The Expansion of the Expansion Begins; 2029, V6

[Bumstead]

The Twin City River Monsters traded off one of their best players today in a massive move that sent shock-waves through the BBA. Jean-Luc Lecaze was shipped off to Huntsville for what many experts are calling a bag of magic beans.

One unnamed General Manager, from Canada, had this to say about the deal: "This seems like a rather risky gamble on a bunch of warty prospects."

After hearing that comment, General Manager Jeff Palin had this to say: "Well, first off, sometimes General Managers that miss the passing boat would rather convince themselves that a mistake was made rather than really looking at the deal for what it is. These warts are the beginning of the future of the Twin Cities franchise. That being said, he's also Canadian, so there's that. Hey, everyone has an opinion. What he should be doing is looking for other players that I have that he likes so that he can trade me some similar "warty" players that I can use to win with in a few years. I imagine, though, that if he has gotten lucky enough to come across some players as warty as these guys, he won't be too anxious to trade them away."

And the bag of magic beans?

Jesse Stewart - 23 year old SP that spent last season in AAA (7/6/7 - 8/7/7). His development hinges on his ability to get his changeup more consitent, so that it becomes a quality 3rd pitch. He is likely to be in Twin Cities rotation to start the season.
Leon "Booay" Beaucage, I don't know who misspells a nickname, but that clearly should be Booya, right? Anyway, he's a 23 year old Corner OF'er that plays solid defense. He's mostly developed; it would be great if he could develop a bit more contact but he should turn into a solid platoon guy (despite no split) or a solid 4th OF down the line. Look for him to start the season in AAA.
Alejandro Alvarado - 16 year old starting pitching prospect (3/6/4-6/8/8) with a ton of promise and plenty of time to reach that promise. At 6'8" and 195 lbs, he should grow into that body and add some velocity which should improve his stuff. His changeup is a bit weak right now, but he has a few seasons to figure that out.
Jesse Howard - 20 year old former #1 overall pick in the 2026 draft. Starting Pitching prospect that may be the gem of this deal (or is that "head wart"). (5/5/4-8/8/8) He has 4 really good pitches and has been developing pretty steadily. Definitely one to watch.
Ramon Garza - 19 year old well developed pitching prospect. He looks like a solid reliever down the line. (7/6/4-8/6/7) Who doesn't need "warts" like that?

Huntsville is obviously ecstatic and Mr. Palin seems to be as happy as you will see him. This is one to watch down the line. Fans obviously are concerned that this will just be the beginning of the domino effect at the MLB level; and, I have to wonder if they may be right. This could be an even longer season than we anticipated.

[RonCo]

Lacaze is very good, he's also now in the best BBA ballpark he could be in. But I like the deal on both sides.

[Bumstead]

Lacaze is very good, he's also now in the best BBA ballpark he could be in. But I like the deal on both sides.

No doubt. He's easily a top 5/6 CF right now. For how I view my team, I was more concerned with his value 3-4 years from now when my team is relevant and how much I would have to invest into keeping Lacaze vs trading him when his value may be the highest it will ever be.

[RonCo]

Lacaze's splits may keep him from being a true superstar. If so, the deal probably goes Twin Cities way.

These things are easier to assess if you know the future. :)

[felipe]

its not a bad deal...two starters? I'd take that

[7teen]

I'm not extremely high on Lacaze. I think Twin Cities made out very well on the trade.