Shackamaxon brings back reliever

The Shackamaxon Lenape today re-acquired a former prospect who is thriving as a 24-year-old closer. In a deal with the Norfolk Tides, the Lenape traded three farmhand relievers, headlined by starter PJ Booker, and received Sergio Lujan and low minors arm Gregory Griffith.

Heading to Norfolk with Booker are relievers Jorge Gonzales and Pedro Galindo.

Former Monarchs Return to Seattle

Seattle today re-acquired two former Monarchs, giving up some draft capital in the process. Seattle sent its third and eighth round picks in next year's draft to Norfolk in exchange for pitcher Teddy "Gravedigger" O'Herlihy and third baseman Charles Cluett.

"We just couldn't quit Teddy and Charles," said Seattle Owner/GM Mack Shultz. When we learned there was a chance to reacquire them, and rebuild our depth, we were very excited."

O'Herlihy has a 3.27 ERA in 20 relief appearances for the Tides while Cluett is struggling as a reserve, hitting just .237.

Seattle also acquired Norfolk's 15th round pick in the trade, for reasons known only to Shultz.

Trade between Brick and Norfolk

Brick and Norfolk completed a trade that sends Matt Young AAA OF  and Jeremiah Vaughn AA SP to Norfolk in exchange for Ron Hill SP ..while SP Ron Hill was used in the bullpen at Norfolk the last two years GM Fred Goldfarb expressed the need to send him  to AA and be placed in the starting rotation so Hill can help the rotation down the road..Tom Carrano the GM of Norfolk  had been pursuing Vaughn for some time and was happy to get such a live arm that can help the team in the future while Matt Young has hit 300 over the last 3 or 4 years and might help the big club soon

Any player can be had

Norfolk GM has decided to throw in the towel for this season and probably should have even earlier but was hoping  that his players would turn the season around. With that said all players are up for trade and maybe it will start a fire for those who are not dealt.

Brick trades with Highland and bring back a former player

Brick  faced with the lost of two of the star outfielders ( Reed and Velasquez) bring back a old friend. Raul Ortega right fielder...Brick sends a 8th round pick to Highland and gets Ortega back in return..GM Goldfarb had to plug a hole in the line up with both players out for 5 weeks...Ortega well fill the fourth spot in the order with McCormick batting third and Cox fifth should revitalize the offense...GM Goldfarb speaking to the press expressed high hopes that the  Barracudas can make the run back to the cup and win it this time

June II Sim Done (and a note on OOTP 17)

Game Date:  Jul 1, 2028

Standings:
Adams:  London leads Atlanta by nine games.
Zotti:  Seattle has a fourteen game lead over Brick
Signorino:  Antelope Valley's lead over Maui is a dozen games
Wild Card:  Brick is eight games ahead of Appalachian.

Awards & Accomplishments:
Shackamaxon 3B Tae-sang Pak named Player of the Week (6/19, first career award)
Appalachian LF Mike Roberts named Player of the Week (6/27, first career award)
Atlanta LF Armando Burgos named Rookie of the Month
Seattle SP Chris Williams named Pitcher of the Month (first career award)
Antelope Valley C Lloyd Rideout named Batter of the Month (second career award).

Significant Injuries:
Houston MR Dan Eggleston, done for the year, torn back muscle.
Shackamaxon 2B Jesus Alvarez, five weeks, fractured hand
Maui SP Juan Ramirez, 8-9 weeks, elbow tendinitis.
Shackamaxon LF Ramon Gonzalez, 3-4 weeks, strained hamstring.
Brick RF Salvador Velasquez, 5 weeks, sprained ankle
Brooklyn RF Jaime Vasquez, 6 weeks, separated shoulder
Norfolk LF Jim Scott, 4 weeks, oblique strain
Highland 2B Santiago Perez, 3-4 weeks, hamstring sprain
Brooklyn RF Mike Thomas, done for the season, fractured ankle
Brick LF Ken Reed, 5-6, strained groin muscle

Milestones:
London's Nigel Bryant passed 1000 RBI

Last Week's Trivia Question & Answer:
As a number of you guessed, the two Hall of Famers from the small town of Donora, Pennsylvania are Stan Musial and Ken Griffey, Jr.

As for the bonus question, Phil Cavaretta is the only player to play for one team for 20 years, but not spend his entire career with the team and not be in the Hall of Fame.

This Week's Question:
Who was the only pitcher to face both Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle

Bonus Question:
In 1979, the Kansas City Royals drafted two players who would go on to be Hall of Famers.  Who are they?

Note about OOTP17:
We're planning on upgrading the league to OOTP 17 after the season.  The creators of the game, Out of the Park Developments, have it on sale now for 50% off ($19.99).  So, if you haven't bought it yet, now would be a good time.

Next sim:  Thursday night

AV Raptors Bolster Bullpen

In an effort to strengthen their bullpen for a title run, the Raptors dealt former 1st Round draft pick A reliever Francisco Flores and AA catcher Juan Davila for Shackamaxon reliever Dane Beck.  Beck has been having a breakout season since being moved to the bullpen and AV GM Sauerwald felt the time was right to upgrade the beleaguered Raptor's pen.

June I Sim Done

Game Date:  Jun 16 2028

Standings:
Adams:  London leads Atlanta by four games.
Zotti:  Seattle has a six game lead over Brick
Signorino:  Antelope Valley is up by thirteen.

Awards & Accomplishments:
Atlanta's Ernest Metcalf stuck out 15 Brooklyn Wolves on 6/5
Appalachian 2B Mike DeWitt named Player of the Week (6/5, first career award).
Antelope Valley C Lloyd Rideout named Player of the Week (6/12, first career award).

Significant Injuries:
Appalachian will be without LF Martin Perez for about four weeks because of a fractured rib.
Highland reliever Salvadore Soto is out for 6-7 weeks with shoulder bursitis.
John Cooper will be on the DL for London for 4 weeks with shoulder tendinitis.
The Armadillos will have to live without Dan Eggleston for the rest of the year as he tore a back muscle.

Milestones:
None

Last Week's Trivia Question:
Who are the only three players to spend their entire career (minimum 20 seasons) and not be in the Hall of Fame.  The answer, as correctly guessed was Mel Harder, Alan Trammel and Derek Jeter.

After the question was answered, I put out a bonus question:  What player spent 20 years with one team (but not his entire career) and is not in the Hall of Fame.  I think I'll leave this one out there this week, while giving you a new question as well.

This Week's Trivia Question:  
The town of Donora, Pennsylvania has a population of 5,653, so the odds of it producing a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame are pretty small.  However, this town beat the odds and produced two Hall of Famers.  Who are they?

A Statistical Oddity:
I found this little tidbit but I'm not sure how to phrase it in a question without giving away the answer, so I'll just put it out there.  Warren Sphan won 363 games in his career -- 356 for the Braves, 4 for the Mets and 3 for the Giants.  In an odd quirk, he also had 363 hits (as a batter) -- 356 for the Braves, 4 for the Mets and 3 for the Giants.

Next sim:  Next Thursday night.

Shackamaxon's Shopping Shack Max On Spectacular!

Another season, another list of quality players available for trade!

Major league batters

• IF Jesus Alvarez - excellent bat, can play 2B or 3B and hit near the top of the lineup. Due to make $2m this year and next, followed by a team option.
• IF Ieyasu Suzuki - virtually identical description to Alvarez: can play all over the IF and can hit. Due to make $2m total (!) over the next four years. Ideally, I trade one of the pair and keep the other.
• IF Jonathan Locker and IF Tae-Sung Pak - I'm not looking to trade either young starter, but I'll listen to an offer for one of them. 
• OF Lawrence Gould - superb corner OF, can play CF in a pinch, and mashes with power (289 ISO). Arbitration eligible after the season

Major league pitchers

• MR Rick Taylor - swingman who excels in the bullpen. 3.44 ERA so far this year. Not eligible for arbitration for two more years after this one.
• MR Dane Beck - another swingman, similar to Taylor except two years younger. Sparkling 2.22 ERA this year!
• MR Tony Dominguez - reliable mid-to-late inning reliever. Free agent after this season. 
• MR Kwang-Sub Kim - similar to Dominguez, with a team option for next season.
• MR Edgardo Rodriguez - dominant late inning lefty. 3.10 ERA and 8.9K/9 so far this year. Team option for next season.
• SP Qing-Hua Tso - free to a good home. Turnaround candidate in need of a fresh start. Team option for next season.

Minor league batters

• AAA IF Basz Marievska - raking in a reserve role at AAA. Can step in as a 5th IF type. 
• AAA IF Robert Roberts - Has shuffled back and forth between the majors and AAA this season. Primarily a SS.
• Any of the OF at AAA Arizona Bay
• AA IF Tokuma Kanno - crushing the ball as a starting SS at AA Kalmar. Can probably play in the MLB now.
• AA IF Dave Carter - intriguing 1B prospect, only 21 years old
• AA OF Jason Graham - former 1st round pick in 2025 starting to turn things around at AA this season.
• AA OF Kinnon Tomlinson - currently injured for the next sim. #49 prospect in game.

Minor league pitchers
I will discuss traing any pitchers in my minor leagues (except the rookie league) excluding these players:

• AAA: Juan Santiago, Todd Davis, Brian Powell, Joe Younger, Leonard Christopher
• AA: James Ferguson, PJ Booker, Nate Gibbs
• A: Micheal Leach

(Seriously, I'm not looking to deal one of those pitchers.)

Slightly More Important Trade

Having screwed up and dealt away too many relievers, Seattle found itself short-handed when a second reliever went down with a season ending injury. In response, Seattle today traded a sixth-round pick to Highland for middle reliever Colt Allen.

Allen, who disappointingly is only 32 and not 45, will join the back of the Monarchs' major league bullpen.

Earthshattering Trade ... Maybe Not

Seattle sends a 10th round pick in next year's draft to Maui for AAA 3B Marcus Labelle.

That is all.

May II Sim Done!

League Date: June 1, 2028

Standings:

• Adams Division: London leads Atlanta by 6 games
• Zotti Division: Seattle leads Brick by 2 games
• Signorino Division: Antelope Valley leads Maui by 13 games
• Wild Card: Brick leads Appalachian, Atlanta, and Maui by 14 games

News:

• Antelope Valley starter Yorikane Kichikawa set the SDMB League record with 16 strikeouts in a game against Houston
• Seattle OF George Hendricks won the Player of the Week Award, and then the Player of the Month Award the following week
• Kichikawa justifiably won the Pitcher of the Month Award
• Highland 1B Roberto Benitez won the Rookie of the Month Award

Injuries:

• Brick reliever Pino Pontoni (who was recently acquired) suffered a sprained elbow and will be out for 1-2 more weeks
• Houston reliever Glenn Jones tore a tricep (ouch) and will be out for two months
• London outfielder Jonathan Anderson tore a meniscus in his knee (been there, done that) and will be out for about 8-9 more weeks
• Brick outfielder Ryan Hughes suffered a knee bruise after being hit by a pitch and will miss two weeks
• Appalachian infielder Ken Moore will miss 5 weeks with elbow tendinitis

Major league contracts:

• A week before getting hurt, Jonathan Anderson and London signed a one year contract extension worth $7.5m.

Trivia time:

Fred gets partial credit for last week's question. Mike Marshall set the record in both the AL and the NL. In 1974, he appeared in 106 games for the Dodgers, and then in 90 games for the Twins in 1980.

This week's question: Who are the three major league players to play at least 20 seasons with one team, only play for that one team in their career, and are not in the Hall of Fame?

Next sim: Next Thursday night (6/16/2016). The new rookie league will start playing after that sim!

Seattle-Norfolk Trade

Seattle traded two established veterans today to Norfolk. The Monarchs sent swingman Gregg Fiala and first baseman Masahide Ueda, accompanied by a suitcase containing $10 million, to the Tides. In exchange, Norfolk sent Seattle a fourth-round pick from Brick that they had acquired in an earlier trade and swapped back a round in the upcoming draft by exchanging their first-round pick for Seattle's second-round pick.

Fiala should strengthen the Tides' bullpen, currently ranked 11th in ERA at 6.21. Ueda is expected to take over as Norfolk's starting first baseman. Ueda had started the last three years for the Monarchs , while Fiala had spent five years in Seattle, including four in the starting rotation.

Seattle needed to clear some roster room as three injured Monarchs are preparing to come off of the DL and a spot in the bullpen was needed for the recent free agent signing of young swingman Jose Morales.

Brick bullpen gets stronger

    Brick and Highland complete another trade.Brick receives closer Pino  Pontoni from Highland for prospects Kwang-ho Yi OF at AAA Warminster and Miguel Hernandez  Closer at AA...GM John Carrano was very happy with picking up two very good prospects.........GM Fred Goldfarb expressed joy over making stronger a already good bullpen

Shackamaxon flips pick

The 4th round pick acquired by Shackamaxon from Norfolk earlier today has been traded to Brick in exchange for Rule 5 OF Ramon Gonzalez.

End of an era in Shackamaxon

The Shackamaxon Lenape announced a hastily-convened press conference this afternoon to announce the departure of two franchise legends, and the trade of another current star to shake up the rebuilding franchise.

"We are announcing the release of future Hall of Famer John Grondin, as well as Scott Loman," GM Michael Weintraub stated. "Both players were illustrious members of our 25th Anniversary Team, and valuable stars on our recently-successful teams."

Grondin was in the final year of a $82m extension he signed after the 2024 season, following the completion of his initial 7 year, $200m contract he signed back in early 2019. 2028 was his tenth season with the team, and his second as the first baseman after spending the first eight seasons as the second baseman. Unfortunately, time caught up with the now 36-year-old, as he only slashed .217/.289/.348 with 5 home runs and 52 strikeouts in 41 games this season.

Loman was a valuable part of the franchise's pitching staff for eight seasons before leaving for free agency in 2026. After a year away from the team, he signed a $650,000 contract and won the 5th starter job in spring training. Unfortunately, Loman went 0-6 with a 12.60 ERA in eight starts this season.

Replacing those two on the roster will be two youngsters acquired from Norfolk's AAA team today in a blockbuster deal: Ben Turner will be the new starting first baseman, and Emilio Perez will join the back of the Lenape rotation. Both players were acquired for star catcher George Robinson. The Lenape also acquired Norfolk's 3rd and 4th round picks in next season's amateur draft.

Fighting back tears, Grondin vowed to keep playing. "I'm not done yet, I can still play. Someone might need a DH..."

Vet's for teams

These players can be had from today till trade deadline...

CL Pino Pontoni 1st year of 3, 3rd year team option and am willing to eat salary to get young players or draft picks.

SP Arturo Zavala 1st year of 2, 2nd year is team option

MR Colton Allen  1 year deal

LR  Will Ingram  1 year deal

SP Kevin Kepner  1st year of 2, 2nd is team option willing to eat some salary

2B Terry Hubbard  1st year of 2, 2nd year team option

2B Santiago Perez  1st year of 2, 2nd team option

RF Raul Ortega  1st year of 2, 2nd team option   am willing to eat most of salary

May I Sim Done

Game Date:  May 15, 2028

Standings:

• Adams:  London up by six.
• Zotti:  Seattle is two games up on Brick.
• Signorino:  Antelope Valley has a commanding eleven game lead over Maui.

(Oh, did I mention that Antelope Valley is eleven games up after only 41 games!)

Awards & Accomplishments:
Brooklyn's Arthur Cain wins Player of the Week (5/8 - 2nd career award)
Brick's Larry McCormick wins Player of the Week (5/15 - 3rd career award and first since his rookie season in 2020).

Milestones:
None

Significant Injuries:

• Highland SS Tommy Johns has a torn muscle.  He'll be out for five months.  No word if he'll have a surgery named after him.
• Highland RF Enrique Monroe fractured his foot.  He'll sit for four weeks.  No surgery will be named after him for this.
• Shackamaxon SP Dylan Robison has a torn rotator cuff.  He's done for the season and may need to have Dylan Robison surgery.
• London 1B Nigel Bryant fractured his hand and will miss about five weeks.  The commissioner will have surgery to remove his awful sense of humor.

Trivia Questions:
Who holds the National League (and major league) record for most pitching appearances in a season?  Who holds the American League record?  Who holds the SDMBOOTP record?


Next sim:  See you all next Thursday.

Yet another Shackamaxon/Brick trade

The Lenape and Barracudas have a minor trade to announce:

Shackamaxon acquires AA catcher Javier Flores from Brick in exchange for another AA catcher, Daniel Buchan, as well as AA outfielder John Hamilton.