Dateline: Marietta, January 27, 2012
In what is becoming an annual tradition, Marietta GM and owner Nate Wooley has begun dealing players for prospects this year. The first deal of this offseason features top flight minor league talent and an establish all star, Timothy Palacio.
River Cities has dealt second sacker Palacio to Hickory, along with third baseman Robert Fout, relief pitcher Tobias Gutierrez, and the eleventh overall pick in this year's amateur draft to Hickory in return for left field prospect Robert Estill, right field prospect Peter Bernabe, third base prospect Nathanael Burton, and Hickory's first round pick in next year's amateur draft, wherever that may be.
"It was a good deal for us", said Wooley, sipping coffee while the waters rose on the Muskingum River. "Our salary situation was getting untenable, even with the growth in revenue over the last several years. Combine that with the weakness in our farm system after last year's playoff push and it makes sense all around. Plus, Tim's just one surly bastard. He's better elsewhere, I think."
"Surly? That bastard! I gave him great performance! I'll show his sorry ass, that miserable, lousy, no-good so-and-so. I'm going to have such a year he'll cry his sorry ass off!" said Palacio, with vehemence.
Reached at his remote villa, third baseman Fout commented, "Well, it's not like it was unexpected. I'm still a good player but with Quijada on board there was no room for me. I'm just happy I'll end up somewhere I can get a chance to hit some bombs and drive in some runs."
Palacio, who last year hit hit 37 home runs while driving in 125 and sending up a .299/.359/.451 line, is slated to play second base and be a big run producer for the retooling Hickory franchise.
Estill, the #3 prospect in the game, spent last season between A-ball and AA and is expected to slide into the AA roster for River Cities. The 2nd overall pick in last year's draft, Estill is a five-star work in prospect who is not expected to get to River Cities for at least two years.
Regarding the other prospect, Bernabe should start the season at AAA and Burton, a versitile player with skills as second, short, and third, should begin the season as with the major league squad as the back up infielder.
Not that I'm of any interest to keep Palacio in the ZL, but can one trade a future (2013) draft pick before the 2012 draft is finished?
ReplyDeleteIf I read this correctly, Nate's 1st round pick in 2012 is included, as well as Mark's first round pick in 2013. Right?
Could I really mortgage my future by dealing my first round picks in 2013-2020 for some überstud?
If I understand the software right it will only allow you to trade NEXT season's picks. So we should be OK there. But picks beyond next season the software can't handle.
ReplyDeleteCan you trade next season's picks before this season's draft has occurred, though?
ReplyDeleteMy understanding of the rules in this league was that nothing could be traded that the game didn't allow. Hence, you couldn't trade a draft pick that had already been traded. More relevantly here, you also couldn't trade a pick beyond the next draft (in this case, the 2012 draft).
ReplyDeleteI could be wrong, but that's what I understood the rules to be.
Either way we can work it out. Just a matter of making it two deals.
ReplyDeleteTrue, Nate: I'm all for you getting rid of Palacio.
ReplyDeleteCuriously, so am I. I wasn't kidding when I said he was a surly bastard. And I need to reload, anyway.
ReplyDelete