Charm City 2062.12 - Wheelin' and Dealin'

[DaveB]

Big Splash:

The Jimmies recently acquired SS: Lucio Guevara along with relief pitcher Joe Shaw in exchange for a haul for the Rocky Mountain Oysters of Dean Howard, Jesus Llado, Alan Hedges, Jerry Raymond, Ricardo Gomez, and Eduardo Gonzalez.

I wasn't expecting to make a big trade, let alone a trade of this magnitude at the deadline. I had been seeking a 3B as I haven't been happy with the performance of Izz al Din bin Riyad. Riyad had actually lost his starting job at 3B to James Darvell before this trade had happened. We weren't successful adding a 3B. We kicked the tires on a few of the players who were being shopped, but couldn't come to terms with some of the asking prices for their return. Then I saw Guevara come on the market. At first the Oysters were seeking a return of Hedges, Llado, Raymond, and Arturo Perez. Not going to lie I thought about pulling the trigger on this offer. I almost did, but decided that I didn't want to part with both Hedges and Perez in the same deal. We discussed adding Max Shepperson to the deal as well, but couldn't come to terms. The deal was basically dead in the water on the Friday prior to the trade deadline. I woke up on Saturday and while the Mrs was still sleeping I decided to look at into things. We finally came to an agreement on the deal above and hopefully everyone involved was happy withe the deal. We're going to use Guevara as our shortstop moving forward. The thought of adding a top 5 starting shortstop was something I couldn't turn down. Shaw gives us some extra depth in the bullpen for the stretch drive. Ayyad Faisal is going to slide over to 3B vs RHP and will share time at the hot corner with Darvell.

I'm disappointed in the talent going to Rocky Mountain as each of the players who left were guys I was excited for in different ways. Hedges I think has the bat to be a top 20 hitter in the league. Howard was formerly a 2nd round pick for us. Llado is in my eyes a player who will be a super utility player, Raymond has back end of the bullpen stuff. Gomez I think will make a solid starter and could play in the majors right now. Gonzalez looks like he can be a starting catcher in the future. The interesting thing about the talent going to the Oysters is that it wouldn't be a surprise to see each of the players involved on the active roster at some point in 2063.

We Weren't Done:

Alphonse Lease was traded to Des Moines in exchange for minor league pitcher Felipe Reséndez. We had to make this trade to make room on our 40 man roster. Lease I liked, but I didn't think he was a fit for our team. I was hoping to see him take a step forward in the development lab this year, but he wasn't able to. Reséndez needs a lot of work, but I like his ability to keep the ball in the park. He was also trending up when prior to acquiring him from the Kernals.

[ae37jr]

I was bummed to find out it was between Hedges and Arturo Perez. It is possible in an alternate universe that by keeping Hedges, Faisal would have been more expendable. And If Perez ended up in RMO, I would have went after him instead of Shepperson. Not saying either deal would have happened, but it's a fun little alternate reality for me to think about.

[DaveB]

I was bummed to find out it was between Hedges and Arturo Perez. It is possible in an alternate universe that by keeping Hedges, Faisal would have been more expendable. And If Perez ended up in RMO, I would have went after him instead of Shepperson. Not saying either deal would have happened, but it's a fun little alternate reality for me to think about.

I actually like Perez a bit more than Hedges. I was concerned that Hedges might be a 1b candidate. Players who have comparable ratings on the infield struggled defensively. Perez is able to play 1b and is serviceable (I hope) on the outfield corners. Hedges injury status also concerned me. That said if the deal didn’t work out Hedges probably would be our starting 3b next year at some point. He’s got a lot of talent offensively.

[Trebro]

Lease and hoping seem to go hand in hand.