Trade Review 2023 #3 - Madison Unloads

[Ted]

During our second installment, Madison apparently realized they still had big league talent on the roster and determined that couldn't be allowed to last. One would guess however, that given they would have liked to keep their 100 loss-less streak intact, they might prefer to keep one of the players we will talk about in this edition on the roster. (Or maybe not cut Dillon Bell, covered in the last release)

Carolina/Madison
Carolina receives:
SP Allen Kennedy

Madison receives:
P Mark Rose
P Bart Ender (prospect)
P Chris Harris (prospect)

Age, injury, and attrition have derailed the dynasty the Kraken thought they were building after they won a championship in 2020. Rose is a perfect example of this. The former reliable starter was having trouble keeping up before two injuries early this year decimated his ability. He's likely a reliever at this point. Compounding matters, the Kraken signed him to a 4 year, 15 per extension prior to this season, making his one of the worst contracts in baseball. To get him off their hands, Carolina sent two prospects to the Wolves. Bart Ender is a 21 year old relief prospect who at the very least can be a LOOGY, but might be middle relief or setup quality on the strength of his stuff alone. Chris Harris is another 21 year old, but with a cutter/curve combo doesn't have the split of Ender's Fastball/Slider. Harris however will need to bump something to be a legitimate big league candidate. I suppose given how bad our left handed bats struggle against lefty pitching, he could be a LOOGY at 8/8/6.

In return the Kraken get to rent an even older, but less declined arm in Allen Kennedy, whose early season success demonstrate an entirely different career arc than Rose. Kennedy will be a free agent after the season.

Incidentally, Madison's AA affiliate has an incredible logo/mascot.

Expected Impact: Kennedy should be a significant upgrade over Rose. Ender could play this year, but starter depth trumps relief depth at least in the regular season.
Expected Winner: This is a good, solid deal. No winners or losers. Frankly, I'm surprised Carolina didn't have to give up more to dump Rose's contract. Either way, both teams got better, Carolina now, Madison later, which is what both owners need.

Actual Impact: Kennedy actually pitched better in Carolina than he did in Madison, but was victimized by poor defense. Ender put up pretty good numbers in 21 innings for Madison, and should get better.
Actual Winner: No change from expected

Going forward: Kind of covered it already. Madison will have to find a way to get out of Rose's contract, unless they plan for the slow rebuild.

Taken aback - Current usage: I was taken aback by her actions. I didn't expect it.
An inattentive helmsmen might allow the dangerous situation to arise where the wind is blowing into the sails 'backwards', causing a sudden (and possibly dangerous) shift in the position of the sails.

This requires a little more description. Tacking or coming about is a sailing maneuver by which a sailing vessel (which is sailing approximately into the wind) turns its bow into the wind through the 'no-go zone' so that the direction from which the wind blows changes from one side to the other. In reality, sailing ships probably couldn't get any closer than about 60 degrees towards thee direction of the wind, so if they wanted to make progress to windward, they would have to tack periodically. If mismanaged, one could end up in a situation with teh wind blowing into the sails backwards, which could essentially halt any progress, cause significant delay while the sails had to be reset and even be dangerous to the ship. So if a ship was" taken aback" she was literally stunned, in confusion, and making no progress.


Huntsville/Madison
Huntsville receives:
C Peter McClure
P Jason "Bun Bun" Brooks(DL)

Madison receives:
C Richie Shafer
1B Trey Williams
OF Toyoaki Mizuno
P Donald Foster (prospect)
P Dave van Dongen (prospect)

Ignacio Rubio wasn't getting it done for the Phantoms, so enter Peter McClure. Despite being on the wrong side of 30, McClure has been a consistent power threat, 3-4 WAR catcher in recent years. He represents a big upgrade over Rodriguez. Brooks is an emergency starter.

Madison gets a handful of decent but not exciting prospects in return. Mizuno is probably more of a corner OF than a CF defensively, but he's fast, has a great eye for his age, and doesn't strike out. He has some real upside as a leadoff bat against RHP, but he might not have the contact ability to stay in a lineup. He's at least a backup OF. Foster is a 20 year old 7/7/7 SP prospect. He's got some upside, but at one point was throwing significantly harder. IF he can regain some of this arm strength, he's a legitimate starter prospect. The velocity loss before age 20 is scary however. Van Dongen is 25 and has a terrible track record.

Expected Impact: McClure could really help out the Phantom's sputtering offense. Mizuno and Foster are decent pickups.
Expected Winner: Tie. Another trade that makes since for both teams.

Actual Impact: No real surprises. McClure did what he always does. Mizuno hit like garabage. Sad thing, is that if he could hit .230, he walks enough to get on base at a .320-.330 clip.
Actual Winner: Maybe Huntsville as it looks like Mizuno may not be an option.

Going forward: Foster will determine whether HSV got a "something for nothing" deal.

Three sheets to the wind
On a three-masted ship, having the sheets of the three lower courses (sails) loose will result in the ship meandering aimlessly downwind. Became a way of describing a sailor who had had too much to drink.


Madison/Lousiville
Madison receives:
SP Jose Aicon
SP Brant Buckner

Louisville receives:
SP Zach Bauer

Louisville had let the 38 year old Bauer walk after the 2022 season, but it turns out keeping him would have been a better option than their signing of Jose Aicon. Bauer appears to have a worse era after the trade, but his FIP shows he finished the year with his typical solid back of the rotation efficiency of recent years. The 36 year old Aicon was a disaster in Louisville. Both will be free agents after the year. 19 year old lefty Buckner is the asset the Sluggers flipped to make this deal work. Buckner is a fastball/slider/changeup guy. His fastball isn't big league quality at this point, and he'll need to get a lot stronger for it to be a viable pitch.

I don't like the format I was using for grades, so from now on I'm just going to talk about them. This is a fairly ho-hum deal. Bauer replacing Aicon should have been a nice upgrade for Louisville and was, and they flipped a lottery pick type prospect for it. Solid deal both ways.

Under the weather - Current usage: "I'm feeling a bit under the weather today."
Serving a watch on the weather side of the ship, exposed to wind and spray. (which would of course lead to the sniffles and feeling cold, damp and miserable)


Birmingham/Madison
Birmingham receives:
DH Freddie Rigsby

Madison receives:
C Mario Ornelas

Despite his age, and largely due to his eye and surprisingly good wheels, Rigsby is still a solid OBP threat. He is a DH (as he will be a bad enough outfielder that his punch-less offense can't make up for it). Ornelas could be an acceptable starting C, given the lack of depth at that position, but anyone playing him regularly will always want an upgrade. More of a backup.

5 years down the road, no one will remember this trade happened. Maybe even 1 year down the road. Still, it shows how two reasonable owners can make a small, fair deal.

I'm out of nautical stuff. I'll have to come up with something else before the next piece.


Madison/Vancouver
Madison receives:
SP Justin Alexander Jr
P Tony Abrams
C Maurice Deville (minor leaguer)

Vancouver receives:
SP Mark Burns

I'm gonna have to admit, I don't get this one. I thought that maybe Alexander had gotten hurt and got swapped for a slight downgrade in Rose. Then I though maybe he decline (a bit) or was having a crappy year (no). He has an okay contract. I don't know if Vancouver was expecting him to continue to regress? Burns is a worse starter and has often been used as a reliever. Deville doesn't matter. Was this the first part of a salary move for another trade? It only frees up a few mil. I'm sure I'm missing something. That said, Madison wins, as Alexander is a better trade asset and Burns is a pitching downgrade.




Well, that's 9 trades down and 20 or so to go, and an additional 8-10 team new I had planned but never got around to get through by the weekend. We'll see what happens. I need to stop procrastinating.

In the next release, we get some real deals.

[agrudez]

Re: Foster - his STU drop was due to a SP conversion PP reward, not regression.

Re: McClure - I think his contract was a driving force for wanting to move on from him, so shedding 30M over 2 years may already be a win for a rebuilding team like MAD.

[Ted]

Re: Foster - his STU drop was due to a SP conversion PP reward, not regression.

Re: McClure - I think his contract was a driving force for wanting to move on from him, so shedding 30M over 2 years may already be a win for a rebuilding team like MAD.

Helps to know about Foster. Makes him more of a legit prospect. He really could be decent with another AS bump. I agree about McClure. Sometimes I'm thinking things when I'm writing but forget to actually put them down by the time I get to the part where I would.

[bschr682]

Madison/Vancouver
Madison receives:
SP Justin Alexander Jr
P Tony Abrams
C Maurice Deville (minor leaguer)

Vancouver receives:
SP Mark Burns

I'm gonna have to admit, I don't get this one. I thought that maybe Alexander had gotten hurt and got swapped for a slight downgrade in Rose. Then I though maybe he decline (a bit) or was having a crappy year (no). He has an okay contract. I don't know if Vancouver was expecting him to continue to regress? Burns is a worse starter and has often been used as a reliever. Deville doesn't matter. Was this the first part of a salary move for another trade? It only frees up a few mil. I'm sure I'm missing something. That said, Madison wins, as Alexander is a better trade asset and Burns is a pitching downgrade.

At the time of the trade, Alexander Jr's Potential ratings had fallen to 7/7/7 and his actuals were 6/7/7. His performances had been up and down, and looked to be in ratings free fall. So of course he bounces back after I trade him...

[7teen]

Madison/Vancouver
Madison receives:
SP Justin Alexander Jr
P Tony Abrams
C Maurice Deville (minor leaguer)

Vancouver receives:
SP Mark Burns

I'm gonna have to admit, I don't get this one. I thought that maybe Alexander had gotten hurt and got swapped for a slight downgrade in Rose. Then I though maybe he decline (a bit) or was having a crappy year (no). He has an okay contract. I don't know if Vancouver was expecting him to continue to regress? Burns is a worse starter and has often been used as a reliever. Deville doesn't matter. Was this the first part of a salary move for another trade? It only frees up a few mil. I'm sure I'm missing something. That said, Madison wins, as Alexander is a better trade asset and Burns is a pitching downgrade.

At the time of the trade, Alexander Jr's Potential ratings had fallen to 7/7/7 and his actuals were 6/7/7. His performances had been up and down, and looked to be in ratings free fall. So of course he bounces back after I trade him...

I think some of the bounce back occurred after I dumped him for pocket change. Dang!

[bschr682]

Madison/Vancouver
Madison receives:
SP Justin Alexander Jr
P Tony Abrams
C Maurice Deville (minor leaguer)

Vancouver receives:
SP Mark Burns

I'm gonna have to admit, I don't get this one. I thought that maybe Alexander had gotten hurt and got swapped for a slight downgrade in Rose. Then I though maybe he decline (a bit) or was having a crappy year (no). He has an okay contract. I don't know if Vancouver was expecting him to continue to regress? Burns is a worse starter and has often been used as a reliever. Deville doesn't matter. Was this the first part of a salary move for another trade? It only frees up a few mil. I'm sure I'm missing something. That said, Madison wins, as Alexander is a better trade asset and Burns is a pitching downgrade.

At the time of the trade, Alexander Jr's Potential ratings had fallen to 7/7/7 and his actuals were 6/7/7. His performances had been up and down, and looked to be in ratings free fall. So of course he bounces back after I trade him...

I think some of the bounce back occurred after I dumped him for pocket change. Dang!

While his ratings have certainly bounced back, his performance sure didn't.