Billy, Billy Don’t Lose My Number

The Nationals have decided who will replace Ryan Drese in their rotation as the #5 starting pitcher.  It will be Billy Traber who was signed as a free agent in the offseason.  The Nationals will likely send RP Saul Rivera back to New Orleans to make room for Traber.

The 26-year old Traber has been long on hype (he was a key piece for the Inidians in the 2001 trade of Roberto Alomar from Cleveland to the New York Mets) but has battled injuries for most of his career, most noticably Tommy John surgery in September 2003.

Traber’s statistics post-surgery show that he is slowly recovering from the surgery and regaining some of the abilities that made him a pitching prospect though his likely ceiling is as a “crafty” #4 lefthanded starting pitcher.

Year Where

IP

WHIP

K/9IP

BB/9IP

HR/9IP

2005 A/AA/AAA

132.33 

1.37

6.5

2.8

0.7

2006 Spring/AAA

27

1.07

8.3

1.0

1.3

From 2001 (his professional debut) through 2003 (finding out he needed TJ surgery), Traber kept an online journal at AtTheYard.com.