Sweeny Says: Power Shift
By Sweeny Murti
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Another trade between the NL West and the AL East, this time the Diamondbacks sent 3B Mark Reynolds to Baltimore for pitchers David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio. The D-Backs are clearly targeting relief help for a bullpen that had a 5.74 ERA last season, worst in the majors and more than a full run higher than the next worst. Here's Arizona GM Kevin Towers discussing the pitchers his team received:
Podcast
The Orioles landed a power bat for the middle of their order, although Mark Reynolds comes with a downside. Over the past three seasons Reynolds average 35 home runs and 213 strikeouts. But teams are less afraid of strikeouts these days as they relish the power potential and look at slugging percentage more closely than batting average. Here are Orioles Manager Buck Showalter and GM Andy MacPhail discussing that philosophy in regards to their new acquisition:
Podcast
It will be interesting to watch the two new sluggers—Baltimore's Mark Reynolds and Boston's Adrian Gonzalez—as they move into much more hitter friendly environments. If Toronto's Jose Bautista is for real, there will be nightly Home Run Derby's in the AL East along with Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, and Evan Longoria.
