KINGS MAKE A TRADE ON EVE OF SPRING TRAINING GAMES
My Brooklyn Kings made another deal today, just a day before spring training games start. The move might get second guessed a lot as I dealt what likely was my #2 starter in Harvey Rodgers to Montreal in exchange for a 3rd and a 4th round draft pick. I am sure the immediate thought around the league was why deal a 27 year old pitcher for two picks and I admit I did it with some hesitation bit I feel in the long run it was a good move.
Here is why:
First let's look at Rodgers. He was a rule V pickup for me from Toronto just after I took over as General Manager following the 1925 season. Rodgers went 11-7 for me as a rookie and followed that up with a very good 1927 campaign, posting a 13-6 record with a 3.08 era and started 20 of his 34 appearances. Last year, he slumped to 13-12 with a 4.99 era in 29 games, all starts. There were some red flags I was concerened about with the biggest being he allowed 16 homers last year after allowing just 3 the season before. He also had the worst WHIP (1.53) in his career and saw his strikeout total drop as well. I still think he is a good pitcher, and obviously Montreal does as well - a good #4 or #5 starter on must teams but would have been a #2 this year on Brooklyn- but I don't see him necessarily figuring into our plans longer term with the amount of young pitching talent I have, and will continue to focus on acquiring.
Despite what I noticed in his stats (and there is a good chance he bounces back this year) there was a bigger reason behind the decision and it centers entirely on roster management. Now that we are 4 years into this league and many of my prospects are maturing and rounding out our system I am going to be dealing, as will other teams, with players running out of minor league options.
At the end of this spring I have 4 pitchers, including two arms I really like in Jack Gunderson, a 27 year old reliever who did very well for us replacing injured closer Al Colby last year, and Joe Blansit, a 23 year old prospect I think can fit in our rotation in the near future, who are out of options. Even with Rodgers gone I still have 15 pitchers fighting it out for 8 or possibly 9 spots on the 23 man roster. I want to, if at all possible, make room for Gunderson and Blansit, but even after moving Rodgers I think it will be tough to keep them both but it makes it easier to keep one.
As a result in my mind the trade is not just Rodgers for a 3rd and a 4th but rather Rodgers for a 3rd, a 4th and either Blansit or Gunderson - who I believe stand a good chance of being snatched away if I have to put them on waivers.
Looking ahead a couple of years, as long as first overall pick Tommy Wilcox and recently acquired first round picks George Johnson and Larry Brown continue to develop I will have some pretty good pitching depth. They will be joined by someone like Bill Dengler (7-11, 2.96 over 2 years as an injury replacement in the Brooklyn rotation) and at least one of recently acquired youngster Mickey Beavers or recent draft picks in my system like Eddie Boyle, Dave Rankin, Art Blake or Joe Russell I feel our pitching can be a strength. At that point (likely 2-3 years from now) Rodgers would not longer fit into my staff anyway and I am always a big believer of dealing a guy a year to early rather than a year too late.
Finally, remember this is a stats-only league and 3rd and 4th round picks do mean something.
Here is the history of the picks I have made in those rounds since I took over the team.
1925 Lynn Randall(3), Tom Aiello(4) and Milt Nelson (4). The 24 year old Randall was a college 1B-OF who hit .364 with 18 homers in half a season at AAA in 1927. He followed that up by splitting last year between AAA and Brooklyn, batting .279 with 2 homers in 56 games with the Kings. He is caught in a numbers game with all of the 1B-corner outfield depth I have but should stick in Brooklyn this year and play a fair bit. Aiello was a high school catcher and was 21 years old last season but still moved from AA to AAA, hitting .291 for the Bulls in 85 games. He will likely remain at AAA for the full year this season but will be Brooklyn soon. Nelson was a college pitcher that I selected with a 2nd pick in round 4. He was dealt to the Chicago Cougars early last year with an 8th round pick for pitcher Buzz Ham, who led the Continental Association in ERA and at 25 will be my #1 starter this season. (probably a #3 on most teams with decent pitching though).
1926 - Buck Sargent (3) and Frank Parsons (4): The jury is still out on Sargent who was taken out of high school. He struggled as a rookie pro in Class B in 1927 but improved somewhat last year at Class A, hitting .239 with 18 homers. He needs to imrpve his batting average but I also really like his work in the field. I am not ready to pencil him in for a job in Brooklyn down the road but at 21 next season and slated for AA I think he has a real good shot. Parsons is a high school lefthander I like in my second tier of prospects. He has spent 2 seasons in Class B Tampa and improved his stats pretty much across the board in his second year. At the very least he might be good trade bait similar to Milt Nelson from the previous class.
1927 Nick Bennett (3) and Loren Morgan(4): Bennett is a 23 year old infielder who started the year in Class A before moving up to AA. He hit .305 but just 4 homers so may not have the power I want out of a first baseman. Morgan is a college outfielder who hit .338 at Tampa. I have not seen enough of either of them to gauge whether they have a shot with us down the road. This coming year will go a long way to helping me decide.
1928 Art Summers (3), Dan Young (4) and Ossie Mahoney (4): Obviously I like each of them or I wouldn't have drafted them a couple of months ago. Summers is a college outfielder who hit .340 with 31 homers in 150 games. Young has elite fielding potential at SS but the question is can he hit enough to make the big leagues. He is 18 and hit .290 in 3 years of high school ball. Like Parsons a couple of years earlier, Mahoney is a college arm who fits in that second tier of prospects.
It is too early to judge most of these picks but looking at the 1925 picks, which now have 3 years of history, I would glady take Randall and either Aiello or Nelson (which became Buzz Ham) for Harvey Rodgers. No guarantee the picks I get from Montreal pan out but I like the track record of my scouting team in the draft and I believe there are going to be a deep crop of pitchers available next year.
So that's why I made the deal. I am sure Montreal has equally as good reason for the trade and that means it was a perfect deal - one both teams feel they made out well on. My only regret is perhaps I pulled the trigger a little too quick as two teams expressed interest in Rodgers on slack just as I was finalizing the deal with the Saints, so it's possible I might have been able to get more for Rodgers.
FINAL THOUGHT
The longer I play in this league the more I realize how much more of a challenge stats-only is, and also how much fun the Figment League is as an online league. All of the rules we use seem to fit perfectly. As a GM, I hate that I now have to worry about losing prospects - my players that I have drafted and developed - to a potential waiver claim because of using up their minor league options. But as someone who loves the league and likes to see all teams do well I think this rule being used in the game is perfect for helping to level the playing field and for providing a challenge requiring me to address by doing things like this trade with Harvey Rodgers in order to maximize my overall return on all assets.
The league is full right now but if you have been following this thread of mine - or one of the many others devoted to the league on this board - and you are not already on the waiting list then all I can say is What are you waiting for?
This league got me interested in online leagues - something I had not played for over a decade and even very sparingly before then, but the combination of stats-only, a great commissioner and core group of GM's, and a fictional world that gets more real every sim has me hooked.