Good. Very Good. At least that is what I thought when I heard they traded him, not even knowing what they go in exchange. Nothing against Belliard, a fine player who, despite slumping terribly earlier in the year, can still hit. His numbers over the years have been rather consistent, he just about a .275 hitter, with limited but not awful ability to take walks and hit for power. If you were to find a great fielding 2B that could hit like him, you’d be happy. But at 34, with an expiring contract and an expired glove, he wasn’t a fit on the Nats. He actually could be a big help to alot of teams, even as a part time infielder and a bench bat, so I’m not surprised that the Nats were able to trade him. I won’t, however, miss seeing him play first base.
In exchange they got Luis Garcia, a 22 year old reliever currently pitching in low-A ball. The righty from the Dominican had some impressive numbers this season. He pitched 71 innings, struck out 55 and only walked 15. He’s got a pretty ERA of 2.92 and his nice K/BB ratio of 3.7 is couple with a high groundout to airout ratio of 1.77. Those are nice numbers, and while he may not have a closer’s future, he could be a good bullpen arm. He’s probably a few years away though, and he’ll almost certainly spend all of 2010 in the minors. In addition, the Nats get the infamous player to be named later.
Also very important about this trade, it clears up some room in the infield for Ian Desmond. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that they stick him at SS and let Guzman play 2B. It makes sense, and if Desmond hits at all, that’d be an infield that I’d be comfortable with in 2010.