Dec. 15, 2019

Benny Hayden, Gazette Staff

KALAMAZOO – The Kalamazoo Badgers front office went into this offseason seeking to upgrade the team’s starting pitching.

Mission accomplished.

A series of four trades have turned what has been a large weakness for the club into what – at least on paper – is lining up to poss

ibly be a strength that could help the team return to the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

The Badgers have acquired three new young starting pitchers – Seu Tong, 25;  Niccolo ‘Luigi’ Arcimboldo, 26 and Javier ‘Random’ Jiménez, 23.

Added to top pitching prospect Simon ‘The Beast’ Jones, 24 waiting in the wings in AAA and Kalamazoo now has a starting pitching core that should help the team compete and will be together for the foreseeable future.

The price paid was high, however, as the team dealt away top two first round draft picks as well as some prospects and highly-regarded players in order to bolster their pitching staff.

But as vocal team owner Don O’Quinn explained – possibly alienating the fanbases of his minor league affiliates  – the time is now to win in Kalamazoo.

“We needed pitching, so we got pitching. A pick in a draft isn’t going to help us win and prospects that are still not ready to compete in PEBA are not going to help us win. For too long this team has had success at the minor league level, but never at PEBA,” O’Quinn said. “I’ll be honest, I don’t care if we win ballgames in Grand Rapids, I don’t care if we win ballgames in Hamilton, I don’t care if we win ballgames in Nampa and I don’t care if we win ballgames in Ketchikan. I want to win baseball games in Kalamazoo and that is our goal with these moves.”

O’Quinn has never been one to shy away from media and rumors have long circulated that he’s involved in the day-to-day baseball dealings far more than most owners, as he’s even dubbed himself an “assistant GM.”

But perhaps looking to avoid a public relations disaster, the team’s GM Cole Hobson sought to be a bit more diplomatic about the moves.

“It’s important to have success at all levels, but obviously, the minor leagues are a development level and the main goal is to get people here to Kalamazoo to help us win. I think we’ve done that quite well with these moves,” he said.

The trading frenzy began at the beginning of the winter meetings on Dec. 9, when the Badgers shipped third base prospect Richard Kelly to the Charleston Statesman, receiving their first round draft pick, sixth overall.

The next move saw Kalamazoo deal their own first-round pick, 10^th overall and pitching prospect Yin-zhen ‘Stinky’ Kan to Omaha Cyclones, for starting pitcher Seu Tong.

Tong enjoyed a breakout year in 2018, posting a 12-11 record while posting a 3.85 ERA. He regressed in 2019 with a 4.72 ERA, but his secondary statistics suggest this drop might have been more due to poor defense and other factors outside his control.

The team is expecting big things from Tong in 2020 and beyond.

“The guy throws 100 miles per hour. We expect him to be pretty good and to keep getting better,” O’Quinn said when a member of the media asked why they felt Tong was worthy of dealing a first round draft choice for. “I’m going to go ahead and suggest none of the 18 year olds in this upcoming draft will be throwing 100, or helping us win ballgames in 2020. We’re happy with the move.”

The next deal took fans of both Kalamazoo and the Connecticut Nutmeggers by surprise, as  the Badgers received Niccolo ‘Luigi’ Arcimboldo and outfielder John Martin, in exchange for starting pitcher Manny Montoya, left fielder Manny Womack and a second round draft pick.

Arcimboldo’s name hadn’t been heard in trade talks and his inclusion in the deal came as a surprise.

The Italian affectionately known as ‘Luigi’ is coming off a season where he went 11-7 with a 3.36 ERA over 217 innings. That follows a breakout 2018 campaign when his 16-9 record and 2.62 ERA earned him an all-star nod and runner-up in the Golden Arm Award voting.

Going back is Montoya, who is highly regarded but hasn’t yet found sustained success at the PEBA level (4.44 ERA through 208.2 innings in 2019) and Womack, who was once a highly-ranked prospect in the system but wasn’t able to find much playing time in 2019, but still swatted 15 home runs in limited action.

While Martin’s ability to play centerfield was going to fill a hole for Kalamazoo, he only got to live life as a Badger for a few short days.

On Dec. 15, the Badgers completed their pitching additions by dealing Martin and the first round pick acquired from Charleston to Crystal Lake Sandgnats, receiving top pitching prospect Javier ‘Random’ Jimenez and outfielder Carlos Becerra.

‘Random’ is currently listed as the 32^nd best prospect in PEBA and he’s coming off a AAA campaign that saw him post a 3.30 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.

“You don’t see players like him available too often on the trading block, we had to do what we could to get him on our team,” O’Quinn said. “That’s a guy who we are going to have cost control over for a number of years and if he turns out the way we hope he will, he’s going to be a fixture at Portage Park for years.”

The moves have energized a fanbase badly in need of a boost and has also added optimism from within the clubhouse.

“Those are some good arms and I think it’s going to do a lot for us, I’m excited to get thing started,” said team catcher and leader Lorenzo “Big Cheese” Amador. “The front office is obviously committed to winning and it’s time we give the fans in Kalamazoo something to cheer about.”

But questions still remain. The team is still active in the free agent market and reportedly in on a variety of targets, but the bullpen – which last year ranked 10th out of 12 teams in the league with a 4.64 ERA – remains virtually unimproved. The team is also expected to have Becerra start the year in centerfield until prospect Scott Wiggins is ready for the next level, but the Badgers are still in need of another infielder.

There’s also a question about exactly who will be in the starting rotation come opening day 2020.

Tong and Arcimboldo would be considered locks, as well Badgers Phil Anderson and Pat Green, who put up solid campaigns in 2019.

That leaves only one available spot – presumably to be filled by either Jimenez, Jones or perhaps Angelo Morales, who himself was added earlier this offseason in a trade with the League of the Rising Sun.

“Too much pitching? I call it a good luxury to have,” O’Quinn said. “We don’t have to rush anyone. We can go forward with the five best guys for the rotation, push some others to the bullpen, or keep a guy in the minors if he’s not ready. We’re in a good position here, rather than having to march out whatever five warm bodies can maybe do the job.”

It’s been a busy offseason and likely one that will define the Hobson and O’Quinn era and – for better or for worse – be how their time in Kalamazoo is largely marked.

There’s nothing to say this is the end of the team’s moves, either.

“We’re in trade talks constantly,” O’Quinn said. “This might not be the final roster that we head into spring training with.”