Cairo Makes a Trade
Will Wonders Never Cease?
By Khepri Quraishi, Egypt Today Sports
March 4, 2048
GM Joe Geoghegan was never known as a trader, even back in the Vancouver glory days. A deal, when he makes one, tends to be low key and under the radar. In the year that he has been in charge of Cairo he hasn’t come close to making a deal. Until today, that is. Don’t hold your breath. This deal will significantly underwhelm you. Here’s how it went.
Just a few weeks ago the Pharaohs signed catcher Vicente Meléndez to a minor league contract. The idea was that he would be the AAA backup in case either António Ruíz or Ed Cooper got injured. Meléndez is a superb defensive catcher. The problem with him is that he has used up all his options and would have to be waived when he needed to return to Pretoria.
Anyway, his defense made him look good when Jerusalem came looking for a triple-A defensive catcher. On the day that Meléndez became eligible to be traded (30 days after signing a minor league contract) he was indeed traded to Jerusalem for two prospects from Jerusalem’s Tokyo (A) affiliate:
- SP Beni Ihilani - Just 19 years old, he played two years in rookie ball before posting a 15-4 record with the Tokyo Magic last year. His ERA 3.26 and he had a WAR of 2.2. He will likely be assigned to AA Chiriqui.
- OF Niaz Minhas - After signing a minor league deal back when he was 16 years old, Niaz has spent most of his time at the International Complex. While he was on the Tokyo roster at the time of the deal, he has never appeared in a professional game. He’ll go to rookie ball and presumably play regularly.
That replacement is Guomez Gaziba. He’s 27 years old and still has three options. He had never played above AA level until last year when he got a brief call-up to Tripoli and looked good while starting ten games. He’s excellent defensively, works hard, and gets along with everyone. He will join the Pharaohs as a non-roster invitee for the remainder of Spring Training before joining the AAA Pretoria Rhinos.
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