1939 Offseason
The 1939 offseason in the United Leagues was an active one, as no fewer than 20 trades were consummated. The trades saw a continuing trend in the respective leagues. In general, the Eastern League teams were acquiring established players to help them now, since a number of teams are capable of winning the pennant. In the West however, most of the teams not named Kingston were the sellers, taking minor leaguers and prospects from the East in hopes of competing another day.
Significant Trades
April 14:
The Downie Chiefs acquired 30-year old SP
Nick Paddock (67/67 - 10-17, 3.04 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 5.6 WAR) from the Pulberry Trolleys.
In return, the Trolleys received five minor leaguers. Of significance, were:
23-year old OF Brian Ilderton (23/65 – 12th overall pick in 1938);
21-year old C Werner Hock (22/45); and
23-year old RP Alex Forbes (21/58).
Nick Paddock becomes Downie’s No. 2 starter in the rotation. The Trolleys meanwhile continue their selloff of their top frontline talent for prospects.
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April 16:
The Hespeler Stars upgraded their catching situation a bit with the acquisition of 30-year old C Boyd Bedard (43/43 - .285/.357/.374, 1 HR, 45 RBI, 43 R, 42 BB, 2.2 WAR) from the Downie Chiefs.
In return, the Chiefs received 30-year old RP Keith Mailes (49/49 – 3-4, 8 SV, 3.79 ERA, 1/.44 WHIP) and minor leaguer 24-year old OF Jim Vickers (23/61 – rated #23 prospect).
Bedard immediately becomes Hespeler’s starting catcher (rated #11 overall in ULB). Meanwhile, Vickers becomes Downie’s top-rated prospect in their farm system.
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April 21:
The Braeland City Monarchs acquired 40-year old RP Noriaki Ito (64/64 - 4-4, 3.16 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 1.3 WAR) from the Balmoral Giants for four minor leaguers.
Noriaki Ito becomes Braeland City’s No. 1 reliever, rated #4 overall.
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April 28:
The Cobourg Red Stockings acquired 28-year old SP George Blankley (52/57 – 14-15, 3.55 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 3.1 WAR) from the Pulberry Trolleys.
Pulberry received four minor leaguers, including 20-year old OF Yoshino Ito (23/66 – rated #31 overall prospect).
Blankley is now Cobourg’s No. 2 starting pitcher in the rotation.
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May 5:
The Downie Chiefs acquired 36-year old SS
Jonathan Lauder (65/65 – .313/.399/.415, 2 HR, 41 RBI, 42 R, 50 BB, 2.6 WAR) from the Stratford Barons.
Stratford received 36-year old 1B Chris Stonehouse (40/40 – .220/.321/.253, 3-2B, 6 RBI, 10 R, 13 BB) and 22-year old OF Kenneth Peck (26/41).
Not really sure what Stratford was thinking here. Downie has shifted Lauder to CF and he is rated #4 overall at that position. While Stratford already has Jake Walker at SS (#4 overall), Lauder is capable of playing anywhere in the outfield and would have been an upgrade for Stratford over who they have there now, had they have kept him. I really think the Barons dropped the ball on this one.
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May 6:
The Stratford Barons were involved in another trade a day later. The Barons sent 34-year old 2B Pat Copeman (54/54 - .264/.308/.315, 1 HR, 38 RBI, 48 R, 32 BB, 1.2 WAR) to the Queensland Eagles, along with a minor leaguer. In exchange, Queensland sent 30-year old 3B Nam-cheol Oh (55/55 - .299/.361/.429, 12 HR, 75 RBI, 62 R, 41 BB, 3.5 WAR).
Copeman became expendable when top fielder award winner Brian Main (#3 overall - 5.1 WAR) settled in as Stratford’s starting 2B. Oh now becomes Stratford’s starting 3B (#9 overall).
Meanwhile, Copeman (#13 overall) becomes Queensland’s starting 2B.
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May 8:
The Fort Richmond Generals traded 29-year old IF Finlay Ridd (65/65 - .296/.369/.358, 4 HR, 49 RBI, 57 R, 58 BB, 4.4 WAR) to the Braeland City Monarchs for three minor leaguers.
The Monarchs get a talented infielder that can play 2B, 3B and SS well. He will provide insurance should 2B Trevor Bolen, 3B Louie Hetherington or SS Adam Ashley go down to injury.
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May 9:
The Hespeler Stars deepened their farm system talent by trading 41-year old RF Toby Reakes (77/77 - .295/.416/.382, 2 HR, 57 RBI, 73 R, 107 BB, 31 SB, 2.4 WAR) to the Queensland Eagles for four minor leaguers. Of significance, were:
20-year old SP/RP Aiden Fothergill (20/64 – #33 rated pitching prospect); and
20-year old LF Danny Huggett (22/54 – #59 rated prospect).
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May 27:
The Balmoral Giants and Braeland City Monarchs completed a trade. The Giants agreed to send 29-year old SP
David Cooling (72/74– 9-23, 3.81 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.3 WAR) to the Monarchs in exchange for two minor leaguers:
21-year old RF Carlton Broadbent (23/79 – 3rd overall pick in 1938); and
20-year old SS Joel Overy (22/23).
Cooling becomes Braeland City’s No. 2 starter in the rotation, and it will be interesting to see how he responds with playing for a stronger club. The pitching behind No. 1 starter Lenny Freke was shaky last season. Like most other team in the Western League, Balmoral is offloading frontline talent for a top-notch prospect that could help in the future (read: when Kingston is no longer dominant).
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May 31:
The Sherburn Tigers and Embro Suns made a trade that attempts to fill immediate needs in their rosters. The Tigers are sending 26-year old C Bill Gunter (45/52), along with a minor leaguer to the Suns in exchange 28-year old 1B Norm Calloway (23/27 - .320/.389/.480, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 16 R, 12 BB, 0.7 WAR).
Both Gunter and Calloway will get a chance to start full-time for their new clubs.
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June 25:
The Balmoral Giants raised a few eyebrows when they traded 24-year old 1B
Jim Friend (75/79 - .315/.367/.494, 8 HR, 49 RBI, 43 R, 28 BB, 1.8 WAR) to the Embro Suns for three minor league relievers.
Friend was the 5th overall pick in 1937 and finished 3rd last season in the WL Rookie of the Year Award voting. He immediately becomes the Suns’ starting 1B, and is rated No. 2 in the ULB among first basemen. Thus, Embro adds another solid player to its lineup.
For me, the problem with Balmoral is not that they traded Friend, but that they didn’t get a better return for him. Balmoral’s current 1B is 37-year old Roger Tyler (rated No. 7) and they do not have a 1B prospect like Friend waiting in the wings. Strange.
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When all was said and done, the Eastern League teams had improved their major league rosters the most, based on WAR. Leading the way was the Braeland City Monarchs who improved by 8.7 WAR, based on the acquisition of SP David Cooling, IF Finlay Ridd and RP Noriaki Ito. The Downie Chiefs were second, seeing a 6.3 WAR improvement, thanks to the trades that brought SP Nick Paddock and OF Jonathan Lauder on board
On the flip side, the Pulberry Trolleys saw the greatest drain of frontline talent, losing 9.3 WAR (the loss of Paddock and SP SP George Blankley). The Fort Richmond Generals lost 7.1 WAR from last season, as they got rid of Ridd and SP Hideki Matsui (2.7 WAR) to Cambria for a minor league relief pitcher.