To Edmonton: RP Alexandre Renard
To Phoenix: 1B Takeichi Ohayashi
The previous 90 something innings in Phoenix Renard was atrocious with an ERA at almost 7. With all the injuries Edmonton had to the bullpen, I was constantly looking for cheap bullpen options that I could plug the holes with. My pitching was performing well enough in the beginning of the season, but I didn't really expect that to continue, so when I saw Renard available on waivers with 8/8/6 ratings I wanted to jump the waivers and see if I could help Sean out with helping him part ways with Renard and get him something back in return. I don't blame him for just wanting to get rid of Renard. An ERA of nearly 7 that overlapped the next season is fucking atrocious. Ohayashi wasn't much to give up, but I was trying to carve him out a role in the majors for awhile, but once I acquired Mons Raider for first base, Ohayashi became my call up in case Mons was injured for some significant time. When Mons didn't get hurt for very long, Ohayashi just ended up blocking players from playing time in AAA. Then, I called Donadoni up and I figured Ohayashi would never get playing time again.
Renard has been amazing in Edmonton too. 45.2 innings with a 2.17 ERA only allowing 27 hits and striking out 42. His FIP has been 4.15 too, so he's definitely benefiting from the excellent defense we have in the infield. His extreme groundball make up seems to help create more advantageous situations for him. Big fan of him. Not sure I will be able to keep him for future seasons, but I'm happy with the acquisition right now.
To Edmonton: RP Juan Guerrero
To California: 2B Jose Reta
For the same reason as Renard, I wanted to pick up Guerrero when I saw him on waivers. I didn't really expect much out of him. He's a 7/4/8 pitcher, so meh. I just wanted another body and I don't like many of my AAA options. He had an ERA of nearly 6 this season for California, so it makes sense why Doug would want this guy to fuck off when he's paying him 3.6 mil this season. I shrugged my shoulders at his stats and reached out to Doug. I like Reta. He's durable. Younger than I'd like to deal for a reliever that I didn't love, but I went along with it because my farm system is a nightmare already, so whatever. I hope he sucks for you Doug
.Guerrero has done well with limited time on the mound. 5-0 record with a 3.51 ERA in 25.2 innings in Edmonton. He's allowed 24 hits and struck out 22 batters. His FIP is 4.77, so like Renard, he's benefiting from that A rated defense even as a neutral makeup pitcher.
To Edmonton: C Rainer Scheffer, 2B Mahine Karetu and SP Vicente Lopez
To Montreal: 1B Mons Raider, C Eric Fabre, SP Raul Moreno, SP Vespasiano Tomi and CF Jerry Bell
This deal shook things up for Edmonton this season almost as much as last season's deal with Charlotte for Amos Swallows. I've been looking for a young catcher for a long time. I would try to select one in the draft, but they would disappear off the board with an earlier pick. I knew I'd need to try to procure one through a trade eventually. Over the past several seasons, I've been extremely close to bringing one in probably twice. I really like Scheffer, but I understand why someone wouldn't. Constantly injured, so you need to invest in a really good backup. With the injury to Fabre, I was starting Katzenbogen to see what the best rated defensive catcher in the history of the BBA would look like as an every day started. Truth is, my offense could handle it and he was throwing out runners at a 40+% rate. Amazing. Teams just weren't challenging him though. Not sure if GMs set this knowingly or if the game is smart enough to adjust it, but there is a clear difference. We have the 5th lowest number of SB attempts against us in the JL. Scheffer brings an offense force behind the plate that should help maximize our runs scored. Katz was just terrible at the plate, but Scheffer comes at a cost of SB attempts. He's currently under 20% for runners thrown out which is why Katz is coming in as a defensive replacement late in the game and I will still sprinkle starts in there. If GMs are changing the SB sliders for Edmonton than they'll need to decide how to balance whether it's worth testing Scheffer against their fear of testing Katz. At least that's my theory behind having both.
Karetu and Lopez are the second half of this deal. Karetu protects me in case I can't keep Collins long term. Assuming he progresses further of course, but at 6/6/4/3/6 actuals with 8/7/8/3/6 potentials, he seems to be in a pretty good position. Lopez was acquired only because I wanted to try and keep him around after his injury, but that hasn't materialized yet.
As I thought, Raider is popping off in Montreal with the scene change, but in tragic fashion, Fabre's first injury in his professional year, has seen two setbacks after originally suffering a broken elbow that would put him out for four months and a predicted return in late August. The 2038 Landis MVP against Las Vegas now looks like he'll take another month to recover and it's estimated he'll make his debut in Montreal in the playoffs or perhaps in one of the final few games in the season.
To Edmonton: CF Rocky Allen and RP Peter Grady
To Jacksonville: RP Alfonso Guzman and OF Julio Uribe
So I've liked Allen for a long time. I've just always wanted an outfielder with plus range. When the opportunity became available I jumped on it. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep Allen on the team, but I'm hoping he'll be able to produce long enough to keep him for a long time. I also just wanted to maximize my defensive proficiency by moving Wilson Villanuela to a corner instead of centerfield. Grady is awesome and I loved the idea of potentially teaming him up next year with Jorge Huerta, Luis Ortega, Ryosei Akiyama, etc. I just think that's a very nice sounding bullpen. We'll see if any of them can stay healthy, but I'm excited to have them. Guzman was the most difficult loss here. I really liked the high stamina reliever who had already seen some success in Edmonton. Uribe was not easy to deal, but the fact was that I didn't want to put him out in the field because his defense isn't the best and finding him a spot was challenging anyways because I thought Myeung-hwan Kim is better and he's already in my 4th/5th outfielder slot along with Jose Salas.
