The Detroit Falcons, who recently captured their first WPK championship title largely on the strength of their pitching, added a reliable veteran arm to the rotation yesterday when they picked up Joe Barbour in a trade with the Portland Wild Things.
Barbour hasn't quite lived up to his earlier perceived potential and is a soft-tosser but he is also a great leader (Captain), is durable, and has a great slider/changeup combo to go along with a just slightly above average fastball. He's not a guy you want to build a rotation around anymore but given the talented young arms that Detroit already has Barbour is a solid veteran addition to the mix.
Portland got a pair of young players with moderate potential in the trade in 23-year old catcher Alex Herrera and 23-year old second baseman Vas Gafarov. Herrera is a solid defensive backstop with decent offensive skills, particularly his combination of plate discipline and home run power. He has good leadership skills but there are some questions about his baseball IQ. Gafarov has similar baseball smarts challenges as part of his profile but is an incredibly hard worker, has a good eye, is a plus defender and base runner, with average pop in his bat but some bat-to-ball skills deficits. 18-year old starting pitcher Carlos de la Torre is likely just minor league depth (fragile, low intelligence and work ethic, throws hard but has very little potential as a pitcher).