jcomey

TB sends: SP Hunter Johnson Miami sends: SP Dane Grier More later. At trivia. I’ve wanted Dane Grier for a long time. Now we have him. Cost a lot, but HuJo just hasn’t produced. A change of scenery should be good for both. Thanks to Josh, and good luck to HuJo downstate.

Tampa sends:OF Jarred Kelenic (ML)SP Duncan Duimelaar (ML)SS Cristian Hernandez (A)1B Mark Pope (A)CF Pete-Crow Armstrong (A) St Louis sends:OF Randy MaleySP Jeffrey LeBlanc The Rays have an opportunity to add significant talent to the current roster in Maley and LeBlanc. These are players who I believe will be at the forefront of the contention window, and therefore, it makes sense to get them. We give up a considerable package for them, but the goal is to build as formidable a team for the current window as possible. I believe Hernandez and Pope have considerable upside, but are quite far away from being contributors to the parent club. PCA is a solid player, but I was unsure of his fit. Duimelaar is a solid pitcher, is young, and has a bright future. LeBlanc is an upgrade, however. And Kelenic, while hitting quite well in AAA, had lost my confidence that he would be a solid contributor. Maley is a considerable upgrade to the current situation. (Of course, because of my ballpark and OOTP's engine, I fully expect him to hit .240-1-13 now, and forget how to run the bases.) Good luck to this sextet in St. Louis, and thanks to Ayden for the insanely easy discussion. Not often that the first offer is accepted. Means I likely overpaid. Whatever. (Edited to remove Dutcher, and be in compliance with league rules.)

Rays confirm the deal. Stowers was sitting in AAA, blocked by a handful of players. Moving him frees up another 40-man spot, and nets us an interesting young pitcher in Carter, someone our scout is pretty keen on. Thanks to Sam for the quick talks and deal.

Tampa sends: P Carlos Meza (retaining 25% of his remaining contract) 3B JJ McGarrett (A) Milwaukee sends: SS Dauri Lorenzo (A) We needed the roster spot, really. And clearing the majority of Meza's contract off our books is pretty big. The price is steep, as McGarrett was rather sought-after. But it's one we felt we had to make right now. Lorenzo is a lottery ticket; I like that he's a switch-hitter. Maybe he turns into something. Thanks to Cole, and good luck to JJ and Carlos in Milwaukee.

Welp. This concludes what turns out to be a giant L in my Tampa history. We moved three prospects to get Cahill at his peak; all three of those prospects look like they're going to be very good. (We knew Grayson would be, and rather liked Alek Thomas...but we didn't believe in Waxman, who looks like he's going to be real solid.) Such is life. Cahill never hit in Tampa. He did well in the 2-hole this year, but he's never been what he was in Cleveland. I imagine he'll go back to being that in Cincinnati. We couldn't unlock that talent, and time was running out on deciding if we should keep trying to unlock that at a much higher salary. We decided we should move on, so here we are. To get a return like this, though, is great for us. We love Anderson; he's probably one of those ratings sirens--great ratings, ineffective performance--but if he ends up as my fourth outfielder, excellent. As it is, he'll slot in as the everyday CF. He definitely fits the profile of players who have had success in Tampa--contact and speed, speed, speed. The Tampa Bay Chaos offense is rounding into full effect. Romo, meanwhile, was coveted by us last year. It's no secret that catcher is a problem for most organizations. Ours is no exception. And our prospects, Shep Rose and William Contreras, have been on the struggle bus so long, they ride for free. Romo is already a defensive stud, and may have the hitting makeup of a potential All-Star at the position. We covet defense more than anything at catcher, so Romo being one of the best in all of baseball is huge for us. We thank Jason for the easy negotiation, and wish Cahill well in Cincy.

Seattle sends: OF Corbin Carroll (MLB) Tampa sends: SP Navy Shuler (AAA) Like Elliott Jenkins, we have coveted Corbin Carroll for a long time. We see him as a carbon copy of Jenkins, and with him and Jenkins atop our lineup, I think our offense will be extremely potent, and help maximize our garbage ballpark's "features". Shuler was going to be the odd man out in my rotation, for a variety of reasons. He was discussed in a few deals; in the end, I think we made the best possible move for the franchise. Good luck to Shuler, and thanks to Soze for the easy talks.

Tampa sends: 3B Nathan DeRemer (ML) Oakland sends: SP Joseph Charles (AAA) With us moving some pitchers, it makes sense to get back a couple of arms that could help us in the future. We have been on Charles for some time now, but he fell off our radar when he went to Oakland. Our scout LOVES Charles, so to bring him in and let him grow is pretty good for us. DeRemer has tons of potential, and he was performing well for us in our lefties lineup. However, with DeChambeau coming back up soon, and Will Macoy pushing for a look at the big league level, a tough decision had to be made. Thanks to Scott for the easy discussion, and good luck to DeRemer in Oakland.

Tampa sends: P Ethan Reed (AAA) Washington sends: 2B Taylor Davis (AAA) We need to continue to address issues we have, and consolidate our pitching talent to that end. Ethan Reed is a pitcher I love, but it was difficult to find him a role in the grand scheme of things. We add Davis, who flat out hits. This will open up our ability to use DeChambeau and McConnell as utility guys, which is key for us. Good luck to Reed, and thanks to Tony for very easy and quick discussions.

TB sends: 1B Nick Pratto (ML) OF Alex O'Connell (ML) P Tristan Beck (ML) P Jack Leiter (AAA) MIL sends: 1B Daniel McCormick (ML) P Duncan Duimelaar (ML) Seems like an overpay on our end; maybe it is. But we need a bonafide starting pitcher, and getting someone like McCormick, who I think fits our garbage stadium perfectly, while being able to play two outfield spots well, seems like a win for our system. O'Connell was a breakout last year, and I think he has better days ahead...but we realistically needed to trade one (at least) of our outfielders. Pratto is a major loss emotionally, as he was a Rule V guy gone good last year. I think the upgrade to McCormick is substantial enough to go through with it. Leiter has the possibility of being a megastar, but we have a bunch of promising young pitchers. Duimelaar, I think, is a buy-low guy who can shine in our garbage ballpark. Beck started well this year, and maybe would have continued that; however, based on what I think I need, this deal is a path to that on our side. Thanks to Cole for the very easy discussion, and good luck to the quartet heading to Milwaukee.

TB sends: SP Gunnar Gray (AA) OF Ollie Gordon (R) SS Danny De Andrade (R) KC sends: SS Garrett Dechambeau (ML) We have sought up-the-middle depth for a long time. Now we have it. The cost is potentially steep, but this trade is rooted in timeframes. Dechambeau impacts our current timeframe, which is the primary focus. He also may be a future cornerstone. Thanks to Chappy for easy discussions.

The following deal has been agreed upon: Tampa sends: SP Gary Griffith Seattle sends: OF Elliott Jenkins Tampa has been after Jenkins for a while, thinking that he's an ideal player for Tampa's garbage ballpark. We can trade from strength in moving Griffith, and wish him well in Seattle.

The Tampa Bay Rays Trade: IF Jean Segura (ML) SP Grayson Rodriguez (AAA) OF Alek Thomas (AAA) 2B Nick Gonzales (A) 1B Evan Waxman (AA) The Cleveland Guardians Trade: OF Cade Cahill (ML) IF Kunitaro Suzuki (ML) Big swing here. I've been looking for a good all-around outfielder, one who can likely play CF and allow for O'Connell and Plummer to play LF or DH. Enter Cahill, who can also play RF. He checks off all the boxes of what I'm trying to do with the club. Suzuki helps lessen the salary load going back to Cleveland, and he may provide reasonable cover off the bench. It's a considerable cost, given the prospects in the deal (Thomas, in particular, hurts), but it's a cost I'm clearly willing to pay. We wish them well in Cleveland, and thank Andrew for the pleasant and seamless trade talks.

This is another strength-for-weakness deal. We have an abundance of young starting pitchers. We do not have an abundance of good young outfielders. Mangum is akin to Bobby McDonald; he's not a perfect solution, but he will make us better, especially with late-game defense. Bitsko has good potential, and should do well in San Francisco. I probably paid a little more than most, but I value what Mangum brings to the franchise quite a bit. So, I'm happy with it. Danke, Heinz. May it work out for both sides.

Rays approve the deal. I drafted McDonald once upon a time, and need a fourth outfielder. He fills an absolute need for me, and checks off the boxes I want. (I know his offense has not been great, but if he can be a defensive sub late in games, and fill in here and there, I’m pleased). Archer and Sands have a chance to be pretty decent; however, we have solid organizational depth at both 1B and in the bullpen. So, they’ll head to Milwaukee, and hopefully blossom into productive players there!

Rays agree to this trade. It's no secret that we have wanted to move on from Leon, who we do not see as with us when we are formally ready to contend. There were a few offers that came through here and there, with one that would have moved him a long time ago. As it is, I'm happy to do this deal, with consolidates some of our arms and improves our rotation immensely in Beck. My scout absolutely loves him, and I think he can play really well in our park, whether in the bullpen, or in the rotation. Hanna is a guy, but he's a lefty who can perform. With Gallo losing a lot of his opportunities to rookie Craig Williams this season, I'm cool with taking Hanna into the same role. I'm happy Leon is reunited with Hodges, and may he have success in Pittsburgh!