[JetsIn06]

1960 Trade Deadline

We continue to play really, well, but as we get towards the end of July our division mates, the Vancouver Mounties, have been absolutely on fire. In June, they went 21-6, and as of July 25th they are 16-3 in the month. While we have been winning via run prevention, they have been mashing, ranked 1st in nearly every important category related to hitting the ball.

Overall, with a week or so to play in July, we're 3.5GB. They're 70-27, and we're right there behind them. Interestingly, both division leaders in the East are hovering around .500, with teams in the West doing incredibly. For example, the 5th place team in the Federal League West has a better record than the Federal League East's best team.

Now; we have some decisions to make as we get to the deadline. We have a whopping SEVEN players who are in the final year of their contract. While I want to win, I'm always trying to thread the needle and win while retooling for the future.

Three players that could be involved in a big move:

SP Tom Brown: He's 31, in the final year of his deal, and is looking for $25M a year for the next seven years to re-sign. We're not going to do that, but would receive a draft pick in return if he stays for the rest of the season. With such strong performances on the mound, it may make sense to move him for a bat at the deadline if we can get a strong return.

CL Jerry Johnson: Johnson has a 1.35 ERA this year so far, and he's following a 1.62 ERA campaign last season. He's a free agent after this year, and wants a four-year deal averaging $16M per, which we won't do on a reliever.

SP Jack Hall: We brought in Hall in the offseason in a trade and he's played well, pitching to a 3.48 ERA over 19 starts. He's looking for a much more reasonable $9M per year over three years, which I may consider doing right now, actually. He's only 28 years old, and the strikeout rate, which was the concern we had, has ticked up a bit this year. We make the offer and he signs an extension.

45+ rated FA: 1
Trades: 2

Before that move, I was debating converting the two FA's into a trade and making three moves at the deadline here, but now the obvious/only move is to find some trades we can make to bolster the lineup for the stretch run and keep the FA for next season.

While I debate hanging on to SP Tom Brown, I'm going to hedge my bets here to get two controllable hitters back in return. Brown will go to Georgia, and in return we'll get C Eddie Rodriguez, who will have three years of control left after this season. He's a contact oriented hitter and is strong enough defensively to handle the starting role. We're getting nothing from our catching corps and our starting backstop is also in the last year of his contract.

Additionally, we get OF Manuel Cardenas, a great hitter who was ranked as the #13 prospect in the game. Now 25, he's in his rookie season and is playing well, slashing .293/.336/.517. I'm concerned about his health moving forward, but with plenty of team control left I think we'll get a decent value out of this deal despite sending an elite pitcher in Brown.

45+ rated FA: 1
Trades: 1

Our final trade is to add an old friend; IF John Faiella. We're really in need of a contact hitter who can hit for average, and Faiella is that in spades. However, his injury history has been devastating. Now 29, Faiella has played one season where he got into more than 100 games. Interestingly, Faiella was a key part of the the trade that got us SP Tom Brown, who we just dealt above.

Faiella will be on our bench, available to pinch-hit and pinch-run, and he can play a strong middle infield as well. He's in the last year of his deal, and we have no real desire to consider a longer term pact beyond this.

In return, we send OF John Hollis, a favorite who we signed to a very team-friendly deal prior to the 1959 season. It's still early, but his wRC+ has dipped to 81 after 103 and 119 in the last two seasons. I think he could still be great, but we have similar corner OFs in the minors and just added a new one from the Brown deal.

45+ rated FA: 1
Trades: 0

June: 16-10
July: 18-7