Hello friends and welcome to This Week In Trades 2039 Season Finale! Today Chros and I wrap up the excitement from the season and stop hurting feelings and ruffling feathers for at least a few weeks. It’s been quite a year for trades with so many Gold Balls being passed around the league you’d think this was <redacted non-family friendly reference here>. Today we are going to look back at a few trades that didn’t involve us and then give more opinions that will be regarded poorly.

2039 Trades That Made An Impact

LI

SP Jorge Otero (100%)

MISS

2040 MISS 1st Round SP Martin Luther (A) SP Greg Hodge (A) RF Omar Luoa (R)

This Otero trade was a big catalyst for Mississippi going all in. With the 100% retention it gave him the wiggle room to be even more aggressive and continue to bring on talent. Otero himself has been stellar in the 3L going 8-3 with a 2.70 ERA and a fantastic 23.68 K:BB%. What’s even more impressive is the .321 BABIP against him hasn’t seemed to slow him down. In a few years Beau may look back at this with regret but this a huge short term W.

I concur that this was one of the biggest moves of the past offseason. Coming off a 39-70 season, Mississippi seemed destined for a lengthy rebuild but shocked everyone with this move to acquire a free ace for the next few years. This led them to a slew of other moves in which they brought in some legitimate middle of the order hitters, and suddenly they looked like the favorite to win the 3L and quickly be promoted back. They currently sit 2 games out, which is a bit disappointing as they looked like a team that should run away with things. Can they finish up strong and finish what they were built to do?

PORT

RP Branlyn Jaraba SP Eric Matson (100%)

CHS

RP Govaart van Ankeren (AAA) 2040 LI 1st Round 2040 LI 2nd Round 2040 CHS 2nd Round

In 7 starts since coming over from Portland, Matson is 3-0 with a 3.94 ERA. He is not the Matson of old but he is still a very competent starter. Jaraba has been sensational out of the ‘pen. In 13 games he has 8 saves and a 1.93 ERA. His walks seem high but he’s young, under team control, and extremely talented and will be an anchor for Charleston for years to come.

This move springboarded Charleston from the middle of the table into a legitimate contender for the SL and a thorn in Buffalo’s side. Luckily for Buffalo, their hot streak coincided with Charleston’s, otherwise they may be looking up at Charleston in the standings right now. Matson has been mostly good, with his numbers skewed by two poor starts. It remains to be seen how he finishes the season and does next year in his age 37 season. However by picking up him and Jaraba, they’re the clear favorites to at least win a promotion playoff series.

NV

SP Yan van der Meijden (AA) RP Terry Lesage (A) SP Darren Henry (R)

CLE

3B Richard Trevithicc SP Gerald Orlebar

It’s still early to fully evaluate this trade but initial reports indicate this may be what NoVa needs to push past New Orleans and Hollywood to repeat as champs. Orlebar gives Davey a much needed LHP in the rotation after trade Noe Toes and Trevithicc is nothing but upside. In what seems like a partial salary dump and partial personality dump, it really seems like a steal for the Rainbow Angel Kittens if they can realize His Royal Thiccness’s potential and the angry Burly Bear doesn’t ravage the clubhouse.

The Orly Bear looked like his old self in his NoVa debut. With a very strong IF defense behind him, I can easily see him bouncing back to his old ways outside of Cleveland. How many times he’ll call Davey’s mother a whore in the next few years is another story. Trevithicc still hasn’t reached his potential, but is still a few days shy of 25 and is a prime candidate to break out next season, but it’s getting to the point of now or never. If Trevithicc performs as expected, this trade is a landslide victory for NoVa as it appears they gave up a SP with 3rd starter upside and some loose change.

Most Successful Teams

Mississippi

Beau’s Mockingbirds have struggled since initially promoting to the PL in his inaugural season as New Jersey. They eventually fell to the 3L this season and seemed primed for a longer rebuild, but a few deals like the Otero one above have changed the trajectory from longterm builders to Must Win Now. I like the aggressiveness and could see this team continuing to do good things and they seem to be a favorite to win the 3L at this time.

Mississippi was pretty much written off in KNORTS, but the trade for Otero springboarded them into moves for Zakhiri, Jackson, and Allerdale among others. They built a strong contender overnight and not only should be the favorites to win the 3L this year, but should be considered one of the early favorites for the SL next season as well.

Charleston

It’s Duck season! Duck turned last year’s tale of woe and embarassment after falling from 2nd place in the PL to relegation into the 2039 redemption tour. Since trading for Matson/Jaraba and Kerin this team has been literally on fire. Losing Joey Coco hasn’t slowed them down and they continue to frustrate Buffalo by not letting them just coast to the SL championship.

After acquiring Matson and Jaraba, Charleston did not lose a series for nearly two months, and they’ve stayed in the race by equaling Buffalo’s 19-4 July. They’ve now recently inched closer and have certainly made things uncomfortable for the Walkers who figured they’d coast to the league title. If Buffalo manages to hold them off, Charleston should be heavily favored to be promoted anyway and a contender again in what will be a stacked PL next season.

Most Disappointing Teams

Montana

Beau’s Mockingbirds have struggled since initially promoting to the I’m sure this comes as no surprise to anyone. But I think it’s safe to say that the Panda plan did not work this season. They went on a buying spree and sacrificed the majority of their farm for…12th place and then did not turn around and ship the majority back out at the deadline as previously expected. This is not as rough of a place to be as when there was a $200,000,000 deficit a few years ago but the road to fielding a competitive team looks long and rocky.

I did not mind the majority of their moves as I think their intention was to lay the foundaiton for a contender next season, but the trade of Toledo’s pick was a mistake that will likely cost them a potential future superstar as the pick currently sits at the #3 spot, or at least a big trade chip that should have brought back a star player.

Cleveland

At the beginning of the season I would’ve called Cleveland the easy winner of all things trade related. They picked up some great deals and seemed poised to run roughshod over the 3L on their way to Glory. However after a disappointing season and selling off of some assets at the deadline I would say things did not go well. They did manage to snag some sweet sweet deals though and I think that gives them a silver lining for the season.

Many were aboard the Cleveland hype train in the offseason, but the team now sits under .500 and three games back from a playoff spot as of this writing. They’ve been crushed by injuries, and some questionable moves such as constantly jerking Orly Bear back and forth, and then eventually trading him and Trevithicc for less than their perceived value. They do have the #3 pick and Holland/Holloway coming back next year, so all hope is not lost in Cleveland but this year has been disappointing for sure.