WHIV 2059.14- Ok...My Solution Was To Do Many Things

[recte44]

In our last WHIV we lamented about the defense and how the current roster construction was problematic but Hustlers management seemed to have the philosophy that by doing nothing, they did something.

We're here to report that doing nothing isn't something Hustlers GM Matt Rectenwald is extremely good at doing. In the last couple of weeks he did things. Many things, in fact.

Monday, May 26th , 2059
1) Traded 25-year old minor league RHP Javier Parra and 22-year old minor league 3B Fadeuka Hadonov to the Vancouver Mounties, getting 31-year old LHP Reese Newsome in return.
Let's just be nice and say this trade was probably doomed from the start. "I got this idea in my head that specific abilities were making an impact more this year and so I started looking for guys who fit the bill," explained Rectenwald. "Newsome has always been a non-starter because of his movement. We decided that it was worth looking past that because of his other attributes. So, it hasn't worked out at all and now he's in the bullpen. My bad."

2) RP Carlton Casson was designated for assignment and placed on waivers.
"This one pained me," said Rectenwald, who has been open about his long-time obsession with the two-way Casson. "So he aged considerably in the offseason and he wasn't impacting the club much. It was time to move on, sadly." Casson was claimed by Long Beach.

3) RP Kyle McKinlay was designated for assignment and placed on waivers.
McKinlay had been so good the previous two seasons for Las Vegas, but this year was an abject nightmare. "We avoided this move as long as we could, but it was clear Kyle wasn't helping us win games at this point," said Rectenwald. Somehow, he cleared waivers and is now with Milwaukee (AAA).

Tuesday, May 27th , 2059
RP Perry Wallace was claimed off waivers from San Fernando.
With Casson off the roster, the Hustlers pen needed a lefty. "We took a flier on a live arm," explained Rectenwald. "It's worth a shot."

Monday, June 2nd , 2059
1) Purchased the contract of 3B Jon Bevan from Triple A Milwaukee.
Bevan, 24 years old, has been a defensive replacement and sometimes third baseman vs. lefties since coming up. "He hasn't played a lot, but in the time he's been out there he's been impressive," said Rectenwald.

2) Made a big switch in the infield: Randy Wright to shortstop, Stewart Turton to second base.
Wright has been steadily gaining steam as a defensive player, and also finally hitting really well. Turton is in the latter stages of his career, and who knows what'll happen when Helmut Grun comes back in a week or less.

Monday, June 9th , 2059
1) Traded 24-year old LF Chris Hall, 18-year old SS Máximo Gousto, and 22-year old LHP Dylan Harmon to the San Fernando Bears, getting 32-year old RHP Arnold Cantrell (retaining 50%), 22-year old CF Kamatari Kino, and 23-year old RF [urlhttps://statspl.us/brewster/reports/news/html/players/player_71072.html]Roberto Delgado[/url] in return.
Wow. The Hustlers had been trying to move Hall for some time and were finally able to make the move they wanted to make, bringing in a top flight starting pitcher and gaining two young outfield pieces. The cost was huge. Besides Hall, Gousto was a highly regarded prospect who the Hustlers really didn't want to lose. Harmon could be a BBA pitcher. The motivation for the deal? To get Tom Rudge out of right field and in as the designated hitter. "Tom's fourty years old," Rectenwald said. "He won a Zimmer Award in right field last year, but Father Time caught up to him really quickly. We had to fix the defense. This helps us get closer to that goal."

2) Purchased the contract of LF Jin-soo Chong from Triple A Milwaukee.
Blast from the Past! Chong gets first shot at some outfield time. He'd been hitting well and fielding great in Milwaukee, and now gets a chance to return to the BBA for the first time since 2056 (with Atlantic City).

3) Moved Stepan Shabrov from left field to right field.
It's still not ideal, but at this point (sounds weird to say) Shabrov is a better right fielder than Tom Rudge by a mile. Also, he's been hitting the snot out of the ball all season long.