1974 ALL-STAR BREAK
I like to do my trading at the All-Star break before the deadline, and I did do a couple of deals in July 1974. We're 20 GB from the Athletics, so it's a lost season. So my moves were on the rebuilding side, but we don't have to wait too long for the payoff.
The big outs were my former Orioles defensive duo in
Paul Blair (CF) and
Mark Belanger (SS).
I brought in like-for-like replacements in
Mickey Rivers (CF) from the Angels, and
Rick Burleson (SS) from the Red Sox. In both cases I sacrifice a little defense for some future offense, and get a little younger.
The AI is not too dumb, especially with scouting off and Hard trading difficulty. So it also got some decent bench players and prospects from me. But the Red Sox were in "win now" mode so I took the opportunity to pick up the young Burleson.
I'm happy that Mickey Rivers played CF for Texas so I'll get another actual Ranger on my roster. Burleson didn't play for the Rangers historically, but he was the best fit in my screening for contact-hitting defensive shortstops.
Most of the time I have write posts I'm not at home, so I can't post screenshots or exact details. But I'll do so for the 1974 recap. Nothing much left to play for except a winning record, and maybe some hardware for my ace pitching trio.