The Looters having fallen 8 games out of the wild card in time for the BSA trade deadline made two deals, but rather than making them as buyers as it appeared a few weeks prior, it was in the seller role. Both deals were classic trade deadline type moves as the Looters sent the expiring contracts of relievers Tim Whitehead and Gordon Brown away for prospects.
Tim Whitehead was sent to the Cleveland "One-Eyed" Monsters. On the season with the Looters he had a 3-1 record with 2 saves and a 4.21 ERA in 39 appearances. He had pitched 47 innings with a 1.62 WHIP. However, a lot of his damage came in a few appearances. He however was shipped to the Monsters along with career minor leaguers CF Giel Wichers and SS Paco Pareira in exchange for prospects LF Matsusuke Yamasaki, SP Chris Hanna, and $966,000.
Matsusuke has split time between AA and AAA this year in the Monsters system as a 25 year old out of the University of Virginia. In AA he hit .354/.465/.614 in 61 games with 16 homers and 54 RBIs. He can play LF or RF very capably and could have a future as a backup corner outfielder. SP Chris Hanna has spent the year at A ball as a 25 year old out of Vanderbilt. He's got a 10-6 record and 2.42 ERA in 22 starts striking out an impressive 218 batters with a 0.98 WHIP. He also features 2 great pitchers and a third mediocre pitch. The key to the Looters in this deal though was the $966,000. In addition to not taking back any salaries (all players on minor league deals), the Looters picked up almost a million in cash to re-invest on pieces for 2015, plus saved the remaining contract of Tim Whitehead estimated at about $600,000, meaning a net gain of about $1.6M in cash.
The other deal was with a wild card contender in the other league as closer Gordon Brown was sent to Jersey Shore in exchange for MR Antonio Mata, MR Kimitada Takai, and RF Ramon Tavarez. Brown had an impressive year as a free agent signing by the Looters stepping into the closers role. In 37 appearances he had 26 saves and a 3-1 record with a 2.54 ERA. He also had a 1.33 WHIP and an impressive 177 ERA+. He's also an interesting case as Looters management has hidden nothing that they would love to have Brown back in the offseason if he was made available in free agency.
Coming back to the Looters are 2 impressive relievers and a possible outfield piece. MR Antonio Mata is 20 years old and was a second round pick in 2013 by Jersey; however, due to a roster gaffe was accidentally added to the 40 man roster. Thus 2015 will be his last option year. However, this year he's progressed from A ball to AA ball. In A ball he was 6-3 in 10 starts with a 1.95 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. Showing his abilities he was progressed to AA where he hasn't slowed down. In 12 relief appearances he has 5 saves and a 1-2 record with a 2.57 ERA striking out 17 in 14 innings. It's not out of the realm of possibility he could see AAA this year.
Kimitai Takai, who has no relation to George Takei, is still young at only 17 was discovered by the New York Knights in Japan, but signed on a minor league deal with Jersey after being released. He has pitched in AA ball both years. In 2013 he was 1-0 with 1 save in 45 games with a 4.44 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. Not bad for a first year for a 16 year old at AA ball. This year he returned to AA and has posted somewhat similar numbers with slightly better K numbers. He features one great pitch and one mediocre pitch, so it'll be interesting to see if he can step up as a relief option for the Looters in a few years.
The final player received was Ramon Tavarez. Tavarez is 28 years old and was mainly a swap of salaries. In AAA this year he has hit .323/.391/.457 in 223 at bats with 15 doubles and 5 homers. His main problem has been 51 Ks to 21 walks. He got a brief call up this year with Jersey going 4 for 18 in 6 games, but he's had good results in the past with Jersey. In 2012 he had 385 at bats in the BSA hitting .288/.331/.470 with 15 homers, but once again there struck out a lot with 105 Ks. The Looters definitely hope he can tap into that former glory and be a backup outfielder for them and will call him up to the majors to see, but likely this will be his only chance this year as he's arbitration eligible and will need to show something to be renewed.
No comments:
Post a Comment