Royals get Bautista as housecleaning begins

By J.J. Cooper
June 22, 2004

While Carlos Beltran remains on the trading block, the Royals have already started the process of jettisoning useful major leaguers for prospects, sending righthanded reliever Jason Grimsley to the Orioles for righthander Denny Bautista.

This is the second time in less than a year that Bautista has been dealt for a major leaguer. He was sent from the Marlins to the Orioles on Aug. 31 last season with lefthander Don Levinski for Jeff Conine. Over the offseason, the Orioles learned that Bautista was two years older than his listed age, but even at 23 he's still a young, promising arm.

The Orioles, whose season got off to a promising start, were looking for pitching help to turn around a disastrous June that has seen the team fall into last place in the American League East. They got Grimsley, a reliable veteran who is 3-3, 3.38 this season. He'll work out of the bullpen to begin with but could pitch out of the rotation if needed.

But Grimsley came at a high price. For him the Royals pick up a prospect who immediately becomes one of the best arms in their system. Bautista was rated as the Orioles' No. 5 prospect over the winter. He was 3-5, 4.74 for Double-A Bowie this season, with 72 strikeouts and 33 walks in 63 innings. In his big league debut in late May, he allowed eight earned runs in two relief appearances, spanning two innings with the Orioles.

Bautista features a mid-90s fastball that will touch 97-98 mph. He also throws a power curveball that shows signs of being a plus pitch, and a solid, if inconsistent, changeup. Before he makes the jump to the majors, he needs to develop a more consistent delivery, as he too often throws across his body, affecting his control.