BigChiefFan
07-26-2006, 07:35 AM
07/25/2006 7:17 PM ET
Royals get Perez from Dodgers
Trade Dessens, also receive two Minor League pitchers
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
Odalis Perez appeared in 20 games this season for the Dodgers -- eight as a starter. (Jon SooHoo/Dodgers)
KANSAS CITY -- Hoping to build a stronger pitching rotation, the Royals on Tuesday obtained left-hander Odalis Perez from the Dodgers.
Perez and Minor League pitchers Blake Johnson and Julio Pimentel go to the Royals in exchange for relief pitcher Elmer Dessens, general manager Dayton Moore announced.
Demoted to the Dodgers bullpen, the disgruntled Perez will be worked into the Royals rotation.
"He's going to get the opportunity to pitch here every fifth day," Moore said. "We expect him to rebound and be the Odalis he was in the past."
Perez was an All-Star for the Dodgers in 2002 when he had a 15-10 record, a 3.00 ERA and pitched two one-hitters. His other double-digit year in victories came in 2003 -- 12-12, but his ERA jumped to 4.52.
It's the second movement of former All-Star pitchers in two days. On Monday, the Royals traded 2003 All-Star pitcher Mike MacDougal to the White Sox for two prospects.
This season, Perez has a 4-4 record with a 6.83 ERA in 20 games, including eight starts. Until this season, Perez was exclusively a starter for the Dodgers, going 41-36 in 112 starts.
Moore, who was with the Braves when Perez came up in 1998, said the lefty has an above-average fastball and a sweeping slider.
Manager Buddy Bell said the Royals would fold Perez into the rotation gradually because of his recent bullpen duty, increasing his pitch count. Bell said he wasn't certain whose spot Perez would take.
"It's so fresh right now, I don't know," Bell said. "Our starters have done real well [in] the last 10 days."
Moore said the Dodgers had assumed paying Perez's contract that includes $7.25 million this year, and $7.75 million next year.
"To be very candid, we're happy for Elmer Dessens and the Dodgers are paying for Odalis this year and next," he said.
Dessens signed a two-year contract last winter for $1.7 million a season.
Johnson, 21, and Pimentel, 20, are right-handers who were pitching for Class A Vero Beach. Johnson had a 4-5 record in 20 games (18 starts); Pimentel was 3-8 with two saves in 30 games (eight starts).
Both were assigned to Class A High Desert.
Johnson, from Baton Rouge, La., was a second-round draft choice in 2004.
complete coverage >"He has an overhand-breaking pitch that has a chance to be a knockout pitch for him," Moore said.
Pimentel, a converted infielder, was rated as having the best changeup in the Dodgers organization last year.
"Pimentel is still learning his craft," Moore said.
Dessens returns to the Dodgers, where he pitched in 2004-05. For the Royals this year, he had a 5-7 record and 4.50 ERA in 43 relief outings.
Until joining the Royals, Dessens had spent his entire career in the National League.
"At least I won't have to face the Detroit Tigers anymore," Dessens said in a light moment as he cleaned out his Kauffman Stadium locker.
Perez, 29, also has a contract through the 2007 season. After breaking in with the Braves in 1998, he was dealt to the Dodgers in 2002 with outfielder Brian Jordan for outfielder Gary Sheffield.
Moore said that he and assistant Dean Taylor were confident that Perez's problems with the Dodgers could be put behind him in a new environment.
"We grew up with him in Atlanta. We have a history with him," Moore said. "Anything that's happened is manageable."
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Royals get Perez from Dodgers
Trade Dessens, also receive two Minor League pitchers
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
Odalis Perez appeared in 20 games this season for the Dodgers -- eight as a starter. (Jon SooHoo/Dodgers)
KANSAS CITY -- Hoping to build a stronger pitching rotation, the Royals on Tuesday obtained left-hander Odalis Perez from the Dodgers.
Perez and Minor League pitchers Blake Johnson and Julio Pimentel go to the Royals in exchange for relief pitcher Elmer Dessens, general manager Dayton Moore announced.
Demoted to the Dodgers bullpen, the disgruntled Perez will be worked into the Royals rotation.
"He's going to get the opportunity to pitch here every fifth day," Moore said. "We expect him to rebound and be the Odalis he was in the past."
Perez was an All-Star for the Dodgers in 2002 when he had a 15-10 record, a 3.00 ERA and pitched two one-hitters. His other double-digit year in victories came in 2003 -- 12-12, but his ERA jumped to 4.52.
It's the second movement of former All-Star pitchers in two days. On Monday, the Royals traded 2003 All-Star pitcher Mike MacDougal to the White Sox for two prospects.
This season, Perez has a 4-4 record with a 6.83 ERA in 20 games, including eight starts. Until this season, Perez was exclusively a starter for the Dodgers, going 41-36 in 112 starts.
Moore, who was with the Braves when Perez came up in 1998, said the lefty has an above-average fastball and a sweeping slider.
Manager Buddy Bell said the Royals would fold Perez into the rotation gradually because of his recent bullpen duty, increasing his pitch count. Bell said he wasn't certain whose spot Perez would take.
"It's so fresh right now, I don't know," Bell said. "Our starters have done real well [in] the last 10 days."
Moore said the Dodgers had assumed paying Perez's contract that includes $7.25 million this year, and $7.75 million next year.
"To be very candid, we're happy for Elmer Dessens and the Dodgers are paying for Odalis this year and next," he said.
Dessens signed a two-year contract last winter for $1.7 million a season.
Johnson, 21, and Pimentel, 20, are right-handers who were pitching for Class A Vero Beach. Johnson had a 4-5 record in 20 games (18 starts); Pimentel was 3-8 with two saves in 30 games (eight starts).
Both were assigned to Class A High Desert.
Johnson, from Baton Rouge, La., was a second-round draft choice in 2004.
complete coverage >"He has an overhand-breaking pitch that has a chance to be a knockout pitch for him," Moore said.
Pimentel, a converted infielder, was rated as having the best changeup in the Dodgers organization last year.
"Pimentel is still learning his craft," Moore said.
Dessens returns to the Dodgers, where he pitched in 2004-05. For the Royals this year, he had a 5-7 record and 4.50 ERA in 43 relief outings.
Until joining the Royals, Dessens had spent his entire career in the National League.
"At least I won't have to face the Detroit Tigers anymore," Dessens said in a light moment as he cleaned out his Kauffman Stadium locker.
Perez, 29, also has a contract through the 2007 season. After breaking in with the Braves in 1998, he was dealt to the Dodgers in 2002 with outfielder Brian Jordan for outfielder Gary Sheffield.
Moore said that he and assistant Dean Taylor were confident that Perez's problems with the Dodgers could be put behind him in a new environment.
"We grew up with him in Atlanta. We have a history with him," Moore said. "Anything that's happened is manageable."
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.