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Careaga traded to Portland
With no minor league options left and no major league role available to him, 26-year old third baseman Jose Careaga was dealt to Portland, along with 23-year old catcher Alex Hernandez, in exchange for 24-year old center fielder Ryan Hiett and 23-year old shortstop B.J. Ryan.
Careaga was at one time one of the Brewers better prospects in spite of having been a 9th round draft pick in 1965. He had several minor league seasons where he put up impressive offensive numbers. He has since been surpassed by Mike Foster and with several other decent third base options in the organization, including reliever Jordan Stephens, it was time for Careaga to be given a chance to catch on elsewhere. The rebuilding Portland Wild Things is a good place for him to possibly contribute. With aging and fragile superstar Andy Wilson expected to play third for the Wild Things- and with highly questionable defensive skills- Careaga will likely get plenty of opportunities to play in 1973.
Hernandez was similarly a prospect who had been surpassed and was trapped at AAA, where he was quite unhappy.
Neither Hiett nor Drew are expected to ever play key roles in Brewers uniforms but they still have minor league options and could eventually play into bench roles in the future.
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