He's heard the cheers and also the jeers in Chicago. Now Aaron Heilman can try to prove his worth with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was traded yesterday for two Diamondback prospects, left-handed pitcher Scott Maine and first baseman Ryne White. Heilman was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in January. Many fans will not be sorry to see him go. In fact, when he would get up in the bullpen toward the end of the season, many cringed. He ended the season, and his Cubs career going 4-4 with one save and an ERA of 4.11 in 70 relief appearances.
Maine is a left-handed starting pitcher. A top prospect with the Diamondbacks, was drafted in the sixth round of the 2007 draft by the Diamondbacks. He also had been drafted the previous year in the 23rd round by the Colorado Rockies. In 2009 between Double-A Mobile and Triple-A Reno, he combined to go 4-5 with seven saves and an ERA of 2.90 in 48 appearances. He struck out 61 batters and allowed 22 walks in 62 innings. Before joining the Diamondbacks, he pitched three seasons for the University of Miami
White, who attended Purdue University and was named a Big Ten Conference All-Star in 2007, was the Diamondback's fourth round draft pick in 2008. For Single-A Visalia last season he batted .266 with 18 doubles, six home runs, 52 RBIs and 65 walks.
In another anticipated move today, the Cubs agreed on a two-year contract with pitcher John Grabow. Grabow and fellow pitcher Tom Gorzelanny were acquired from Pittsburgh for pitchers Jose Ascanio and Kevin Hart, and minor leaguer Josh Harrison at the end of July. Grabow's ERA with the Cubs was 3.24 in 30 games.
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