It’s become the Boise Spuds’ yearly tradition to trade away the team leader in WAR at the trade deadline. Last year, it was Luis Rojas. This year, the Spuds traded a franchise icon in Steven Collins III, sending him to Mexico City in exchange for three players.Collins was easily the Spuds’ best all-around player, and has been a key part of the team for three seasons. But he has an opt-out in his contract after this year which he’ll almost certainly take, a byproduct of the Spuds getting him for below market value three years ago, when he was coming off a relatively down year.
From an objective viewpoint, it’s better for Boise that they get something for him now, rather than lose him for nothing, other than maybe a draft pick.
But the fans don’t tend to view these things all that objectively. And they’re airing their grievances, with many taking to social media to boycott games, or to complain about how management is handling the team.
“Trading away our best player every year is not ‘rebuilding,’” one user posted to Twitter. “It’s just tanking.”
“SC3 and Román in the same lineup?” another user posted. “Brb, moving to Mexico City. At least they care about winning there.”
There is at least some comfort in the fact that the Spuds now have the #23-ranked prospect in the BBA, pitcher António Santiago, who was the main return in the deal for Boise. Santiago is 20 years old, and just wrapped up an excellent Rookie ball campaign where he posted a 2.94 ERA in 14 starts. Along with José Rivera and Ommar bin Ayyub, he gives Boise three pitchers ranked in the top 30 prospects, a group which Boise expects to form the core of the team’s future.
But the Spuds probably have one or two more years of losing in store before the bright future arrives.
For now, the Spuds will use Collins’ vacated role at the major-league level to take a closer look at several infielders who might also factor into the future plans: Qutuz Mahdi will shift over to be the primary third baseman, which means Brian Browning and Stepan Shabrov should see increases in playing time. Isat Kasturirangan, another player acquired from Mexico City, will also fill in around the infield as needed.
And the Spuds aren’t ruling out a reunion with SC3, either. When he (presumably) hits free agency this winter, Boise GM Woody Donahue made it clear that they’ll be a suitor.
“We’ll definitely be first in line for Scooter’s services,” he said in a press conference. “We know what he can do for us, and what he means to the city of Boise, so we’ll be calling. Until then, we wish him success as he goes to Mexico to chase that championship.”
