Reno Busy At Winter Meetings
12/12/2019: Reno, NV – The term “Blockbuster Trade” has a tendency to be thrown around a little more often than it should but, the Reno Zephyrs and the Bakersfield Bears pulled off a legitimate blockbuster deal at the Winter Meetings. The Zephyrs sent outfielder Gilbert Murray to Bakersfield in exchange for pitcher Félix ‘Cyclone’ Maese. The trade appears to be one of those difficult to analyze deals where each side sent away a hugely talented, relatively young player that has the ability to have an immediate impact on their new team’s win loss record. The future health and performance of the two players will certainly determine which team is the winner of this deal and right now, that winner is anyone’s guess.
Trades that help both teams seem about as rare as unicorn feces. The more common scenario is that in a time a clear winner and a clear loser is established. However, if both players remain healthy, we may just have a bonafide win-win trade here. Maese makes the Zephyrs rotation one of the strongest in the league and Murray adds runs tremendous run scoring potential to a very potent Bears lineup.
“I think it’s good for both sides,” Reno manager Júlio Carrillo said following the trade announcement at the completion of the meetings. “I really do. I think ‘Cyclone’ brings a different perspective to our pitching in general, just the way he goes about his business and how he competes. I know he has been a major force within the Bears’ rotation. He is what you call a difference maker!”
Only time will tell if that difference maker came at the cost of a bigger difference maker. Murray led the Zephyrs in batting average, OBP and slugging last season. That will be a tough spot to fill but, the Reno front office felt with the young outfielders they have on the 40-man roster and the improvement to the rotation that ‘Cyclone’ adds, the reward will be worth the risk.
In a separate deal, the Zephyrs sent another outfielder packing during the Winter Meetings. Long-time Reno outfielder António ‘Trashmaster’ Morales was traded to the Nah Shisa in exchange for 20 year old infield prospect Sidney Pelikaan. ‘Trashmaster’ has been in a Reno uniform longer than anyone currently on the roster. He was here for the disastrous 38-124 season in 2015. Trashmaster was drafted in the 1st round of the 2011 amateur draft by the Reno Zephyrs. Morales is a player that has really paid his dues with this team. He has seen both the good times and the bad. It is a shame that he was dealt in what appears to be a numbers game. The current Zephyrs have some cheap young talent that made Morales’ 2.25 million arbitration award expendable. It is highly likely that there will be a significant number of Reno residents following the Naha Shisa this coming season due to this trade. Trashmaster was a fan favorite and his presence will be missed in the Reno clubhouse.
All in all, this will likely go down as one of the busiest winter meetings for the Reno Zephyrs. Now we shall see if it was productive.