Let me tell you somethin brother, those Jimmies were wheelin' and dealin' at the deadline
The last couple days were the busiest I've been at the trade deadline since coming into the BBA. We made 4 trades over the last 2-3 days. Going to take a look at each with my thoughts behind the trades.
Trade 1: Suia Hooheno to Valencia
Siua Hooheno is a player I've liked for quite some time. When he was first starting to find his footing in the BBA my initial thoughts were that he could be our closer of the future. He was a very solid reliever for us for parts of 6 seasons. The last two seasons we've seen him slip a bit posting an ERA+ of 143 and 98 for us compared to his career mark of 151. I'm not going to lie the thought process behind moving him was that I feel that relievers are quite easy to find and replace. Our current bullpen has 4 players who were acquired via a trade while they were on waivers, waivers, or minor league free agency.
Coming back are LF Jesús Molina and CF Jesse Sanders. With Molina I think he has the potential to be a real plus player with the bat and should be able to hold his own defensively in the outfield if he develops. Jesse Sanders was a guy I looked for as a lotto ticket. I'm expecting to see him roam all over the field for us. Right now his upside is probably an upper level minor league utility player, but he might be able to make it to the majors as a 27th type player who can slide in at any position on the field at some point down the road.
Trade 2: Tak-keung Liao to Vancouver
Once upon a time in a land far far away when I was the GM of the Mumbai Metro Stars P Tak-keung Liao was one of the starting pitchers we had with the ball club. When I was funneling through the free agents I noticed him and offered a minor league deal which he accepted. Interestingly enough Liao was promoted to take over Hooheno's role in the bullpen. I trade him because he's a free agent at the end of the year and I felt like if I can get something for Liao it'll give me a chance to look at some other players in AAA who might be able to help us in 2059.
LF Roberto Mireles was the prospect coming back in the trade. Mireles is 21 and needs work to get to the BBA. I'm hoping we'll get lucky and see some improvements with his bat in the future. He's a player who profiles as a corner outfielder so the offense will definitely need to come.
Trade 3: Mike Cox and Kazuma Yoshida to Las Vegas
Let me start by saying I went into the trade deadline not expecting to be busy. I was absolutely not expecting to trade CF Mike 'Tired' Cox. Cox has been our starting center fielder the past 3 seasons. He's been a very solid and steady hitter since taking over as the full time center fielder in 2056. We decided to part with him because of his pending free agency after next season. He's projected to earn about 5 million in arbitration next year and if memory serves me well he's asking about 7 million for an extension. The reason for the trade was I didn't feel it was financially smart to tie up 7 million for a 2-3 WAR player.
P Kazuma Yoshida finally got a cup of coffee in the BBA this year posting a respectful 2.53 ERA in 10.2 innings of work. We signed him back in 2052 to a minor league deal. He's a player I would've liked to have kept around because I liked the depth he provided, but you have to give to get.
Coming back from Las Vegas is CF Keith Jahnke. Jahnke is going to be our starting centerfielder moving forward. He can't defend the position well currently, but we're going to have him play exclusively in center to try to learn the position. I think Jahnke will be a solid bat and an offensive upgrade to Cox while at the plate. I'm excited about this deal.
Trade 4: Ty Vannatta to Yellow Springs
There aren't many players who have confused me more than Ty Vannatta (although if history serves well that's going to be changed soon). Vannatta was surprisingly one of the two players we traded at the deadline who were acquired for Bill Constable when I took over the team (Hooheno the other). Vannatta is a guy who I think should've been able to be a serviceable 4th or 5th starting pitcher for us, but the long ball deemed him unworthy of that role.
The enigma Antonio Baldez is coming back from Yellow Springs. Baldez is a player who I've been interested in for a few years now. I'm not really sure what I'm getting with Baldez to be honest. He has the ratings of a top of the rotation pitcher, but the results of a AAAA player. We're going to utilize him out of the long relief role for the rest of the season. I think I'm going to try him out in the starting rotation next year. He might get a start or two down the line if we're solidly in the playoffs. I feel if he can revert to his 2052-53 version of himself it'll be a solid move, but if he doesn't it's going to be a rough few seasons with his contract.
