[OmahaBaseball]

With the 1902 trade deadline fast approaching, the Boston Americans found willing trading partners for the exchange of minor league players. While both trades bring in players who will not see any playing time at the MLB level, they do bring in younger talent that might eventually contribute years from now.

The first trade saw the Americans shipping off 2nd baseman John O'Connell (Double A: .223/.299/.314 1.0 WAR) to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for outfielder Jack Hayden (.316/.316/.316 0.3 WAR). I have had Hayden on my radar for a little while now, but held off after seeing a recent ratings dip. While he may not rebound from the hit, he does bring a little youth and with the offset of money, is a low-risk proposition that will start at Double-A.

The second trade is more sentimental in nature, though admittedly it does again bring youth at no additional cost. In a previous historical franchise I had with OOTP 16(?), I became a big fan of pitcher Jake Volz. He was never great (or even good for that matter), but there was something I liked about having him on the team. In making the trade, the Americans sent pitcher Dick Cogan (Double-A: 17-5 with 2.01 ERA and 5.4 WAR) and two draft picks (9th and 10th rounds) to the Beaneaters in exchange for Jake Volz (5-6 with 3.60 ERA 5 Saves -0.3 WAR) and 1st baseman Bert Conn (Double-A: .267/.334/.412 127 OPS+ 1.5 WAR). Both players will be assigned to the Double-A team.