Going to Jacksonville is pitcher Arthur Rogalski and pitcher Jose Rodriguez. Rogalski was the clubs 2nd round pick in the most recent amateur player draft, while Rodriguez was selected in the fourth round of that same draft.
As mentioned, heading to Omaha was catcher Ramiro Cheron. Cheron is a 21-year-old catcher, who made his debut in September appearing in 14 games and batting a mere .170/.235/.383 for a 53 OPS+. Small sample size however as Cheron actually moved through both AA and AAA in 2042 where he managed a 136 OPS+ in AA and a 110 OPS+ in AAA. Cheron appears ready to go and it’s a question whether he begins on the BBA roster or the AAA roster in April.
One person on the Cyclones who wasn’t happy about the trade and didn’t mince words was the clubs current catcher Conner Hamilton.
While just 25 years old, Hamilton had the worst season of his professional career in 2042 accumulating a negative 0.3 WAR and batting just .200/.237/.415 with 28 of his just 91 hits during the season being long balls. Despite Hamilton’s +1.3 ZR and 1.124 EFF rating behind the plate, he had 14 errors. He did throw out 26% of his runners, as his cannon arm is likely one of the main reasons he stayed behind the plate last season.“You have one bad season and the club brings in a guy to replace you? That sounds pretty ridiculous and is not what I thought this club was about when all I have heard about is loyalty loyalty loyalty.” Said Hamilton.
The club has control of Hamilton through the end of the 2045 season. No word on if the club plans a competition, if Hamilton is still the clubs starting catcher, or if Hamilton is likely headed out of Omaha.
