By Valerie Davies, for the Yellow Springs World
August 19, 2058
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again. After trying to make outfielder Nazeeh Ragheb work because of his long-term deal signed in December of 2053, GM Rob McMonigal finally decided it was time to send him to another team, packaging him along with free agent signing starting pitcher Cheslav Evgrafov in exchange for starting pitcherAntonio Baldez, outfielder John Hopkins, and minor league outfielder Carlos Hernandez. The deal was with the Sacremento Mad Popes, a frequent partner with McMonigal's Nine.
It's quite the shake up, and signals that McMonigal is likely going to be looking to heavily revamp the Nine as they move into 2059, after this year's squad just didn't mesh as I'm sure he (and the fans) had hoped.
I asked McMonigal about why he made this deal.
"Look, as you probably know because your sources are good, we've been aggressively shopping a lot of players this season. We have a ton of expiring contracts and some pieces that aren't necessarily working out the way we'd hoped. I'm hoping we can make more deals, but the main point here was to do two things: One, move some players out that weren't fitting and two, try to set up some ideas for 2059."
"Was Ragheeb not working?" I pursued.
"That's a hard one, Valerie. When we signed him in 2053, he was looking like the type of player who could give us between 1 and 2 WAR a year and play solid defense in right field. For whatever reason, that wasn't sustained. I think some of it was that the man was being asked to be one of the top players on the team instead of a complementary piece. He'll do well with Shoeless [the Mad Popes' GM], especially since that team loves players who can hit line drives and steal bases. I really and truly wish him well."
It was clear Evgrafov wasn't working. He left with a 4-10 record and a 6.70 ERA.
So what about the pieces coming back? Well, that's a bit of a mixed bag.
The best player is Hopkins, who had a great 2057 with Phoenix and was hitting .290 with the Mad Popes at the time of the trade. He plays both corners and has historically hit both left and right handed pitchers about equally, in the range of .280 to .300. That's a big step up from Ragheeb, who never was able to cure his problems against southpaws. He's also signed to a reasonable future deal, with options set for 3.4 million the next two years, with a kicker bonus of 2.5 million if he's a regular. If McMonigal wishes, he can opt out for $800,000.
The minor leaguer, Hernandez, is a typical "throw in" that McMonigal often asks for, to see if his coaches can get something out of them. He's got some definite skills, especially in terms of potential power, which showed at A-ball, where he had 14 home runs. He'll need to keep getting better fast, but it never hurts to see what can come of it.
Now we come to the other pitcher, Baldez. This one's a bit of a head-scratcher. The scouts insist that Baldez has amazing skills. They rave about his stuff, and his three pitches all get top marks, to go along with decent control and movement. But Baldez can't seem to get it together, with a career FIP- of 108, a career ERA of 5.16, and a career WHIP of 1.46. Those aren't great numbers and he comes with a 6.6 million dollar salary for not just 2058, but also 2059, 2060, and possibly 2061 as well. By the end of the contact he'll be 32. The Nine are his third team.
Was this another blunder by McMonigal?
"I admit, his contract gave me some pause. But if we can harness his skills, Baldez will be amazing for us. We believe in what our pitching coach can do. The poor man started his career in Louisville. You can't hold those years against him."
We'll see about that. Unlike others, I'm more willing to give McMonigal the benefit of the doubt, but this is a real gamble for the club that can ill-afford mistakes. In a salary cap world, paying 6 million to a player who can't make it to replacement level is a strech. On the other hand, when you've been struggling for anything to work as a team, risks may be all you have.
It will be interesting to see how this one plays out. McMonigal's future in Yellow Springs may depend on it.
