Tater Talk (2047.02): Peeling and Dealing

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Tater Talk (2047.02): Peeling and Dealing

Post by woods » Sat Jun 05, 2021 10:05 am

Image BOISE - Sometimes an organization becomes stagnant, and it can benefit from the perspective of a new GM. One arguable benefit is the lack of attachment to players. Anyone who may have been overvalued by the previous GM, either because they personally drafted the player, or for another sentimental reason, is now treated objectively. This lets an organization cut ties more easily with a player who won’t be part of its future plans, maximizing return and avoiding sunk costs. Baseball is a business, after all.

Since Spuds GM Woody Donahue took over the position, he has shaken the organization with two big trades, each sending away a highly-touted prospect in exchange for major-league bullpen help.

First, pitching prospect Kwan-cheol Yi was dealt to the Omaha Cyclones in exchange for reliever Ramón Martínez and minor leaguer Juan Garza. Yi originally came to the organization as a 16-year-old with a lot of potential. Now he’s 21 with a changeup like a wet noodle. There was still a chance the pitch would have come along for him, but Boise decided they weren’t going to wait around for it.

The Spuds are very happy to welcome Martínez, who is already well known for his October heroics, with a career 0.38 ERA in the postseason, including 12.2 scoreless innings pitched last year as Omaha’s closer. The Spuds hope that if they can make it to the playoffs, his experience in big games will be an advantage. For now, he’ll slot into Boise’s bullpen as a specialist, where he’ll be a crucial weapon against some of the tough lefty hitters in the Frontier, like Larry Stinson and Tim Battle.

Then just yesterday, the Spuds announced the trade of José López to Charlotte in exchange for José Ordóñez and minor leaguer Thurman Witt. López was a highly-touted reliever in Triple-A, expected to be getting a few final reps before being called up to Boise to make his major league debut. Instead, he’ll make his debut much closer to his hometown of Pinebluff, NC, as a member of the Cougars. There is little doubt that he’ll be a successful big leaguer, but Boise was not confident that he would be a meaningful contributor this season, instead opting for one guaranteed year of a proven major-league closer.

The other thing Boise did by making these two moves is put the league on notice that they plan on contending. They shored up the bullpen, which was the weak point of the team, with an established closer and a lefty specialist. The Frontier division may be wide open this season, and Boise may be trying to capitalize on the opportunity. Indeed, they made the Ordóñez trade right before a big homestand with four games each against Calgary and Las Vegas, current division co-leaders. Despite it being only April, Boise is looking to take a stand now against its division rivals.

But more importantly, they want to get out of this never-ending cycle of .500 seasons. Team cornerstones Félix Román and Dennis French are in their primes, so the Spuds would like to put a winning team on the field before this window passes them by. And that won’t happen by doing nothing.

Maybe they were just two pieces away, and these were the deals that will put them over the top. But it’s also possible that more changes are coming. And if there are, Spuds fans should get excited.
Woody Donahue
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