We Got Wood - 43.46 - Portland Acquires McConnell

[7teen]

With an offense that is floundering at the bottom of the Frick League, Portland Lumberjacks General Manager Chris Wilson struck a deal this week that acquired left handed power bat Werner McConnell, Jr from the Calgary Pioneers. The deal didn't come at a cost however as the Lumberjacks sent young outfielder Jorge Lopez and pitching prospect Greg Brown to the teams based in Canada. Wilson spoke on the deal.

"It wasn't an easy one to make for us" commented Wilson. "But we rank 15th of 16 teams in the Frick in runs scored. We need to add offense. And we feel trying to get some power in the lineup is how we need to do that. Obviously losing Lopez is a huge blow to our team, especially on the defensive side. Jorge was an outstanding glove man and a solid bat, but we need more out of our offense. Hopefully McConnell can help with that."

Werner comes to Portland a year after posting his worst WAR to date at -1.3. He produced a career low 8 homeruns, but was coming off seasons of 47, 49, and 37 homeruns in Calgary. "There is a little concern obviously to such a drastic decline in power production but we are optimistic it was just a hiccup and Werner is ready to bounce back in a huge way now that he's in Portland" added Wilson.

As for Lopez, he was batting .270/.326/.358 with Portland prior to the trade with 2 homeruns and 12 batted in. His superior play on defense had him outproducing Werner's numbers in terms of WAR for the season but that wasn't why the trade was made added Wilson. "We are next to last in runs scored and dead last in homeruns in the Frick. I think there is an obvious correlation there. We need more homeruns. Werner will hopefully hit more homeruns than Lopez will. Hopefully his lack of defensive production won't outweigh his offensive contribution to the team."

As for what the future holds in Portland as the team struggles to stay in reach of the division, Wilson concluded: "We have other deals in the works. Hopefully we aren't out of this thing in the next few weeks."

[lordtoffee]

That is an interesting trade Chris. McConnell Jr. looks like he could help you guys out.