2003 Cy Young runner-up made $4M in '04

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Comments0
• Email
• Print

WASHINGTON -- Free agent pitcher Esteban Loaiza joined the Washington Nationals on Wednesday, agreeing to a $2.9 million, one-year deal.

The Nationals also added a reliever, agreeing to a $800,000, one-year contract with Antonio Osuna.

	Esteban Loaiza Starting Pitcher New York Yankees Profile
	2004 SEASON STATISTICS GM W L Sv K ERA 31 10 7 0 117 5.70

Loaiza went 21-9 with a 2.90 ERA and a league-leading 207 strikeouts for the Chicago White Sox in 2003, was the AL starter in the All-Star Game and finished second in Cy Young Award voting behind Toronto's Roy Halladay.

He struggled with his velocity last year, going 9-5 with a 4.86 ERA for the White Sox, then was traded to the New York Yankees and went 1-2 with an 8.50 ERA in 10 regular-season games. He quickly lost his spot in the starting rotation and needed seven tries to get his 100th win -- beating Halladay on Sept. 21.

Loaiza is 100-89 in his career with a 4.70 ERA over 10 seasons with Pittsburgh, Texas, Toronto, Chicago and New York. He made $4,015,000 last year.

Pitching has been a top priority for Nationals interim general manager Jim Bowden, but the team's limited budget has made it difficult to improve a staff that was 12th in the NL in ERA last year. Loaiza joins a starting rotation that includes Livan Hernandez, Tomo Ohka and Tony Armas Jr.

"Of course, he's a gamble," Bowden said. "Obviously, if he was coming off the year he had a year ago, we couldn't afford him."

Bowden likes Loaiza's durability -- he pitched 150-plus innings in each of the last five seasons while averaging 29 starts. He also pitched well out of the bullpen for the Yankees in the playoffs, posting a 1.08 ERA in three games.

"He's had a history, although inconsistent, of success in his career," Bowden said.

Before announcing the deal, the Nationals had Loaiza undergo a precautionary MRI exam on his pitching shoulder and elbow to ensure that his struggles last season weren't injury-related. The results were negative.

The deal also includes an option for a second year that either the Nationals or Loaiza can negate.

Osuna is 36-29 with 21 saves and a 3.50 ERA over 10 seasons with Los Angeles, the White Sox, Yankees and San Diego. He was 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA last year for the Padres. His best seasons came with the Dodgers in 1998 (7-1, 3.06 ERA) and with the White Sox in 2002 (8-2, 3.86 ERA, 11 saves).

To make room on the roster for Loaiza and Osuna, the Nationals designated right-handed pitcher Sun-woo Kim and outfielder Brandon Watson for assignment.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Comments0
• Email
• Print
• Subscribe