The reliever had recently received word that he’d been shipped to the Diamondbacks in exchange for lefty Craig Breslow. While Albers has been traded in the past, this transaction caught him off guard.
“I wasn’t really expecting [it],” Albers said. “I’ve been traded before, I just know it’s kind of one of those things where I’ve been around the trading deadline, a lot of rumors come flying around, not necessarily with me but other guys, and just kind of never know until it happens. Then when it does, just kind of pack my stuff.”
On Wednesday morning, Albers will be boarding a flight to Los Angeles, where the Diamondbacks are playing the Dodgers. As a result of the trade, Albers will return to the National League for the first time since 2007.
At that time, Albers bolstered the Astros’ bullpen until he was packaged in a deal to Baltimore for Miguel Tejada. This time around, however, the 29-year-old is entering a tighter playoff race in the NL West.
“I think it’s a new opportunity,” Albers said. “You know just, obviously facing some different hitters, so that’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment. I think they have a pretty back-end of their bullpen, so I’ll probably be fitting in pretty much the same role.”
In two seasons with Boston, Albers compiled a 6-4 record with a 3.81 ERA in 96 appearances.
Have a question for Didier Morais? Send it to him via Twitter at @DidierMorais or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
