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MLB EXPANSION DRAFTNovember 18, 1997Chuck LamarVince NaimoliLarry RothschildPHOENIX, ARIZONA CHUCK LAMAR: We couldn't be more pleased with the way the Expansion Draft went, we appreciate all your help and coverage, obviously. It was an exciting night for us, I'm not so sure I could put it in words. To start the organization from scratch, and the fans in Tampa Bay have waited so long for Major League Baseball and be able to draft the players we did, and we think we have a great combination of young players and experienced players, and we're going to try to be as competitive as we can, as quick as we can, and never lose site of our long‑term goals. And the other expansion teams, both the Rockies and the Marlins have done a great job, and again it was a thrill to be involved in the situation tonight. We have some trades and some signings to announce. I know there's a lot of them tonight. We have traded Bobby Abreu, our third pick in the first round from the Houston Astros for shortstop Kevin Stocker of the Philadelphia Phillies. We have traded Dmitri Young of the Cincinnati Reds which was your 8th pick in the first round, he was the player to be named later in the Mike Kelly trade. We have traded Andy Sheets, who was our 12th pick in the first round from Seattle, and Brian Boehringer from the New York Yankees who was our first pick in the second round for catcher John Flaherty of the San Diego Padres. And first baseman Fred McGriff of the Atlanta Braves for a player to be named later. I would like to thank Mr. John Schuerholz whose sitting right up here in front, my mentor, to be able to bring Freddy back home to his home in Tampa is a great thrill for him and a great thrill for us, as well. Also we would like to announce the signing of free agent closer Roberto Hernandez. We have consummated a deal today, Alan Hendricks, his agent is here, and we got the deal done, and we're extremely pleased to build our first pitching staff around one of the fine closers in Major League Baseball. Q. Roughly how many other trades were out there being considered and what was it like sweating out those scenarios? CHUCK LAMAR: It's been the most exciting week I can remember to sit down with the 28 other general managers for the first time, because I've never been through it, be able to talk trades and we had some scenario with every team during the week, or almost every team. And then it's just a matter of trying to activate those trades, I thought we'd make 4 or 5 trades tonight and that's just about how it went. Q. Chuck, are you done, except obviously for free agencies, as far as trading today's picks? CHUCK LAMAR: Yeah, tonight we're finished. I'm going to loosen this tie, we're going to relax a little bit. Q. Can you talk about the acquisition of McGriff, what he means to the club? CHUCK LAMAR: Yes, that he's truly one of the premiere power hitters in the game. And for a gentleman that supposedly had a down year with 22 homeruns and 97 RBI's, we're anxious so get the left‑handed bat in the line‑up. We went after guys we think have a chance to be good players in the future, and we need to surround them with a couple of established players, and McGriff and Hernandez give us that opportunity? LARRY ROTHSCHILD: I just wanted to thank everybody for all the cooperation and the hospitality here. It was a great experience today and I appreciate everything, thank you. VINCE NAIMOLI: I'd like to offer my thanks, also. I think Major League Baseball did a great job in setting this up, and I'd like to thank all of you for attending it. It's been a long road, we've been selling the logo for a long time, and we finally have a team to sell, thanks very much. End of FastScripts |
