Duluth Changes the Shape of the Winter Meetings

[Bill]

by L. Michael Powell, beat writer

12/19/2008: Duluth, MN – Coming into the Winter Meetings with heavy duty bats to move and millions of salary to cut, the Duluth Warriors figured to be a major player in the three hour-long session of breakneck transactions. What few could have prognosticated is how well Duluth would be able to do in returning value for their salary dumps. This is not to paint Duluth GM Joel Dobney as the Merlin of the PEBA, as he had valuable assets to move, but the pressure and pacing of the meetings could have caused many a lesser man to panic and fritter away the fortunes of the team for years to come.

Much like embryos and Canton GM Brad Dobney's ego, the Warriors started small but soon grew exponentially. Early in the meetings, they (Duluth, not the embryos) swapped SP John Wright and RP Bud Edwards, along with a 6th round draft pick, to Yuma for RP Tamasaburo Akiyama and Yuma's 4th round selection. "We wanted to cut salary and move up in the draft," explains Dobney, "and this trade accomplished both of those goals.” In Akiyama, Duluth picks up a proven left-handed gun out of the bullpen who is known both for his innings-eating prowess and his ability to find the plate and force the action. While giving up Edwards and his electric stuff was "bitter" to Dobney, the Warriors installed a valuable piece who can hold down a slot in the late innings or be moved to a contender.

That late-inning arm could come in handy, as Duluth's next trade sent closer Juan Santos and picks in the 5th and 10th rounds to Palm Springs for a pair of minor league outfielders in the persons of Brandon Collins and Loren Georges, as well as Palm Springs' 2nd round pick. Says Dobney: "Santos wasn't initially a player who we saw moving, but once the glowing 'Veterans for Sale' sign went up, people started blowing us away with offers. We have some organizational depth at closer and didn't see the point in having someone to lock down the 8 to 12 wins we anticipate this season, so Santos moved.” The return for the trade was hard-fought. "We really gunned for MacKinney, but Palm Springs wouldn't budge on him. After several stalled talks we settled on Georges, who projects to have plus power and great plate discipline, and Brandon Collins (Mk. II), who we see as a guy who can spray the ball around the field, steal some sacks and grow into a Yoshino Miyata-like role for us.” Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin was seen exchanging high fives with her friends when this trade was announced.

In the waning moments of the meetings, Duluth still had work to do, sending Andrés López to Arlington. "We saw this as our final chance to really move some dollar signs while getting the return we wanted. Miyata had been committed to a deal earlier in the day and Lamb wasn't a fit, so López was the logical solution.” Budget balancing acts were a huge part of this deal, as Arlington balked at the bottom line on several incarnations. "We thought it was dead, really," says Dobney. "I credit Arlington for really sticking with it and getting the deal done.” In the end, López brought OF Larry Hoskins – "Just the kind of steady veteran presence we needed for an outfield we had just gutted" – and SP Minuro Kudo. "Kudo was a lynchpin to this deal," Dobney summarizes. "We had to get young value back for our veterans, and starting pitching is a place where we were really hurting. In the end, we were giddy to get him into our system."

"In the end, we did what we set out to do," says Dobney. "We're younger, deeper, higher in the draft, and have a healthier bottom line than we could have boasted a week ago. The Winter Meetings have historically been kind to us, and this year was no exception.” The finally tally shows Duluth dumping almost $20 million in salary while picking up less than half of that. In addition, the Warriors got deeper in the minors in two key positions: outfield and starting pitcher. Finally, they sacrificed their 5th, 6th, and 10th round selections, bringing in Palm Springs’ 2nd rounder and Yuma's 4th rounder. If Duluth can develop its young talent and not waste the draft, they could find themselves in a position to contend for years in future.

[Denny]

Hmmm....if even Sarah Palin is applauding the Santos deal, I may have given up too much.

[Hitmen]

I don't think you have to worry about it - I may be willing to spend the CPs to rename him Juan "Maverick" Santos, which would explain everything about Palin's approval. I can't, however, explain anything else about Palin.