Shane gave the Phillies some great seasons (MLB.com)
The Phillies have sent two time all-star outfielder Shane Victorino to the Los Angeles Dodgers for relief pitcher Josh Lindblom and Ethan Martin. Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports was the first to finalize the news, via twitter.
Victorino spent six full seasons, and parts of two others, with the Phillies, joining the team late in the 2005 season. This year, Victorino is hitting .261 with nine homers, but also shows a career-low .724 OPS.
Lindblom, 25, has a 3.02 ERA in 47 2/3 relief innings this year. Some of his other peripherals: 8.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 1.70 HR/9, and 38% groundball rate. The homers are bit concerning, but he is young and under team control through 2018. Lindblom is also pronounced “Lind-Bloom” for those who were unaware.
The righty reliever is mostly fastball/slider, topping out around 94 on the gun. He would instantly be there second best relief pitcher upon arrival.
Martin, 23, is currently in Double-A and has started 20 games this season. Over 118 innings, Martin has struck out 112 but walked 61. Walks have been an issue for him throughout his minor league career, allowing 269 free passes in 426 innings in the Dodgers organization.
Domonic Brown is on his way to Washington D.C. to meet the Phillies for their series with the Nationals.
As our Eric Seidman pointed out, it actually made some sense to keep Victorino around next year. The Phillies felt it was time to get as much for him as they could, so on he goes to the team that actually let him go in the 2005 Rule 5 draft.
As frustrating as Victorino can be at times, he gave the Phillies some really great seasons. It was the ultimate low-risk, high-reward player that often times does not pan out. He will be missed in Philadelphia, as the city had grown close with the Flyin’ Hawaiian. However, his contractual demands were over the top in the eyes of the Phillies brass, so they made a move to at least capitalize on his remaining value.
Victorino is the first chip to fall on Trade Deadline Day. It feels like the end of an era. Who will be next?
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