New Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart made his first trade on the job on Friday, acquiring starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson from the Tampa Bay Rays for minor league prospects Justin Williams and Andrew Velazquez.
Diamondbacks acquire Jeremy Hellickson from Rays
Hellickson has two more seasons of salary arbitration eligibility before hitting free agency after the 2016 campaign.
Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Hellickson was 1-5 with a 4.52 ERA in 13 starts for the Rays in 2014, missing most of the first four months of the season after offseason arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow. The 2011 American League Rookie of the Year was 40-36 with a 3.78 ERA in parts of five seasons in Tampa Bay, with 463 strikeouts and 210 walks in 640 innings.
Hellickson said he was “kind of shocked” when he heard the news, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Times.
The Diamondbacks were 14th in the National League in ERA by its starting pitchers (4.44) in 2014 and 13th of 15 teams in innings pitched, averaging just 5.79 innings per start. Season-ending injuries to starters Patrick Corbin and Bronson Arroyo certainly didn't help.
But it’s unclear how much help Arizona will get from Hellickson, who hasn’t put up an even superficially good season since 2012. Since the start of 2013, Hellickson has a 5.00 ERA. Since joining the majors in 2010, his 1.17 home runs per nine innings rank 105th among the 119 pitchers in baseball to amass 500 innings during that span. That number doesn’t figure to decrease in the hitter-friendly environment at Chase Field in Arizona.
Hellickson, 27, made $3.625 million in 2014 and is eligible for salary arbitration this winter. He has two more years of team control before hitting free agency.
Williams, who turned 19 in August, was drafted by Arizona in the second round of the 2013 draft. The outfielder hit .351/.403/.467 with 21 extra-base hits in 74 games between rookie ball and Class-A South Bend in 2014.
Velazquez was drafted in the seventh round in 2012 by the Diamondbacks. The 20-year-old hit .290/.367/.428 with 18 doubles, 15 triples, nine home runs and 50 stolen bases in 134 games while playing shortstop for Class-A South Bend in 2014.
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