That's Russell IS back (not to be confused with the possessive "Russell's back" - which proved to be a bit of an issue last season and was a large part of why he wasn't re-signed with the M's in the off-season).
Anyhoo...
Seems this deal caught everybody by surprise. I first heard via a tweet from Shannon Drayer last night around 9pm and shortly after that, the tweets and other reports were flying fast and furious. Many were puzzled because given the M's current record, they seem to fall in the "sell" category and this move was definitely more of a "buy". But, after listening and reading comments from several within the organization, it seems that it was as much a move for the future as it is for the present. Some quotes from Jack Z via Shannon's blog here. Tony Blengino expressed similar thoughts (paraphrased), "We were able to deal from depth and give our young guys more support in order to continue their development in a positive light."
So, if Russell can stay healthy (granted, a big IF) there's no question that he immediately improves the team at basically no cost, as the M's were able to deal from a position of organizational depth to add a player at a position that was clear need (yes, the Kotchman era was over before it began and Carp was apparently not the answer either). It won't likely be enough improvement to matter much in the standings for this season (the hole the M's have dug for themselves is too deep even for Branyan's shovel) but if he can help put a few more wins on the board it could give some of the young kids a little confidence going into next season and provide a stop-gap at 1B for 2011 as well.
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