We Got Wood - 40.04 - Brewer Traded Soon After Being Drafted

[7teen]

It was a move that surprised many. Saturday night, just as the expansion draft was starting, Portland GM Chris Wilson shocked many around the league when he announced that Hank Brewer would be the first selection in the expansion draft. What surprised most is that the Lumberjacks would select a 34 year old catcher making $7 million as the first selection. Rather than focus on youth or pieces for the future, Wilson chose to acquire a tradeable asset with the first overall pick by taking the former New Orleans catcher.

"We had a trade in place with Boise prior to the draft" said Wilson later on draft night. "The Spuds had contacted us over our interest in a few of their players in exchange for Brewer if we drafted him. Being in the position of needing all the young pieces to build a franchise from scratch, we liked the idea. Brewer is a fine player and a great catcher. However, he just doesn't fit into the plans of our franchise over the long term. We didn't want to run the risk of either losing him to Charlotte later in the draft or by expiring the 3 picks assigned to New Orleans, so we just went the safe route and took him first overall."

The Lumberjacks acquired 3 younger pieces in the deal.


Jorge Reyes
Positions: 3B/SS
Age: 22
Reyes comes over as a guy who was actually available to be a part of the expansion draft with 5 years of experience. At the age of 22, he provides the opporunity to provide some cheap play at an early age. He's most likely suited as a 3B due to his 7 range. As a lefty bat, he adds a little more value in the Lumberjacks stadium. He'll compete for a starting job out of the gate as the Lumberjacks continue to shuffle and organize things around to see who fits where to start the 2040 season.


Masamichi Kubo
Positions: COF
Age: 20
Kubo is a younger, average corner outfield guy who is best suited for left field. He isn't going to set the world on fire by any means and truth be told guys like Kubo are a dime a dozen in the league. Kubo does play average outfield and has an average bat if he's platooned against lefty pitching. Kubo is a piece that is more quantity over quality early on for Portland.


Faical Engeitdado
Positions: RP/COF
Age: 18
Engeitado is a real interesting player. Why you might ask? Well, he's currently shown as a relief pitcher. He's a decent looking relief prospect with 8-5-7 ratings and decent pitches. But digging deeper, you'll discover that Engeitado is also a solid corner outfielder. In fact, he's an outfielder that could very easily be starting in the big leagues in 2040. Portland is still pondering whether to keep Engeitado as a reliever and let him develop in the minor leagues, or go ahead and transition him over to an offensive guy and let him prepare for a career in the outfield.

[jleddy]

I'll be sure to watch Engeitdado from afar. He was listed solely as a CF when I took the organization over and immediately made him two-way. I tried to get as many at-bats and innings as possible during the Fall Prospect League.

A reliever is the hardest pitching position to squeeze juice out of two-way potential (as opposed to dedicating only every fifth day to a starter) but I think he'll be valuable down the road in any role, especially with some invested PP to go along with his already high Adaptability trait. If nothing else, a fun toy to tinker with.

[jleddy]

Oh, and those Wild Things unis are lookin' really nice.