By Josh Boyd
January 25, 2003

Finally tiring of waiting for Daryle Ward to produce, the Astros traded him to the Dodgers on Saturday for minor league righthander Ruddy Lugo.

There have been lofty expectations for Ward, the son of former all-star Gary Ward, since the Astros acquired him in a nine-player deal with the Tigers in December 1996. He was drafted in the 15th round in 1994 out of Rancho Santiago (Calif.) JC as a first baseman, so coming to the Astros at the peak of Jeff Bagwell's career wasn't the best career move. The burly 6-foot-2, 240-plus pounder was forced to move to move to the outfield on a part-time basis in 1998 in Triple-A. He moved to left field last season to replace Moises Alou. Not at all swift afoot, Ward showed little range and generally looked out of place in the outfield. At the plate, however, he has a beautiful swing with natural loft and tons of raw power—a power stroke that should produce more than the .276-12-72 numbers he put up in 136 games last year. He struggles to hit lefthanders and is better suited for a platoon. He became expendable when Houston signed Jeff Kent as a free agent and announced plans to move Craig Biggio to the outfield. The Dodgers will use him as insurance for Fred McGriff at first base and Brian Jordan in left. Now 27, Ward will make $1.35 million in 2003. He has hit .269-49-188 with a .316 on-base percentage and .465 slugging percentage in 418 major league games.

The Astros reunited Lugo with his older brother Julio, their starting shortstop. Ruddy showed promise as an athletic two-way player in high school, often compared to former New York City two-way star Frankie Rodriguez. Like Rodriguez, Lugo expressed interest in continuing to both hit and pitch as a pro, but the Brewers drafted him in the third round in 1999 with the sole intention of using him as a pitcher. They eventually sent him to Los Angeles in the Devon White-Marquis Grissom trade. Lugo fires low- to mid-90s heat that gets on hitters in a hurry. He has a diverse arsenal of pitches, featuring a fastball that cuts, runs or sinks, breaking balls from different angles and an above-average changeup. He has a quick arm and uses his athleticism well on the mound, but some scouts think the flat plane to his fastball and curve will affect his success at higher levels. He went 11-3, 2.84 with a 100-39 strikeout-walk ratio in 120 innings last year between high Class A Vero Beach and Double-A Jacksonville.