TORONTO (AP) — Right-hander Esteban Loaiza went to the Toronto Blue Jays from the Texas Rangers on Wednesday in exchange for two minor leaguers.
Loaiza, 28, was 5-6 with a 5.37 ERA for the Rangers, appearing in 20 games, including 17 starts. He has a career record of 44-45 with one save in 160 games.
Loiza began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1995, before joining Texas in 1998.
Blue Jays general manager Gord Ash had been looking for pitching help. Young starters Chris Carpenter, Roy Halladay and Kelvim Escobar have struggled this season.
The Rangers got right-hander Darwin Cubillan and second baseman Mike Young.
Cubillan has pitched for both Toronto and Triple-A Syracuse this season. The 25-year-old right-hander was 1-0 with a 9.69 ERA with Toronto. He had six saves and an ERA of 0.55 with Syracuse.
Young, an All-Star second baseman at Double-A, hit .275 with 24 doubles, six homers and 47 RBIs for the Tennessee Smokies.
Second Story
TEXAS RANGERS ACQUIRE RHP DARWIN CUBILLAN AND IF MIKE YOUNG FROM TORONTO BLUE JAYS IN DEAL FOR RHP ESTEBAN LOAIZA
FOR RELEASE: 2:30 (CDT), Wednesday, July 19, 2000
The Texas Rangers announced today that the club has acquired righthanded pitcher Darwin Cubillan and infielder Mike Young from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for righthanded pitcher Esteban Loaiza.
Cubillan, 25, will be assigned from Syracuse of the International League to Oklahoma of the Pacific Coast League. Young, 23, will be assigned from Tennessee of the Southern League to Tulsa of the Texas League. Both players have been placed on Texas’ major league roster, putting that number at 36.
Cubillan is 3-1 with a 0.55 era and 6 saves in 24 relief appearances for Syracuse this season. He was with Toronto from May 19-June 24, going 1-0, 8.04 in 7 relief appearances, his first big league action. The righthander defeated Atlanta for his first major league win on June 5.
Cubillan was signed by Toronto as a minor league free agent last November after spending six seasons in the New York Yankees organization. He is a native of Venezuela.
Young is hitting .275 with 6 homers, 47 rbi, and 16 stolen bases at Tennessee this season. The righthanded hitter has played primarily at second base this season but has seen extensive action at shortstop in his four pro seasons. He played in the Class AA All-Star Game last week and was a Florida State League All-Star in 1999, when he batted .313 with 83 rbi and 30 stolen bases at Dunedin. Young has 71 career minor league steals. Drafted by Toronto in the fifth round of the June, 1997 draft, Young is from Covina, CA and attended the University of California-Santa Barbara.
The Rangers have indicated that Young will play shortstop at Tulsa, joining first baseman Carlos Pena and second baseman Jason Romano in the Drillers infield.
Loaiza, 28, is 5-6 with a 5.37 era in 20 games/17 starts with the Rangers this season. He was acquired from Pittsburgh on July 17, 1998 and was 17-17 in 64 games/46 starts with Texas. Loaiza has a career record of 44-45 in 160 games/133 starts with the Pirates (1995-98) and the Rangers. Loaiza is scheduled to start for Toronto on Saturday against Baltimore.
Loaiza’s spot on the roster is expected to be taken by lefthanded pitcher Darren Oliver, who will be activated from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday to start in Anaheim.
DARWIN CUBILLAN_2000 STATS Team W-L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER BB SO Syracuse 3-1 0.55 24 0 6 32.2 14 2 2 13 41 Toronto 1-0 8.04 7 0 0 15.2 20 14 14 11 14 MIKE YOUNG_2000 STATS Team AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS Tennessee .275 91 345 51 95 24 5 6 47 36 72 16 5