Who Won the Trade: May 26, 2041(Calgary/Brooklyn)
Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 11:42 am
To Calgary:
CF Man-Keung Sui
RP Ismael Guzman(AAA)
2B Scott Bell(AA)
LF Hadji Ufanisi(A)
To Brooklyn:
SP Bobby Lynch
CF Sawyer Slizz
A link to the trade post is HERE
The more I look at this trade from the outside in the more it looks like P Bobby Lynch was the main piece for Brooklyn. Despite an injury that forced Lynch to sit for 13 months he was not far removed from a 17-4, 2.74 year that saw him win FL Comeback Player of the Year and finish third in the FL Nebraska in 2037. After a less than stellar 2038 Lynch was rebounding with a very good 2039 when he was traded to Calgary from Edmonton where he signed a huge contract extension in the range of $87 million for 5 years(AAV of $17.4 million). After 52 mediocre starts in Calgary Lynch was on the block again. This time Brooklyn came a calling and this deal was finalized on May 26, 2041. At the time the 20 year old Sawyer Slizz was the 23rd ranked prospect in the Brewster but he had stumbled out of the gate hitting just .188 with the big club. Brooklyn sent four, not very highly thought of, prospects to Calgary in what seems like a salary dump of Lynch at the time. I'm sure Brooklyn was hoping that Lynch would bounce back to his 2037 form but that never quite happened. Lynch finished '41 very strong for the Robbins but his ERA in '42 jumped to close to five. After '42, with just one year and $13 million left on his contract, Lynch decided to exercise his opt out and hit free agency.
The other five guys in this trade were 20 years old or younger at the time. Two have since retired with little to no lasting effect on the Brewster. Three are still playing and they are the ones that will decide how this trade is ultimately thought of. Slizz spent a little less than three seasons in Brooklyn as an everyday player. He was an All-Star his first three full seasons in Brooklyn and took home a JL Yogi in 2046. He posted five 30/30 seasons and led the JL in runs scored in '42 and '43 when he averaged 8.3 WAR. His last four seasons in Brooklyn were good but not great and the Robbins let him walk after he had exhausted all of his arbitration years.
Bell and Ufanisi are still mainstays in the Calgary lineup. Bell has posted 17.2 WAR in over 4100 PA while Ufanisi just became a full time player last year after several seasons as a platoon bat facing LHP. His career WAR so far sits at just 4.6.
WHO WON THE TRADE?
While the results are not yet clear with Bell and Ufanisi still in their primes it would be hard to predict that those two would pass the near 40 WAR that Slizz alone contributed to the Robbins. Lynch didn't work out and Slizz may not have lived up to his prospect ranking at the time, I'd have to say Brooklyn won this by a pretty large margin. Slizz also netted the Robbins a second round comp pick when he left that would have to be evaluated later down the line. Bell and Ufanisi would have to put up some pretty big seasons to top the contributions of Slizz. Possible but not likely.
CF Man-Keung Sui
RP Ismael Guzman(AAA)
2B Scott Bell(AA)
LF Hadji Ufanisi(A)
To Brooklyn:
SP Bobby Lynch
CF Sawyer Slizz
A link to the trade post is HERE
The more I look at this trade from the outside in the more it looks like P Bobby Lynch was the main piece for Brooklyn. Despite an injury that forced Lynch to sit for 13 months he was not far removed from a 17-4, 2.74 year that saw him win FL Comeback Player of the Year and finish third in the FL Nebraska in 2037. After a less than stellar 2038 Lynch was rebounding with a very good 2039 when he was traded to Calgary from Edmonton where he signed a huge contract extension in the range of $87 million for 5 years(AAV of $17.4 million). After 52 mediocre starts in Calgary Lynch was on the block again. This time Brooklyn came a calling and this deal was finalized on May 26, 2041. At the time the 20 year old Sawyer Slizz was the 23rd ranked prospect in the Brewster but he had stumbled out of the gate hitting just .188 with the big club. Brooklyn sent four, not very highly thought of, prospects to Calgary in what seems like a salary dump of Lynch at the time. I'm sure Brooklyn was hoping that Lynch would bounce back to his 2037 form but that never quite happened. Lynch finished '41 very strong for the Robbins but his ERA in '42 jumped to close to five. After '42, with just one year and $13 million left on his contract, Lynch decided to exercise his opt out and hit free agency.
The other five guys in this trade were 20 years old or younger at the time. Two have since retired with little to no lasting effect on the Brewster. Three are still playing and they are the ones that will decide how this trade is ultimately thought of. Slizz spent a little less than three seasons in Brooklyn as an everyday player. He was an All-Star his first three full seasons in Brooklyn and took home a JL Yogi in 2046. He posted five 30/30 seasons and led the JL in runs scored in '42 and '43 when he averaged 8.3 WAR. His last four seasons in Brooklyn were good but not great and the Robbins let him walk after he had exhausted all of his arbitration years.
Bell and Ufanisi are still mainstays in the Calgary lineup. Bell has posted 17.2 WAR in over 4100 PA while Ufanisi just became a full time player last year after several seasons as a platoon bat facing LHP. His career WAR so far sits at just 4.6.
WHO WON THE TRADE?
While the results are not yet clear with Bell and Ufanisi still in their primes it would be hard to predict that those two would pass the near 40 WAR that Slizz alone contributed to the Robbins. Lynch didn't work out and Slizz may not have lived up to his prospect ranking at the time, I'd have to say Brooklyn won this by a pretty large margin. Slizz also netted the Robbins a second round comp pick when he left that would have to be evaluated later down the line. Bell and Ufanisi would have to put up some pretty big seasons to top the contributions of Slizz. Possible but not likely.