#530) JUAN ACEVEDO

Juan Acevedo was traded along with Arnold Gooch from the Colorado Rockies to the New York Mets in exchange for Bret Saberhagen and David Swanson on July 31, 1995. Four days after the trade Juan was given an MRI to determine what was causing an aching right arm. The Mets feared that they had been dealt damaged goods, but it was determined to be tendinitis which did cut short his 1995 season in the minor leagues. Acevedo did not make it out of spring training the next season. He had fallen victim to a severe hamstring problem that limited his season with Triple-A Norfolk in 1996. His season was ended on July 25th when he fractured his leg from getting struck by a batted baseball. The Tides manager that year was Bobby Valentine who would be promoted to the New York Mets as manager in 1997. Bobby said of Juan, "There's no doubt in my mind that he can be a good major league pitcher." Acevedo agreed it was his time when he stated, " I feel good. I want to not just show Bobby, but I think I have to show a lot more people, because the last few years I haven't done what they projected for me." The result was 25 games (including two starts) that yielded a 3-1 record and a 3.59 ERA. The Mets traded Acevedo to the St. Louis Cardinals for Rigo Beltran on March 29, 1998.

I created Juan Acevedo's card in the set from an autographed index card that I purchased from Nick of Baseball Happenings on December 29, 2009.