Jeff Patenuade, selected with Omaha’s first pick last year and Anibal Benevides, selected in the second round are on planes currently to their new respective teams.
Joining them is minor league pitcher Arturo Baez, once ranked as a top 100 prospect who has fallen from grace but who is just 20 years old and could still develop into a viable player at the BBA level.
Baez isn’t the only pitcher though as Juan Ruiz, who has been in the Omaha rotation all season long also was given notice that he had been traded today.
Well there is the sad(?) news for Omaha fans…Now for the good news? What bodies are coming in?“It was completely unexpected.” Said Ruiz. “I was in the clubhouse knowing I would be starting today when Cole pulled me aside and let me know that I wouldn’t be taking the mound today with my teammates” Ruiz continued.
Coming in to reload the Omaha rotation as we end the month of May are Julio Alicea, who won the Landis last season with San Antonio. Alicea, at age 35, isn’t showing his age as he is pitching arguably better than he ever has in his career. His current 2.20 ERA is a career low through 32 innings. Walks are a bit concerning with Alicea this year as he has walked 10 batters in those 35 innings which has jumped his WHIP higher than past seasons. Alicea is making $13,000,000 this season, which is all being retained by San Antonio. He has a $16,000,000 team option on the books for next season that will likely be declined by Omaha judging by their current budget room.
The second warm body heading to Omaha is Montreal starter Lance Harrison. Harrison joins former Blazer’s Jim Antolin and Jorge Hernandez on the Omaha club. Harrison’s 5.13 ERA this season through 52 innings paints a bad image, as his 3.65 FIP clearly shows he has had some bad luck early on. Harrison however did have an ERA over 5 last season, but his FIP matched that ERA. Harrison is making $935,000 this season, his first in arbitration. It is possible with 2 option years left that Harrison may find himself under Omaha control through the 2048 season in which he would be 28 years old.
Both players should takeover key roles in the Omaha rotation with Leonardo Ramos shifting back to AAA once again. This shift also likely extends top pitching prospect Grux Parks journey to the BBA, as Parks is more unlikely to find himself in the BBA until next season where he may be asked to replace Alicea in the rotation. Parks currently has a 1.76 ERA in AAA over his first 51 innings pitched.
"We've been extremely lucky in our rotation this year and to add these two guys with the talent they bring to the table is an extraordinary power from our front office." said Omaha Manager William Cole. "If you look at our starting pitching rotation, despite having 2 players with ERA's over 5 and over 6 in that rotation, our rotation ranks 2nd in the FL in ERA with just a 3.80 ERA. That speaks volumes to what the trio at the top of our rotation has done this season."
