IBC

A's Get: Ethan Martin

Nationals Get: Natanael 12-Delgado

This trade is kinda fun, it's lottery ticket that will mature this coming season or so vs. lottery ticket that's 5 years away. In Z's eternal quest to tank so badly that the ExCo ultimately kicks him out of the league (what other explanation could there possibly be? ) he approached me offering Francisco Cervelli more or less for free (Z I hope you appreciate the pimping here, if anyone wants Francisco Cervelli go get him!). Unfortunately I've got 3 catchers I like, but he did mention he'd part with Martin, and I've always liked Martin's raw stuff (he also cost me a big bet this year, I never forget that sort of thing). Anyway, I picked up Delgado because I needed a 12, but he's 5 years away. Martin could be a mainstay for me for a long time, or a free spot for next year's draft. Delgado is a much longer wait, though if he turns into something I'll be happy for him and Z.

It's true, I'm literally trying to give away Cervelli and Rusin. They will be too good for my team. By all means someone take them.

I'm not going the Cleveland Indians Major League route, I'm sucking for Rodon.

A's get: Edwin Escobar, Stetson 0-Allie, Natanael 12-Delgado
Nationals get: Dan 11-Vogelbach, Zach 12-Eflin, Felix 11-Jorge

Of course I was the guy who was going to bite on Escobar. First of all, with that projection he might be my #2 starter, crazy as that sounds, and getting a guaranteed year of good starting pitching (assuming health) is probably worth the lottery ticket potential of the guys I gave away. Z has come after Vogelbach hard a number of times, and finally this one made sense. Both guys are just out of the top 100, Escobar is definitely a higher floor, Vogie potentially a higher ceiling, but between the two a like Escobar much more as a prospect plus he's a Giant so, there ya go. Felix Jorge is a definite sleeper (I'm sure I'm higher on him than the rest of the prospecting world), but I think that Escobar is his upside in the next couple of years so he made sense to give up. Eflin I'm really not sure about. The reports are still good, though less glowing, but that K-rate was so low, and I've already got another great ERA low K-rate guy in Chafin.

Stetson Allie replaces Vogelbach as my lottery ticket 1B. Obviously he struggled in the FSL after tearing up the SAL as a 22 year old, but it was his first full year as a hitter. Major pop, cannot strike out 30% of the time, but I'm always willing to bet on the power. Delgado is the guy I'm really excited about here. Traded him to Z for Ethan Martin and regretted almost immediately, not because I'm giving up on Martin (that won't happen until at least the middle of Spring Training), but because I just love Delgado's profile. He has a really sweet left handed swing, smooth, controlled, and without some of the violence you see from most Dominican teens with power. He's starting to fill out, at 16 they said he weighed 160 soaking wet at 6'1, which is about what I weigh at 5'9, but he's already going to be up closer to 180 this year and the reports are the kid lives in the weight room. He held his own at 17 in the AZL (103 wRC+), and he'll play this whole season at age 18, so he has plenty of time to develop. He probably starts the year in XST and then the Pioneer League, but with no one (and I mean no one) interesting in front of him in the Angels system he may get a shot at full season ball, which would put him on the Xander path. Sucks that I have to pick up a guy to fill the role I thought Tanner Roark would take, but oh well, tremendous upside potential in this trade.

A's Get
Michael McKenry

Reds Get
Mark Ellis

Perhaps the least interesting deal I've ever made. McKenry is an upgrade on David Ross an a right handed hitting catcher, and Mark Ellis is unlikely to play for me ever again, so he can go to Cincy while Alex Guerrero's ear heals (thats the most interesting part of this deal)

A's Get:
Rowan 12-Wick
3rd Round Pick (90ish)

Cardinals Get:
Jason Vargas

Given that my park seems to turn replacement level starters into aces and average starters stay average starters, it seems like if I end up with an average starter like Jason Vargas I should trade him somewhere that being average actually matters. Vargas is a nice lefty who should be a solid 3-4 starter for the next few years for Aaron, meanwhile I get two lottery tickets, one if Rowan Wick (who sounds like a Downton Abbey character, try saying his name in an aristocratic British accent, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised) who just murdered the NYPL to the tune of a 1.294 OPS and 12 home runs in 98 at bats, and whoever I end up taking in the draft (I'm guessing a low ceiling high floor college righty).

A's Get
JD Martinez
Nats 3rd Rounder

Pirates Get
JJ Hardy
Alejandro de Aza
Cody Ross

Yep, the Martinez carousel continues, obviously he's going to be Stanton's bash brother in LF next year. I was hoping to get a 1st round pick out of Hardy (who's one of those guys who is way more valuable in the sim than you realize, VG D and VG power at short is pretty awesome which makes him tough to deal, I ended up keeping Mike Cameron all the way through his late 30's for that reason), so since JP traded his 1st for JD I figured that makes a decent proxy. Obviously Martinez has been insane, and it's hard to tell whether it's real or not, but I've come around to the idea that it's more real than not real. If he turns into Jose Bautista that would be pretty awesome, if he ends up like Chris Davis at least we'll enjoy the ride and he'll have a nice projection next year.

Meanwhile my LF platoon becomes JPs LF platoon, and should be a decent upgrade over what he has there, and I get another lottery ticket like pick for the upcoming draft (since the one I got from Aaron is already committed to being a low ceiling college righty I'm thinking I'll use this one on a scrappy empty .300 hitting utility infielder). If JP wins another title this year obviously it was worth it to give up Martinez no matter what happens, and I suppose I'll be rooting for my guys over there too.

Giants get:
Danny Duffy
Michael Brantley
Howie Kendrick
Aaron Hicks
Wendell 12-Rijo

A's get:
Xander Bogaerts
Jackie Bradley
Adam Dunn

So yeah, I promised you all it got shockinger, if the above looked a little bit off to you then you might have caught the other piece of the deal, which is that in exchange for getting to ride Xander Bogaerts to the moon Nils is letting me take over the Giants after this season (pending ExCo approval, and if you guys say no this deal gets undone ). The deal actually started out with an offer around Lewis Brinson and Rafael Devers, and Nils said something about Addison Russell, which piqued my interest, but we couldn't get there on a Russell/Bogaerts deal. Then he made the above offer minus the Dunn/Rijo swap, which I strongly considered but I mean Xander! Then we talked a little more and I made some kind of comment like "I've wondered what I'd have to offer you to get the Giants" and it just kind of sprung from there.

In baseball terms I'm pretty happy. Danny Duffy is a legit #2 after Kluber for next year, which will allow me let my mid-rotation guys (McCarthy, Roark, etc.) be mid-rotation guys instead of aces like I was counting on them for this year. Michael Brantley can really play, in an ideal world I'm platooning him with JD in left next year for a stupid projection awesomeness. Howie Kendrick plugs the one real hole in the lineup (sorry Danny Espinosa, I like you as a utility guy but you aren't cutting it). Aaron Hicks is a flier to be an all glove no bat CF in place of Bradley.

That being said, in some ways Z is the inspiration for this deal in his review of the Betances trade he reminded us all that this league should be about fun first, and it's way more fun for me to get to be the Giants as opposed to their cheap cross-bay facsimile (sorry Billy but it will always be true), and for Nils it's way more fun to have Xander who should be the star of his favorite team (especially now that they've mercy killed Stephen Drew and are letting him go back to short, we now have two good examples (Xander and Profar) of what happens when you mess with a kid at the major league level).

You'll notice that I haven't touched the last piece of the deal, Dunn and Rijo. I gave up quite a bit to get Adam Dunn (Chris Archer, Travis d'Arnaud, and Michael Ynoa) before he collapsed, but I still have a soft spot for the Big Donkey, so Nils agreed to give him a good home now that I can't use him at DH anymore. Rijo is a potential future utility guy who might be something more, and will make more sense in the NL I think.

I'm bummed that this is happening in a down year, I would have liked to take one last division title from Brett P. (not that it made a damn bit of difference last year) before I went, but I couldn't pass the opportunity up. Stephen, I'm going to miss beating you up in H2H, Ropers, I'm going to miss you randomly popping up and winning every 3 years, Nate, we didn't get a chance to build up a rivalry so best of luck to you. Jag, Levine, Shawn, I look forward to the challenge next year, Bren, I look forward to you remaining irrelevant.

PS, we're soliciting new names for the blog. The leader in the clubhouse is Torture

Athletics wrote: I'm bummed that this is happening in a down year, I would have liked to take one last division title from Brett P. (not that it made a damn bit of difference last year) before I went, but I couldn't pass the opportunity up. Stephen, I'm going to miss beating you up in H2H, Ropers, I'm going to miss you randomly popping up and winning every 3 years, Nate, we didn't get a chance to build up a rivalry so best of luck to you. Jag, Levine, Shawn, I look forward to the challenge next year, Bren, I look forward to you remaining irrelevant.

Well when was the last time we actually played H2H since you moved for grad school...but you do realize there is still the one series every other year that we would get to play out. But now that I see Nils online more often than you, should be fun to give him shit about the division, though I see Nate a lot more but don't give him enough shit.

PS: As the other Giant fan in the IBC, you do realize that while the Giants have more money, Sabean is a retarded piece of shit.

Well damn Rev.. Best of luck in the NL West.. ! Maybe I can get Levine to trade me the Rockies for Houston and I can come beat up on you

Giants get:
Angel Pagan

Reds get:
Athletics 3rd round pick

I'm not saying I don't believe in Aaron Hicks, but the chance to grab a legit center fielder I couldn't pass up since I have two other picks in the round. Much less interesting than the last deal, hope that back is healthy...

Wait, are you calling yourself SF already or did Nils make that deal?

Ropers, what do you want to let me run the Mariners?

People want new teams? I just want an avatar that doesn't look like a radioactive bird.

Orioles wrote:People want new teams? I just want an avatar that doesn't look like a radioactive bird.

Haha...

DBacks wrote:Ropers, what do you want to let me run the Mariners?

lol! Everything has a price!

Orioles wrote:Wait, are you calling yourself SF already or did Nils make that deal?

I'm trying it on for size

Athletics wrote: the other piece of the deal, which is that in exchange for getting to ride Xander Bogaerts to the moon Nils is letting me take over the Giants after this season (pending ExCo approval, and if you guys say no this deal gets undone )

Is that actually part of the deal?

Smiley face emoticons tend not to denote serious things

Giants get:
John Jaso
Brett Oberholtzer

Tigers get:
Michael McKenry
Edwin Escobar
Wendell 12-Rijo

This came together pretty quickly because Yan Gomes got hurt, but there's an asterisk on it in case McKenry's crazy breakout is real . Moving to the National League means I need to think about having more bats on the bench, so I've had some interest in Jaso as a guy who'll be able to catch in a pinch and will also be able to hit. Oberholtzer I see as a candidate to be another Roark, having a really nice year in Houston quietly, and I think he'll develop into a really nice mid-rotation guy. McKenry gives a playable catcher for Pat while Gomes heals, and Escobar can be a solid 5th starter this year though he's looked a little exposed in AAA in the long run. Rijo is the cost of doing business as a nice little lottery ticket.

Giants get:
Pirates #1
Jake Diekman
Ryne 13-Stanek

Nationals get:
Shawn Tolleson
Aaron Hicks
JD Martinez

Z already threw out the basics on this trade, from my end I think Diekman is a high end lefty arm that let's me keep Doolittle as my closer, and Ryne Stanek is someone who I actually had high on my draft list last year. Like I said when I made the Hardy trade, what I really wanted was a late #1, and I took Martinez because that was the closest I could get. After watching JD closely since the trade I like him, but I think he's more of a 2 WAR player than a 4 WAR player in the long run, and I ended up getting Michael Brantley who I think is more of a 4 WAR player. Tolleson was a guy I picked up for free so he's always fun, and Aaron Hicks is a flier kind of a player, but I don't think he's ever going to hit (and I learned from Jackie Bradley that if I don't think a guy can hit I should trust that). Plus I'm looking forward to the daily JD Martinez updates resuming, I feel like the league has missed that.

Giants get:
Erisbel Arruebarruena
Angels pick #5
Tigers get:
Athletics #3
Athletics #4

Giants get:
Felix Jorge
Nationals Get:
Athletics Pick #5

Doing a little drafting before the draft here, I'm already sitting on the 1st pick of the 3rd round, and I turned 2 other 3rd rounders into a center fielder (Pagan) and a potential starting shortstop who might be ready as soon as next year if the Dodgers don't keep Hanley (which looks more and more likely every game of there's I watch), not a bad 3rd round. Once we get into the 4th round the difference between 4ths and 5ths becomes kinda meaningless, so I didn't mind the pick swap. Meanwhile, with my 5th round pick I'm taking Felix Jorge back, I'm willing to see how he does in his second go-round at full season A and I have a bunch of 13's I like so draft slots are less of an issue. Like Z said he's still young, and I think he's a higher probability success guy than whoever I'd take with a second 5th rounder (and if I'm wrong I'm hoping the guy will still be there in the 6th!)

Giants get:
Anibal Sanchez
Yoenis Cespedes
Ian Desmond
Michael McKenry
#12
#26

Tigers get:
Mike Stanton
Tanner Roark
Brandon Crawford
a commitment to continuing to calling him Mike whenever possible


So this trade is all about roster construction. I had some stuff that came up that pulled me away from the league for awhile, but Pat kept constantly nagging me about Stanton. Up front I'll say this: I would never have traded Stanton if he hadn't gotten hit in the face (and I think he wouldn't be signing this extension either). There is, however, some possibility that he'll never be the same hitter, and that risk was enough for me to consider making him touchable. Onto the rationale for this particular deal: In the NL I have to match rosters with JP, and that meant pumping up the rotation once the Felix trade happened. Kluber matches Felix, but Duffy/McCarthy certainly doesn't match Wainwright.

Simply put, I've moved away from stars and scrubs as an approach to roster building. Trading Stanton for a Felix like pitcher wouldn't solve anything, what I needed was a pitcher a step down from Felix who could also allow me to upgrade the lineup. I was looking at playing a couple of scrubs in Crawford (who I think is more valuable in real life than he is in a sim context) and whatever RH hitting catcher I had backing up Posey. Instead I add Ian Desmond, who's been a 4+ win player 3 years in a row, and Michael McKenry, the best offensive catcher in baseball last year. I know what you're thinking, no I didn't just trade Giancarlo Stanton for a backup catcher, but as a general rule that's what I was looking to do, move him for a stud pitcher and to fill out the lineup

That's where we get to Sanchez, who on a start by start basis last year was right there with Wainwright before he got hurt, and who I'm a huge believer in. The bet that was made with this trade was basically that Yoenis Cespedes and Ian Desmond fill the gap between Sanchez and Felix, and create a better all around team. Furthermore, adding 2 picks in the first round of this draft, which I like more and more the more I look at it, adds a couple of really nice lottery ticket like assets (remember Stanton himself wasn't even a first round pick).

Obviously this is a Giant (hahahahaha) bet on Sanchez, but one I felt comfortable making and I'm pretty confident I couldn't have gotten as much offensive value from anyone else who would have included a pitcher on Sanchez's level (JB if you would have sent Tanaka+Rendon+Harper, my bad dog..., Levine I'm sure I could have gotten Yasiel but then I'd have to root for a Dodger, sorry dude, JP as you astutely noted in your pm after the Felix trade I'm not so OK with you putting Stanton and Trout in the same outfield under any circumstances). If it turns out that this was a bad move, well as long as I have Buster I'm having fun so whatever, but I think that this team is more of a WS contender after this trade than before it. Obviously a couple more moves to go but I see it as a step in the right direction.