2057.20 "You're Krilling Me" – Thomas Officially Traded to Bikini

[Trebro]

"You're Krilling Me" – Thomas Officially Traded to Bikini

January 26, 2057
by Valerie Davies for the Yellow Springs World

It may be a minor move, but in what signals a likely thawing in the heated rhetoric of owner Bo Jordan regarding the relocation of the Seattle Storm to the Bikini Atoll, the Yellow Springs Nine announced today that they'd accepted Antonio Thomas back from the Krill, then traded him back to the selecting team for second baseman Mitsunari Tanaka.

Thomas was added in the 2055 off-season by GM Rob McMonigal and played one season for the Santa Cruz Spartans. He played in 96 games, batting an anemic .221 with an OPS of just .541 and a WAR of -.7 alongside an OPS+ of 44 and a WRC+ of 36. Now mind you, Thomas appears to be a whiz with the glove (4.9 Zone Rating, 8.23 range, 1.269 efficiency, 40.8% runners thrown out, but a framing of zero, oddly enough, in 2056). However all of that still meant a negative WAR for the year, which given it counts defense really tells you something.

Tanaka, 22, played in Short A in 2056 and is likely going to start there again in 2057, given the current set up of the Nine's minor league rosters. What are the Cat Island Pirates getting? A player who currently only plays second, but plays it with potential. His range was 6.10, though with a -.9 ZR. He's stuck at second, though, because of a poor arm. Drafted in 2055 in the 9th round, he played poorly his first year, hitting just .187. He played much better in 73 games in 2056, hitting .275 with an OPS of .736 and a WAR of 0. Tanaka is likely organizational filler at this point but he has the potential to do more.

So why the trade? It doesn't add much for McMonigal or the Nine on the surface. I asked the GM about the deal and this is what he told me:

"I liked Thomas, but we have other catchers in the organization who can defend well and hit better than he was able to do. I would have been happy to have him back, but Ron [Collins, the former Nine and Mad Popes GM, now working for the eccentric new owner of the Krill, P Moreau Westmoreland] called and asked if we could make a deal for him. So I said yes."

Did he think it was a good deal for both sides?

"Look, these are likely both organizational filler types, Valerie. You and I both know that. You wouldn't even be covering it if this wasn't the Krill on the other end, given their weird-ass situation and the fact that their GM used to have my job."

I gently corrected McMonigal on the fact that while he may not see us do it, I write about everything going on with the Nine. Maybe he only reads what comes up on the BBA Team News wire, which is certainly his loss!

He did have a point, however. How did this impact on Bo Jordan's feelings, his league protest, and the possibility of more deals between the teams?

"Bo doesn't ever interfere in my day to day decisions, Valerie. I don't know how many times I have to tell everyone that. He gives me my budget and tells me to do my best to win. That's what I'm doing, day in day out."

Did McMonigal check with him before dealing with the Krill? There was a large pause and a sigh.

"When I told Bo about the deal, he didn't object, but he did ask me why I was taking Ron's calls. I explained to him that whether we like it or not – and I want to be clear, I DO NOT LIKE IT – Westmoreland is a BBA owner in good standing. That means his team is part of our 32-club organization and to ignore trade talks or scouting or anything else related to the team makes no sense, even if I personally do not plan to ever step foot on that cursed place. Plus he has a great relationship to this day with Ron and I pointed out that Collins won't do anything to hurt any players under his care. So yes, we had that talk, briefly, and I moved on and made the trade."

No conditions?

"Well, one. Tanaka does have to undergo decontamination protocols. But we have those in place because of Nashvillle and Louisville anyway, so…"

At that point, his computer started beeping and I disconnected the call. While this trade may have been a minor matter for the teams on the field, it likely could have a major impact on future league relations between Jordan and the BBA Governing board. Though it's still possible there will be fallout, given how striking and how public Jordan's objections were to the Westmoreland sale.

[RonCo]

Thomas gives me a viable injury backup because he can at least catch. None of our minor league guys could pull any part of the job. So I needed someone down there for a season or three.

[Trebro]

Thomas gives me a viable injury backup because he can at least catch. None of our minor league guys could pull any part of the job. So I needed someone down there for a season or three.

Filler/backup are always important. I'm always tweaking my minors to help bring folks like Thomas in.