Former HWB Hurlers Marquez,Texeira Swap Teams

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Former HWB Hurlers Marquez,Texeira Swap Teams

Kyle Galdeira
11/13/08

Jeff Marquez and Kanekoa Texeira, two former Hawaii Winter Baseball pitchers, traded places today in a deal that sent Major Leaguer Nick Swisher from the Chicago White Sox to the New York Yankees.

The deal involved the Yankees sending infielder Wilson Betemit, minor league pitchers Marquez (West Oahu CaneFires, 2006) and Jhonny Nunez to the White Sox in exchange for Swisher and Texeira (Honolulu Sharks, 2007).

“Its exciting to get picked up by the Yankees, it’s nice to see other teams are out there looking at your progress,” Texeira said. “It makes me want to go out there and work even harder to become the next local boy to make it to the Big Leagues.”

Marquez spent the majority of 2008 at New York’s Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and finished the season with an 8-8 record and a 4.47 earned run average through 19 minor league appearances—18 of which were starts.

Texeira, a 2004 graduate of the Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu, HI, compiled a 6-3 record and a 1.33 ERA in 51 games between Double-A Birmingham and High-A Winston-Salem. The 22-year-old also recorded 21 saves on the season, the second-highest mark within the organization’s minor league hurlers.