Dessens traded to Dodgers

[azdad1978]

Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 19, 2004 03:06 PM


PHOENIX -- The Diamondbacks traded Elmer Dessens to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Jereme Milons, a minor league outfielder.

The move trims $1 million off the Diamondbacks payroll for the rest of the season. Dessens was making $4 million and had a club option for next season with a buy-out clause of $300,000.

Arizona did not plan to bring him back next season, General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said.

Dessens has posted a 2.03 ERA in 29 relief appearances since moving out of the Diamondbacks' starting rotation.

The Dodgers have been looking for bullpen help because Darren Dreifort is injured. L.A. acquired left-hander Scott Stewart from Cleveland on Wednesday, but didn't immediately place him on the 25-man roster, leading to speculation the Dodgers were trying to make another deal.

The move also opens a spot for right-handed reliever Brian Bruney from Triple-A Tucson.

Milons' brother Freddie was a football star at Alabama and is a wide receiver with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Milons is a very athletic player from an athletic family, and he brings a lot of size and speed,” Garagiola said of the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Milons.

“Whenever we have a chance to put speed into the system we do it. He's a young player, a non-roster guy who we will have under our control for many, many years, and he's another player that when you keep adding guys like this to the system, eventually you hit on one or two.”

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/0818dessens-ON.html

 

[NickelBack]

Salary dump.....best thing this team can do at this point.

 

[NJYAJ09]

wow i didnt see this one coming?


How good is the prospect?

 

[Djaughe]

 

[Djaughe]

Columbus' Milons learns to take lead

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BY DAMON LAWRENCE

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Staff Writer

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Jereme Milons is more than a leadoff hitter. He also acts as a scout for his Columbus Catfish teammates during baseball games.

"Hitting leadoff is almost like being another coach," he said. "I'm the first one to face the pitcher, so I inform the other guys on what he has and how he's throwing."

Milons used to see passes rather than pitches. He played wide receiver at Starkville (Miss.) High School. A multi-sport athlete, baseball was always his favorite sport, so he gave up football when he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"Football was all right, but I didn't like playing football more than baseball," he said. "Once I got drafted, I knew this is what I was going to do."

Milons spent last season with the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League, where he saw time at all three outfield positions. He's been Columbus' starter in center field this year.

"I like playing center better," Milons said. "You can see everything in center, and you can get good jumps on the ball."

Milons said he's never been timed in the 40-yard dash, but he's sure he has speed comparable to that of his older brother Freddie, a former wide receiver at the University of Alabama, who is now with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL.

"We're real close," he said. "I talk to him almost everyday."

Milons demonstrated his speed this season by running down fly balls and legging out infield hits. He had three infield hits during a game against Rome earlier this month.

"He's definitely a leadoff guy," Columbus manager Dann Bilardello said. "I think that's going to be his role in the organization. He's fast, and he can steal bases."

Milons was hitless on the current homestand before a single in the bottom of the third inning against Delmarva Friday night. He was batting .213 with an on base percentage of .238 heading into last night's game against Lakewood. Those aren't the stats you want to see from your leadoff hitter, but like most of the players in the South Atlantic League, Milons is a work in progress.

"Part of the process at this level for him is learning how to leadoff," Bilardello said. "That's why he's here and we're working to help him get better."

 

[Evil Ash]

wow i didnt see this one coming?


How good is the prospect?

From the stats I've heard, he sounds good. 10 HRs and 27 SB at A Ball level

 

[NJYAJ09]

those .218 and .238 numbers scare me though.


Dessens sucked though, so i'd be happy if we traded him for a bag of dill pickle seeds.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

http://www.columbuscatfish.com/page/roster/player_detail.php?player=94

Like any Joe Jr and Jerry prospect, he tends to strike out a lot but he's only in A-Ball so he's still a long way away, if he makes it at all. Dessens needed to go as Bruney is the future of set-up role.

Two years of awful pitching and Single-A project in exchange for Durazo. Thanks a lot, Joe.

 

[hafey2]

sounds like another toolsy athlete....we could prolly use a little more athleticism in our minor leagues, but he sounds like a long-term type of thing

 

[NJYAJ09]

who did we get for durazo now?


I remember we traded him because we had a glut at 1B with Durazon, Grace, and Overbay.

Now if you look at the diamondbacks first basemen, we have a 3B over there.

 

[hafey2]

Milons apparantly spent most of the year in columbus with a line of .273/.321/.401(http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/Stats/stats_Asal_sga.shtml) 10 HRs and 25 SBs. He has recently been promoted, and has been struggling in 39 ABs in Vero Beach. Sounds like a decent prospect for a guy we had no intention of keepings or no need for.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

The likes of Milon and Reggie Abercrombie are what I classify as "building blocks" for future package deals....

I just don't see how any of them fit into the equation when Terrero, Jackson, and Quentin are clearly the "starting outfielders of the future"....

 

[Djaughe]

I just can't see why we couldn't get an A ball pitcher instead....

 

[Evil Ash]

I just can't see why we couldn't get an A ball pitcher instead....

I'm happy we got ANYTHING in return for him.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Also on the trade front, the Angels and Dbacks are discussing a Shea Hillenbrand deal.

And the Yankees are probably going to trade Esteban Loaiza to the Rangers for prospects to load up for a winter trade for RJ.

EDIT - Elmer Dessens is such garbage value-wise that any GM worth a damn would not trade any pitching for him.

 

[Ryanwb]

Also on the trade front, the Angels and Dbacks are discussing a Shea Hillenbrand deal.

At this point I think that is a bad idea.... if Sexson is either not re-signed or not healthy, we don't have another proven option at 1B that is as cheap as Hillenbrand at this point (unless he is arbitration eligable or something)

 

[KingLouieLouie]

At this point I think that is a bad idea.... if Sexson is either not re-signed or not healthy, we don't have another proven option at 1B that is as cheap as Hillenbrand at this point (unless he is arbitration eligable or something)

Hillenbrand's an unrestricted FA after the end of this season and would try to command a multi-year deal....

I believe the Dbacks will acquire an elite 1B prospect in a Randy Johnson trade (it's inevitable that he'll be dealt during the Winter Meetings)....

Also, the Dbacks could platoon Hammock, Baerga, and Zinter (not an impressive combo, but would conserve money.....

I think the best case long-term scenario would be for Santos to be converted into a 1B and I agree with others who have suggested that Gonzo should be the every day 1B next season.....

 

[Djaughe]

EDIT - Elmer Dessens is such garbage value-wise that any GM worth a damn would not trade any pitching for him.

lol...so yer saying elmo is not equal to the worst A ball pitching prospect?

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

lol...so yer saying elmo is not equal to the worst A ball pitching prospect?

All I'm saying is GMs hate giving up pitching for good players. They're even more against it when dealing with bad players such as Dessens.

 

[Djaughe]

All I'm saying is GMs hate giving up pitching for good players. They're even more against it when dealing with bad players such as Dessens.

lol....I know what you mean. Its just amazing to see how much elmos value has dropped.

 

[Evil Ash]

Also on the trade front, the Angels and Dbacks are discussing a Shea Hillenbrand deal.

Interesting. Makes sense for both teams really

And the Yankees are probably going to trade Esteban Loaiza to the Rangers for prospects to load up for a winter trade for RJ.

Now to me this just seems bizzare. They traded for him since they though they could fix his problems and then they gave up on him that quickly. Was he really THAT bad?

Even if true, I still don't think its going to be enough though. It seems the Dbacks want major league ready players (meaning they are either at the major league level or AAA level). The rest of the good Yankee prospects are still a LONG ways away from being MLB ready.

 

[AZZenny]

From BA:
Milons, 21, was a 21st-round pick out of a Mississippi high school in 2001. His brother Freddie is a wide receiver with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers. In 114 games at low Class A Columbus and high Class A Vero Beach this year, Jereme has batted .267/.315/.387 with 10 homers, 55 RBIs and 29 steals. Considered the fastest runner in the Dodgers system, he earns 70 grades (on the 20-80 scouting scale) with his speed. Milons covers a lot of ground in center field, where his instincts have improved significantly. He has some power potential, but he swings for the fences too much at times and lengthens his swing. If he can develop an approach that would allow him to get on base more frequently, he could take better advantage of his speed. He's a career .273/.325/.382 hitter with 12 homers, 101 RBIs and 48 steals in 210 pro games.

Saves about $1.3 between this year and the next year buy-out. It does feel like just closing the book on a poor deal made for Durazo. One of my problems with Joe - or whoever was in charge (besides the fact that in all this time they couldn't pick out a single decent non-ace pitcher other than Miggy) is that we seem to do things just to cover over or undo previous moves. There has been a lack of coherent philosophy and forethought. Or maybe it's there, but invisible.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Wow, hindsight really is 20-20, isnt it?

People seem to forget that
A) We had a pile of 1B guys at the time
B) Durazo was (possibly understandably) unhappy here
C) We needed a starting pitcher
D) Dessens had one of the best ERAs in the league the year before we traded for him.

Was it a bad trade at the time? Maybe. I thought we could have gotten more for Durazo. I know he hasnt been perfect like every other GM in the league, but Joe doesnt have the benefit of seeing how a trade is going to turn out 2 years later before he makes it.

Edit: oh, and another outfielder prospect? Im glad we got something of value for a guy who we were going to lose in a few months for nothing anyways (even though he's been decent in the pen), but it would have been nice if it was something other than an outfielder.

 

[abomb]

Two years of awful pitching and Single-A project in exchange for Durazo. Thanks a lot, Joe.

Quote of the Day. Congrats Mao.

A-Bomb

 

[abomb]

I recall that I was excited when we got Dessens. I totally fell for the "he didnt get any run support in Cincy" line. It was true, but "Albie" Dessens ended up being nothing more than a 4 1/3 inning pitcher.

A-Bomb