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Clowns Finish Busy Off-Season by Signing 1B Lattin

Carroll Lattin was the Clowns' fourth acquisition this off-season. Lattin, who signed a two year contract worth just under 13 million, posted an .853 OPS in 494 at-bats last season.

The Clowns hope that Lattin, along with Roberto Rentas who was acquired via trade, will revamp an offense that finished in the middle of the pack last season in runs scored. Rentas, who hit 42 homeruns and posted an .872 OPS last season will bat fourth behind incumbent third place hitter Kyle Gallucci. Otis McWilliams will move from the fifth place spot to the second spot to make room for Lattin. Armando Ruiz, another player acquired via trade, will bat sixth and Moldehauer and Saul will remain in their positions. Ruiz batted .290/.338/.479/.817 in 374 at-bats last season.

The Clowns' off-season was not without controversy. First the team traded former all-star Armando Guerra for a marginal, at best, minor league pitcher. The finances of the move must be considered, but the team surrendered prized pitcher Chris Claussen to acquire Guerra. Claussen, who had a 3.81 ERA in his lone season with the Clowns, has posted ERAs of 2.38 and 2.61 since his trade.

More controversy arose when the team traded pitcher Ronald Reyes to acquire Rentas. Reyes had been a great for steal for the Clowns, who came in exchange for free agent bust Jason Citizen. Reyes coming off a 5.23 ERA season posted an ERA of 3.11 with the Clowns. The criticism of this deal comes from the Rentas' lack of a track record. His batting average was only .249 last season and he had posted batting averages under .200 in his previous two seasons.

The Clowns will fill Reyes' spot in the rotation with Leonard Manning. Manning went 10-6 with a 3.63 ERA in 84 IP. He made six starts and came out of the bullpen 57 times.