Shackamaxon's garage sale

I have a bevy of decent players, either veterans or former prospects, who didn't make my major league roster and are going to languish at AAA this season. If you need any depth, check out these players:

• Starting pitchers -- Chris Webster, Rick Taylor, Cullen Jones, and Neil Green
• Relief pitchers -- John Field, Ambroz Ondra, and Chris Mason (all left-handed, by the way)
• Catchers -- John Jenkins and Anthony Powers
• Infielders -- Victor Paz, Adrie de Leeuw, Juan Rodriguez, and Sixto Vargas
• Outfielders -- Guy Imbeault, Ignatio Lopez, Hidekazu Iwasaki, and Waylon Lawrence

I'm not looking for much in return. 

Updated last non-trade post

Added 3rd round pick to go along with 2nd round pick and cash to help find player home.

Highland
John

Maui / Highland Trade

Maui and Highland agreed to a rare Opening Day trade that will send star catcher Aaron Hampton to the sunny shores of Maui.  Hampton, who missed almost the entire 2027 season with a ruptured MCL, will be a free agent next year.  Hampton did not fit into the future plans for the new Highland front office, particularly after acquiring two promising catching prospects from Shackamaxon and Seattle in recent deals.

In exchange for Hampton, SP Matt McDonald and C Chad Weaver will be calling Highland their new home.  To complete the deal, Highland is also sending Maui its 4th and 6th round draft picks, and $3 million cash to cover some of Hampton's salary.

New Home Needed.....

I am looking to find 1B Jesús Flores a new home as the team has traded for a young promising prospect who will get the bulk of the playing time. I am offering MY 2nd round pick,3rd round pick in the 2028 and 10 million for this season for an young mid prospect(SS,OF).  He has a career AVG of .295 30 HR's and about 95 RBI's.
Hit me up if interested

Highland Admirals
John Carrano  

Atlanta gets in on the trade frenzy

After sitting out much of the offseason frenzy, the Atlanta Hurricanes have decided to get into the action the day before the new season kicks off.  Knowing that they need help in their bullpen, they get a proven closer and a young MR from the Highland Admirals.

CL Julio 'Prophet' Delvalle will immediately assume the closer's roll in Atlanta.  MR Ralph Turner will serve as middle relief help to take some pressure off the other arms.

The Admirals will get younger as they want with 2 young future stars coming over in the trade.  AAA 1B Manuel Hidalgo and SP Will Walker along with a 2nd round pick in the 2028 draft.  Atlanta will also shed 2 of it's underperforming stars and Highlands hopes a change of scenery will help them out. SP Jack Kaiser and MR Manuel Galido will finish this deal.

Everyone is ready for the new season, and it Atlanta they just got a bit more excited.

Welcome To Opening Day!!

It's a beautiful day here at League Park as we are ready to start the 26th season of SDMB OOTP baseball!  Will the Seattle Monarchs be able to keep their crowns and earn an amazing twelfth title?  Will newcomers Norfolk and Highland be vastly improved after their trading frenzies?  These questions and more will be answered in the coming months.  In the meantime... PLAY BALL!!

Game Date:  Apr 1 2027

Commissioner's Note:  Please be sure to have your active roster down to 25 players by Opening Day.  Please don't make me have to make your roster decisions for you.

Next sim (covering the first half of April)  Thursday evening.

Shackamaxon shakes up roster

On the verge of the new season, the Shackamaxon Lenape pulled off a stunning trade, opening a spot in the rotation for the team's top prospect.

"We are pleased to announce a trade with the Highland Admirals," GM Michael Weintraub stated. "We engaged John in a discussion about catchers, and the deal quickly developed from there."

The Lenape are sending a package of three players to the Admirals in exchange for top outfield prospect Elwood Kerr and a 1st round draft pick. Heading to Highland are starting pitcher Harry Wagner, and farmhands Max Price, a catcher/third baseman, and third baseman Cristo Bustamente.

"While we're sad to see Harry go," Weintraub said. "This opens a spot in the rotation for John Ryan, whom we believe is ready to step into the major leagues. We also believe we have the infield depth to afford the loss of Price and Cristo. We wish all three of them luck in their new organization."

Seattle Welcomes a Workhorse Home

The Seattle Monarchs today celebrated the return of shortstop Pedro "Workhorse" Campos in a monster trade with the Highlands Admirals. Campos had been a top prospect for Seattle before being dealt to what was then Hickory in a deal for a draft pick that eventually became starting pitcher Chris "Ogre" Williams. Now that Campos has blossomed and is on the verge of superstardom, the Monarchs have brought him back.

Seattle had to pay a pretty steep price for the shortstop. Highlands will receive three top prospects--centerfielder Ismail Rodriguez, catcher Mark Porter, and second baseman Jose Munoz-- and Seattle's third-round pick in next year's draft.

"We're delighted to have Pedro come back to a Monarchs uniform," said Seattle Owner/GM Mack Shultz. "He's really blossomed as a hitter and a defender and he'll be a great addition to our team. We'll certainly miss the three guys headed to the Highlands, but we feel like we've got a great team with a good shot at winning a title."

Speculation immediately began swirling around incumbent starting shortstop Dewey Wilson, who is currently on the DL but expected back in a couple weeks. Shultz tried to defuse them. "Dewey is a great player, and extremely versatile. I'm always willing to listen to offers, but Wilson  is a team player and will make  an excellent utility infielder, filling in everywhere in the infield. Plus, you never know when someone is going to go down with an injury. Now, we're well set to handle that possibility."

Highlands first trade !!!

Today Highlands made there first trade of the season as they agreed to a trade with Norfolk. Highlands will receive from Norfolk young MR Alfonso Reyes, SP Rafael Rojas and Norfolk's 3rd round pick in 2028 in exchange for veteran SP Jesus Garcia, their 5th round pick 2028 and 3,000,000 dollars to help cover Garcia's 8 mil contract. Highlands sheds payroll will getting a better pick for the draft and Norfolk gets a veteran who though lost 19 games last year had two strong season before it.

Highlands players for had !!!!

As I look at my new team I have noticed that it is either really old players or really young players so I have decided to try and get really young and rebuild for the next couple of years. So all vets are for had if a team is looking to add a piece to try and help them this year. Let me know.

Highlands
John 

Next Sim Saturday Night

I've put the next sim off until Saturday night to give John a chance to make changes to his team.

Highands Admirals take over for Hickory

Hello everyone, My name is John Carrano and am cousins with Thomas who runs the Norfolk team. I joined this league due the fact that he told me about it and how there was a team open. I'm from NJ and love all teams from NY like the Mets who I plan on fitting my team around.... Pitching wins games and they have 5-6. I want to build my team thru the draft If I can but also like to trade like my cousin I see. I have looked at the Hickory team and it looks like a ruff season this year lol. Hope we all have a great season.

John Carrano

Sim's Done -- Opening Day Coming Up

Game Date:  Mar 29 2027

The next sim will be the last sim of Spring Training.

Significant Injuries:
Norfolk SS Juan Chavez will miss five weeks with a strained hamstring
Hickory MR Leroy Gray injured his hand and will miss eight weeks.

Last sim of Spring Training:  Thursday Night.

Seattle-Norfolk Trade Three ... er ... Four

Admittedly, it's hard to keep up. But the ranks of former Monarchs within the Norfolk system continue to grow. This time it's starting pitcher Teddy "Gravedigger" O'Herlihy headed off to be a Tide.

Drafted by Seattle late in the second round in 2019, O'Herlihy quickly bloomed into an elite pitcher. In 2021-22, at the tender ages of 22 and 23, O'Herlihy combined for a 26-3 record with a 2.42 ERA. Bothered by injuries the last few seasons, he hasn't been able to recapture that glory, but he remains an immensely talented pitcher.

In return for O'Herlihy and an undisclosed amount of cash (sources place it at the $3.2 million necessary to cover O'Herlihy's salary this season), Seattle will receive the second-round pick originally belonging to Shackamaxon and acquired earlier this offseason by Norfolk, along with picks in the fourth and fifth rounds.

"We wish Teddy the best," said Seattle Owner/GM Mack Shultz. "I remain confident in Teddy's talent, but this was a good chance for us to open a spot in our rotation for some other guys who we're very excited about." Shultz mentioned top prospect Chris "Ogre" Williams and former reliever Yoshifumi "Wolverine" Tanaka as new pitchers expected to start the season in the Monarchs' rotation.

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Mar 22, 2027

Opening Day is rapidly approaching...

Significant Injuries:
Houston SP Russ Singleton has a partially torn labrum and is out for 4 months
Seattle will be without SS Dewey Wilson for about 5-6 weeks with a strained groin muscle.
Maui's newly acquired reliever Mark Richard has sprained his ankle and will be on the bench for two months.
Brooklyn infielder Luis Figueroa tore his ankle ligaments and will be out for 4-5 months.

Next sim:  Saturday night

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Mar 15 2027

Signings:
Maui signed RF Raul Ortega (Seattle) to a 1 year contract for $5.7m
Norfolk signed MR Ryan Pennington (extension) to a 3 yr/$1.95m contract.
Norfolk signed 1B Luis Lozano to a 2 yr/$8.5m extension.

Significant Injuries:
London SP Erik Moore has an inflamed shoulder and will be sidelined for 3-4 weeks.
Houston SP Russ Singleton partially tore his laburm.  He's out for 4 months.
Seattle SS Dewey Wilson strained a groin muscle and will sit on the bench for 5-6 weeks.

Next sim:  Wednesday night

Lookin for young SP pitchers

Any owner who has some SP's that they are willing to trade please let me know. I am not looking for any pitcher 30 and older and that has a salary that is high. Please let me know....
Norfolk
Thomas

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Mar 8 2027

Signings:
Norfolk:  SP Carlos Rivera (extension) (2 yrs/$2.1m)

Significant Injuries:
Hickory SS Tommy Johns (no, I'm not making that up!) ruptured his Achilles' tendon and is likely done for the season.

Next sim:  Saturday night.

Rain Delay

My apologies, everyone... I was up very late in the hospital with a sick relative last night and did not get to the sim.  We'll take care of it tonight.

Seattle-Norfolk Trade

Seattle bids farewell today to one of its all-time greats as centerfielder Bas Bijkerk heads to Norfolk in a major trade. Bijkerk broke into the majors ten years ago at the tender age of 21 and had started in center ever since. Bijkerk provided superior defense and averaged 20 home runs, 34 doubles and almost 80 RBI per year. Unfortunately, he had been supplanted last year by the acquisition of Yvon Settignano and therefore needed a new home where he could start.

Monarchs Owner/GM Mack Shultz, honoring the work Bijkerk did in helping win five championships, set about to find Bijkerk that opportunity. A match was found in Norfolk and the two teams have agreed to a trade.

In the deal, Seattle sends Bijkerk, young reliever George Mrazek, centerfield prospect Carlos Ortega, and an undisclosed amount of cash to Norfolk in exchange for rightfielder Jorge Moya and a first-round pick next year.

The Monarchs wish Bijkerk well with the Tides and may he bring them many championships.

Re: Shackamaxon/Norfolk prospects and picks trade

Now that the 2027 draft is complete, it's time to start trading 2028 draft picks. And, Shackamaxon and Norfolk have completed the first trade involving a 2028 draft pick.

To finish this deal, the Norfolk Tides are acquiring a 2nd round pick in 2028 for AA OF Benjamin Anderson.

And thus it begins again...

You've Always Got To Wonder...

... when you don't pick until the middle or late in the first round of the draft and, lo and behold, you got the guy you rated as your #1 pick.  Did you just score a major coup?  Or are you the only one who saw him as being worth a high pick at all?

#DraftSecondGuessing

Amateur Draft Done!

Game Date:  Mar 2 2027

Notes:  We have a vacancy in the league as Frank has resigned as the owner of the Hickory Huskers.  If you know someone who'd like to play, please feel free to have them reach out to Michael or myself.

Next sim:  Wednesday night

Shackamaxon stocks up on shortstops

Fresh off trading their top three shortstop prospects to Norfolk, the Shackamaxon Lenape have restored their minor league shortstop depth via a trade with division rival Ohio.

"After we were done dealing with Norfolk, we looked at our depth charts and realized we didn't have any shortstop prospects. With Miguel Martinez nearing the end of his contract, we needed to address that," Lenape GM Michael Weintraub explained. "We made the first deal with Maui for Locker, and now we are proud to announce that we have acquired Tae-Sung Pak from Ohio."

Heading to Ohio for Pak is starting pitching prospect Chad Harrison and two second round picks, Shackamaxon's original pick, and one recently acquired from Norfolk.

"We're happy with all of our pre-draft trades. We've improved our outfield prospects with Juan Arroyo and the imminent trade for Benjamin Anderson. We got two good starter prospects, and only lost one," Weintraub said. "We also upgraded our shortstop depth considerably, as we rate Locker and Pak higher than the guys we traded. And, we picked up a couple of extra 3rd, 4th, and 5th round picks."

The Lenape plan to start Pak in AAA Arizona Bay, while Locker will start at AA Kalmar. Whether either, or both, reach the majors in 2027 remains to be seen.

Maui / Shackamaxon Trade

Is it just me or has this been one of the more active offseasons in recent memory?  In keeping with that spirit, Maui and Shackamaxon have agreed to the following minor trade:

Maui sends AA SS Jonathan Locker and its 5th round pick in the 2027 amateur draft to Shackamaxon.

Shackamaxon sends AA RF Don Jones to Maui.

Norfolk and Brick swap players

Today Norfolk and Brick came together to work out a trade to better help both there rosters moving forward. Norfolk main reason for this trade was MR Sergio Lujan who is young and a little wild but has future set-up man or closer in him and SP Rico Padua who might be a LR for us or an extra SP if need be. Brick gets prospects in return as they get single-A CF Julio Quintero who is or was a top 100 prospect and single-A MR Juan Anzora. Norfolk also threw in a 8th round pick from the 2027 draft to help get the trade done. 

Amateur Draft -- Monday Night

Game Date:  Mar 1 2027

It's time for the yearly amateur draft!  Please upload  your draft picks for the draft on Monday night.

In addition, please double check the Traded Draft Picks page and make sure that your team is credited with the draft picks it should have.  That's the sheet I'll be using when I conduct the draft.

Lastly, we have a vacancy as Frank has stepped down from the ownership of the Hickory team.  If you know someone who'd like to join us, please have them drop a line to Michael or myself.

Zev

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Mar 1 2027

Next Sim:  Thursday night.

A quick note on the change in the recent Shackamaxon/Norfolk trade -- there is a rule against trading future draft picks (beyond the upcoming year).  As a result, I asked the two owners to re-work the deal to only include draft picks from the coming draft.

Rain Delay

I'm afraid I'm going to have to delay the sim for a day or so.  I'll try to have it run by tonight.

Zev