December 8, 2011 at 10:40 AM
Red Sox trade Rule 5 selection, infielder Marwin Gonzalez, to Astros for right-hander Marco Duarte (Updated)
With the 10th overall selection in the Rule 5 draft, the Red Sox selected infielder Marwin Gonzalez of the Chicago Cubs. However, according to a report from WEEI.com's Alex Speier, Boston will trade Gonzalez to the Astros for right-hander Marco Duarte, whom Houston selected in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft from the Rockies.
Duarte, a native of Mexico, has played in the Mexican League for the past three seasons while remaining property of the Rockies. The Mexican League is considered a Triple-A circuit. Duarte made 23 appearances in 2011 at age 24, 19 of those starts, going 12-4 with a 4.94 ERA. He struck out 93 batters and walked 53. Prior to last season, Duarte had worked almost exclusively out of the bullpen for two seasons.
Duarte's most recent State-side experience came in 2010, when he made nine appearances for the Single-A Asheville Tourists. In 12.1 innings, he gave up 24 hits, struck out 10, and walked 9, posting a 9.49 ERA. Per another Speier tweet, Duarte throws his fastball up to 94 mph, and also features a curve and changeup.
Duarte, a native of Mexico, has played in the Mexican League for the past three seasons while remaining property of the Rockies. The Mexican League is considered a Triple-A circuit. Duarte made 23 appearances in 2011 at age 24, 19 of those starts, going 12-4 with a 4.94 ERA. He struck out 93 batters and walked 53. Prior to last season, Duarte had worked almost exclusively out of the bullpen for two seasons.
Duarte's most recent State-side experience came in 2010, when he made nine appearances for the Single-A Asheville Tourists. In 12.1 innings, he gave up 24 hits, struck out 10, and walked 9, posting a 9.49 ERA. Per another Speier tweet, Duarte throws his fastball up to 94 mph, and also features a curve and changeup.
Gonzalez, 22, has been a part of the Cubs organization since 2006. Last season, Gonzalez split time between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa, hitting .288/.343/.400 with 4 home runs and 39 RBI in 124 games. Gonzalez has played all over the field, seeing time at at every infield position except catcher as well as getting some experience in the outfield. Gonzalez, a switch hitter, has been playing for Caracas in the Venezuelan Winter League, hitting .321/.369/.357 with 16 RBI in 28 games.