Pirates/Rays TRADE

[Pirates GM (Max)]

Pirates TRADE:
-- Cole Sands MIN RP, $0.8M (2)
-- Nate Pearson TOR RP, $0.8M (2)
-- John Cruz MIA OF, Prospect

Rays TRADE:
-- Joey Cantillo CLE LHP, Prospect
-- Edgar Quero CWS C, Prospect

I accept. Think Sands and Pearson both end up saving games one day, and Cruz has some sky high upside. But Gavin was interested in all three and came with a solid offer - I'm comfortable taking the lower upside / higher floor shots on Cantillo and Quero being decent point scorers for several seasons of me competing in the near future. Good luck Gavin, welcome to the league!

[Rays GM (Gavin)]

Rays confirm the trade. It's difficult to give up Cantillo and Quero but I get in return depth pieces at pre-Arb levels for a position of weakness and a prospect with high upside that I believe in. Thanks to Max for the smooth talks and best of luck going forward.

[Blue Jays GM (Stephen)]

Approve

[Guardians GM (Thomas)]

Veto from me.

Sands and Pearson are relievers who if you’re willing to offer 26-27 year old RPs 4-5 years, can be had in free agency throughout the year. RP depth is fairly cheap in my experience and shouldn’t cost a SP at AAA with a 2.31 ERA and one of the top 10 catching prospects in baseball (per MLB Pipeline’s list). I could see one of those prospects netting this package but this is a massive overpay for relief depth.

[Marlins GM (Travis)]

Veto. Shame on you Max, taking advantage of a new owner. Getting a top 100 spec for 2 RP and a 21st ranked spec on teams top 30? Pearson is a bust, 4 years of mediocrity says bust. Word it any way you want, closer in future. Saved a cat outta a tree. Whatever. To top it off, also got a top 10 spec in teams top 30 back as well. Gavin, for reference, a top 100 guy at least warrants a 1st or 2nd rounder in this league (probably more, depending on position, team, production, etc). Nothing in this trade even sniffs that. Tell Max to shove it next time. (Love you Max, anyone woulda accepted this deal.)

[D'backs GM (Kyle)]

Approve

Quero is the best asset in this trade. Cantillo is not nothing but I don't think 11 IP in 4 appearances at AAA with a high BB rate is anything special. I personally view this as Quero for Cruz, Pearson, and Sands. Cruz is 18 in A ball which is young for that level. He's the type of prospect that could soar up lists if he figures things out in A ball. Pearson has recently been in late inning relief and has held his own during this stretch. Sands has gotten better as the season has gone on. Quero has been really good this year but I'll also point out that he's a catcher prospect on the White Sox. Catcher prospects seem more volatile than other positions and some times can take years in the majors before they figure it out.

[Brewers GM (Tim)]

Approve

[Rays GM (Gavin)]

I am coming back with more information on my thought process in making this trade to help inform the decision-making process for other GMs.

For me, the asset I am giving up is Quero who is on track for being a MLB player by next year/2026 if he continues down his current path. This is a strong likelihood that Cantillo transitions to long relief given his control issues but with a ceiling of back-end starter. In return, I get a prospect I think is undervalued at present given his problems at A ball but I am gambling he will figure it out as he is still quite young for A ball. Pearson has seemingly found his niche in relief is likely to be in high leverage situations for the foreseeable future. I accept that Sands is high-variance, he could continue to out-produce projections as he has done so far this year - or he could be a AAAA pitcher bouncing between MLB and AAA in the years ahead.

Perhaps I have overvalued RPs in my attempt to calibrate valuations to BK league and appreciate the feedback and narrative in this Proboards post. I will obviously accept the decision of the vote - if rejected, I will go back to Max to see if we can find an alternative solution. If approved, I will live/die by my decision.

[Rockies GM (Alex)]

Works for me. Approve!

[Rockies GM (Alex)]

Pirates GM (Max), Rays GM (Gavin), Official. Updated on Rosters.