By Jim Callis
November 18, 2002

The Marlins and Braves officially announced Mike Hampton's second trade in three days on Monday. In a deal that had been rumored as soon as Florida acquired Hampton from the Rockies on Saturday, he went to Atlanta for Tim Spooneybarger and minor league righthander Ryan Baker.

The pair of transactions make sense for all three teams, as the remaining six years and $84.5 million on Hampton's contract and $19 million deferred signing bonus he's due will be spread out. Rather than being on the hook for all $103.5 million, Colorado now owes him $30 million and saved a total of $26.3 million with its deal with the Marlins. Florida will pay $38 million toward Hampton's salaries, and came out $9.2 million ahead with its two trades. The Braves hope Hampton can regain his two-time National League all-star form under the tutelage of pitching coach Leo Mazzone, and will pay him $35.5 million over six years.

November 19 update: BA correspondent Mike Berardino reports that commissioner Bud Selig forced a financial restructuring of the deal because he didn't like the fact that Florida's $38 million obligation to Atlanta for Hampton's contract was backloaded to 2006-08. The Braves now are on the hook for $48.5 for six years of Hampton, with the Marlins paying $23.5 million of his 2003-05 salaries and the Rockies contributing $6.5 million over the same period. Colorado also paid $6 million to buy out Hampton's $20 million option for 2009. Thus the overall savings is $24.8 million for the Rockies and $23.7 million for the Marlins. However, when interest is figured, the amounts aren't much different from the calculations above, and Florida also has lost payroll flexibility over the next three seasons.

The addition of Hampton makes it highly unlikely that Atlanta will re-sign free agent lefty Glavine, who won two Cy Young awards and 242 games in 16 seasons with the Braves. Choosing Hampton over Glavine is debatable, though at roughly $8 million per season he'll cost roughly two-thirds what Glavine will command. Hampton, a 30-year-old lefthander, completely collapsed after signing an eight-year, $121 million contract with the Rockies in December 2000—and he can't completely blame Coors Field. Hampton went 21-28, 5.75 in two years with Colorado, but his ERA on the road (5.77) was higher than it was in Denver (5.73). He completely lost his confidence, and his combination of sinker, cut fastball and changeup no longer fooled hitters. Hampton, who went 7-15, 6.15 in 2002, has a career 106-81, 3.98 record in the major leagues.

Spooneybarger, a 23-year-old righthander, got his first extended taste of the majors in 2002. A 29th-round pick out of a Florida high school in 1998, he signed as a draft-and-follow in 1999 after a year at Okaloosa-Walton (Fla.) CC. He went 1-0, 2.63 in 51 games with Atlanta this year, striking out 33 and walking 26 in 51 innings. Opponents batted just .207 against him, including a .150 mark by lefthanders. His best pitch is a curveball, and he also can touch 95 mph with his four-seam fastball. Spooneybarger also throws a two-seamer with splitter action. The Braves opted to leave him off their postseason a roster, and he said he thought the decision came because the club thought he partied too much. He could factor into Florida's closer mix along with Braden Looper and Vladimir Nunez.

Baker, 24, signed as a nondrafted free agent in 2000 after pitching at UNC Charlotte. He spent most of 2002 at high Class A Myrtle Beach, where he 3-4, 3.72 with six saves in 36 appearances. In 39 innings, he had a 44-20 strikeout-walk ratio. He's not a huge prospect, as he uses a maximum-effort delivery and lacks a plus pitch. He has an 89-90 mph fastball and also uses a slider. His control needs to improve, and at 6 feet and 200 pounds he's not very projectable. Baker wouldn't have made our Braves Top 30 list that will appear in the upcoming 2003 Prospect Handbook.