Tag: Jim King

TWIWBL 77.3: The Trade Market

On August 29, 2025

With the August trade deadline just around the corner, seemed to be a good time to take a look at the likely sellers and buyers, and some players that are likely to find new homes by the end of next week.

Some notes on these:

Needs reflect places where the minor league systems are thin on talent and the general shape of WBL level talent needed.
The second three bullets (Prospects, AAA Help, WBL Help) are possible players that could be available in the right context..

#BUYERS

These are teams looking to solidify their talent or make a push for the post-season. In a perfect world, they have some young talent to spare as well.

#Birmingham Black Barons

Yeah, they’re in 5th place, but they’re also only 4 games back, so there’s hope. The Black Barons have been ingenious at past deadlines, we’ll see if they can continue the trend.

Needs: IF, P, Minor League SS/3B

Prospects: OF Melky Cabrera, Curt Flood, Gary Matthews; IF Nate Colbert, Hal Trosky
AAA Help: P Tommy Bond; IF Pie Traynor
MLB Help: OF Bob Nieman

#Cleveland Spiders

Could use another SP, as well as a help in the middle infield–Chuck Knoblauch is skating along on last year’s performance, and there isn’t any depth to speak of at 2B/SS despite Steve Sax‘s excellent first 50 PA’s.

Needs: Minor League 2B/SS.

Prospects: OF Paul O’Neill, Kenny Lofton; IF Johnny Hodapp
AAA Help: P Chuck Porter, Claude Passeau; IF Bob Elliott, Brook Jacoby
MLB Help: IF Willie McCovey

#Homestead Grays

A Wild Card spot is likely for the Grays, who have a powerhouse offense and a desperate need for pitching. With some young talent blocked, they may be able to make some moves.

Needs: Bullpen is aging

Prospects: OF Max Carey, Paul Waner; IF Freddie Lindstrom
AAA Help: OF Starling Marte; IF Jeff Kent, P Brickyard Kennedy
MLB Help: OF Goose Goslin

#Houston Colt 45’s

Another team caught between a wild card chase and building for the future, the Colt 45’s would love to address their one ongoing need, which is a catcher to take over from the aging Jorge Posada, as some in the organization are not yet sold on Will Smith as the longterm solve behind the plate. There is a crunch at 1B/DH as well, as there really aren’t enough AB’s to go around for both Paul Goldschmidt and the recently demoted Andrés Galaragga.

Needs: Minor League C, SS.

Prospects: IF Bucky Dent, Travis Jackson, Wes Helms; OF César Cedeño, Hunter Pence, Shin-Soo Choo
AAA Help: P Mike Sirotka, Óscar Tuero; IF Carney Lansford, Aramis Ramírez, OF Gorman Thomas, Johnny Damon
MLB Help: Various bullpen pieces may be possible

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Another team riding the wild card roller coaster. The ABC’s are solid offensively, but struggle some behind their top end starters. There are some blocked players–perhaps most notably Jake Stenzel–so there are some pieces available.

Needs: Minor League OF

Prospects: OF Jim Eisenreich, IF Pokey Reese, Sean Casey, Hal Morris
AAA Help: P Johnny Vandeer Meer; OF Jody Gerut, Dave Henderson, Ed Swartwood; IF Dan Driessen
MLB Help: OF Jake Stenzel, Bob Bescher, IF Ed Charles

#Kansas City Monarchs

This Monarchs team will make the playoffs a year or two ahead of schedule so the choice of how much to surrender for immediate success is a bit challenging. At some point, some of the positional logjams need to be sorted out (Albert Pujols, Dale Murphy, and Ducky Medwick; Willie McGee and Cool Papa Bell), but it’s not clear that now is that time.

Needs: Minor League C; WBL Offense

Prospects: OF Wade Johnston, Earl Averill; IF Keston Hiura, Pat Burrell
AAA Help: P Adam Wainwright, Jack Quinn; IF Ken Boyer, Andre Thornton; OF Merv Rettenmund, Jim King
MLB Help: P Matt Morris, Luke Hamlin

#New York Black Yankees

Once again the Black Yankees are trying to find the right piece to extend their postseason run. At some point, they’ll need to solve their post Derek Jeter needs at SS, but this is probably not that time.

Needs: Minor League OF; P; future SS.

Prospects: OF Rob Deer, Clyde Milan
AAA Help: OF Roger Maris; IF Tom Herr, Red Rolfe; P AJ Burnett
MLB Help: P Rheal Cormier, Red Ruffing, Waite Hoyt

#MEH

A mix of teams doing well enough not need anything (San Francisco) and those not willing to give up much because they like their current talent composition moving into Year 3. Never say never, as these teams do have some pieces, but they are far less motivated to get something done at the deadline.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

This team is just beginning to gel, but they could use some offense and they are one of the few franchises with arms to spare.

Needs: SS if unconvinced by Vern Stephens; Minor League 1B

Prospects: OF Matty Alou, Raúl Mondesi, Don Mueller; IF Sonny Jackson, Ken McMullen, Maury Wills; P Doc Newton, Zach Britton
MLB Help: IF Germany Smith, Dick Bertell
AAA Help: IF Jim Gentile, Eric Karros; C Kelly Shoppach; P Ron Perranoski

#Detroit Wolverines

They’re in an odd spot: on the one hand, they are likely to be in the wild card chase; on the other, this is a team well positioned for the future, and eager to cement that status. There are a lot of pieces that are over 30, but none–other than perhaps Oscar Gamble–are key cogs in the Wolverines’ machine.

Needs: Minor League 3B; IF, esp SS; P.

Prospects: IF Wander Franco
MLB Help: OF Oscar Gamble
AAA Help: OF Brady Clark, Wes Covington; IF Jimmy Collins; P Dennis Rasmussen

#Miami Cuban Giants

The Cuban Giants have an outside shot at a wildcard slot, but this is a team building for the future. As such, I would expect them to stand pat, or perhaps move some end of roster pieces for minor league depth.

Needs: Minor League OF, 3B, 1B; WBL P.

Prospects: OF Roy Thomas, Carlos Morán
MLB Help: P Sandy Consuegra, Kenshin Kawakami; OF Andy Pafko
AAA Help: IF Nellie Fox

#Ottawa Mounties

Even though the Mounties have a shot at the playoffs, this is a team trying to position itself for the future, which basically means begging everyone and anyone for pitching.

Needs: Minor League SS, 3B, C. SP.

Prospects: OF Warren Cromartie, Willie Upshaw, Willie Keeler, Leon Roberts
MLB Help: P Bryn Smith; IF Roy Sievers; OF Rick Monday
AAA Help: IF John Olerud; OF Terry Puhl, Bob Allison; C Emil Gross; P Chris Bosio

#Philadelphia Stars

The Stars are on the fringe of the playoffs, but really this is a team aiming at cementing and building around its emerging nucleus. As such, some of its useful veterans may be available; at the same time, Philadelphia would love to add some pitching and address its issues in the middle infield.

Needs: MI, P, WBL Offense.

Prospects: ???
MLB Help: OF Rico Carty; P Bob Howry, Robin Roberts, Pedro Feliciano; IF Art Fletcher, Ted Kluszewski
AAA Help: OF Bobby Abreu; IF Jung Ho Kang, Dolph Camilli, Cecil Cooper; C Sherm Lollar

#San Francisco Sea Lions

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That said, if an easy piece comes available, it’s unlikely the Sea Lions ignore the opportunity.

Needs: Minor League 1B

Prospects: OF Jules Thomas, Matt Holliday; IF Freddie Freeman; P Jair Jurrjens
MLB Help:
AAA Help: IF Dick Green, Denny Walling; OF Josh Reddick; P Rube Walberg

#Wandering House of David

Even the House of David isn’t convinced their playoff chances are real. Still … they might be. So it’s a bit of a quandary in terms of whether they should move some of their young talent or not. The challenge is the roster really doesn’t make a ton of sense: CF is overly crowded, 1B/DH as well, and there is an abundance of talent at 2B.

Needs: P

Prospects: OF Tony Conigliaro; IF Billy Herman
MLB Help: OF Jim Edmonds, George Gore; IF Mark McGwire, Richie Hebner
AAA Help: P Joaquín Andújar; IF Tom Hutton, Mark Grace; OF Tracy Jones

#SELLERS

Teams with either an excess of talent, or who have thrown in the towel on the season and have some veteran pieces that may be attractive.

#Baltimore Black Sox

Last year’s champs, this year’s dunces. Baltimore believes in its young core, a belief that may see them retain FA acquisition Gavvy Cravath, but even he may be had for the right price.

Needs: all P, Minor League OF.

MLB Help: IF Bobby Wallace, Dan McGann; P Buddy Groom, Connie Johnson, Joe Beggs
AAA Help: P Ken Johnson, Kevin Tapani, Christhian Martínez; OF Ken Griffey, Sr; IF Brian Roberts

#Chicago American Giants

The season cannot end soon enough. Chicago has talent to be a contender, but nothing has gone right for them this season. They are willing to blow up their pitching staff, from a how much worse could it be perspective.

Needs: Minor League OF, C; prime P

Prospects: IF Jorge Orta; OF Walter Davis, Lenny Dykstra
MLB Help: P Akinori Otsuka, Joe Lake, Mark Buehrle, Hoyt Wilhelm, David Price; IF Paul Konerko, Freddy Parent; OF Vernon Wells
AAA Help: OF Rocky Colavito, Magglio Ordóñez; C Michael McKenry

#Los Angeles Angels

It hasn’t been a bad year for the Angels, but they are still a player or three away. There is a lot of mound talent in the organization, but they could use some long term solutions at SS, 3B, and C.

Needs: Minor League OF, C, 2B; WBL Offense.

Prospects: OF Norm Miller
MLB Help: IF Eddie Joost
AAA Help: OF Elmer Valo; IF Mark Ellis; P Rich Hill

#Memphis Red Sox

There is hope in Beantown. Just not for this year. There also are some pieces that may hold attraction for contenders, most notably 1B Bill White (with the Red Sox happy to turn 1B over to David Ortiz) and closer Jonathan Papelbon. There is a lot of congestion at various positions that needs to clarify over time.

Needs: Minor League C, SS; SP; 2B/SS

Prospects: IF Dustin Pedroia, OF Joe Rudi, Dwight Evans, Lefty O’Doul, Candy Jim Taylor, P Jim Kaat
MLB Help: P Tommy de la Cruz, Jonathan Papelbon; IF Bill White, DJ LeMahieu, Iván De Jesús, Nomar Garciaparra
AAA Help: IF George Scott, Dustin Pedroia

#New York Gothams

With this season pretty much scrapped, the Gothams are looking to the future. Which puts them in an interesting spot, as they have a fair number of useful parts on the wrong side of 30. But it’s not a total fire sale, as the team isn’t that far away from competing.

Needs: Minor League SS, C, 2B; SS

Prospects: OF Rick Manning
MLB Help: P Mike Norris, Juan Marichal, Troy Percival, Gaylord Perry; IF Joe Adcock, Larry Doyle, Terry Turner
AAA Help: OF Carl Furillo, Steve Kemp, Charlie Hamburg; IF George Kell; P Liván Hernández, Wei-Yin Chen, Tony Mullane, Guy Hecker

#Portland Sea Dogs

In some sense, the Sea Dogs did their selling already, both during the offseason and the all star break. But this year is still a wash for Portland, so anything they can do to help build for the future will be worthwhile.

Needs: 2B/SS, overall WBL Offense.

Prospects: ???
MLB Help: OF Kiki Cuyler, Harry Hooper; IF Gil Hodges; P Mark Melancon
AAA Help: IF Don Baylor, Rafael Palmeiro; OF Walt Bond, Jerald Clark

TWIWBL 72.8: Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On February 21, 2025

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Kansas City Monarchs	49-41	.544	—
Indianapolis ABC’s	47-43	.522	2
Houston Colt 45s	43-46	.483	5.5
Wandering House of David	41-47	.466	7
Birmingham Black Barons	39-51	.433	10

Marvin Miller Division | 9 July

#Birmingham Black Barons

Birmingham named Sam Streeter to its rotation, and sent Fred Fussell to AAA, recalling Alex Malloy from his rehab assignment. They also shook up their bullpen, with all-star Harley Young taking over from Juan Ríncón as closer.

Richie Sexson steps into a platoon with Adrían González at 1B and Ryan Braun looks to take most of the time in LF, essentially pushing Bob Nieman to the bench.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Ice Box Chamberlain was added to the rotation. Rick Wise was returned to AAA as the Colt 45’s dropped back to a dozen pitchers and recalled Kirby Puckett, adding (yet another) OF possibility.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

With the arrival of Chris Sabo, Robin Ventura was returned to AAA after another failed chance.

Emil Frisk‘s strong start looks to keep Jake Stenzel at AAA even after his rehab assignment expires.

#Kansas City Monarchs

The Monarchs made some moves … the least noticed was sending promising Matt Morris on a rehab assignment. Dustin Hermanson, Steve Evans, and Jim King were all sent to AAA to make room for Lee Smith, Joe Harris, and Stan Musial‘s return from a rehab assignment. The choice to keep Cool Papa Bell instead of the far more experienced Evans is sure to cause some controversy.

Craig Kimbrel will be the closer from here on out, depending on Smith and Eddie Guardado to get him the ball, leaving Jeff Pfeffer to hopefully sort himself out in the middle innings.

Harris’ arrival will cut into Dale Murphy‘s playing time, but should strengthen the Monarchs’ offense overall.

Robinson Canó and Musial hit 2 out of the park and Ozzie Smith doubled 3 times as the Monarchs beat Houston, 10-4. Frank Castillo–who, it must be said, didn’t have the best of outings–improved to 11-1.

#Wandering House of David

Kyle Peterson and Larry Jackson were named to the House of David rotation while Jimmy Key was added to the bullpen. Bob Rush lost his rotation spot, but Jack Taylor holds on to his at least for the time being. Bruce Sutter was sent to AAA, leaving the team without a closer at all: we’ll see how that works out for them.

Craig Reynolds, Cap Anson, and Mark McGwire were all recalled as the team tries to sort out its future. Anson and McGwire will essentially rotate at 1B, while Frank Chance will see his playing time behind the plate rise as well.

McGwire went deep twice, but the House of David fell to Homestead, 9-5.

TWIWBL 69.6: Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On December 9, 2024

In TWIWBL

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Indianapolis ABC’s	39-31	.557	—
Kansas City Monarchs	39-31	.557	—
Wandering House of David	31-38	.449	7.5
Houston Colt 45s	31-41	.431	9
Birmingham Black Barons	28-43	.394	11.5

Marvin Miller Division | 18 June

#Birmingham Black Barons

John Malarkey replaced Sam Streeter in the rotation for Birmingham.

Jim Whitney had easily his best outing of the year with a 4 hit shutout of Houston. He improved to 3-2 with the 1-0 victory, lowering his ERA to 3.55. Whitney followed that up with a masterful 8+ in a 5-1 win, again over Houston, adding another victory and shaving another 0.20 from his ERA.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Bones Ely heads to AAA with Ice Box Chamberlain coming back up for another stint. Johnny Damon was also sent down and while the Colt 45’s strongly considered recalling Roberto Osuna to help their bullpen, they settled instead on veteran OF Luis Gonzalez.

Toad Ramsey struck out 11 and allowed only 1 hit–that a homerun–in a 4-1 victory over Birmingham. The Colt 45’s scored 4 in the top of the 9th–2 on solo shots from George Brett and Jimmy Wynn and 2 on a double by Pete Hill–to help Ramsey improve to 10-4.

#Indianapolis ABCs

Emil Frisk was returned to AAA as Ed Charles was recalled from his rehab assignment.

Johnny Bench continues to emerge from a season long sense, hitting 2 out in an 8-6 loss to Brooklyn, giving him 17 on the year.

Jake Stenzel will miss about a week, warranting a trip to the DL with Frisk coming back up.

The Only Nolan put in his best start of the year, allowing 1 run in 8 innings and striking out 11 in an 8-2 win over the Gothams.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Boog Powell hit 2 out, but those were the only runs the Monarchs could manage in a 10-2 loss to Homestead.

A. Rube Foster was magnificent, spinning a 2-hit shutout in a 10-0 win over Homestead. Ted Simmons had 3 doubles and Powell and Lou Brock each went deep in the victory.

The Monarchs’ best hitter, Stan Musial, will miss about a week as a strained groin will send him to the DL. Jim King was called up from AAA.

#Wandering House of David

Bruce Sutter and Lee Smith swapped roles, with Smith becoming the designated closer for the House of David.

Ernie Banks went deep twice and drove in 5 as the House of David pounded Ottawa, 15-4. Anthony Rizzo, Joe Harris, and Frank Grant also went deep for the home team.

TWIWBL 56.11: Spring Training Notes – Kansas City Monarchs

By mknn

On February 28, 2024

In TWIWBL

Spring Training Questions

Figuring out the staff is challenge number one. 2 second round picks–Matt Morris and Jack Quinn–have a shot at making the staff depending on their performance this Spring.

Injuries

Jim Bibby‘s hopes of making the team were dashed by a trip to the DL. Merv Rettenmund will miss about a month with a back injury, which is a shame, as he was making a strong case for a reserve OF spot.

First Cuts

Well … the pitching staff remains a bit of a mystery. Jim Bibby is hurt and Rube Marquard and Sheriff Blake were sent down, but other than that the competition for the starting slots remains tough: Bill Singer and Bob Shawkey have yet to give up a run and Félix Hernández and Rube Foster are better than their numbers may indicate. Larry French, Boone Logan, and Matt Thornton were also returned to minor league camp, at least reducing some of the bullpen congestion.

With that many pitchers still in camp, the Monarchs only moved one C to their minor leagues, Johnny Bassler. 1Bs Daryl Sconiers and Andre Thornton have forced their way into the conversation at 1B, especially as the two incumbents–Boog Powell and Albert Pujols–are struggling mightily to start camp. Over at the hot corner, though, a small handful of players have played their way out of camp: Heliodoro Hidalgo, Ken Boyer, Bill Bradley, and Gene Freese were all sent down, with Carlos Baerga barely holding on.

In the middle infield, the competition has been fierce with Dave Cash, Keston Hiura, and Frankie Frisch all hitting well and only Kolten Wong not showing enough to stick around.

Earl Averill‘s talent is undeniable, but his performance sent him back to the minors for a time. Neither Fielder Jones nor Cool Papa Bell have hit a lick so far, so the backup CF spot is still up for grabs. The surprises of the Spring so far have been Jim King and Merv Rettenmund, who are making strong arguments for a roster spot.

Second Cuts

Trevor Rosenthal has pitched as well as someone who has given up 12 hits in under 4 innings can, and remains in camp despite an ERA over 12.00. Félix Hernández and Jock Menefee weren’t as lucky, being reassigned to the minors.

C John Bateman was reassigned, and Salvador Pérez is in danger of losing his backup position with an OPS of .220 so far. Teenager Carlos Baerga and Sam Mongin were both demoted, leaving the Monarchs without a true 3B in camp.

OFers Fielder Jones and Tommy McCarthy were sent down as well, clearing the way for Cool Papa Bell to make the team as Willie McGee‘s backup in CF.

3rd Cuts

Even before the day off, the Monarchs had seen enough: something is wrong with Trevor Rosenthal. After a solid season last year, Rosenthal has been absolutely torched so far this Spring, giving up 15 hits in 4.1 innings and an ERA over 16. Rosenthal should figure it out, but he’ll start in minor league camp.

Muddy Ruel is really pushing to break camp ahead of Salvador Pérez as Ted Simmons‘ backup at C.

The rest of the roster remains a bit muddled, other than Cool Papa Bell and Keston Hiura being sent to AAA. The challenge is not unusual: presumed starters are struggling (Albert Pujols, Robinson Canó) and longshots to make the team are hammering the ball (Daryl Sconiers, Edgar Rentería, Jim King). Add Dale Murphy starting to come good on his promise, and there are still significant cuts to be made.

Final Cuts

Bill Singer must be wondering what he has to do to get an extended shot in the WBL. He’s only 20, so he’ll have some more chances, but for now he’ll ply his trade at AAA after a solid showing this Spring.

In a bit of a surprise, Muddy Ruel has beaten incumbent Salvador Pérez for the backup C job with the Monarchs, at least for now, with Pérez being moved to AAA.

The Monarchs are delaying some harder choices by sending RP Andrew Bailey to AAA. One of those is at 1B where young Daryl Sconiers refuses to stop pounding the ball in Spring Training. This has sent Andre Thornton to AAA, despite the veteran showing some nice pop at the plate. Sconiers is still likely to join him, but for now he’s remaining in big league camp.

Jack Rowe had a solid year last season behind Ozzie Smith, but he’ll have to work his way back from AAA this year, with Edgar Rentería looking likely to be Smith’s backup. OF Merv Rettenmund was placed on the DL.

The choice with Sconiers is mirrored by the choice with Jim King. Both have torn the cover off the ball all Spring, but both are really vying for a fringe roster spot with the Monarchs. Here, Sconiers’ age worked against him, as the Monarchs moved him to AAA for more regular playing time.

The Monarchs ducked one decision by placing Matt Morris on the DL. Bob Shawkey beat out Adam Wainwright for one spot on the staff.

The final 3 cuts were pretty brutal. Jim King, Edgar Rentería, and Dave Cash did absolutely everything asked of them all Spring, leading the team in most offensive measures and showing decent defensive versatility. In the end, Frankie Frisch‘s ability to play SS and the desire of the Monarchs to see if Dale Murphy can deliver on his Spring performance sent all three to the minors.