Omaha trades Torres for a starter.(50.05)

[niles08]

Over the past few seasons, it has become apparent that there are too few hitters in the Brewster and too many quality starting pitchers. It seems that nearly every team has a starting staff full of top tier pitchers, and that has driven the market down a bit.

That didn’t seem to faze the Omaha front office, who surprisingly announced this week that they had moved outfielder Manuel Torres to Vancouver for starting pitcher Jose Barron.

Torres, who came in the team in exchange for Donald Miller a few seasons ago, was ranked in the top 25 prospects in the BBA at the beginning of last season. He appeared in 102 games at the BBA level, compiling a 75 OPS+, yet a positive WAR thanks to his ability in the outfield. Torres was a very good defender at all three positions, and was mainly used against left-handed pitching.

Barron, who comes to the team with around the same service time (give or take 100 days), was okay in Vancouver. He had a 4.15 ERA in 33 starts and in his career has a 4.02 ERA in 288 innings at the BBA level. Scouts claim that Barron may frustrate hitters with his elite stuff and, with a good defense behind him, could get the national recognition that he deserves.

Barron is expected to slot into the rotation immediately as the club awaits the return at some point this season of Rich Jacobs, who is recovering from an injury last season that required Tommy John surgery. The club also has top prospect Takashi Nakamura waiting in AAA, with a potential debut this season.