Nov/083
Olsen, Willingham Traded to the Nationals
In a somewhat surprising move, the Fish have traded feisty Scott Olsen and fan favorite Josh Willingham to the Washington Nationals for Emilio Bonifacio, who hit .243 in 49 games last season, and two minors leaguers in pitcher P.J. Dean and shortstop Jake Smolinski, sources told ESPN’s Peter Gammons. Of course, the Florida Marlins are being tight lipped about the whole deal.
“We have nothing to say,” Larry Beinfest, the Marlins’ president of baseball operations, said while courtside watching the Miami Heat play the New Jersey Nets. “If that changes, I’ll let you know. We’re not planning on doing anything tonight.”
The rumors have been swirling for weeks now that Olsen was being heavily shopped around. What was not apparent to me was how weak the market was for the lefty. I figured Olsen would be sent out to a pitching starved Texas Rangers team who had a bounty of Catchers to deal.
I know this isn’t going to sit well with some folks but I am glad we were able to deal Willingham when we did considering the problems he has with his back. Willingham seriously declined last season after returning from a back injury that sidelined him for most of the first half of the year.
Considering how savvy Larry Beinfest has been in the past, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt here and take this in two ways. Both Olsen and Willingham were due a hefty raise and were the most expendable and the market for Olsen was so weak that he needed to be packaged with an affordable, quality bat.
So who are these guys we got from the Nationals? Read more after the jump…
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