Post by royalsgm on Jun 17, 2007 2:35:49 GMT -5
Superstar Carlos Beltran makes return to the Royals
By: Jose Schmoe
Kansas City, MO--- Three years and one month after Carlos Beltran was traded from the Kansas City Royals in a three team deal that landed the switch hitting superstar on Houston, he has been traded back to the team that once called him their franchise cornerstone.
Long discussions were made over the period of a month of the season, but finally the Royals and Mets have completed a 8 player deal that will land Beltran on the Royals. Heading in the direction of the Mets will be the Royals top pitching prospect, Cole Hamels, young right hander Brandon McCarthy, speedy centerfielder Jerry Owens, and AAA reliever Justin Huisman. On top of Beltran, the Royals will receive starting pitcher Aaron Heilman, AAA pitcher Dave Williams, and 18 year old AA pitcher Donald Sawyer.
“It was very difficult to give up the young pitching like we did in Cole Hamels and Brandon McCarthy,” said GM Mike Damman in a press conference, “but we really feel like Beltran is one of those players that can take your team to the next level. Our organization wishes Cole and Brandon the best of luck in New York. They did what they were supposed to here, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Hopefully we meet in the world series in a couple years with the Mets and Hamels will be pitching against us in game one.”
Royals pitchers are happy to learn that Carlos Beltran will be roaming centerfield for them again
Carlos Beltran is having a standout year at the plate this year displaying more contact then ever with a .303 average thus far. He has 19 homeruns and 65 RBIs as well as 53 stolen bases. Carlos Beltran spent the first five and a half full major league seasons of his career as a Kansas City Royal before he was traded in the three team deal that landed Mark Teahen on Kansas City and Octavio Dotel on Oakland. Carlos played a key role the rest of the season that year in the Houston Astro’s run for the playoffs and eventual surprise into the NLCS, before they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. He spurned the Astros and signed with the New York Mets that offseason. His first year as a Met was uneventful. However his breakthrough 2006 season was one of the main reasons for the Mets great 2006 season where they had the best record in the NL and reached the NLCS for the first time since 2000 when they advanced to the World Series for the Subway Series.
When the Royals asked the Mets about Carlos Beltran, they were told that Cole Hamels had to be in the deal. It comes as no surprise, considering the 23 year old left hander has the ceiling of an ace. “It’s very rare to find a southpaw with the type of velocity and stuff that Cole Hamels has at such a young age. However his character, loyalty, and makeup are what make Hamels the type of player that you know will succeed at the bigs. He will be an ace, we were very sorry to see him go, and believe that he will do wonders in the National league,” Said Farm Director Allard Baird. With all of the hype surrounding Cole Hamels, the Royals have been quietly disappointed with the production that Cole has had. He currently has a 6-6 record and 5.34 ERA in AAA with a 1.63 WHIP and looked even more lost in the majors earlier this season. “His development was slower then we had liked, but we still believe his future is very bright,” said Baird.
The deal likely would not have gotten done had the Royals not agreed to put in Justin Huisman. However, the Royals had to have the Mets agree to something at the same time, which was to add AA right hander Donald Sawyer to the deal. The New York Mets have challenged Sawyer this year by putting the 18 year old in AA after just being drafted in June, however, Sawyer has done as well as anybody would hope for him to do there. “We plan to be a little more conservative with him, and would like to start him out in single-A, however, he has definitely pitched very well in AA this year for the Mets,” Said Damman. The Royals think that Sawyer could develop into a good pitcher if their player development staff can use him right. “We hope that eventually he can develop better stuff or movement to become a good third starter. He is very developed for a kid his age, and it’s easy to see that the Mets wanted a projectable pitcher when they drafted him. We scouted him and liked him when he was in high school, but we had a need to fill a gap in the minors that we had with our 2nd round pick, which we did in Robert Smith,” said Baird.
In 2005, the best Terrence Long placed among AL hitters in a key offensive stat was 43rd and that was in triples (3), which he was tied with 25 other hitters at.
Other Royals Notes:
On a day where the Royals brought back Carlos Beltran it is only fitting that they have also offered minor league contracts to former Royals Joe Randa and Terrence Long, whether they accept or not is to be decided in a few days… With a .362 average in July, the Royals believe that Bill Hall is finally beginning to realize the immense talent that he has… Nick Swisher was awarded today by being named the AL Player of the Week. Nick hit .417 with 4 HRs and 9 RBIs in the past week… The Royals believe their trade recently with the Seattle Mariners may have landed them the 2008 AL Cy Young favorite, as Felix Hernandez is starting to turn the corner from talented pitcher with bad stats to talented pitcher with good stats…