Livan Hernandez traded to Arizona

August 7, 2006 @ 16:00:00

By Bryce McRae
Edited by Ryan Dodson

With the Washington Nationals rebuilding for the future and the Arizona Diamondbacks involved in a tight race for the National League West division crown, the Diamondbacks made a move Monday, Aug. 7, to solidify their starting rotation, acquiring starting pitcher Livan Hernandez in exchange for two minor league prospects, pitchers Matt Chico and Garrett Mock.

Hernandez brings to the Diamondbacks a 9-8 record and a 5.34 ERA in 24 starts this season. He has struggled for most of the season, but he put in a dominant performance against the Diamondbacks' division rivals, the San Diego Padres Sunday, Aug. 6, which could have spurred the team to trade for him. He went seven strong innings against the Padres, giving up only two runs while striking out seven and walking one. He also brings playoff experience to the Diamondbacks, as he earned both the National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the World Series MVP awards in 1997 when he was with the Florida Marlins. Hernandez has a career record of 119-112 and sports a career ERA of 4.20. 

Hernandez provides the Diamondbacks with a solid No. 2 pitcher and gives them some stability after the loss of starting pitcher and staff ace Brandon Webb (elbow) to an injury. Webb, however, is not expected to be out for very long, and when he returns he will give them a formidable one-two punch as the Wild Card and divisional race heat up. His stats should also receive a boost as he has moved from the team with the second worst batting average in the National League to the one with the second highest. The Diamondbacks are also fourth in the NL in fielding percentage and have made 21 fewer errors than the Nationals. With his recent good outings and a weaker division surrounding him, Hernandez could be a pitcher to look at acquiring in your fantasy league for the next two months.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that Washington's RFK Stadium is widely known as one of the league's best pitchers' parks. Chase Field is a fairly neutral park. He's had problems with his knee for years as well, and his struggles this season are likely due to the knee. So he really doesn't improve in fantasy value.

For the Nationals, this deal was all about the future. Hernandez is 31 years old and doesn't figure to be around when the Nationals youngsters are ready to carry the team. Mock was 4-8 with a 4.95 ERA in 23 starts for Double-A Tennessee this season. He has also pitched seven shutout innings four times this season and put up two 10-strikeout games. He boasts a 3.3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ration. Mock was also rated as the second best pitcher in the Diamondbacks minor league system by Baseball America. 

Chico has gone 7-2, with a 2.22 ERA in 13 starts for Tennessee this season. He has been on fire of late, going 6-0, with a 1.87 ERA, over his last seven minor league starts. He was rated by Baseball Weekly as the best pitching prospect in the Diamondbacks minor league system and was given the title of top pitching prospect in the Single-A Midwest League by Baseball America. It was quite a steep price the Diamondbacks paid to acquire Hernandez.

Both pitchers were assigned to Double-A Harrisburg, although if they continue their dominant minor league pitching it wouldn't be surprising to see them moved up to Triple-A New Orleans, or even a earn call-up come September.

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Bryce McRae
Bryce McRae is a Managing Editor with KFFL and has been involved in fantasy sports since 1999. He joined KFFL as a volunteer writer in March 2005 before becoming a Hot off the Wire Analyst in March 2006. He began working in his current capacity in September 2008. His work has appeared on fantasy sports sites such as Yahoo! and CBS Sportsline as well as in print. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with a B.A. in History and U.S. Studies.

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