Date redacted: Somewhere within Svab Memorial…

I told myself I can’t keep doing this… I can’t keep turning a blind eye to what is happening. I don’t know what is happening anymore with the team. One day we are seeking a trade, the next we are standing in place. Then right back to working the phone lines and making trades…

I can’t morally continue like this, watching on as the team starts to fall apart. So I have started putting all my notes and thoughts to paper. A cover my ass approach you could say. I can’t let my career be in jeopardy and I refuse to be the eventual fall guy, I need this job. I don’t want to go back…

My father always said, let the facts work for you. So I will do just that.

April 2nd, 2029:

Canton sends their 2029 5th round draft pick and $1 million to West Virginia, receiving 2B Wynn Berry.

Berry came in and filled a much needed hole in the infield here. Spending the majority of his time at 2B, Berry put up a respectable .267/.302/.347 slash for a contact hitter and base stealer. He nabbed an impressive 67 stolen bases in 2029 as well, tying Peyton Bishop’s 9 year record in Canton. At only 27 years old and cost controlled at the time, you would figure he would be a staple in Canton for years to come becoming a regular in the local area…

He didn’t last a year… On December 18th, we traded Wynn to Crystal Lake, along with our 2030 5th round draft pick for Florida’s 2030 4th round draft pick and West Virginia’s 6th round draft pick. We would go on to keep the 6th round pick, but would package Florida’s pick along with our own 1st round pick (5th overall) to Bakersfield for Arlington’s 1st round pick, Bakersfield’s 3rd round pick, and Amsterdam’s 3rd round pick. Confused yet? I know I was and am…

Berry has gone from putting in a 1.5 WAR performance in Canton to a 2.9 WAR performance only ⅔ of the way through the 2030 season for Crystal Lake. 2B in Canton has already changed hands multiple times with not much upside since Berry’s departure.

Canton’s 2029 5th round pick was later traded by West Virginia to Hartford. Hartford selected SS Mathew Becker who has put up two respectable seasons in SS-A Waikiki. Becker could one day make a solid backup/depth role in the majors.

Canton’s 2030 5th round pick was later traded by Crystal Lake to Yuma. Yuma selected CL Leo Van Der Waal who has been putting a solid effort in at Kivalina with a 1.17 ERA and 1-1 record in 14 relief appearances. Currently he is slated to play a minor role in the bullpen if he can crack into the bigs later in his career, although he has the make up to surpass that and be a regular bullpen presence.

Canton loses:

$1,000,000

2B Wynn Berry

2029 5th Round Draft Pick (SS Mathew Becker – HAR)

2030 1st Round Draft Pick (LF Tsuginori ‘Mustache’ Takahashi – BAK)

2030 5th Round Draft Pick (CL CL Leo Van Der Wall – YUM)

2030 4th Round Draft Pick (FL) (SS Dave Hearn – BAK)

Canton receives:

2030 1st Round Draft Pick (ARL) (2B Juan Rincón)

2030 3rd Round Draft Pick (AMS) (RP Humphrey Riley)

2030 3rd Round Draft Pick (BAK) (RF Luis Martínez)

2030 6th Round Draft Pick (WV) (SS Nicholas Purcell) – Somehow lost or stolen through back channels

Grade: D

At the end of the day, Wynn could have been a staple in Canton but was traded for some hopeful future pieces. Wynn is a versatile utility infielder with speed to spare. He has shown he is a perfect lead off man and in the short term, moving on from Wynn only hurts Canton in multiple ways. 2B is currently a mess, although there is a light at the end of the tunnel with 2B Steve Overgaag’s development in AA Youngstown this year. He probably won’t break the roster until 2032, but could potentially get his toes wet in next year’s call ups.

Rincon has potential, but was off to a rough start in Melbourne before fracturing his foot, which is feared to potentially be a nagging injury that could hamper Juan’s defense and speed. I want to remain hopeful, but  Rincon might end up being a first round bust if he can’t recover from his foot injury. He has already seen one setback and recently had surgery to correct the ongoing issues.

Riley will fit nicely in the bullpen if he continues his growth, and is on pace for the 2023-24 season at this time, although he is nothing to really get excited about at this time.

Martinez has been catapulting through the minor leagues so far and is already making waves in Youngstown. His defensive work will need to catch up to his bat though. He could break into the majors as early as 2032 or 2031 if he can make some leaps defensively. So I like the Martínez signing.

The bumbling errors by our management that lead to the mystery loss of our 6th round pick only makes all these trades worse in the middle of a crucial rebuild. It goes further to show how incompetent they are… how are we letting him run this franchise?

We definitely went with the long game with all of these trades from the initial acquisition of Berry, and ultimately it will weigh very heavily on how the three picks will turn out. However, today the trades are not looking in our favor for the short term. I’d be pretty depressed as a fan.

Contributor – Redacted