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MAY 1, 1955 (!! TRADE UPDATE !!) . . . Absolutely huge trade news as we head into Philadelphia! We’ve had this in the works since winter meetings, as the Dodgers were ready to admit they’re fully in rebuild for the future mode, and Jackie Robinson was not interested at all in extending his time in New York. He’d like to compete for a title, and he’d zeroed in on us as a team he’d like to play for! Today I can officially announce that we’ve signed paperwork on a deal that sends four prospects to the Dodgers -- 21-year old second baseman Deacon Jones (#56, BNN), 17-year old catcher Jim Pagliaroni (#129, BNN), 19-year old center fielder Anthony Pint (#128, BNN) and 23-year old right handed starter Sam Mayer (#88, BNN), in exchange for Robinson, who at 36 remains a stone-cold legend. Our plan is to put Robinson in our lineup as a third baseman, moving Al Rosen over to first base, giving us one of the most brutal hitting lineups I can remember. We have a four year, $510,000 offer on the table to extend Robinson through his 40th birthday, giving him the chance to retire in Chicago. We’ll be able to announce that as soon as he gets the chance to thoroughly vet it! We gave up a lot of youth in the trade, but I’m confident the move is going to give us leadership in the clubhouse as we strive to win multiple championships for the Cubs faithful, and I’m not afraid to keep doing these moves in the trade market even if it means not stockpiling a ton in our farm. And it’s a win for the Dodgers, who now have five top 100 prospects and 11 prospects in the top 200, including 1B Grady Coleman, RHP Ralph Terry and RHP Don Kaiser. They had to get some value for Robinson, and even the New York press has seemed to stand behind the deal.
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