Slugger Shavings 2038.4 - So Much for Patience

[sjshaw]

I definitely wanted to be patient. I swore to myself I wouldn't make any trades of consequence until after I went through a season.

But I can't help myself. I'm a trade whore. A dirty, dirty trade whore. In a span of a few hours, we negotiated the transfer of 14 players (and a crisp dollar bill). We got significantly younger and have begun the tedious process of accumulating depth in our extremely top-heavy minor leagues.

So let's look at the damage.

Leaving LOU:

SP Ken "Hotpants" Bates (to CAL): We retained 50% of his just-signed extension, costing us about $10m if he declines his 3rd year option. As I wrote about Hotpants in Issue 1 of Slugger Shavings, Bates is a high-quality LHSP with reverse splits who suffered from atrocious run support. Well... that ain't gonna change for a few seasons. He should be a nice addition to Calgary's staff, but he had way more value to me as a trade chip than costing me $10m a year to put up 3.4 WAR for a losing team.

SP Sean Gardner (to CAL): Gardner is a fully-developed high-END SP who has put up solid numbers in AAA the last 3 seasons. We need younger, high-ceiling guys, and we can absorb the inherent dev risk because we suck anyway.

RP Carlos Rosa (to EDM): Rosa is a better RP than his stats indicate. He was mis-used as a stopper last season. If you give Rosa 109.2 IP, the cracks will start to show. Add to this his FA status after the upcoming season, and he is another guy who, while talented, simply doesn't fit in our plans.

RP Ignacio Castaneda (to EDM): Castaneda is a solid arm our of the pen, bringing a high K rate. As long as he keeps his HR% down, he'll be a nice cost-controlled piece for EDM. A filled-out, above-average RP is expendable for us. We need bats and high-ceiling RP specs.

SS Joey O'Brien (to EDM): Joey is a solid short-side platoon option and a defensive wiz. He didn't fit in our plans, though. We like our SS to wield a bigger stick (Joey averaged a 77 wRC+ his first 2 seasons as a full-time starter). While we like high CON and AvK guys, I want players who either are either going to give us SLG or OBP, neither of which is Joey's strength.

One crisp dollar bill (to SEA)


Arriving at Louisville International Airport:

SP Chuck Barnes (from EDM): Chuck is a 55 FV SP who is going to take a redshirt year with us as his torn rotator cuff heals. Because injuries and bad dev are generally un-linked in OOTP, we don't anticipate his recovery affecting his value. Depending on how his changeup develops, he may be moved to the pen, where he becomes 65 FV with 8-6-8 potentials.

SP Kahsay Mudada (from CAL) Mudada is an 18-year-old, 30 FV 7-6-7 SP, but he is a RP. When shifted to the pen, he transforms into a 60 FV 9-6-7 reliever with two 9-rated pitches. With his low stamina, he hopefully develops into a high-leverage setup man.

SP Alfredo Contreras (from SEA): Ugh. I owe him $37.5m over the next 3 seasons, then I can throw him in the trash by paying $2.6m more to decline his team option. He has minor league options left, so we expect Mr. Contreras to be humiliated in Rookie Ball until he voluntarily retires and leaves money on the table.

RP Alexander Rickard (from SEA): Rickard is an 18-year-old 30 FV 6-6-6 SP. Given that he only has two good pitches, we will shift him to the pen along with Barnes and Mudada, where he becomes a 65 FV, 9-6-6 guy who hopefully will develop into being capable of picking up some low leverage innings.


C Toshikazu Noguchi (from EDM): Our system is completely bereft of catchers. No longer. Noguchi is a 17-year-old, 55 FV former 3rd round pick who will hopefully overcome his stupidity and laziness to at least give us a nice short-side platoon option in a few seasons.

1B Hugh Mangrouthormone (from CAL): Welcome to BBA's version of Adam Dunn, if he works out. Hugh has the highest POW potential in the league (12), but he is deeply stupid and does not understand the concept of four balls = a walk. He will also be the first player in BBA history to play while in a body cast, given that he has no range and no arm. He's quite ludicrous, actually. A "Hugh-ge" risk, you might say. If the 18-year-old fills out his 65 FV, 7-8-12-3-3 potential, he could be the most fearsome DH in the game. If he loses any of that POW, he's useless. We think he's worth the risk.

SS José Montaño (from CAL): The former 7th rounder is a pure lotto ticket, who if he gets a bump, could be a useful player. We like how he has significantly over-performed in Rookie ball, albeit it's a very SSS.

SS Juan Medrano (from SEA): Oh, do we love Johnny Baseball in Louisville. This 18-year-old, 65 FV pure SS is our player template. If he fills out his 7-8-2-9-8 potentials, he will hit for decent average, with lots of 2B and 3B, and have a high OBP, all while stealing around 50 bases a season. We are hanging a lot of hopes on him.

OF Pedro Gonzales (from EDM): Pedro is another pure lotto ticket. We love his career stats so far, but his defensive limitations will require at least 2 bumps for him to be useful. He might be able to rise above his AAAA destiny, though, and provide some long-side platoon action in LF. We're not counting on it, though.

[RonCo]

Just another day in Shawville.