White Sox Acquire Contreras for Loaiza

By Jason Gage

July 31, 2004

 

The Chicago White Sox acquired right handed pitcher Jose Contreras and cash considerations from the New York Yankees in exchange for all star Esteban Loaiza. Both teams hope the respected pitcher will provide more consistency in the rotation.

 

White Sox general manager Ken Williams, in an interview on ESPN 1000, reported that the White Sox have noticed Contreras tipping his pitches and think they have a solution to his problem. Aside from his numbers, which are mediocre, Contreras has a dynamite arm and pitched well down the stretch last year for New York, but faltered this season and at one point, was sent all the way to A Ball.

 

Contreras was 8-5 with a 5.64 ERA with the Yankees. However, he has limited opponents to a .250 batting average. He has very high strikeout totals and a low walk total, which means his ERA is higher then it should be.

 

Loaiza goes to New York after earning a spot on the All Star team each of the past two years. Loaiza will be a free agent at the end of the season and reports have the Padres as being one of the interested parties. The Yankees hope he can add stability to the rotation and return to last years form, which netted him 21 wins.

 

However, this season has been a different one for Loaiza. He has noticed a drop in velocity and has failed to pitch inside with the reckless abandon he did last year. This has allowed hitters to sit on his cutter and lean over the plate on outside pitches. The results are a good 9-5 record, but a not so nice 4.86 ERA in 21 starts.

 

FS Perspective:

In my opinion, this was a safe deal for both teams. Contreras needed out of New York and Loiaza has handled some pressure during his career. Neither pitcher was performing well for their respeted teams and a change of scenery is best, especially for Contreras.

 

However, this move has a great deal of upside for the White Sox. No one doubts Contreras stuff, plus he is signed till 2006, which means Contreras, Buehrle, and Garcia will be mainstays in the White Sox rotation. You could also include young right hander Jon Garland in this mix.

That's always good to hear that 3 starting pitchers will be here for another 3 years.

I am going to miss ELo, but I love the thought of Jose Contreras.

What??? When did this happen????

For anyone interested, FS has writeups of every trade that went down today now. Plus all the deals from yesterday

Better update your sig there too Jason.

Eh, right now I just want to take a nap. I hope the Sox win and then I can crash before going out for the night.

I hope the Sox get the Contreras everyone was wanting a couple of years ago. I know he's been a lot better with his family around though.

I like this trade. Contreras has already proven that when he's on, he's really good. It's all about consistency for him. I thought he was pitching much better for the Yankees. I know he got roughed up in his last start. I don't know. I think this could come back and bite the Yanks in the ass.