BaseballAmerica.com: Majors: Trade Central: Reds Add Broxton To Hard-Throwing Bullpen Mix

Reds Add Broxton To Hard-Throwing Bullpen Mix

By Jim Callis and J.J. Cooper
July 31, 2012

The Deal

The Reds made a deadline deal to acquire a hard-throwing righthander to complement lefties Aroldis Chapman and Sean Marshall in the bullpen. They dealt Double-A righthander Juan Carlos Sulbaran and Triple-A lefty reliever Donnie Joseph to the Royals for Jonathan Broxton.

Royals Acquire

Juan Carlos Sulbaran, rhp
Age: 22. Born: Nov 9, 1989 in Willemstad, Curacao.
Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 220.
Bats: R. Throws: R.
School: American Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla.
Career Transactions: Selected by Reds in 30th round of 2008 draft; signed Aug. 15, 2008.

Club (League)	Class	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP
Pensacola (SL)	AA	7	7	4.04	19	19	0	105	100	49	47	17	54	111	1.47

Sulbaran isn't a typical 30th-round pick, as he signed for $500,000 out of high school in 2008 and pitched for the Dutch national team at the World Baseball Classic before making his pro debut in 2009. He had some of the best pure stuff in the Reds system, showing a fastball that features good sink at times and runs up to 95 mph at others and flashing a plus curveball and changeup. Sulbaran has some crossfire in his delivery and struggles to maintain the consistency of his pitches and his command. But he's still just 22, and if he figures it all out, he could be a No. 3 starter down the road.

Donnie Joseph, lhp
Age: 24. Born: Nov 1, 1987 in San Marcos, Texas.
Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 190.
Bats: L. Throws: L.
School: Houston.
Career Transactions: Selected by Reds in third round of 2009 draft; signed June 12, 2009.

Club (League)	Class	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP
Pensacola (SL)	AA	4	2	0.89	26	0	13	30	13	4	3	1	8	46	0.69
Louisville (IL)	AAA	4	1	2.86	18	0	5	22	22	8	7	0	9	22	1.41

Like the girl with the curl, when Joseph is good, he's been very good. But when he's been bad, he's been very bad. This has been a good year for Joseph, as he rediscovered the feel for his slider by stopping a tendency to fly open too soon in his delivery. He has two plus pitches: a 92-95 mph fastball and a slider. He will likely never have plus command because his delivery features significant effort including a head-whip, but his stuff is good enough that if he has even average control, he should be able to get big league hitters out. At worst Joseph should be a useful lefty reliever, but his stuff is good enough to get righthanders out as well. He profiles as a solid set-up man.

Reds Acquire

Jonathan Broxton, rhp
Age: 28. Throws: R. Remaining Commitment: Under contract for $4 million this season (approximately $667,000 per month).
Contract details courtesy of Cot's Baseball Contracts.

Club (League)	Year	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP
Kansas City (AL)	2012	1	2	2.27	35	0	23	36	36	11	9	1	14	25	1.40
3-Year Totals		7	10	3.66	113	0	52	111	115	51	45	7	51	108	1.50

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