Brains! 2061.5: Jacksonville Deals for Big Papi

[aaronweiner]

The Jacksonville Zombies have been one of the most consistently productive offenses in the BBA this year, currently placing third in the Johnson League in runs scored. It appears they’re making a push for first place. Jacksonville traded two prospects to Twin Cities in exchange for first baseman Big Papi Husam.

“We had been in conversations with a number of teams talking about first basemen,” said GM Aaron Weiner. “Mostly we had been getting the runaround because people didn’t want to give up their guys. But Majid was a better find than we even imagined.”

Husam has had a little bit of a down year – for him – this year, hitting .266 with a .840 OPS, far off his career .896 average OPS and even further off the outstanding standards he has posted in each of the last six BBA seasons. He is turning 33 this year, but there is little reason to believe that he has lost a step.

“I’m hitting the ball the same way as I always have,” said Husam, whose 25 walks and just 17 strikeouts in 220 plate appearances back up this claim. “The only difference is that the hits are not falling for me the way they usually do. I think that moving to Jacksonville, with their outstanding lineup, will help me to get great pitches to hit.”

Big Papi will replace the ineffective Terry Cole in the lineup, who at 29 years old does appear to have lost a step and was never a very impressive defensive player. Cole will probably spell Husam at times, especially against tough lefties, but it appears that Cole’s days in Jacksonville are numbered. The Zombies also sent Hamdan Nuh to the minors in response to the move.

There are potential drawbacks to the trade. Husam has a huge contract signed after his monster 2059 contract year (.359/.413/671 with a league-leading 1.084 OPS), and he's already 33 years old, though Jacksonville's financial situation appears clean enough to both roster him and rebuild the pitching staff, a testament to their cap management. Plus, Pablo Silva, one of the two players sent to Twin Cities, is one of Jacksonville's better pitching prospects. (Dwight Heard, the outfielder sent to Twin Cities, has some promise but would have likely never surpassed some of the other players in the organization.)

“It’s a little bit of an arms race out here right now,” said Weiner. “Brooklyn is stacking young aces. Atlantic City is tied with us for the wild card lead. We are okay spending this kind of money if it makes a playoff spot a lot easier, and Husam is a legit superstar. It’s a jungle out there – and I haven’t even mentioned the juggernaut version of Charm City. We needed a guy just like this, and now we have one. Let’s go!”

[aaronweiner]

First results are good: he hit .500 this sim. Rest of team not so good, went 3-3.