Seattle Makes Two Deals

The Seattle Monarchs, still reeling from their rash of injuries in the early season and the breakdown in contract negotiations with star first baseman Dong Lutz, made two separate deals.

In the first trade, Seattle sent promising starting pitcher Robert Gibson to Maui in exchange for infielder Paulino Reyes.

In the second deal, Seattle dealt infielder Chet Edwards and fourth and seventh round picks next year to Walla Walla for A-ball first baseman George Hill.

"Well, we've got to start preparing for the future," said Owner/GM Mack Shultz. "We're going to lose Lutz to free agency and there's a number of our other players driving very hard bargains. We've got to be prepared to replace them."

Gibson was thought of by Seattle's front office as the next superstar starting pitcher, but the bounce back year by Joe Macaluso made Gibson expendable. "We wouldn't have dealt Gibson for anything but a premier prospect, but we think Reyes can be that player," enthused Shultz. He could be the next great leadoff hitter in this game." Seattle's fans, who had fallen in love with Gibson, are expected to be outraged by this trade.

In the other deal, Seattle acquired Hill because its scouting director gave the first baseman glowing reviews. "If our scout is right, George could be a very productive major league player when he's finished developing. We need a good first base prospect," explained Shultz. Although Hill is rated the #66 prospect in the game, Seattle's scouting department is much higher on him.

"We may not be done yet," claimed Shultz. "We feel we have some outfield depth due to a number of guys developing in AAA and we may be able to make a move there to further improve our squad."