"It's no secret we have a mess of a roster" Wilson commented, "and needed to make some moves. We had two thirdbaseman, about 3 firstbasemen, and no true shortstop on this roster. Not to mention very little quality pitching. It just doesn't make sense to just hang on to these talented guys when there are clear and glaring holes that need to be filled. We are trying to fix those holes."
Clearly one of those holes Wilson filled with this trade is the long term need for a catcher. The Wolves had no catching prospect ready to fill in for the aging Elroy Hilton. At just 24 years old, Hale can be that guy. Hale, who still has 3-4 years of team control left, can be a guy the Wolves can count on behind the plate for the next few seasons. It has been reported the Wolves will not pick up Hinson's team option for next season but that remains to be seen. At 39 and with severly declining defensive abilities, it is expected that Hale may assume a bulk of the catching duties now for Madison.
"We are actually looking for a trade for Hinson if anyone is interested" Wilson commented. "But there doesn't seem to be much of a demand for his services so we'll probably use both Hinson and Hale to keep both fresh."
The deal was met with mixed reviews from the fans. Many fans had begun to fall in love with Gutierrez's ability and were upset the club would trade the former IFA pick-up to a team within the division. "Great, now we can watch Gutierrez terrorize us for years" said one fan. "I can't believe we'd trade a guy who could hit .400" said another. "Wilson needs to go!" said another disgruntled Wolves loyalist.
"I get fans are mad" said Wilson. "But what about Ross Quicker? He's not too shabby, right guys?"
Also coming over is Roberto Puente, a decent looking middle infielder. The Wolves now have a trio of solid middle infield prospects to try and develop into future players in Puente, Salvador Allende, and Jose Hernandez.