May 19, 2042
The Nashville Bluebirds were expected to go into the 2042 season with a team balance much like they finished the 2041 campaign. Their offense would be better than average, and their pitching staff would be a puzzle the coaching staff would have to put together. The latter has certainly been true though the former has certainly not.
"We didn't think we'd be trading for a bat in May," said Bluebirds GM Matt Rectenwald. "Most of the team assumed we'd be looking to move surplus offense to find a pitcher. Here we are doing the exact opposite. Baseball is a funny game, isn't it? "
It was indeed odd to see the Bluebirds make a move to get a bat, and more surprising in who they gave up. "The trade came together extremely quickly," admitted Rectenwald. "It's usually pretty easy for Brett (Schroeder, Las Vegas GM) and I to come together on deals considering these are typically guys we've both had the pleasure to have in our systems. In this case they both were."
In the trade, Las Vegas sent second baseman Mike England to the Bluebirds in exchange for left-handed pitcher Gerald Abbott.
England will be going into his second arbitration year and is expected to garner a salary in the range of $6,000,000 for 2043. He's a fine defensive second baseman who should add pop to the lineup against right-handed pitching.
Abbott, 22 years old, had been on the Triple-A shuttle the last two years, but shows great promise. He'll head back to the organization that originally drafted him in the 2038 draft (Supplemental Round 1, 37th overallpick).
The deal leaves some questions for the Bluebirds lineup going forward. "Obviously we will have to move some pieces around to make room for Mike," explained Rectenwald. "We think this deal will truly solidify our infield defense as we can move Jesus Yan to third base, slide Tony Frost to first base, and put Ernesto Souza in the designated hitter role."
There will be more fallout to the trade than just position shifting. A front office source indicated the Bluebirds would be designating Alonso Olvere for assignment.
Note: Olvere later cleared waivers (how?) and was assigned to Orlando (AAA).