December 15, 2014: Crystal Lake, IL – The baseball world was shocked when a deal was consummated in the waning minutes of the 2014 PEBA Winter Meetings at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in downtown Asheville, North Carolina between the Gnats and the London Underground sending Francisco “Yogi” Robles across the pond.  After more than two months of searching for their coveted left-handed starter to fill out their 2015 starting rotation, the Gnats landed their man but paid a hefty price to acquire him.  Going to London in the deal are former Evansville Tri-Staters Chris “Jitters” Long, Ángel Luján, Ricardo Borghese, and Bob Adams.

In Robles, the Gnats acquire not only the left-handed arm for their rotation that they wanted so desperately but also a premium talent who will likely slot in alongside Nelson “Nails” Anderson and José Cruz. The deal puts the Gnats back in the discussion for best PEBA rotation following the unexpected off-season retirement of Kiyoemon “Crunchy” Takeda. Robles’s 2014 stat line underscores his ability. The southpaw pitched to a 18-10 record with a 2.71 ERA across 222 ⅔ innings while notching 180 strikeouts.

The deal, however, does call into question the future of top pitching prospect and Minor League Pitcher of the Year Curt “Cobra” Turner. Turner, now 25 after completing his second season with Evansville, could not be reached for immediate comment.  It is unknown whether the spot vacated by Takeda in the Gnats rotation, which was widely assumed to belong to Turner, will be filled by Robles or if additional moves remain to be made by the Crystal Lake front office.

In acquiring Robles, the Gnats moved a quartet of top prospects to London – a haul viewed as too steep a price by several PEBA GMs.  Long, Crystal Lake’s Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2014, was widely believed to be on the block because of Christian Ramey’s presence in the middle of the Gnats infield.  The biggest name included in the package going to London, “Jitters” (as he’s come to be known) had a monster season in 2014 that included a 175 AB stint in Crystal Lake.  The number six overall draft pick of the Sandgnats out of Horizon High School in 2010, Long projects to be the Undergound’s opening day starter at SS.

Also included in the deal were 25-year-old 3B Bob Adams, who mashed across two levels in 2014 with Brampton and Evansville, and one of Crystal Lake’s homegrown favorites, big left-hander Angel Luján.  Adams, considered major league-ready by most accounts, will likely occupy the hot corner in London, although some speculate he could slide across the diamond and play a capable first base.  Luján, a giant left-hander out of the Dominican Republic, is still viewed as too raw to make his debut in the majors in the near future but projects as a potential frontline starter in the coming seasons.

“We gave up a lot to get Robles,” said Crystal Lake GM Brian Hazelwood as he exited the Grand Bohemian following yesterday’s meetings.  “We’re certainly sad to part with the players we had to but felt the need outweighed the loss.”

Filling out the deal for London was left-handed starting pitching prospect Ricardo Borghese. The lefty from Suzzara, Italy was an international find for the Sandgnats organization in 2009 and was believed to be in the discussion to make the Gnats’ Opening Day roster out of spring training.

The Sandgnats have called a press conference for Thursday, December 17 to formally announce the deal and introduce Robles to the Crystal Lake media.