Late Friday afternoon, the Washington Nationals made an exchange of two relievers in desperate need of a change of scenery, shipping RHP Collin Balester to the Detroit Tigers in return for RHP Ryan Perry. Both the Nationals and the Tigers are gambling that the switch of leagues and a new organization will allow the natural talents of each player to flourish.
Collin Balester, 25, was originally drafted by the Montreal Expos as a 4th
round pick in the 2004 draft and has spent his entire career with the organization,
but unfortunately he has struggled with consistency, posting career numbers of
5.17 ERA in 167 innings spanning four seasons. Balester, the Nationals top prospect in 2007, struggled as a starter when he entered the majors, but was shifted to the bullpen in 2010 and found that his stuff improved as did his results. The Nationals parted with Balester in large part because he is out of minor league options, meaning that if the Nationals wanted to send him to the minor leagues at any point next season, he would be exposed to waivers and could be claimed by any of the other major league clubs. The Nationals have a deep relief corps returning for 2012, and Balester was going to face a difficult numbers crunch all season to stay in the majors. Next spring, Balester will attempt to crack an impressive Detroit bullpen that already consists of Jose Valverde, Joaquin Benoit, Octavio Dotel, and Al Alburquerque.
Ryan Perry, 25 in February, was Detroit’s 1st Round Pick, 21st overall, in
the 2008 draft out of the University of Arizona. Perry quickly broke into the majors in 2009, and pitched relatively well both in 2009 and 2010 for the Tigers, posting ERAs
of 3.79 and 3.59. Unfortunately, something happened in 2011 and Perry imploded to an ERA of 5.35 and just 24 strikeouts against 21 walks in 37.0 innings. Perry features closer quality stuff with an electric 93-95mph fastball that can touch 98mph, a devastating but inconsistent slider and an occasional underwhelming changeup. Perry still possesses a minor league option, meaning he can be sent to Triple-A at any point next season without being exposed to waivers. He will enter next spring in competition with
Ryan Mattheus, Craig Stammen and others for a place in the bullpen, with the
fallback option of being sent to Triple-A to act as the closer and attempt to
harness his control.
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fans have been craving since the off-season began, this was a nice low-risk,
high-reward trade that GM Mike Rizzo has become known for since taking over a
few seasons ago. The most important consideration with this trade is the fact that Perry still possesses a minor league option, while Balester has exhausted his. The Nationals bullpen next season is fairly well accounted for with Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard, Henry Rodriguez, and Sean Burnett virtually assured of their roster spots, thus the flexibility to send Perry to Triple-A Syracuse is crucial. This trade makes the Nationals roster more talented, as Perry possesses more pure talent than does Balester and gives them additional roster flexibility next season, making this deal a solid win for GM Mike Rizzo and the Nationals.
Overall Grade…. B to B+
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Perry was once the heir apparent to Valverde, but when Detroit signed Beniot prior to the 2011 season, the writing was on the wall. I chalk 2011’s struggles up to a lack of commitment and a change of scenery will do him well. While he won’t ever close for the Nats, a great 7th/8th inning guy.