Sunday, July 01, 2001
Reds see Rijo in Aramboles
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Although he's just 19, the Yankess had promoted pitcher Ricardo Aramboles to Triple-A Columbus because of injuries there.
“He held his own there as a 19-year-old,”Reds GM Jim Bowden said Saturday about the pitching prospect he acquired in trade for Mark Wohlers.
Aramboles was 7-2 at Single-A Tampa before being called up to Columbus.
“Our scouts project him as potentially a young Jose Rijo,” Bowden said.
Aramboles did have Tommy John surgery. But Bowden said Aramboles is fully recovered and throwing 91 to 93.
The Reds assigned him to Double-A Chattanooga.
On the surface, it looks like the trade saves the Reds $1.25 million — what Wohlers was due in salary this year and the $1 million buyout in his contract. But you could make an argument it saves them more.
The Reds were in the bidding to get Aramboles in 1998. But they dropped out before the Yankees bid $1.52 million. Aramboles is the third Yankees prospect who got a huge bonus for whom the Reds have traded. Outfielders Wily Mo Pena ($3.7 million) and Jackson Melian ($1.6 million) are the others.
That's $6.82 million the Reds didn't have.
“We can't compete for top Latin American players or in the draft,” Bowden said. “This is a way to get around it.”
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Reds see Rijo in Aramboles
