[ayaghmour2]

You know how sometimes you make a trade you don't really want to, but sometimes you feel you have to? Like a certain player just doesn't quite fit? Or you know there's a good chance you might regret it long-term but it feels so right in the short-term? Or maybe that one player you always wanted is finally available, but you're already deep at that spot?

I could go on, but that's how I feel about this one. We're approaching Spring Training, and a few sims ago I felt like I knew exactly how our staff was going to fill out for the new season. And then I realized Charlie Kelsey didn't have any options... So that meant at least one of him, George Oddo, Ken Matson, or Mel Haynes would be off the roster. In Oddo and Matson's case, it would be an option, but I really want to see what Oddo an give us and Matson is 30 and has been an important member of our staff for the past five years. So to alleviate our minor logjam, I shopped Haynes, Kelsey, and Matson. But the only one to get any interest was the one I wanted to trade the least: Mel Haynes.

It was the Chiefs who came calling, as they were looking to add to a rotation that didn't have much set in stone behind the top three of Al Miller, Gus Goulding, and John Stallings. With draft picks eligible for trade, this would have been easier, but that's in the past and we have to adjust our strategy. The Chiefs system is one of the thinner ones, so while I found a two player package that wasn't awful, it wasn't quite enough to move the needle. I was content waiting it out until closer to the season where rosters were starting to finalize and teams realized they needed a Ken Matson or Charlie Kelsey type pitcher to fill out the staff.

But then, luck struck twice for us. The first strike, was the overall lack of available pitching. The second? The surprise retirement of Gus Goulding. The Chiefs firmly have their eyes set on a 1948 pennant, as they have a very strong team, but any team would take a hit losing a pitcher like Goulding. This necessitated a move even moreso then before, and they came with an offer I almost couldn't refuse: Haynes for center fielder Henry Norman.

Now, I know what you're saying. Another center fielder?!?!? But remember! I can't get enough!

Not only do we already have top 50 prospects in Jerry Smith (11th) and Johnny Peters (41st), but we have Frank Reece (165th) and Harley Dollar (180th) in the bottom of the top 200 and plenty of talented big leaguers in Don Lee, Sal Pestilli, and Carlos Montes. Add in 3rd Rounders Bob Allie and Jeff King, who now rank 8th and 15th on Dixie's draft list for batters (unfortunately, way ahead of the A-Train), and there is no shortage of talented center fielders. But I just could not pass up an offer that both made future me's life easier while picking up a quality prospect for the low minors we could either develop or move for a more pressing need.

Norman, 19, was the Chiefs 3rd Rounder last season, and was one of the many talented players on my draft list, but with Jerry Smith going in the 1st Round, he wasn't one of my top targets. Granted, Norman was selected before Dudley Sapp in the 3rd and I had no interest in passing up Garland Phelps, so I'm not sure we would have been able to get the New York native anyways. It proved to be a good selection for the Chiefs, as Norman currently ranks four spots below Johnny Peters in the top prospects list. It's a pretty high ranking, as while Norman was excellent in Class B, he hit a wall in A ball. He went from hitting .304/.357/.392 (105 OPS+) in 29 games to .207/.273/.289 (49 OPS+) in 33 games. His strikeout rate rose from 13.2 to 20, and his WRC was halved from 112 to 51. While not overly concerning for a high schooler, that may lead him to start his Cougar career in San Jose. It's tough as we have a lot of young outfielders, with Jerry Smith, Harley Dollar, and Clyde Parker currently penciled into the lineup, with Frank Reece currently sporting a down arrow in A ball. Smith was in La Crosse, so I expect him to stay in San Jose, but Parker and Dollar could be on the way up. Regardless, all of these guys will be getting time, as each has plenty of potential.

Norman may hit the ball on the ground too often, but that might be something he corrects as he matures as a hitter. He has a great stroke at the plate and should end up hitting for a high average, and with his speed he could survive not elevating the ball. Even though he's not much of a base stealer, any slow roller he has a chance to beat out, and he's comfortable taking the extra base. He had 7 doubles and 3 triples in 249 trips to the plate, but I expect that to improve with experience. He has a nice eye too, and while he may never excel at drawing walks, he's not going to strike out much. He'll put the ball in play early and often, and while home runs are not expected, he did hit one at both levels. His defense in center could use some work, but there's no reason to think he won't be at least adequate on the grass. He's not a superstar by any means, and he has a long development path ahead of him, but there's plenty of upside and he was the class of a depleted Chiefs system that has in the last year and a half been used to acquire Artie D'Alessandro, Tim Hopkins, Pete Casstevens, Joe Rutherford, and Hank Stratton.

Parting with Haynes hurts, as he was a former 1st Rounder of ours who I've always thought was good enough to start. He was lightly penciled into the five spot in our rotation, but with the Chiefs he has a much clearer spot to the rotation. He's coming off a nice year, going 1-2 with a 2.62 ERA (143 ERA+) and 1.25 WHIP in 34.1 innings. Haynes walked 13 while striking out 22, and his 2.37 FIP (63 FIP-) backed up the overall work. And at just 26, he's far from a finished product. The issue is, even as our fifth starter, he probably would've split time between the rotation and pen, as I expect to lean heavily on our front four. There's not a team in the league that can hold a candle to Pap, Duke, and the Jones Brothers (these guys really need to start a barbershop quartet or something), and we will take advantage of every off day there is. In place of Haynes, I may decide to go to a revolving door of Oddo, Parker, Matson, and Kelsey, playing based on matchup, location, and rest status in an effort to win as many games as possible. It's looking like those four and Jim Kenny will make up the 1948 staff, giving us nine pitchers capable of starting games. Losing someone as good as Haynes may hurt, but I'm confident in our depth and we will be rooting for our former 1st Rounder to find success on the other side of town.