The first trade I want to look back on is the one that involved the first overall pick in the expansion draft: Hank Brewer. Portland had a pre-set deal in place that if the club drafted Brewer, they would trade him to Boise. Rather than miss out on a potential trade, the Lumberjacks took Brewer first overall in the expansion draft. Here is the recap of the trade and how their 2040 season's played out:
To Boise | Position | Level | WAR |
---|---|---|---|
Hank Brewer | Catcher | BBA | 1.3 |
To Portland | Position | Level | WAR |
---|---|---|---|
Jorge Reyes | 2B/3B | BBB/AAA | 0.3/0.3 |
Masamichi Kubo | LF | AAA | 1.7 |
Faical Engeitado | RP/OF | A/AA | 3.8/0.1 |
The interesting piece in the whole trade remains Engeitado. Drafted as a pitcher, the Lumberjacks played him as an OF and a starting pitcher for most of the season in Single-A ball. HIs pitching ratings never really improved much despite posting a 3.97 ERA in over 100 innings pitched in A ball. But he hit .340 with a 1.034 OPS while in Single-A so the team bumped him up to AA late into the season. Engeitado has a bat now that could possibly make it as a platooning OF or DH option. His defense is a little shaky still and the team still has some older vets taking time right now in the OF and DH for 2041. At the age of just 19, Portland will likely let Engeitado to continue working as both a pitcher and hitter in the minors next season in both AA and AAA with a 2042 likely debut season.
Who won the Trade:
I'm going to call this one a push in the end. Boise has a team option on Brewer for 2041 that they might pick up. This trade could still swing one way or the other if Brewer helps the Spuds in 2041 or Reyes plays a serviceable 2B in 2041 or Engeitago turns into a solid big league player down the road. But it would have to take a dramatic swing either way for it to not be looked at as a push several months after this trade was made.