MOVE #5 - JULY 18, 2061
Cardinals (67-40, 1 GB, +8 WC)
I had to make my pre-deadline move here because I would prefer to see what's on the market and try to position us for some better usage out of whatever rentals I can get my hands on. One side effect of the smaller playoffs is that the trade market goes bonkers at this time of year.
With not a lot of time to do tons of shopping, I opt for just seeing what's on the trade block and who we can bring in. We could use additional offense, a bullpen arm or two and depth. Farm system is Top 5 now thanks to our recent draft picks, and I have a few players who we inherited from the old regime who are ready to get promoted and either would be good depth guys or trade bait, depending on which way I want to go.
We make a blockbuster with the struggling Padres (43-64) that brings us 1B Owen Nielsen (.251/.309/.414, 12 HR, 45 RBI in 90 games), CF Liam Bright (.244/.312/.364, 5 HR, 13 SB), veteran RHP Chase Benjamin (5-10, 5.30 ERA, with San Diego retaining salary), and C Ralph Judd (.140/.222/.217) for depth. We give up some interesting young talent but no elite prospects - two Single-A players with potential (LHP Garcia with a 1.50 ERA and 1B McGowan hitting .267), Double-A outfielder Jordan Avery (.309/.429/.436 with good speed), and two MLB-ready pieces in Jace Coulter (.250/.279/.312) and Julian Vo (.143/.143/.143 in limited time).
That deal didn't take long, so we still have another few minutes to see what else we might be able to do. Nothing really materialized, but I decided to shop 3B Terrance Adkins, a 20-year old who has not yet cracked the lineup — he's not ready — but would do well someplace he can develop and not on a contender where we need someone to fill a spot right now.
He's the 7th best prospect in baseball, so I can't just give him away, but I'm opting to sell high here rather than see if he's going to develop in a few years well after this window of winning might be gone. I don't know if anyone is offering me anything when I shop him worth moving him and we might just have to roll with what we have right now, I'm about out of time to figure something else out and it's not clear to me what else I can really do — realistically — without dealing a bunch of players and/or taking on bad contracts to do it. Rentals are cool, but I hate trading top prospects for them unless it's something truly elite.
[COUNTERMOVE]
I bought some time freezing the clock. Sacramento signed 30 year Cuban OF Kaka Machado, the Solons have been bouncing around Northern California and Vegas over the past few decades and they're now in 1st place in the AL West and this is a big moment for them to establish themselves, so I want to see if they can do it.
AMERICAN LEAGUE STANDINGS
Eastern Division: Tight three-team race with Toronto (56-50) leading Cleveland by 1.0 and Baltimore by 1.5
Central Division: Minnesota (60-48) leads Carolina by 3.5
Western Division: Sacramento (61-46) comfortable with 6.0 game lead on Seattle
Southern Division: Nashville (64-42) leading Houston by 6.0
NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS
Eastern Division: Mets dominating at 69-39, 9.5 ahead of Philadelphia
Central Division: Cincinnati (68-39) leads us by 1.0, Cubs 9.5 back
Western Division: Giants (55-52) barely ahead of Vancouver by 2.0
Mountain Division: Salt Lake (57-49) leads Colorado by 2.0
These standings are particularly crucial because of our league's unique ladder-style playoff format. Unlike traditional MLB playoffs, teams face an increasingly difficult path based on their regular season finish:
- The two worst qualifying teams meet in a single Wild Card game
- The winner faces the next worst playoff team in another single elimination game
- That winner advances to a Best-of-3 LES against the next team up
- The survivor then faces a better seed in a Best-of-5 Division Series
- Finally, whoever emerges from this gauntlet faces the #1 seed in a Best-of-7 LCS
- The pennant winners then meet in a Best-of-9 World Series
This makes our current position (67-40) and the tight race with Cincinnati (68-39) and the Mets (69-39) absolutely critical. While we're safely in playoff position at 8 games up on the Wild Card, winning the division - and potentially claiming that #1 seed - would mean avoiding the brutal ladder climb through multiple elimination games