Cutnpaste: - Jose Valentin, Hu, Mike Antonini, Bill Skowron, and Cesar Puello

Jose Valentin:

Bundled up in a heavy New York Mets jacket to guard against an untimely Southwest Florida chill, former Major League infielder Jose Valentin seemed impressed nonetheless with what he was experiencing at Perfect Game’s 2010 National Underclass Showcase – Main Event. Valentin had come to the Boston Red Sox 5-Plex Player Development Complex – the Showcase featured batting practice sessions and games at nearby Terry Park – to watch his son, Jesmuel Valentin Diaz, perform in front of college coaches and professional scouts. - perfectgame.  



Hu:

Hu’s career .191/.241/.283 line does not inspire visions of future dominance at the position, and the team is veteran-inclined. Then again, Hu’s line comes in only 191 plate appearances, and his minor league line (.299/.341/.418) is more exciting. If his powerless work at Triple-A turned his former team off (his ISO has hovered around .100), that’s unfortunate. Instead, a focus on his strengths – his defense and ability to avoid the strikeout (11.2 percent career) – might have been in order considering his limited major league resume. - .fangraphs  



Mike Antonini:

Dodgers acquired LHP Mike Antonini from the Mets for INF Chin-lung Hu. Antonini posted a 4.49 ERA and 131/31 K/BB ratio in 168 innings between Double-A Binghampton and Triple-A Buffalo this past season. The 25-year-old southpaw has averaged 7.0 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 over four seasons in the minor leagues, but he is unlikely to get much of a sniff as a starter in the majors.- rotoworld  



Bill Skowron:

Dec. 6, 1963: Traded first baseman-outfielder Frank Thomas to the Los Angeles Dodgers for first baseman Bill Skowron. Our Mets had hoped to cash in Thomas on the trade market following his strong year in 1962, but we were unable to find a plausible deal. With his moderated performance in '63, now we're really motivated to get something for Thomas while we can. Ideally we'd prefer young talent, but we'll take Skowron, who's a veteran himself, just 18 months Thomas's junior. The Dodgers had traded for Skowron a year earlier, and been deeply disappointed as he suddenly plunged off the proverbial cliff. In actuality, on this date they were dumping him off to Washington for just a cash consideration. So it's plausible that they'd take an offer of Thomas instead, given that in 1964 the Dodgers would carry Lee Walls on their roster as a right-handed-batting first base/third base/corner outfield utility guy: Thomas would represent a significant upgrade over Walls in that capacity.



Cesar Puello:

Outfielder – A stockier Carlos Gomez, if Carlos Gomez raised his OBP by getting hit by a lot of pitches . . . and was better at baseball. Puello posted a .375 on-base percentage, 45 steals and 8 outfield assists from right as a 19 year old at Single-A, but just 1 home run. - bleacherreport.