Ryan Theriot was traded today for Cardinals' pitcher Blake Hawksworth. Theriot was a candidate to get non-tendered by the Thursday deadline, but that's obviously not going to happen anymore.
Theriot came over to the Dodgers in the trade deadline deal that brought Ted Lilly to LA and sent Blake DeWitt to the Cubs. Appearing in 54 games playing second base, Theriot hit .242 with a .323 OBP, and gave very little power with five doubles, one homer, and no triples. A solid .309 average in August gave way to a meager .141 in September.
The official signing of Juan Uribe made Theriot expendable, as Uribe fills the void of primary starter at second while also playing other infield positions. The Dodgers needed to get more pop in their lineup, and Uribe's 24 homers last season are more than six season's worth of homers for Theriot at 16.
Hawksworth pitched mostly out of the bullpen in his two years with the Cardinals, making eight starts last season. For his brief career, he's gone 8-8 with a 4.07 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, and 81 strikeouts in 130 1/3 innings. He'll be right in the mix out of the 'pen.
What's promising about Hawksworth is probably equally as concerning: he had a great rookie season in '09. But, he followed that up with a sub-par sophomore season. Two years ago, he went 4-0 in 30 games with a 2.03 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and .209 BAA. Last season those numbers dipped to 4-8 in 45 games, 4.98 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, and .310 BAA.
Since Theriot was not in the future plans, it's worth getting a guy who's shown he can get hitters out. Hawksworth struggled with that last year, but the hope is that he'll bounce back and be one of the key arms late in games.
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