Looper sets sail back to Mariners

By Jim Callis
April 12, 2004

Aaron Looper's stay with the Dodgers lasted all of nine days. Los Angeles acquired him on April 3 from the Mariners in a trade for Jolbert Cabrera, then designated him for assignment the next day when it needed a spot on the 40-man roster after dealing for Milton Bradley. On Monday, the Dodgers sent Looper back to Seattle for Double-A lefthander Glenn Bott.

Looper, a 27-year-old righthander, was a 30th-round pick out of Westark (Ark.) CC in 1997 and signed as a draft-and-follow after a year at Indian Hills (Iowa) CC. The son of Mariners vice president for scouting and player development Benny Looper and the cousin of Mets reliever Braden Looper, Aaron made his big league debut last August and had a 5.14 ERA in six appearances. He spent most of the year at Triple-A Tacoma, going 5-2, 3.11 with five saves in 46 appearances. He had a 67-26 strikeout-walk ratio in 75 innings, while opponents hit .247 with 10 homers. The Mariners lowered his arm angle to a low-three-quarters slot in 2002, and it did wonders for the movement on Looper's fastball. He now throws a darting 88-92 mph sinker. His slider is tough on righties, who batted .193 off him in Triple-A, but he needs a better changeup to combat lefties, who batted .328. Originally slated to open 2004 at Triple-A Las Vegas, Looper never joined the 51s and instead will make his season debut with Tacoma.

Bott, 22, signed as a nondrafted free agent out of San Jacinto (Texas) JC in 2001. He's not overwhelming physically with a 6-foot, 170-pound build and an 83-88 mph fastball, but Bott has 346 strikeouts in 339 pro innings because he knows how to pitch. His fastball misses bats because it has good life and he locates it well. His best pitch is his changeup, and he also throws a slider. Bott went 7-7, 3.16 in 31 games (21 starts) at high Class A Inland Empire in 2003. In 142 innings, he had a 143-38 K-BB ratio and limited opponents to a .241 average and eight homers. He earned a no-decision in his first start of 2004 for Double-A San Antonio, giving up two runs in 4 2/3 innings. He'll be assigned to Double-A Jacksonville.