Why waste all of that money?
It’s like Dipoto was the guy sitting there at the end of your fantasy baseball draft with too much money still on hand and not enough good players to bid for.
It’s embarrassing to have leftover money, so what the heck, how about $10 on some random pitcher who may never get in the active lineup?
The Indians have acquired $500,000 in international bonus pool money for the 2017-18 period from the Mariners in exchange for RHP Shawn Armstrong.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 13, 2017
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
In Dipoto’s case, he acquired 27-year-old right-handed relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong from Cleveland and 22-year-old left-handed starting pitcher Anthony Misiewicz from the Tampa Bay Rays.
Armstrong cost $500K in international bonus money and Misiewicz cost a cool million.
Armstrong has pitched in 39 games for Cleveland over the last three years and had a 3.53 ERA and 4.74 FIP.
He’s had problems with home runs in the big leagues, having allowed seven in 43.3 innings.
Misiewicz was initially signed by the Seattle Mariners in the 18th round of the 2015 June draft. He was pitching for their Double-A team last summer when he was traded by the M’s to the Rays. He has a 4.33 ERA in 351.7 minor league innings.
Next: Mariners don’t get Ohtani, begin the 5 stages of grief
Hague, Andreoli, Armstrong, and Misiewicz are small additions that could end up becoming something or could be nothing. Time will tell. Dipoto loves to deal, so he dealt. Nicasio is a more prominent move who should pitch some high leverage innings this year. It’s not Shohei Ohtani, but it’s something.