by Nes Lessman, for the Yellow Springs Journal
Feb 26, 2056
Yellow Springs, OH – The Yellow Springs Nine and the Boise Spuds made a trade today, exchanging starting pitchers who likely had no future with their existing organizations.
The Nine sold their rights to take Paul Cherry back via Rule 5 in exchange for Juan Nunez, whom the Spuds reportedly felt was no longer a good fit for their organization.
Cherry was notably left off the 40-man roster this off-season, making him a likely selection in the Rule 5 Draft. He had a 7.12 ERA in 2055 with the Indianapolis Downforce, playing in only 18 games due to his lack of success, after a solid 2054 in which he was 9-10 for a bad team, with a 4.11 ERA. Cherry's known to have great movement on his three pitches, which shows in his typical 2.3-2.7 BB/9 ratings each year, even in his bad 2055. But his third pitch is a mediocre changeup and if he has any future at all, it's in the bullpen.
While I wasn't able to reach Boise for comment, it's fully expected Cherry will go back to the minors, now that he isn't required to stay on the big league club all year.
Coming to the Nine is Nunez, who is out of options and must be kept on the roster. Nunez has pitched much better than Cherry, going 12-8 with one save in 27 games in AAA for Salt Lake City. His ERA was 3.60, with a WAR of 3.9. He's been a swing man for his entire minors career in Boise, and even had a cup of coffee in 2054, going 1-0 in 11 games (5 starts) with a 4.40 ERA. Nunez has a great fastball and slider, but his other pitches are lesser. Like Cherry, the bullpen is where I would expet Nunez to succeed, if he makes it at all in the BBA.
"I got a call from Joe about keeping Cherry, and when he mentioned Nunez was available, I easily accepted," said McMonigal. "I like what he brings to the table. He reminds me quite a bit of Gerald Rogers." I asked if he plans to push Nunez into going full time as a reliever, the same as McMonigal did with Rogers. "I think that's likely, yes. There's no room for him as a starter here, and I think he could really be an attack dog out of the pen."
Nunez, 26, has some time to show his worth, while Cherry had soured. This feels like a good deal for all involved, though in the short term, it seems Nunez will have the most value. It will be interesting to see how the Nine utilize him with spring training opening soon.
