Trade Review 2026 #1 Offseason Moves

[Ted]

Dammit, I need to stay on top of this. Also, I need my work to stop scheduling me for 50% more than my contracted hours. The money is nice, but I'm lazy...

Not nearly as many moves this offseason as last, and frankly not as interesting ones either, but here goes.

Greenville/Atlantic City
Greenville receives:
CF William Kidd
RP Joost Breakwell
P Gary Williamson (prospect)

Atlantic City receives:
OF Marc Miller(prospect)
C Chip Saunders (prospect)
OF Juan Martínez (prospect)

[list][*] Kidd is a known quantity. He's help up remarkably well at 33 years old, but isn't the defender he once was. Also, as his batting average has taken a dip the last couple years, his OBP has suffered as he's never had a great eye. Still he's a lefty CF with above average D. CF is thin these days, and he'd start on more than half the teams in the league. I'm not sure when his contract ends, as it says he has only 2026 remaining but is signed through 2028. Oh well, that could be good or bad.
[*] Breakwell had been a very solid releiver for ATC until last year, when his FIP to a big jump to the mid 4's. Strangely, he's had no noticeable decline since his heyday. If he returns to form, he could be a nice pickup for Greenville.
[*] At 21 Williamson will need a lot of bumpage to reach the bigs. He probs won't. He looks like a AA starter.[/list]



[list][*] Marc Miller is a 20 year old nothing special lefty LFer. He's probably a AA guy when all is said and done.
[*] Someone apparently didn't think Chip Saunders had a "basebally" enough name already, so he became the Sarge, which is a great nickname for a guy who might turn into one of the best game callers in the league. Much of his value is tied up in his defensive ratings, the impact of which is hotly debated, without a lot of evidence. He is a switch hitter with solid contact and walk upside, and at catcher that could play into slightly above average hitting ability. On the other hand, he's 19 and should he lump at all, he rapidly looks like a career backup or a spot in the lineup a team is just punting.
[*] Juan Martinez has a better arm for right than left, and needs a contact bump to succeed in the MBWBA as a righty bat. He's a tad underdeveloped for a 20 year old. Probably a AAA guy. [/list]

This is an interesting trade. Greenville is in complete rebuild mode, but as Tyler noted, you have to have some talent. It's tough to rebuild if you have no money because you can't put butts in the seats. A starting CF and solid bullpen piece could go a long way towards patching two of the worse holes in the Moonshiners roster. Saunders is tough to give up. They do have some other young catchers in the system, but none of those guys look like they can stick. The trade is also a bit wierd for the Gamblers. They got good value for an aging CF and RP in Saunders, but as a team who is at the tail end of a competitive window, it's odd to trade established talent for a19 year old prospect.

Grades
Greenville
Talent: B-
Organizational: C+
Atlantic City
Talent: B-
Organizational: C+

[hr]

Greenville/Las Vegas
Greenville receives:
P Luis Perez
LF Gabriel Ramos (minor leaguer)
SP Claudio Sanchez (prospect)
SP José Laurenzana (prospect)

Las Vegas receives:
SP David Cantu

[list][*] Luis Perez, affectionately known as "Lurch" is a frightening guy to see in the starting rotation, unless you are the opposing team. He's 29, regressed a bit, and his 4.59 career FIP as a reliever doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. Still, someone has to pitch in Greenville I suppose.
[*] Gabriel Ramos is 24, underdeveloped, and has a AAA ceiling. 'Nuff said.
[*] At the time of the trade, "Shifty" Sanchez was a 20 year old 7/7/8 righty starting prospect. He's since lost one mph of velocity and now has the dreaded 6 motion for a righty. Still, he's got good intangibles and there's a good chance he makes it as a 5th starter or bullpen guy at some point.
[*] Laurenzana us a bit underdeveloped for a 22 year old. If he reaches his ceiling, you can do worse than a high motion workhorse at the back of your rotation. He probably won't however. Two control at 22 years old is not reassuring. [/list]


[list][*] David Cantu could be great. He could have been great 3 years ago too. At 26, will he ever figure out his sinker? If he doesn't he's a one trick pony. He has already gotten a point of control since coming over to Vegas. 6/8/9 isn't bad for a righty, but it's still end of the rotation stuff. Should he develop, everything changes.[/list]

I get why Greenville makes this deal. Cantu is 26 and isn't likely to help them even during a meaningful season even if he does develop. Hard to get much more for Cantu either, especially after last season. Chances are they picked up at least one back of the rotation starter, and maybe more. Fro Vegas this is a no brainer. A coupe depth arms with minor upside for a lottery ticket? Done deal.

Grades
Greenville
Talent: C
Organizational: C+
Las vegas
Talent: C+
Organizational: B+

[hr]

Calgary/Des Moines
Calgary receives:
P Lambert Snabel

Des Moines receives:
SS Gabriel Torres (minor leaguer)
$2 million

[list][*] Lambert Snabel is a curious case in ineffectiveness. He doesn't walk too many, has a 55%+ groundball rate, and gives up a boatload of homers. As a 7/7/9 lefty with three 8 rated pitches, he shouldn't do this. It doesn't makes sense, unless of course, you are Des Moines, where everyone sucks for no reason because god hates you.[/list]


[list][*] Gabriel Torres is a AAAA second baseman.[/list]

This is a great move for Calgary. If it works, they got a free starter. I kind of don't like it for Des Moines, but I also haven't been cursing Snabel's name for years as he's continued to suck ass for no good reason. I want to say they could have gotten more for him, but could they?

Grades
Calgary
Talent: C-
Organizational: A
Des Moines
Talent: D+
Organizational: C+

[hr]

Havana/Las Vegas
Havana receives:
C Oliver Carmona
RP Armando Cruz (prospect)

Las Vegas receives:
SP Aymeric Marinelli
P Jose Feliz
RP Tony Henry (prospect)

[list][*] Oliver Carmona is a switch hitting C with 20 HR, 50XBH upside. He's not great behind the plate, but not terrible. He's just a cut below elite, but still a good bat at a thin position. He's inexpensive, and at 27 years old probably has a few good seasons at least left in him.
[*] At 23, Cruz is a bit of a long shot to be a big leaguer. He's fully developed, but 7/6/7 righties tend to be out of their depth against ML talent. He might have a pen role, but looks more like a AAAA guy.[/list]



[list][*] Aymeric Marinelli has had some success as a starter, but really never developed a third pitch. As such, he's a back of the rotation type. Vegas looks to be using him as a reliever, a role in which he could be very, very good. A 5 mil tag is a bit pricey for a reliever, but if you have the cap space...
[*] Tony Henry looks like a setup man or potential closer. He's a rare 100+ lefty. His FB and CB are both good. It remains to be seen if his bad righty splits hurt him, but he has a lot of upside.
[*] 21 year old lefty Jose Feliz sports a decent FB/CB combo, but lacks a good third pitch. It's hard to see him getting enough mileage out of his change to be starter. He could however make it as a decent reliever someday, although he too is a bit underdeveloped in the control department at 21.[/list]

At first I didn't like this trade for Havana. I'm not big on Cruz. Carmona is good, but 27 and not great. I know that the Sugar Kings have pitching to spare. Marinelli being swapped makes perfect sense. Really, it comes down to a middle of the road SP/RP and two RP prospects for a second tier C. That's actually pretty decent. After signing Campos, Vegas didn't feel they needed Carmona anymore. Good use of disposable assets to recoup prospects and shore up the staff.

Grades
Havana
Talent: B
Organizational: B+
Las Vegas
Talent: B-
Organizational: A

[hr]

Tuscon/Havana
Tuscon receives:
1B Miguel Gonzalez

Havana receives:
RF Martin Felix

[list][*] Who would have thought that after trying and failing to trade away Felix for nearly an entire season several years ago, the former Buffalo franchise would bring him back, AND he would still be a productive bat. At 36, Felix still has a sweet lefty swing and a good eye that should help him remain a productive player. I don't know that I would play him in the OF anymore, as Havana seems poised to. He's a bit pricey at 11 mil, but them's the breaks.[/list]



[list][*] Gonzles is a nice little lefty hitter. His bat is a tad less than what one would want out of a 1B, but his good lefty splint and superb 1B D should help balance that out. He's young and cheap as well.[/list]

This is a great baseball trade. Havana had extra 1B, Tuscon extra OF. It's a trade you look at and say, "Oh. That makes perfect sense." It's too bad it's hard to come across these kind of deals.

Grades
Tuscon
Talent: B-
Organizational: A+
Havana
Talent: B-
Organizational: A+

[hr]

Alright, that wraps up the offseason. From here on out, I'll try posting articles as the deals happen, and just cap each one after 4-5 deals, or at any other logical breakpoint. Maybe that will keep me from getting so far behind that the number of trades is discouraging.

[indiansfan]

Saunders name is a character from the 1969s show Combat!

[udlb58]

Great stuff!

I'm already regretting the Cantu trade. Sanchez is lumping and Cantu has improved (though he hasn't improved the sinker, which would make him a top of the rotation pitcher). On top of that, with the addition of Granados, Bolota, Lucero, and all of the 'meh' arms I picked up; Cantu could have reasonably been sent down to AAA, been the #4/5 starter, or been used out of the pen. And I'll be lucky if one of those guys ends up making any sort of impact at the Major League level.

On the flip side, I'm still very happy with the Kidd/Saunders trade.

[agrudez]

and Cantu has improved

First Gulliver and now Cantu. Something must be in that desert water.

[Chey]

Yeah, I've never seen bumping like Gulliver got last season. Marinelli started lumping on me shortly after I extended him, which helped convince me to move on - moving him to RP likely keeps him valuable, but at $5MM, $8MM and $6MM over the next three years that's going to be expensive.

[aaronweiner]

I have seen that. Thomas bumped pretty damn fast. Baker too.

[Chey]

That said, I'm higher on Carmona than you are, but that's probably because his mediocre fielding at C doesn't bother me at all.

The two RP prospects are guys I got for nothing (a rule 5 guy and a throw-in on a trade), and are a player type that can be nabbed more or less at will in my experience. That said, I have a feeling they'll start developing in a hurry all of a sudden.

[Chey]

I have seen that. Thomas bumped pretty damn fast. Baker too.

At age 24, after basically sitting stagnant for years?

[aaronweiner]

No. It's a fair point.

[aaronweiner]

Though he did come into the league at age 21, so unless it happened instantaneously, it was going to happen this sort of way.