West Virginia Coal Sox and Tempe Knights

December 17th, 2008

West Virginia receives:
MR Whit Andrews (23, ML) - $0.39/$0.39/$0.39/arbitration/arbitration/arbitration
MR Mark Merrill (21, AAA) - minor league contract

Tempe receives:
LF Jorge López (24, AA) - minor league contract
SP José Rivera (24, AAA) - minor league contract

Since Then:
Andrews spent the first half of the '09 season at West Virginia's AAA affiliate. He was called up in June and remained with West Virigina for the rest of the season. With the big ballclub, he went 3-5 with a 4.60 ERA in 34 relief appearances (45 IP). He grades out as a mediocre reliever who is best suited in mop-up situations or non-pressure roles.
Merrill spent the majority of the '09 season down at West Virginia's Class-A affiliate where he pitched below par. Possessing very limited pitching talent, it is expected that Merrill will spend his career in the minors.

López dominated April down at Tempe's AA affiliate and was quickly promoted to AAA. Spending the remainder of the '09 minor league season at AAA, he struggled to duplicate his blistering AA start. Overall, López is considered a mediocre talent. He plays defense well but lacks the corner outfield pop that most teams expect of that position. He is a platoon or bench player at best.
Rivera spent the majority of the season down at Tempe's Class-A affiliate and was promoted to AA by July and finished the minor league season at Tempe's SS-A. He has big league level stuff but lacks the command and movement on his pitches to become a legit big league pitcher. Considering his age, Rivera appears to be destined to be a career minor league pitcher.