Last week Detroit signed Galarraga to a $2.3 million contract. The next day they put him on waivers, giving Detroit 10 days to trade or outright release him. That's an odd way to do things, but it's believed the fact that he signed and declined arbitration means that another team wouldn't have to worry about him going to arbitration and getting a big pay day if the team lost the hearing, thus making him more worth taking a risk on at $2.3 million rather than maybe 4 or 5.
Today Detroit completed the presumed trade, with Arizona. Last off-season Detroit traded Edwin Jackson to Arizona. It was also Arizona that first picked up Dontrelle Willis when Detroit waived him last year, though the D-Backs later did the same.
Galarraga was 23-26 in 3 seasons with Detroit, highlighted by the Imperfect Game one-hitter against Cleveland last year. He also led the team in wins his rookie season of 2008, with 13.
In return Detroit got two pitchers who pitched in A-ball last year.
Galarraga's problem was that he always nibbled around the plate which caused him to either walk too many guys and elevate his pitch count into short outings, or he got behind and then got hit hard when he was forced to pitch to the middle of the plate.
He never seemed to have confidence in his stuff, though he could be unhitteable, as the Imperfect Game and his 2008 season showed.
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