BoSox trade Kim to the Rockies

[MaineDem]

Nah nah nah nah...nah nah nah nah...hey hey hey...good-bye

By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff | March 31, 2005

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Red Sox yesterday gave the Colorado Rockies the chance to solve the riddle that is Byung Hyun Kim, and took a major financial hit to do so.

The Sox, agreeing to pay all but roughly $315,000 (the major league minimum) of the $6 million owed in salary to Kim, traded the 26-year-old Korean reliever to the Rockies for a midlevel minor league prospect, lefthanded pitcher Chris Narveson, who was optioned to Triple A Pawtucket.

And in a bit of creative bookkeeping that resulted in a considerable tax savings for the Sox, Boston also received catcher Charles Johnson and his $9 million contract from the Rockies, then designated him for assignment and released him. The Rockies sent the Sox cash considerations to cover the difference in the salaries of Johnson and Kim, and because the cash in the deal flowed the Sox' way, they got the taxbreak. Johnson is poised to sign with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

None of this maneuvering would have been necessary if Kim had been the pitcher Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein envisioned when he signed him to a two-year, $10 million deal following the 2003 season, when Kim, newly arrived from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a trade for infielder Shea Hillenbrand, helped pitch the Sox into the American League Championship Series.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2005/03/31/kim_on_the_road_to_rockies/

[Redneck Socialist]

1. Good riddance

Good luck Colorado...

[nickgutierrez]

2. Putting Kim in Colorado is an interesting idea by Dan O'Dowd

I can only hope that they plan to use him as a starter, taking full advantage of his groundball tendancies. If he can get back to missing bats the way he did in Arizona, there's no reason he shouldn't be a decent pitcher in Colorado, where by decent I mean ERA of about 5.00.

[Redneck Socialist]

3. Looks like they are going to use him as a closer

" Kim will likely have a chance to take over as a closer in Colorado's hurting bullpen. The favorite to close this season, Chin-hui Tsao, has rotator cuff tendinitis and has not impressed manager Clint Hurdle this spring training. Left-hander Brian Fuentes, who was also in the mix, also has struggled."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2026422

I don't see Kim helping Colorado much.

[nickgutierrez]

4. Great... just what every bad team needs: a closer.

Granted, the only good Rocks team ever was based around a great bullpen and an overrated offense, but a good pen takes more than a good closer.

[Redneck Socialist]

5. This deal makes no sense for Colorado

Colorado knows he's damaged goods, "Hurdle knows what he's getting with Kim, whose fastball, once clocked in the 93-95 mph range, never got over 86 mph this spring.

'He is what he is right now. You're never going to get a B.K. Kim when he's good,' Hurdle said. 'He's pitched big games. He's pitched big outs. He's on the downside now. His arm strength is increasing somewhat from the reports I've gotten. So that'd be the guy you'd want.'"

I'm glad the Sox unloaded him, but for the life of me I don't see what he brings to the Rockies. :shrug:

[WilliamPitt]

6. Thank God

[WilliamPitt]

7. Heh...a funny moment just now

My friend is on the phone with her kinda boyfriend, who is also a friend of mine. I yelled at her to tell him that Byung Hyun Kim had been traded to Colorado, and she said, "Uh, Jim, Will says to tell you that Bunghole Slim is in Colorado."

:)

[cruadin]

8. Good riddance to Kim. I think he's a guy with talent...

but he's on the down-side of his pitching career. He has nothing to offer the Red Sox. I'm glad to read that the Sox were able to structure the deal so that they didn't have to eat the entire differential in his salary.

Two and a half days to go............
here's to the Boston Red Sox, Champions of the World.

[MessiahRp]

9. Now if only Narveson

would turn into a top prospect this deal could pay off. The problem to me is we wanted to unload him and his salary so bad we didn't really get anything back by getting Charles Johnson's overpriced salary and then releasing him...

Oh well.

Rp