Phillies' GM Pat Gillick pulled off a late-night trade for the left-handed hitting, fifth-outfielder he coveted in the early hours of Sunday morning. For promising right-handed pitcher Rob Tejeda, and minor-leaguer Jake Blalock the Phils picked up David Dellucci from the Texas Rangers. In other words, Gillick dealt Vicente Padilla, Blalock and Tejeda to Texas for Dellucci.
Dellucci is a 32-year-old, .259 hitter who spent the past two years with the Rangers, and has also spent time with the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Orioles. Last Season Dellucci had a career-high 29 homers and 128 games.
In 2001, Dellucci was a pinch-hitter for the World Champion Diamondbacks.
According to the UPI, the Rangers' GM Jon Daniels, said:
"It was hard trading David. He's been with us for two years. He has a strong relationship with the players and the community. He was pretty shocked."
According to the UPI, the teams had been working on the deal for nearly a week.
With Dellucci in the fold, that means the Chris Coste/Tomas Perez era in Philadelphia has ended... at least for now.