Sticking Points 2045.7: Rockville Acquires Chris Kelly from Las Vegas

[aaronweiner]

In a swap of star-crossed players, the Rockville Pikemen traded disappointing first baseman Willis Roberts and a minor leaguer to the Las Vegas Hustlers for starter Chris Kelly, a struggling former #1 starter. The Pikemen were reportedly in the market for a starter after releasing long-time team member Dave Martin last week, and they struck quickly.

"Chris is exactly the player we wanted," said GM Aaron Weiner. "We've wanted him for a long time, he's valuable to us on a lot of levels, and we're thrilled that he's a member of the Rockville organization."

Kelly has a number of very successful seasons in the BBA, winning double digit games in nearly every one of his seasons that wasn't shortened or missed by injury. He has a 136-105 career record, a 4.03 career ERA, and has been one of the better strikeout pitchers in the BBA over the last thirteen years. Kelly won a championship with Jacksonville in 2039, and was widely believed to be their best pitcher in the playoffs that season.

"It's disappointing that it didn't work out in Las Vegas, but I'm obviously thrilled to be acquired by a contender like Rockville," said Kelly. "I think my postseason experience and my professional demeanor will fit right into the Rockville organization and I look forward to helping them maintain their outstanding track record."

The oft-injured righty has stayed healthy for Las Vegas this season, and has continued to strike out batters at a solid rate. However, Kelly has been very erratic this season, with just a 3-5, 5.38 mark so far. He also has allowed 21 homers in 77 innings, an ghastly average of 2.5 homers per nine innings, continuing a disturbing trend from the last two seasons.

"Obviously, we think some of that is the Las Vegas ballpark," said Weiner. "We have one of the harder parks to hit a home run in the BBA, and we're hoping that Chris can just throw strikes and not worry about throwing the occasional gopher ball in our park, and we think he'll be great for us."

In dealing Willis Roberts, the Pikemen have given up on a multi-season effort to try to make Roberts into a starting first baseman. Drafted in the third round in 2037, Roberts has put up absolutely ghastly numbers in 2045 and was in danger of being waived.

"Rockville did everything they could, but I didn't do my part," said Roberts. "I hope I can do better in Las Vegas, and they have that short porch in right field. It will be great to just go play baseball again and not have to worry as much about how my play is affecting the team."

Rockville also traded recent draft pick Alonso Hernandez, a bit of a find in the third round of this year's draft. With a little development, Hernandez had a chance to join the Rockville bullpen soon. However, Rockville has one of the top bullpens in the league and a number of solid bullpen prospects, so Hernandez might have been stuck behind them.

"We love Alonso, and we hope trading him to Vegas will clear the way for him a little," said Weiner. "We wish him a lot of luck."

The Kelly trade makes a lot of sense for Rockville, especially since his contract is a bit unique; the righty was given a make-good deal by Vegas after the winter meetings with two team options for 2046 and 2047. Rockville can afford his team option for 2046 if Kelly pitches well for them, and may be able to structure contracts such that he could return for 2047, should he restore his top starter status. If he fails in Rockville? A meager $1.9 million dollar buyout will let both teams move on with very little drama.

"I'm going to do whatever I can to get myself straight," said Kelly. "This is a really big opportunity for me and I want to make sure I do my best in helping the team. I'm going to give it my all, and it's exciting that I could be here for three years, especially since it's just a short flight from here to my hometown in Brackenridge, PA. I hope I can help this team succeed."

The Pikemen are currently 51-37, a game or two ahead of several teams in the JL Atlantic.