Nashville/Yellow Springs Catcher Swap Trade Analysis

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Nashville/Yellow Springs Catcher Swap Trade Analysis

Post by neugey » Sun Mar 26, 2023 9:06 am

Nashville/Yellow Springs Catcher Swap Trade Analysis

by Lem Piker Sr.

It's that time of year in the Brewster. It's the latter months of June and teams are looking for quick fixes to try to answer whether they are in playoff contention or not. Teams are in that awkward phase where they don't know if they're a seller in the cellar quite yet. Both Nashville and Yellow Springs find themselves in this position. You're still close enough to .500 to feel like you can't throw in the towel quite yet. And maybe there is that one missing piece or tweak of strategy that can unlock your team's potential.

Despite being division rivals, Nashville and Yellow Springs decided to move forward with a trade that is primarily a swap of catchers. Let's take a look at the players involved and the ramifications:

To Nashville:

C Jesus Rodriguez. Outside of an outlier 2050 campaign, Rodriguez isn't really known for his offense. He sports a .253 career batting average and 95 OPS+. But his defense is the real deal. He's earned 4 Zimmer awards behind the plate and has a career catcher ERA of 3.53. Few players run on Rodriguez - he's thrown out over 40% of them in his career. The real blow here for the Nine is with the fans. He's extremely popular, was drafted by the Nine and has been a fixture in the majors since 2042. He's also a captain and leader for the Nine. He's making $7 million a year through 2055 and has two team options to potentially earn that same salary for another two years after that.

C Na'il Ghassan. Ghassan of Kuwait was an international free agent that Yellow Springs had put forth $2.6 million in 2053 to acquire. He's 19 and itching to get going, but still is assigned to the international complex. He'll now get minor league at-bats for Nashville. Despite having a loaded farm system, Nashville should have room for the promising young backstop. If he develops to his potential, he will be a well-rounded catcher both offensively and defensively.

To Yellow Springs:

C Hak-Joon Yi. Like Rodriguez, Yi has only been with one organization for his career and will change teams. He was a scouting discovery for Nashville. He's been part of the major league catcher picture for the Bluebirds since 2051. His main asset is power - you can pencil him in for 20 home runs a year. But he's not much of a contact hitter and his defense is mediocre. He is younger and cheaper than Rodriguez though - and he has two more years of team control remaining and his salary (currently at 2.7 million) should land in the 3 to 5 million range. He has massive popularity in Nashville but is a rank-and-file guy in the clubhouse.

OF Ziya Turkes. In 2050 Nashville had invested 5.2 million in Turkes as an international free agent from Turkey. He's making nice strides in A ball this year and showing signs of major league ability. He can hit gappers but still needs to develop home run power. If he develops as desired, he's still probably 3 years away from the majors unless the Nine have a gaping hole in their outfield.

SUMMARY:

Nashville has plenty of cap room and a healthy budget, so Rodriguez's salary is no issue. The hope for the Bluebirds is that his presence as a backstop has a positive effect on starters Steven Clayton and Barney Lindsay, whose ERA's have ballooned well above 5.00 in 2054. Though Nashville already has a proven captain in Felipe Vega, Rodriguez will also help the Bluebirds act like professionals and feel good about each other. Nashville has plenty of other power hitters on their roster to help offset Yi's homers. So anything Rodriguez contributes at the bat is gravy; the main focus for Jesus will be the improvement of the pitching and the lockdown of would-be base stealers in the Frick.

For the Nine, this swap gives the team a little more cap space for this year and going forward. Yellow Springs is near the bottom of the Frick in home run totals, so Yi's power will be very welcome. There is very little in the Nine pipeline at catcher, so barring any big free agent signings Yi is going to be behind the plate for years to come. The Nine pitching staff has struggled enough on their own that the loss of Rodriguez's defense may not be their biggest problem. They'll probably need to make some more cap room and target a good starter or two in free agency next year to help address the pitching.

This exchange seems to suit both of these teams well. The Nine seem like they are in a bit more of a rebuild than Nashville and the stakes are lower here. In contrast, Bluebirds fans are feeling edgy and need some impact from Rodriguez as they are currently 6 1/2 games behind in the wildcard and in danger of missing the postseason for the first time since 2047. If Nashville continues to falter things could get even more interesting on the trade front. The Bluebirds probably won't be afraid to sell some pieces with the sheer depth and talent they have in the minors to populate any major league vacancies.
______________________________________

2051 London Monarchs (GBC)
2051-present Edmonton Jackrabbits (BBA)

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Re: Nashville/Yellow Springs Catcher Swap Trade Analysis

Post by Dington » Sun Mar 26, 2023 10:29 am

Nice write up. More of an experiment for me than anything. Nine get a good catcher (while retaining popularity) and decent prospect in return while shedding some salary.
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Re: Nashville/Yellow Springs Catcher Swap Trade Analysis

Post by BaseClogger » Sun Mar 26, 2023 1:03 pm

Really well written, don’t disagree with any of it. Interesting trade.
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