Chasing The Storm 2042-5: Transaction Report

[njherdfan]

It's an annual rite of spring. When bad teams start to realize that they're not going to be in contention for the playoffs, they look to pivot to the future and trade off some of their veteran players in the hope of getting some prospects that will both help the team in the future, and, perhaps more importantly, who they can advertise to their fans as the next key pieces of a future team. This year's Seattle Storm were no exception, as they made two trades swapping veterans for younger players. Let's take a look at those trades, and see what Seattle brought back.

In their first trade, with California, Seattle sent Jose Cortes south down the I-5. Since the trade, Cortes has apparently not taken to the Golden State, as he only has a .583 OPS, which is far short of what the Crusaders were hoping for when they acquired him. In return, Seattle acquired Aurelio Castillo and Francisco Concepcion. Both players are pitchers which, considering how bad Seattle's pitching staff has been this year, makes some sense. Castillo is pushing the limits of "prospect" since he's already 25, but he throws three good pitches and he can throw hard. He has been hit hard in the past, but Seattle will likely give him a shot to earn a spot in the big leagues next year. Concepcion is more of a dart throw, and he only has 2 pitches so he's likely headed to the bullpen, but he throws hard and reportedly throws both of those pitches well, so there's hope that he could have a place in Seattle's bullpen in a few years.

In their second trade, with Yellow Springs, Seattle sent Sean Maguire and acquired Bartolo Olvera. Maguire actually appears to be acclimating nicely to Yellow Springs, and has an .853 OPS in his time there. Olvera only made one start for AA Juneau, but Seattle's coaching staff is very excited to have him; it's not yet clear if he will be able to stick in the rotation or will need or move to the pen, but either way, he figures to be in the big leagues sooner rather than later.

While Seattle's trades were not earth-shattering, they hopefully laid the groundwork for at least one future member of Seattle's next good team.

[RonCo]

I think Olvera will be pretty useful, and yes, MaGuire has been a nice rental. Solid deal all around, I hope.