John Sickels looks back at Richie Sexson's minor league career:
And, of course, it went uphill from there. Richie has been involved in steals for the Brewers both coming in and going out: remember this gem?
Wickman has worked out nicely for the Indians, but he didn't come cheap; Bere was below average at the time of the trade and was even further below average in his brief stay in Cleveland; nobody else in the trade has really mattered much to this point. I know Richie didn't really figure in the Indians' plans when they dealt him, but...wow, that was steal. Not only was he young and inexpensive, but he wasn't unproven--as a 24 year old he hit 31/116/.255--making the deal all the more inexplicable.
Interesting to note that Thome has blocked two major 1B prospects--Sexson and Ryan Howard--each of whom may end up having better careers than Thome did. I suspect that dealing Thome to fill a need, rather than dealing the blocked prospect to get an aging closer, is the smarter move.