A CITIZEN'S BLOG

The Phillies dealt Robinson Tejeda to the Texas Rangers for David Dellucci. Great deal by Pat Gillick.

The problem with Tejeda, I've complained in the past, is that he's a flyball hitter. His 2005 groundball-flyball ratio was 0.82. What was remarkable about Tejeda season was how insanely lucky he was. He surrendered far too many walks (51 in 85 & 2/3 innings, or 5.35 per 9 innings) to get by at Citizen's. I've said it in the past and I'll reiterate it again: a pitcher at Citizen's needs to keep runners off the basepaths, and that means keeping guys from getting walks. Robinson was essentially walking every seventh batter he faced. You can't do that at Citizens.

Robinson was also ridiculously lucky: he surrendered just 5 home runs in 2005, or 0.52 per 9 innings. That is a fluke. If Robinson pitched at Citizens in 2006, he'd get shelled. Badly. Dealing him was a good decision.

Dellucci gives the Phillies a bat in a perilously thin bench. Check out Dellucci's 2005 stats:

OBP: .367
SLG: .513
HR: 29
RBI: 65
BB: 76

Dellucci's career slugging percentage is a good deal lower than his '05 numbers (.435), but his OBP is right in line: .345. Dellucci's career GPA is a good .264. He'll never wrestle away a job in the outfield from Rowand, Burrell or Abreu, but he gives the Phillies a valuable bat off the bench when all they had was Alex Gonzalez and Abraham Nunez.

Defensively Dellucci won't be the player than Jason Michaels was. The Fielding Bible states that while he can play all three spots, he's really too slow to play center and has too weak an arm to play right. TFB notes he "plays without fear in the outfield, will go to any length, even physical harm, to make a catch." (See, page 181.) He's capable and seems able to spell Pat Burrell if he gets injured.

Bad deal for the Rangers: according to the 2005 Bill James Handbook (don't have the '06 yet), The Ballpark At Arlington was the second easiest ballpark to homer in from 2002-2004, with a park factor of 124. Tejeda will surrender runs by the bushel. Meanwhile the Phillies have a terrific bat to add to the bench. Good work Pat.