Not The Trade Everyone Had In Mind

Where there's a whale to be had the Dodgers are busy catching minnows. Claudio Vargas has just been traded for a 29 year old minor league catcher from the Brewers. From the press release...

The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced that they have acquired minor league catcher Vinny Rottino from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Claudio Vargas. Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement.

Rottino, 29, has appeared briefly in the Major Leagues for Milwaukee in each of the past three seasons and was named to the Pacific Coast League All-Star team last season when he posted a 24-game hitting streak. The Wisconsin native has made the PCL All-Star team each of the past three years and has been named to his league’s All-Star team in each season dating back to 2004 when he recorded a team record 124 RBI for Single-A Beloit.

Vargas, 31, spent much of the 2009 season on the disabled list with right elbow tendinitis before being activated on July 3. Since returning to the big leagues, he has appeared in eight games for Los Angeles , posting a 1.64 ERA in 11.0 innings. The Dominican Republic native will be returning to Milwaukee , where he won 11 games for the Brewers in 2007. In seven big league seasons, the right-hander is 46-40 with a 4.89 ERA in 172 games (114 starts).

Rottino is expected to report to Double-A Chattanooga.

Vargas was actually putting up decent numbers this year. (11 IP, 10Ks, 1.00 WHIP, 255 ERA+, 8.2K/9) I know a roster spot had to be cleared for George Sherrill, but why couldn't it have been Jason Schmidt? Although perhaps the minnow will now be used as bait to catch the whale.