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Shea Hillenbrand was traded from the Arizona Diamondback to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday for pitcher Adam Peterson. Hillenbrand, acquired from Boston in May 2003, hit a team-high .310 for the Diamondbacks last season with 15 home runs and 80 RBIs. A third baseman most of his career, he played first last season for Arizona. The Diamondbacks made the trade as a payroll-cutting move. Hillenbrand earned $2.6 million this season and was eligible for arbitration, which meant he probably would have received about $4 million for next season. Billy Koch still throws hard, still throws wild and still has the attitude to match. What he's lost since his trade from the Toronto Blue Jays following the 2001 season is his place as a top-flight closer. The question now, after he finalized a one-year, $900,000 US contract with Toronto on Monday, is whether he can restore that status during a second stint with the Blue Jays. "Would I like to be the closer? Yes. That's what I was made to do," Koch said during a conference call. "But I'm going to have to take the baseball and reprove myself. "There's a lot of pride factor there." Two other familiar names returned to the Blue Jays fold Monday, as catcher Ken Huckaby and right-hander Pete Walker signed minor-league deals. Both will likely start the season at triple-A and provide insurance in case of injury. A few ways. First, the new policy calls for year-round, random tests. They
won't be strictly scheduled, as they have been the two years that the previous
testing program has been in place. And players, at random, reportedly can be
tested more than once, even in the offseason. That will make it tougher for a
user to get clean, right before the test, and then get back on the juice right
after it. Secondly, the penalties for a positive test are more severe. Players will be suspended for a first offense -- of up to 10 games -- and the penalties increase with each subsequent one: a fourth positive test could result in a one-year suspension. The current policy has no suspension for a first offense (just treatment) and a player can test positive five times before he is suspended for a year. |
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