The Expos started of the month by splitting the final two games of the series with the Reds. They won 1 of 2 versus the Cubs, 2 of 2 versus the D'backs, and 2 of 3 versus the Mets. In this span of games, SS Carruth went to the DL and 2B Drexler's injury worsened and was placed on the DL. Accordingly, I called up SS Amescua from AAA to serve mostly as a backup infielder and RF Bob Cecil who also was a September call up the past two years. RP Tejada (acquired in the Rule 5 draft) imploded to the point that I decided to release him and call up my top relief prospect, RP Michael Avilla from AAA.
The Expos then won 2 of 3 versus the Rays, 1 of 3 versus the Marlins, 3 of 3 versus the Giants, and 3 of 3 versus the Pirates. SS Amescua went on the DL and I conveniently was able to activate SS Carruth to fill his roster spot.
With RF Cecil off to a hot start since his call up and reserve OF Mena continuing to struggle this year, I shopped him around and found an offer I liked with the division rival Pirates. I sent RF Mena and average MiLB LF Escobedo to Pittsburgh for RP/SP Jeremy Capossela and MiLB C Jared Baker. Capossela is the main returning piece as he was getting his feet wet in the majors pitching out of the Pirates' bullpen with less than stellar results. I immediately placed him in my AAA rotation where he looks to have a solid long term future as a starter. He has great movement with above average stuff and control. He also has three above average pitches in a fastball (92-94 mph), curveball, and changeup. Baker is a throw in piece who my scout is higher on than OOTP, but projects to be about average with his bat and has great catcher ability but a poor arm.
I want to make two notes on this trade before I move on. First, Mena exceeded any expectations anyone should have had for him as he was a Rule 5 pick up. He mashed lefties, filled in around the outfield with good defense, and picked up many valuable pinch hits. Second, I'm thrilled with the return for him, as I had been shopping him for a little while but had not yet seen an offer I liked. Overall, the trade clears a way for Cecil to continue to get more playing time and adds yet another promising arm to my AAA rotation.
The Expos closed the month winning 3 of 4 versus the Mets and 3 of 3 versus the Cardinals. There was more outfield transactions before the month ended as I placed LF Derringer on the DL with a moderate day-to-day injury for six weeks. CF Pruner also ended up on the DL, also with a day-to-day injury. He should only miss the minimum 10 days. LF prospect Ramos replaced Mena on the roster, CF prospect Vargas made a two game cameo before being replaced by CF Paredes to fill Pruner's spot, and 2B Draxler was activated from the DL in place of Derringer. I also sent SS Amescua back to AAA following the completion of his DL stint.
By injuries, trades, and transactions, this was one of the craziest months I've had. By record, it was one of the best. Burried in all the transactions, the team had an amazing 21-7 record for the month.
Following are the batting performances for the month.
1B Cuatt and 3B Lawrence had fantastic months at the plate and CF Pruner was heating up before his DL stint. C Stacey and LF Derringer also played well.
And the pitchers fared as follows:
The rotation did much better this month with SP Guajardo (2.63 ERA, 3.43 FIP) and SP Caballero (2.75 ERA, 3.05 FIP) leading the way. SP Killough (3.82 ERA, 3.04 FIP) and SP Britland (3.81 ERA, 3.53 FIP) also did well while SP Tejada (4.19 ERA, 4.52 ERA) fell a bit back to earth.
The bullpen was also outstanding as RP Mosqueda and RP Crose posted sub-1 ERAs. RP Takara (2.04 ERA), CL Bedingfield (2.65 ERA, 10 SV), and RP Carson (3.27 ERA) also delivered some shutdown performances.
Next up is coverage of the 2032 first year player draft...