Rocky Mtn Oysters sends: SP Mike Minor (FA), SP Matt Garza (FA)
Senior Squids sends: C Russell Martin ($18)
Jordan’s thoughts: For the Squids this is a pretty low risk sell. Martin is likely not worth $10 next year, let alone $20. I don’t love either pitcher, but if either grow back into some version of decent, well its worth the risk for a team that’s bottoming out.
Andrew’s thoughts: It wasn’t that long ago I remember Squids marketing Russell Martin as available but “expensive,” and now here he gets flipped for rotation filler. Martin’s numbers look awful overall, but he’s averaged 5.06 points per game over the last 30 days and 6.55/game over the last three weeks. So basically, he’s perfectly fine, the slow start was a fluke, and he’ll probably be something like a top-5 or 10 catcher going forward (he finished 3rd overall in 2015 and 4th in 2014). If you’re the Oysters and can acquire that for wildcard free agent pick-ups, especially given how stacked his rotation is, it’s a great move.
Matt Garza returns from the DL today and has been hit or miss throughout his career. If he pitches to his career averages, he’s roughly league average. Steamer says he’ll be pretty bad. For $5 starting in 2017, he’s not a bad guy to roster to at least see what happens. At the same time, he’s probably not worth punting a top-5 or so rest of season player at their respective position for either. Mike Minor was good in 2011 and 2013.
Of note: Senior Squids have completed seven trades now and five have been with the Rocky Mtn Oysters. Hmm…