Next, Troy moved their last remaining player from their inaugural season, by shipping Huston Street to Lehigh Valley for Hiroki Kuroda. Street, the reigning two time Fireman of the Year award winner, had a total of 115 saves for the Haymakers and was shipped to fill one of the many rotation slots for next season. As of right now Kuroda will serve as Troy's thrid starter behind ace Carpenter and young phenom Bumgarner. Kuroda has had a rather pedestrian career in the NASBL, but is coming off a successful season (14-7 with a 3.31ERA) with World Series Champ Iron Pigs, and the Troy front office is hoping that will continue with the Haymakers.
Most recently, the Haymakers moved young firstbaseman Billy Butler for James Loney and Ruben Tejada. Troy faithful will remember Butler was picked up with a round 3 pick from Illinois after the 2008 season for Aubrey Huff. After a couple of successful seasons with the team, Butler never seemed to live up to his full potential and the front office grew weary of his ability to play defense. Loney is a much better defender, but has had problems with consistency in the past and is coming off a dismal season at the plate. In 402 at bats, Loney only hit .229 and while he should fair better at Haymaker Grounds, he still will have to sit against lefties. The third player in the deal, 21 year old Ruben Tejada, will take over time at SS for the struggling Jason Bartlett. Tejada should be successful in limited action next season, but the jury is out on his long term ability. Troy's front office believe's he's best suited as a utility player long term, but time will tell if he can handle a full time role. His fielding should be above average, and there is a rumor going around that he may actually lead-off against lefties next season.
Stay tuned to find out if the Haymakers can prove that last season's success was not just a flash in the pan!
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