All five trades completed include either
the Yankee Stompers or the Wildcats. One deal was between the two.
Starting pitching and shortstops seemed
to be the focal point as general managers looked to improve their squads before
the draft.
The first trade across the wire was
between New England and Brooklyn. The Yankee Stompers picked up a second lefty
to pair with Gio Gonzalez atop the rotation: Jon Lester. Lester, a Moab since
2009, was acquired for a package of promising youngsters: Jedd Gyorko, Bobby
Parnell and Henderson Alvarez.
James Herndon continued dealing, sending
Miguel Montero and Brad Peacock to Casselton for Mike Napoli. Lest that trade
thinned out the Yankee Stompers’ catching depth (with Napoli iffy, at best, at
catcher), Herndon brought in hot prospect Mike Zunino in a deal with Carolina
(formerly Los Angeles). Also heading to the northeast was power-hitting third
sacker Trevor Plouffe. In exchange, the newest team on the east coast received
a shortstop, Jhonny Peralta.
Anthony King, after picking up Peralta,
came up with a potential ace in James Shields from Soho. The Wildcats, after
being surprisingly competitive in 2013 (just four games under .500), seemingly
announced their intentions on competing for a playoff spot. The price for
Shields was the only true third baseman on the roster, Kyle Seager, and two
late draft picks.
But just a day later news broke of the
final pre-draft deal: a “challenge trade” between King and the Brown brothers
of the Brownsville Cutters. Both players were shortstops coming off sub-par
2013 seasons with their respective teams. Starlin Castro goes to the Cutters
and is expected to slide right in to the starting role. Elvis Andrus heads to
Carolina and may play 3B or SS (whichever Peralta doesn’t play).
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