Edmonton, August 168, 2048 -- Jackrabbits GM Mike Dunn today pulled off what has to be the most egregious vanity-driven trade in the history of the Brewster: dealing away veteran catcher Rainer Scheffer to the Charlotte Cougars, apparently so he could hand the starting catcher job to his namesake, 28-year old Michael Dunn.
Dunn denied that he done the deal to help Dunn. "The simple fact was that this team is out of contention, and we were not going to be able to come to terms with Rainer on an extension. So we made this trade to get some value in return, rather than see him walk in the off-season. To claim that I, Mike Dunn, would trade a fan favorite simply to have another Mike Dunn in the starting lineup is utter bullcrap."
GM Mike Dunn, catcher Michael Dunn, and farmhand CF Mike Dunn
Dunn (the catcher) was claimed off waivers back in April from El Paso. We admit he has, uh, done well -- hitting .283 in 108 plate appearances over 25 games, with an OPS+ of 120 and a WAR of 1.0. Decent production for a backup catcher.
Still, theories abound that this is more about Dunn's vanity than fielding talent is fueled by this simple fact: Mike Dunn the GM also has another Mike Dunn in the organization, center fielder Mike Dunn, drafted by GM Dunn in the fourth round of the 2048 amateur draft.
From this vantage point, we have no idea when Dunn will be done with his Dunn shenanigans, but at some point he'd better focus on actually winning, or his tenure as the Edmonton will quickly be d--, uh, over.