This seems impossible to comprehend now, but there was a time when Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels made a dumb trade. It was the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth, when gas was afforable and when we could turn on the TV without watching a singing talent show.
No, I'm not talking about the Adam Eaton deal.
On Dec. 23, 2006 Daniels thought he pulled one on Chicago White Sox GM Kenny Williams when he sent left-handed prospect John Danks for righty Brandon McCarthy. There were some others involved in the deal, but those two pitchers were the primary components.
McCarthy could never stay healthy when he arrived with the Rangers, while Danks developed into a decent starter.
McCarthy (2-3, 4.36) is scheduled to face the Rangers at Rangers Ballpark tonight as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
In three seasons with the Rangers, McCarthy was 13-15 with a 4.68 ERA in 221 innings. He was not re-signed after 2009 season.
The thought was that at 6-foot-7, 200 pounds he could not stand up to the pounding of a 35-game start type of season. That he was pretty good, but not durable.
But then he "found it" with the Oakland Athletics where in two seasons he was 17-15 with a 3.29 ERA. He signed with Arizona in the offseason.
Danks, meanwhile, was a pretty consistent innings eater from 2007 to 2011. He made at least 26 starts in all five of those seasons; he was at his best from '08 to '10 when he was 40-31 with an ERA in the 3s every season.
Last season was the first time he was a total dud; Danks suffered a season ending shoulder injury in May of last season, and is only now about ready to return.
Danks has been the better pro while McCarthy just has not been able to string it together for long enough to say that Daniels didn't whiff on this one.
@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
Facebook Mac Engel


Recent Comments