Sorry in advance, that one escalated quickly...
Expos Unload Roman, Add All-Star in Multi-Team Trade
stadiumreport.bbn June 20th, 2021
K.C. Martin surely does not do trades easy. In a trade involving the
Montreal Expos(24-40), the
Calgary Beavers(31-34), the
Los Angeles Angels(24-41) and the
Salt Lake City Bearcats(33-32), Martin kept his cool and moved some players around.
Calgary Beavers(31-34) receive:
3B
Vinny Roman(33,3*) .205-5-25 .611OPS 58G 0.2WAR from MON (5y/$89.8M left on contract) from MON
RHRP
Jon Marquardt(23, 2.5*) 1-2 5.27 13K 13.2IP 0.1WAR from MON
AAA 2B
Felix Acosta(31, 2.5*) .259-6-20 .745OPS 36G 0.1WAR AAA from MON
Los Angeles Angels(24-41) receive:
1B
Tim Jammal(25, 3/3.5*) .266-4-11 .778OPS 32G 0.1WAR from CAL
Salt Lake City Bearcats(33-32)
2B
Kelly Benson(26, 3.5*) .245-17-33 .948OPS 53G 1.3WAR from CAL
AA C
Travis Carpenter(27, 2.5*) .205-4-23 .638OPS 46G 0.9WAR AA from MON
Montreal Expos(24-40) receive:
RHSP
Austin Roy(23, 3.5*) 3-7 4.93 75K 80.1IP 13GS 1.1WAR from SLC
AAA 2B
Robbie Weltzer(24, 2.5/3*) .323-2-27 .802OPS 16/20SB 55G 2.3 WAR AAA from LAA
R OF
Esteban Andrade(19, 0.5/2.5*) DNP from LAA
After
Alfonso Flores, now
Vinny Roman leaves
Montreal for greener pastures after 1 ½ seasons. The veteran was due for $89.8M remaining on his contract and not producing at all.
Going back to Canada in this complex trade with be 2x All-Star starter
Austin Roy. The kid led the WL in ERA with 2.98, in WAR with 5.6, in HR/9 with 0.6 and with WHIP(1.14) but struggled this season so far. He throws 96-98 with a strong slider, changup and sinker and good movement.
Also an interesting player going back here is 2B/SS
Bobby Weltzer who is a slick fielding shortstop that not only hit .323 in AAA with SLC, but also was producing 1.0WAR in the majors last season with
Seattle.
In corresponding roster moves, RHSP
Cesar Alvarado(21, 2.5*) and 2B
Franklin Reyes(27, 2.5*) were sent down to AAA and 3B/SS
Orlando Gonzalez(26, 2.5*) was recalled to the majors.
This was a tough nut to crack. I was fairly optimisitc about the Roman + Marquardt trade but my follow up didn't work the way I hoped. Benson and Jammal are above average infielders for sure, but we don’t really want then right now as we have good prospects coming for the middle infield, and didn’t really want to axe Kerzner or Cook as they are producing right now.
My idea was to trade both away for a top prospect from a contender, but the most we could get was a first base prospect with a 3.5* ceiling that does not hit for power...
So, we tried to find something worth our value, and at least we replaced an aging 3* third baseman with a 3.5* starter and some pieces, but to be honest, I hoped for more when I saw Roman on the roster for the first time...
Getting Roy was a surprise, but a good one. He will reach arbitration this winter and is due for at least $4.2M next year, but that is not too much money compared to what we saved with Roman. Weltzer will get a chance at second base as a regular as his bat is solid and is Glove is very good…