Blockbuster Trade Between Seattle and Danville

Seattle and Danville swapped closers and some of the most prominent prospects in the game today in a big mid-season deal. Seattle sent 5-star elite closer Pedro Morales, young centerfielder Paulino Zamorano, and 4-star first base prospect Jose Guzman to Danville in exchange for 4-star closer Joel Calles, 5-star prospect outfielder Armando Cedeno, and 4.5-star starting pitcher prospect Isidro Frau.

"It's certainly risky to make a move with two significant pieces of our major league roster," said Seattle general manager Mack Shultz, "but we felt that the people we were getting in return were too good to pass up."

Both Calles and Morales are scheduled to be free agents at the end of the season. Morales was 2-0 with 15 saves for Seattle. He boasted a 0.93 ERA, a 29-2 strikeout to walk ratio and had allowed just 19 baserunners in 29 innings. With 43 more days of service, Morales will use up his arbitration time. Calles is having the best season of his career, with 16 saves and a 1.65 ERA. Both closers were elected to the recent All-Star game.

"We don't expect Joel to come in and pitch like Pedro, but we think he'll do a solid job for us in the bullpen and he'll be an asset for our team as we chase the Cecil Cup," explained Shultz.

Zamorano had been Seattle's fourth outfielder this year, but had put up the best numbers of any of the outfielders at .312/.354/.558. He slugged 11 home runs in just 154 at bats, including six four-baggers in June. He will likely step into Danville's starting line-up and will be have one more year of arbitration before hitting free agency.

"Paulie's a great player who just hasn't had the chance to play on an every day basis. He clearly deserves it and we're happy to see he'll get that opportunity in Danville," said Shultz. "We're calling up Lonnie Machen to take his place as our fourth outfielder. Lonnie's been killing the ball in AAA and it's time we see what he can do on the big stage."

Guzman may be the premiere power-hitting prospect in baseball. He has clubbed 33 home runs so far this season, most in the minors, to go with 90 RBI and a .654 slugging percentage. He had been Seattle's first round pick in 2006 and is rated the #17 prospect in baseball by Baseball America.

"Guzman is a wonderful prospect, but we've got the reigning MVP in Gregory Mudge and we plan to do what it takes to resign him," said Shultz. "Greg is going to be manning first base for us for a long time."

In addition to Calles, Seattle acquired two of Danville's leading prospects. In the off-season trade featuring Waylon Blassingame and Roberto Olivas, Seattle and Danville had exchanged their first round picks in this year's draft. With what had been Seattle's pick, Danville chose left fielder Cedeno. He now moves to Seattle. A mere 17 years old, "Rimfire" Cedeno has posted an .858 OPS in AA, including a .404 OBP and 11 home runs. He is rated as the game's #9 prospect.

"We think that in addition to his already terrific batting eye, Armando will become a home run threat as he adds muscle mass. We think he could be one of the truly dominant players," said Shultz, adding that Cedeno will go to AA Olympia. There, he'll join the player selected by Seattle with Danville's pick, Eugene Alustiza, who was recently called up.

Frau had started 19 games in AA for Danville, going 8-5 with a 3.78 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 121.1 innings. He had been a first round pick in 2006, going three picks before Guzman. He is rated the #15 prospect by Baseball America.

"We're going to send Frau to AAA Tacoma. Our rotation is starting to show its age a bit and we don't have a lot of starters in the high minors ready to step in if we need one," explained Shultz. "We expect big things from Izzie."

"It's a big chance for the Monarchs to take," said a knowledgeable source inside baseball. "They've been on a roll the last four weeks or so and they're upsetting their fragile chemistry. Calles is a fine closer, but Morales was one of the things that made their team special and this could come back to haunt them. If not now, then in the Cecil Cup. It's all well and good to plan for the future, but you've got to go for the ring when you have the chance and I'm not sure they're doing that with this move."

Posted by Seattle Times baseball correspondent Max Mercy