Thursday, March 24, 2005
Hyzdu Heads West
From what this article at mlb.com's Padres site reports, he's still going to end up playing at AAA for the Pods. Excerpt:
PEORIA, Ariz. -- The Padres solved the problem of what to do about Blaine Neal's candidacy for the last spot in their bullpen Tuesday by shipping the right-handed reliever to the Red Sox for outfielder Adam Hyzdu.In Hyzdu, the Padres get a 33-year-old who made his Major League debut in 2000 and has spent much of the time since then between Triple-A and the Majors. In 2004, Hyzdu was an International League All-Star with the Pawtucket PawSox, batting .301 with a league-leading .413 on-base percentage and a .568 slugging percentage that ranked fourth in the league. He hit 29 homers and 33 doubles while racking up 79 RBIs and 92 runs scored in 129 games.
Hyzdu's biggest season in the Majors came in 2002, when he batted .232 with 11 homers in 155 at-bats with the Pirates. Last season, the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder went 3-for-10 with a homer for the Red Sox.
It's unlikely there is room on the Padres' Opening Day roster for Hyzdu, since the Padres' bench is essentially set and includes homegrown power prospect Xavier Nady, who will get the bulk of the spot starts in the outfield as well as third base. But Hyzdu has minor league options left, meaning he can be sent down to the minors without having to clear waivers.
Gee willickers. The Padres' AAA team is located in Portland Oregon, so at least he'll be somewhat closer to the wife and kiddies, who reside in Mesa AZ.
I sure do wish he'd have been traded to someone who could have given him that final bump up to a regular spot on their big league roster, after all these years the guy's been busting his adorable ass in the minors. He did get a call-up last September with Boston, and even earned a Ring, although he wasn't eligible to play in the postseason.
Maybe Giles will blow out an ACL. Noooo, I don't wish ill on Brian... not really.
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