2038.01 - First Trade Complete

[mikeb41]

The Hawaii Tropics have completed their first BBA exchange sending pitcher Juan Trujillo and second baseman Fernando Martinez to Edmonton in exchange for minor leaguers Jack Nichols and Hugh Powell.

The deal sheds roughly $4 million from Hawaii's payroll, but the real reason for this move was the need to building a deep minor league farm system rather than one that relies on a few players to reach their potential.

New team President, Mike Branda was asked several questions about the motivation for the deal, but also what fans can hope to see out of his two new prospects.

"When Willie and I got here we made it clear to our coaches, we want a plethora of talent within our system. We recognize that prospects are boom or bust, so we need to be in a position to handle the busts by having as much talent as possible."

With regard to Nichols and Powell:

"Nichols to me is a kid who, might not have the power bat some fans would love to see but he works as hard as almost anybody you're going to see, he is an extremely tough out, and he's got great range. I think if he makes it to the bigs - he's gonna be a clubhouse guy that teammates love to be around. Powell is a guy who if he puts it all together, he can be an effective big league infielder. Defensively, he probably needs some work but I think he has a big league bat - and so adding depth to our farm was the mindset here."

Trujillo and Martinez are the first big leaguers to be sent away by Branda and Hudson since taking over the team. When asked what the motivation was, Branda tried to be as open as possible.

"Look, FMart's contract was up after this year. Was it worth the gamble for us that we might get a comp pick for him? No. He wanted roughly $8 million, which isn't that bad of a deal but it just wasn't where we wanted to be with our finances. I'm not going to come here and hand out big contracts for the past - I'm focused on the future here. With Trujillo it's as simple as, I just simply do not trust that our owner will get his return on investment. Trujillo is a solid arm when he is on the field, but last year he suffered SIX minor injuries to his back or his arm. For me, that's a ticking timebomb. Some teams probably feel he is worth the gamble - Edmonton clearly did. Others reached out on Trujillo also. My style is, I'd rather have a slightly less talented guy who can stay on the field for an entire season - then have a high quality roster sitting on the trainer's table. If he's healthy for Edmonton, he'll have a fantastic year."

The team is still deep in talks with several teams regarding Charlie Iron-Knife who has been on the block for a few weeks now. When asked for a status update, Branda tried to keep things as vague as possible.

"I can tell you, last night there were two teams pretty involved and then another came knocking. We are trying to be fair to all parties involved, but also recognize that we do not have to give up on Charlie. That kid if given the chance could strikeout 200 batters next year. We're talking internally about an off-season deadline of Tuesday to either move on from trade talks, or pull the trigger."


Sources:
Jack Nichols: https://statsplus.net/brewster/player/24057#dash
Hugh Powell: https://statsplus.net/brewster/player/26736#dash
Juan Trujillo: https://statsplus.net/brewster/player/37793#dash
Fernando Martinez: https://statsplus.net/brewster/player/25153#dash