2037.2: Dissecting the Deadline in Mexico City

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2037.2: Dissecting the Deadline in Mexico City

Post by Rubaboo » Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:20 am

The 2037 BBA trade deadline came and went with a whimper for much of the league; the BBA recently overhauled the way it grades big leaguers and prospects alike, causing many GMs to sit out the deadline whilst debating the merits of and adjusting to the new ratings systems. The Aztecs, woefully underperforming for much of the season, are surprisingly in the playoff hunt mostly due to a laughingly weak JL and needed to make a deal or two to shore up the lineup and push for a Wild Card spot. It came as no surprise that the Aztecs did some wheeling and dealing on deadline day, what was a surprise, however, were the deals they made. Rarely does a team that is on the playoff bubble move key pieces, even more rarely when that piece is 25 and half of the best defensive double play tandem in the league. Indeed, the Aztecs sending Brett Compton to Long Beach was a surprise to many but not to anyone either in Mexico City's front office nor to anyone in Compton's camp.

Compton's Agent, Jackson Hightower:
"Brett is a shortstop. He has played at second to help the team over the last season or two but we really felt that he needs to play at short to help accentuate how he can best help a team. The Aztecs stated during contract negotiations early in the season that they had the intention of keeping Brett at second base for the long term. That was not acceptable to us so we told GM Holmes and co. in recent weeks that we would be heading to free agency after the season. They told us that they were going to look at options to possibly move Brett at the deadline. The team was mostly out of the playoff picture at that point so we figured all the better for us."

Mexico City GM, Fred Holmes:
"We like Brett. It was never our intention to move him at the deadline. In fact, shut down negotiations with several teams and had every intention of extending him until his camp informed us of his intention to head to free agency after the season was over. That changed everything. We were betting that he'd be worth a Type A pick so we went into the deadline knowing that if we moved him it would have to be for an offer we liked, ideally with an ML replacement for Brett. Even so, the idea of trading a good quality ML bat with an elite glove up the middle caused some stress in the offices. We had several very heated meetings and they got more heated as the team started to pick up its play. In the end, we decided that we could afford to move him for the right offer. We knew that, as a worst case scenario, Jerome could and would play 2B if we needed him to and we liked Emilio Leon who'd been playing well in Los Cabos this season. The defense would suffer overall, but Emilio's bat isn't so dissimilar from Brett's that we thought we'd be hamstringing our playoff hopes by moving Brett."

In the end, one of the teams that had had original negotiations shut down re-emerged and ponied up to bring Compton to town as Stephen Lane of the Long Beach Surfers made the following deal with Mexico City's GM:

To Long Beach:
2B/SS Brett Compton

To Mexico City:
SS Harlan W. Moore
C Juan Velez
P Julio Machado

Harlan Moore is a glove wizard all over the IF and a perfectly acceptable glove first starter or an excellent utility guy. His current DL stint is just the latest in a long history of knocks picked up by the former Valencia standout. The idea was to have Moore replace Compton at 2B for the duration of the season. Moore holds an opt-out after 2037, with the team also having an option to either pick up or release Moore before 2038.

Velez is the real prize in this deal. A left handed hitting catcher with some pop who is good a framing pitches and calling a game, he satisfied Mexico City's desire to get something Type A worthy as a return for Compton and could be a catcher of the future for the Aztecs. He is raw but the team deemed him very worth the risk.

Machado is a bit of a tweener as far as pitchers go. He has the pitches but scouts project him to struggle throwing strikes and keeping the ball in the park. The club feels that a move to the bullpen at some point may help him develop into ML talent but is holding out hope that he can refine his motion and delivery to become a big league starter.

With the Compton deal consummated and confirmed, phone calls were made to all the players involved. In the background though, the Aztec GM was speaking quietly with Alan Ehlers of the Brooklyn Robins. Brooklyn had been in on Compton before the Long Beach deal was struck and the Robins had an interest in Harlan Moore. No one was sure what, exactly, would be happening, least of all Moore.

Moore on the deadline double deal:
"I got a call from Mexico City Assistant GM Lucas Green telling me that they had acquired me in a deal. We were talking logistics and whatnot when all of a sudden he asks me to hang on and puts me on hold. He comes back a minute later and tells me to sit tight, not to come to Mexico City. A little later, he calls back and tells me they flipped me to Brooklyn. I got traded twice in just a few hours."

Indeed, Moore's tenure with the Aztecs will probably end up as an answer to a bar trivia question at some point, as the Aztecs pulled the trigger on another deal:

To Brooklyn:
SS Harlan W. Moore (Mexico City pays 100% of Moore's remaining salary)
RP Aaron Campbell

To Mexico City:
RP Oginga Coujoe
OF Toby Peck
RP Abdi Murunga

Moore ricochets from Long Beach to Mexico City to Brooklyn, where he will be racing against the Aztecs for a Wild Card spot down the stretch.

Aaron Campbell signed with the Aztecs this offseason after spending the entire 2036 season on the DL after tearing his UCL the previous year. The signing represented a risk for the Aztecs, albeit a small one, but Campbell came back and pitched well enough to attract some attention at the deadline. He'll join a Brooklyn staff that will use him in some way that no one but the Brooklyn GM understands.

The Aztecs net two prospects in Peck and Murunga as well as some damaged goods in Coujoe as a return for Moore and Campbell.

Peck is a switch hitting corner outfielder whose offensive game is well developed for his age. The hope is that his ability to hit from both sides of the plate and hopefully refine his game as a ages will help him stand out amongst a crowded herd of similar-ish outfield talent in the Aztec system.

Murunga is a young 19 year old reliever and, again, is a bit ahead of the developmental curve for his age. He pitched well for Brooklyn's rookie league affiliate this season and with age should be able to harness his velocity to help his slider.

Coujoe is a quality ML reliever when healthy. He's a lefty with a good cutter and a devastating curveball and he's just 22but Brooklyn has not minced words about saying that this is the last year before a scorched-earth teardown of the ML roster, making the 22 year old who's on the DL for the remainder of 2037 expendable. Coujoe will look to establish himself in the Aztec pen in 2038 if he can return from a devastating shoulder injury.

At the end of the day, Mexico City jumped into a very tepid trade market and made what the organization felt are moves that help secure the future without sacrificing the present. Discounting Moore, who never actually set foot south of the border during all this, the Aztecs essentially sent out Compton and Campbell for 4 prospects and a young reliever with upside and risk which may end up being anything from a stroke of genius to just a straight stroke for Aztec GM Fred Holmes. Time, as it always does, will tell.
Fred Holmes
General Manager
Mexico City Aztecs - BBA

BBA Champs - 2052
JL Champs - 2027, 2052
JL MW Champs - 2022, 2023, 2024, 2027
JL Sun Belt Champs - 2035, 2036, 2038
JL Frontier Champs - 2051, 2052
JL Manager of the Year - 2023, 2024, 2026, 2052

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Re: 2037.2: Dissecting the Deadline in Mexico City

Post by bschr682 » Thu Feb 07, 2019 6:54 pm

Rubaboo wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:20 am

Mexico City GM, Fred Holmes:
"We like Brett.
#fakenews You insult me all the time...
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Re: 2037.2: Dissecting the Deadline in Mexico City

Post by Rubaboo » Thu Feb 07, 2019 7:36 pm

bschr682 wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 6:54 pm
Rubaboo wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:20 am

Mexico City GM, Fred Holmes:
"We like Brett.
#fakenews You insult me all the time...
The word 'we' at the start of that sentence would seem to suggest that someone more than just me likes you. Also #fakenews.
Fred Holmes
General Manager
Mexico City Aztecs - BBA

BBA Champs - 2052
JL Champs - 2027, 2052
JL MW Champs - 2022, 2023, 2024, 2027
JL Sun Belt Champs - 2035, 2036, 2038
JL Frontier Champs - 2051, 2052
JL Manager of the Year - 2023, 2024, 2026, 2052

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Re: 2037.2: Dissecting the Deadline in Mexico City

Post by bschr682 » Thu Feb 07, 2019 7:59 pm

Well I just assumed you meant "I" since you clearly don't have a solid grasp of the rules of the English language as evidenced here.
Rubaboo wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:20 am
The Aztecs, woefully underperforming for much of the season, are surprisingly in the playoff hunt mostly due to a laughingly weak JL and needed to make a deal or two to shore up the lineup and push for a Wild Card spot.
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Re: 2037.2: Dissecting the Deadline in Mexico City

Post by Rubaboo » Thu Feb 07, 2019 8:00 pm

bschr682 wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 7:59 pm
Well I just assumed you meant "I" since you clearly don't have a solid grasp of the rules of the English language as evidenced here.
Rubaboo wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:20 am
The Aztecs, woefully underperforming for much of the season, are surprisingly in the playoff hunt mostly due to a laughingly weak JL and needed to make a deal or two to shore up the lineup and push for a Wild Card spot.
This is why no one likes you.
Fred Holmes
General Manager
Mexico City Aztecs - BBA

BBA Champs - 2052
JL Champs - 2027, 2052
JL MW Champs - 2022, 2023, 2024, 2027
JL Sun Belt Champs - 2035, 2036, 2038
JL Frontier Champs - 2051, 2052
JL Manager of the Year - 2023, 2024, 2026, 2052

bschr682
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Re: 2037.2: Dissecting the Deadline in Mexico City

Post by bschr682 » Thu Feb 07, 2019 8:01 pm

well now i'm sad...
GM Vancouver Mounties

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