Philadelphia/Wilmington trade

Minutes before the 2030 trade deadline, an eight-player trade between Signorino Division rivals Philadelphia and Wilmington was completed.

In exchange for five players, headlined by recent #2 overall draft pick Rick Griffin, the Philadelphia Hornets have acquired a trio of well-regarded youngsters, SP Steve McClain, OF Jorge Benavides, and IF Jason Linfoot from the Wilmington Atlantics.

McClain will replace Ivan Gallardo in the Hornets rotation. Gallardo, along with RP Dwight Rowe, AA RP Carlos Moya, and A RP Jose Bautista, joined Griffin in the caravan heading south to the Carolinas.

"We hate giving up Griffin so soon after drafting him," Philadelphia GM Michael Weintraub said. "But, adding McClain to our team in the midst of a pennant race was too tempting an offer to haggle over. We also really like Benavides and Linfoot."

This deal marks the third time that the Hornets have traded away Dwight Rowe, who is only 23-years-old. "I'm not selling my condo in Manayunk," Rowe said. "I know I'll be back here in a season or two."