Sandgnats Acquire Alfaro

[Apollos]

9/17/2007: Crystal Lake, IL - In a trade that seemed to take forever to complete the Crystal Lake Sandgnats traded two promising twenty year olds, minor league reliever Jimmy Allen, and minor league third baseman José Herrera to the Arlington Bureaucrats for veteran outfielder António Alfaro.

Herrera was ranked third by Baseball America on Crystal Lake’s top prospect list. Allen had played well with the triple-A affiliate and would have been called up had he not been traded. With Jesús Márquez entrenched at third for the parent club, GM Dean Giesey felt he could pull the trigger. “We wanted to make this trade before the deadline but couldn’t get it done in time. We gave up two pretty good players but they were at positions we felt we were already strong and had some depth. António is a left handed stick we really wanted. He doesn’t have the home run power we would have liked, but he has power in the gaps. With the power alleys here at Gnat Field he is a great addition.”

Of course the price was right, too. With limited resources, Crystal Lake has tried to make the most of what it has. Alfaro had recently signed a contract for three years and $7.8 million. He was affordable and in the club’s price range. At 6’ 2” and 220 lbs, he is a big man. His running speed is fair, but opposing pitchers cannot ignore him either. He has decent range in the outfield. His arm is league average. So far this season, Alfaro has batted .294 with 143 hits, 58 for extra bases, in 487 at bats. He is a left handed hitter that hits lefties, .336. His on base average is .362. BATS

Alfaro is expected to play either left or right and will also take a turn at DH. Since he is not eligible for this year’s post-season roster, the club was obviously looking at him as an acquisition for next year’s team. When asked about the big stick that the Sandgnats so obviously covet, Manager Wayne Kedsch replied, “We will review the situation in the off season and see where we are. We have some internal options for first base. William Petersen is having a good year down at double-A. We can also look to make a trade or to free agency. But let’s concentrate on the task at hand and win us a pennant, shall we?”