 26, is a left-handed reliever who spent the 1996 season with Washington's AA affiliate, going 3-7 with a save and a 4.39 ERA in 69 2/3 innings over 42 games.

Joining the organization is Acaron, a 29-year-old who last played in the big leagues in 1994 and was last with the AAA affiliate of the Seattle Storm. In just 56 at bats in AAA this year, Acaron hit .304 with three home runs and 13 RBI. In 77 career big league games, the left-handed hitter has a .132 average with one home run and five RBI, 17 runs in 106 at bats.

"We think Javier has a lot of upside and that he'll serve us well as a fifth outfielder, a pinch-runner or defensive replacement off the bench," said Moriarty. "He's a really solid outfielder defensively, he's got some decent wheels and we think with the right situation he could prove to be a pretty good little hitter."

Moriarty also announced the club made two free agent signings, albeit minor ones. Pitchers George Winter and Aki Inagaki signed minor league contracts with the Bobwhites. Inagaki is a Japanese-born right-hander that throws a fastball, curveball, changeup and forkball. Winter, 31, worked out of the bullpen with the AAA affiliate of the Hackensack Bulls this year, posting a 3.55 ERA in 33 innings. He last pitched in the big leagues with the Bulls in 1993, appearing in just three games, including one start. In five big league seasons, he holds a 12-14 record with a 5.61 ERA in 46 games, 38 of which were starts.

"Just like any other club, we need to create depth within the organization and we'll continue to work on doing so," said Moriarty. "We're not quite done yet. We'll see where things end up."