Madison - The Wolves gave up a lot of future potential to make their playoff run. Roland Carroll was one of several players they picked up in their quest for a championship. Carroll hit .296, had an OBA of .387 and scored 41 runs in 51 games for the Wolves. He underperformed in the post season, but the Wolves did win their first and only Championship! None of the other players so action in the majors that year, but Carroll was the reason the Wolves made the trade.
Madison received the following players:
CF Roland Carroll- 30 yrs old - Carroll helped lead the Wolves to the Championship in 2004. That is why he was acquired. Since then he has averaged 123 games per season due to his annual habit of missing a month due to injury. By the end of 2006 his skills appeared to have diminished and it looked like he would never return to the form that he had in Calgary. Madison had reached the point with him that they shopped him around, but got no takers. Then miraculously he came back strong in 2007 batting .302, .407 OBA, 110 Runs and a career high 27 homers! At only 30 yrs old Carroll could be leading off for this playoff perennial team for several more years.
CL Roland Plante- 30 yrs old - Never made it out of the minors and became a free agent after the 2006 season.
C David Robinson - 29 yrs old - Ditto
SP Stanley Coneybear- 28 yrs old - Minor leaguer released in 2005.
C Javier Murrillo - 27 yrs old - Has spent the past 3 season in A Ball with Boulder. In 2007 hit .306 in 64 games. It looks unlikely that he will ever see the majors.
C Alfredo Gill - 25 yrs old - Showed promise at A Ball and was traded in 2006 to California in the deal that brought Bolt Vanderhugen to Madison. Was outstanding at AA in 2007 and finished the year at AAA Clash City where he hit .459 in 17 games. Is the 9th best prospect in the California system and could make it to the bigs.
Calgary - The Marauders gave up one of their two top players in this deal. The other, Johnny Iraq, started his career in Calgary and will end his career in Calgary. Giving up a great all around player like Carroll was a tough call, but Calgary needed to make a deal to bring in a group of prospects that could fill several positions in the future. The goal was to turn Carroll into 3 players and be able to compete for a playoff spot in 2007. Ramon Gutierrez and Don Goodwin turned into not just starters but stars with the Marauders and the team was in the playoff hunt until late in August.
Calgary received the following players:
CF Ramon Gutierrez- 26 yrs old - Expected to replace Carroll in the Calgary lineup, Gutierrez had filled the bill. Breaking into the majors in 2005 he has been one of the team's dominant hitters. Gutierrez led the team in batting this year at .336 and was selected to the All-Star team, A great fielder, but without the speed that Carroll has, Gutierrez has settled into the #3 slot in the lineup. After hitting 23 and 29 homers his first two seasons, his total dropped to 16 this year, but his average was up. Gutierrez gives the Marauders a solid bat and glove in CF for years to come.
1B Don Goodwin - 27 yrs old - Goodwin had a breakout year in 2005 at AAA and won the starting 1B job in Calgary in 2006. He has been among the teams' top hitters over the past 2 seasons. He was selected the FL's Rookie Batter of the Month twice in 2006 and selected to the All-Star team this season. This year he led the team with 31 homers and 108 RBIs while batting .284 and spending most of the year in the cleanup position. He has also been durable, starting 313 games over the past 2 seasons. Calgary hoped Goodwin would be their 1B of the future when they traded Carroll and it looks like he will be.
SP Steve Black- 26 yrs old - This young fireballer was one of the players that Calgary really wanted. Calgary gave up on him after his failure to succeed at AA in 2005 and 2006 and he was waived after Spring Training this year. Long Beach claimed him and he pitched well at A ball. It is doubtful that Black will ever pitch with enough control to go much higher, which is unfortunate given his strikeout potential.
RF Casey Martin - 34 yrs old - This power hitter was coming off a major injury, but Calgary had hopes that he would come back and lock down the RF spot in 2005. Martin got off to a strong start but 28 games into the season he suffered a season ending broken elbow. After the 2005 season Martin was traded to Montreal in a deal that brought SP Joseph Heywood to the Marauders. He only played 47 games for the Blazers, spending most of the time he spent there in the minors. Martin retired in 2007 after one final shot in Madison's minor league system. Heywood has started 65 games for Calgary over the past 2 seasons posting a 24-24 record.
C Tom West- 23 yrs old - West has been ranked in the top 100 prospects the past 3 seasons ranging from #82-86. He has spent most of his time at AA Duluth and this season he batted .350. He spent part of 2007 at AAA and disappointed, but we would expect him to spend next season there as he has nothing more to prove in Duluth. He may become Calgary's starting catcher at some point as this is a weak spot for the team, but he will probably have to wait a year as there are a couple of other catching prospects in front of him.
CF Orlando Mercado - 21yrs old - Mercado was stuck at Rookie ball until this season as his development was slow. Played most of the season at AA and hit .283. Fleet footed but with holes in his glove, Mercado's future has brightened with the recent vote to bring the DH to the MBBA. He needs to improve his eye and walk a little more if he is ever to make it to the big leagues, but if he does it will probably be as a DH.
MR Ben Dover- 35 yrs old - Pitched only 2/3 of an inning for Calgary before getting injured and became a free agent at the end of the 2004 season. Currently on the roster of the Valencia Stars, Dover pitched himself back into the MBBA after spending 2006 in the minors. He posted a 2-5 record with a 5.61 ERA in 10 starts.
LF Pio Vallejo - 35 yrs old - Played parts of 2004 and 2005 with Calgary as a bench player before being released. Signed by Madison in 2006 and played the last 2 seasons hitting a combined 59 homers and 178 RBIs. Vallejo retired at the end of the season.
LF Tom Mohler- 38 yrs old - Only had ten more big league at bats after the trade. Mohler was released after the 2004 season, but was signed by Madison in 2005 and played 73 games at AAA South Bend before retiring. Mohler finished his career with an amazing .338 BA and 2166 hits. His batting average is 7th best in the history of the MBBA
Conclusion: Madison gave more than it got, but so what. Their goal was to win a Championship and they did. Most of the players they traded wouldn't have been able to make the roster in Madison (Gutierrez and Goodwin are the exceptions) and Carroll not only helped them win in 2004 he is still starting for them today. Calgary wouldn't be where they are today without this deal. Gutierrez has replaced Carroll in CF, they have Goodwin at 1B and a SP in Heywood (via Martin). Black was a huge disappointment but it is likely that West will play in Calgary in the future and maybe even Mercado. 2 teams, 15 players, and both teams got what they needed.
