Some rumors circulating about a potential deal for John Patterson. With Acta signing with the Nationals, it’s possible he might be a little eager to try and buy low on Lastings, but after hearing Milledge’s name associated only with big A-list names in terms of rade value there’s no way Minaya could settle for Patterson.
But trade market-value aside, I’m high on Mr. Patterson and see him as having the same kind of star upside as Milledge. He’s got good pedigree, a former 1st round pick, 5th overall in 1996. He’s 28 years old now without all the arm mileage. In 2005 he showed what he can do throwing close to 200 innings with a 3.13 ERA. He’s a power pitcher, notching about a K/inning, and a BAA in the .230s over the last couple seasons. He’s been injury prone, and lost last year to forearm surgery, but he’s had a good amount of time to rehab and recover. I suspect he’s poised to enter the prime of his career and put up some good seasons.
Dominant starters under 30 are always tough to sneak away, add on the fact he’s cheap and locked up for a couple more years and Jim Bowden is obviously not going to give him away for Triscuits (though you never really know with Jim).
But if there’s a chance we can land him for quantity, or even a top 10 prospect aside from Milledge or Pelfrey, we should be all over it. This guy could be a star.
And especially if we could make it a Patterson AND Vidro package. That’s intriguing.
