--July 25, 2000
The July 31 trading deadline looms, and Moline has
made some moves that hurt the team in the short term,
even if they protect it down the road. Moline has
acquired Stanford-educated outfielder Jody Gerut and
reliever Tim Crabtree from Baltimore for beloved Jay
Payton, the Wreck from Georgia Tech, drafted in 1995,
released in 1999 after many injury-filled years,
reclaimed the same year when his prospects brightened.
His prospects remain good, but the expansion of the
fall made Payton vulnerable. "I have nothing but
respect for this organization. They were more than
patient with me, and they took me back when I showed
that I could help them. Baltimore promises me more
playing time. Frankly, with all due respect to Andruw
Jones, I deserve that, not for all I've been through
but for what I can still do on the field."
Josh Logan, director of scouting and player development, sanctioned the trade. "Jay Payton exemplifies perseverance, Jody Gerut, conscience. Suzann [Moertl] has long admired Jody, and though I'm adverse to moral considerations in talent evaluation, his apology on behalf of his previous organization for objectionable behavior does help him score high marks on makeup. That moral generosity in combination with his strong walk/strikeout ratio made him a player we thought worth acquiring. We wish Jay well, and we hope that Jody gives us no cause to regret our faith in him."
"Yes, I will admit that this trade was one we made for the current season," Samuels said. "But Jay wasn't going to be getting regular playing time with AJ in center, and we needed another strong arm in the pen." Crabtree has struggled this season, giving up 37 runs in 54 innings, but he has the stuff to take some burden of Troy Percival, who has been fairly mortal this season, despite his league-leading 30 saves. "Troy's feeling the absence of Annie is what it is," said pitching coach Roger Clemens. "I don't know if we'll ever see the same Troy Percival we saw a couple years back."
Director of scouting and player development Josh Logan speaks highly of the other player in the deal. "Gerut offers us a nice upside outfielder in the upper reaches of the farm system, someone with the discpline and, dare I say, character to become an everyday player in Moline in a couple years." Not that the Moline outfield is imperilled, manned as it is by Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero, and Andruw Jones. "But talent is talent," says Logan. "You acquire it when you can." Besides, the organization's other minor-league outfielders above A-ball, Tony Mota, Aaron Rowand, and Papy Ndungidi aren't doing much to promote themselves. Outfielder Darnell McDonald, in fact, so disappointed the Greens that he was released from the 40-man roster when Gerut was added, landing on the Leones de Miami roster. "Rocky Mountain High, that guy," said Logan. "We kept seeing a football player overshadowing the baseball player we need. Tools alone constitute only latency. Maybe sea level will straighten him out."