Trading Post (1997)
Former Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players being traded is nothing new. In this weekly post, I will take a look at past Timber Rattlers teams and which players wound up getting traded elsewhere. To see past posts in this series, click on the Trading Post tag.
This week is a look at the 1997 team. There were only four trades involving Timber Rattlers on this team. However, there were six players on this team who were moved to other organizations*. Let’s take a look.
Players To Be Named Later to the Minnesota Twins for Roberto Kelly on August 20, 1997
Joe Mays and Jeromy Palki sent to Minnesota Twins as PTBNLs on October 9, 1997
Mays went 9–3 in 13 starts for the Timber Rattlers in 1997.
Palki also went 9–3 and added eight saves in 44 relief appearances for the Rattlers in 1997.
Mays would make his MLB debut with the Twins in 1999, become an All-Star as he went 17–13 in 2001, and win a game in the 2002 ALCS (Game One) against the Angels.
Palki pitched in the Twins system until 2004. He made it to Triple-A in Rochester.
Kelly hit seven homers and drove in 22 runs in 30 games with the Mariners, who made the playoffs in 1997. Kelly would go 4-for-13 with an RBI in the ALDS loss to Baltimore and sign with the Texas Rangers as a free agent in the offseason.
Marty Weymouth traded to the Chicago White Sox for Jim Bullinger on March 26, 1998
Weymouth was 5–7 with a 5.06 ERA with the Rattlers in 1997. He would pitch in the White Sox system, get released , play independent ball, sign with the White Sox again, and play independent ball again before retiring in 2001.
Bullinger, as this New York Times brief announcing the trade notes was the Opening Day starter for the Chicago Cubs in 1995 and the Montreal Expos in 1997, was 0–1 in two starts for the Mariners in 1998. He was sent down to Triple-A Tacoma in early April and never pitched in the Majors again.
Carlos Maldonado traded to the Houston Astros for Carlos Hernandez on March 21, 2000
Maldonado was just 18 when he played with the Timber Rattlers in 1997. He played a total of 196 games over three seasons (‘97-’99) with the Timber Rattlers. Maldonado would make the Majors with the Pirates in 2006 and 2007 and the Nationals in 2012 and 2013. He is currently coaching Winter Ball in Venezuela for Magallanes.
Hernandez went 0–1 and was caught stealing as a pinch runner with the Mariners in late April of 2000. He was sent back to Tacoma after that two game stint and never played in the Majors again. Hernandez was granted free agency after the end of the season and would go on to play in the systems of the Mets, Rockies, and Giants before ending his career in the Astros system in 2003.
Brian Fuentes, Denny Stark, & Jose Paniagua** traded to the Colorado Rockies for Jeff Cirillo on December 16, 2001
Fuentes was 6–7 with 153 strikeouts in 118–2/3 innings pitched for the Rattlers in 1997. He made his MLB debut with the Mariners in 2001 and would have a career that would include four All-Star selections (2005, 2006, 2007, & 2009), a World Series appearance with the Rockies in 2007, playoff appearances with the Angels (2009) and Twins (2010), and 204 saves over a 12 year career.
Stark was 6–3 with a 1.97 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) for the Rattlers in 1997. He was 1–1 in four games (three starts) for the Mariners in 2001. Stark went 11–4 with an ERA of 4.00 in 32 games (20 starts) for the Rockies in 2002, but was done with them after the 2004 season. Stark pitched a few games in the Cleveland system in 2005, but missed the rest of that season and all of the 2006 and 2007 seasons. He resigned with the Mariners and pitched in their minor league system in 2008 and 2009. Stark made it back to Seattle, for a few games in 2009.
Cirillo was a Milwaukee Brewer from 1994 through 1999 before going to the Rockies as part of a three-team trade that included Oakland. He played two seasons with Seattle (2002–2003) and hit .234/.295/.308 in 233 games there. Cirillo was traded to San Diego in January of 2004. He would go back to the Brewers for the 2005 & 2006 seasons before ending his career with Minnesota & Arizona in 2007.
*-NOTE: If a player was on multiple Timber Rattlers teams and was traded, the first year they were a Rattler is the year that will be used in the Trading Post.
**-Paniagua was not a former Timber Rattler and was left out of this post. If you are interested, click on his name for his Baseball-Reference page.
