The Sunny Side 2018.3: Teague Pulls a Big Trigger

[cheekimonk]

The Sunny Side
11 April, 2018
Marquette, MI
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The Marquette Suns announced today the following trade:

To Montreal
22yo CF Leon Sandcastle (10/7/8/7/6 Talents, .339/.408/.514, 22 HR, 103 RBI)

To Marquette
20yo SP Kevin Lee (8/8/8 Talents)
19yo LF Sergio Ramos (7/6/9/4/4 Talents)
20yo SP Hermenegildo Padez (8/7/6 Talents)

GM Ben Teague continues his rebuilding effort by trading away only the #1 player in baseball. How? Why? Here is this reporter's attempt at arguing both sides of the issue.

Do NOT trade the #1 player in baseball. Um, he's the #1 player in baseball. He is young and under team control for many seasons to come. Even if the team is in rebuilding mode, which the Suns are, Sandcastle is the kind of "tent pole" player that can be built around using pieces acquired via trades, draft, or FA.

Do trade the #1 player in baseball. In 2017, Sandcastle delivered an OPS of .902, VORP of +41.5, and WAR of +4.7. Still, Marquette was 9th in the FL in runs scored (685) and 7th in runs allowed (713). Point? No player can outscore opposing teams by himself. Pitching, in particular, was a black hole for the team, and front-line pitchers do not hit the FA market until they are too old and too expensive. As for the draft, for the Suns it had produced the likes of Julián Martínez (8/6/7 Talents) (2016), Natsume Tsuchiya (8/7/6 Talents) (2017), and Andrés Alfonso (6/6/7 Talents) (2018) - even with Marquette sitting high in the draft order. Finally, the Suns simply had no pieces to market and, as has been mentioned, the worst minor league system in the MBWBA. IF there were ever a case for trading the #1 player in baseball, this was it.

As for whether the franchise got enough in return for Sandcastle, this reporter can only say, "Maybe." Lee is, barring injury, 100% certain to be a #1 starter. Is he certain to be one of the best pitchers in baseball, as Sandcastle was the best position player? No. But that can never, in any case, be said about any prospect. He has the tools, that's all that can be said. Padez is a)lefty, and b)projected to be a #2-#3 arm. Combined with Lee and the aforementioned Martinez and Tsuchiya, possibly along with 22yo Jose Cordova (7/7/6 Talents) , the Suns now have the core of an actual #1-#5 rotation on the way. With the core, using the FA market to supplement as needed becomes more feasible. Ramos is a lefty power-hitter and slots into a system badly lacking in future OF talent.

[trmmilwwi]

Bold move no doubt. I like it!!