The Mission Viejo Maulers put their rebuild in overdrive as GM Chris Ferraro put a match to their $225 entry for 2021 and shipped off three of their top assets on Draft Day. The deals along with a strong group of starting pitchers who are projected to be healthy for 2022 has Ferraro eying a quick bounceback to contention next season.
Aristocrats Acquire: OF Randy Arozarena (1/$25)
Maulers Acquire: RHP Max Meyer (Minors)
Ferraro and the Maulers were linked to Arozarena for much of the off-season and the outfielder looked like he had found a long-term home in Mission Viejo after landing a fairly reasonable $25 contract. Just minutes after his bidding ended, rumors began to fly that a deal was in place to send Arozarena to the 'Crats for the first pick of the 2nd Round.
Hours later, that pick had a name as high upside right-hander Max Meyer would become the 16th overall selection and be the return for the Maulers. With Kumar Rocker, the 5th overall pick in the Reserve Draft also under contract, the Maulers have a lethal 1-2 punch in the Minor Leagues to add what projects to be a deep rotation at the big league level after Ferraro added Justin Verlander, Noah Syndergaard, David Price, Corey Kluber, Mike Clevinger and Dustin May in Auction.
Devils Acquire: OF Mike Yastrzemski (1/$26)
Maulers Acquire: OF Jud Fabian (Minors)
Another outfielder that seemed to land on a team-friendly deal was quickly moved as Mike Yastrzemski was shipped to the Devils for the 20th overall pick. Yastrzemski was close to being moved to the Alamo Short Stacks who delayed in their final answer, opening the door for the Mt. Diablo Devils and GM Jason Watson. Yaz will join an up and coming Devils roster that has eyes on snagging a Wild Card spot in 2021.
The Maulers will receive University of Florida outfielder Jud Fabian in return. Expected to be one of the first names off the board of the MLB Draft in July, Fabian brings monster power and should move quickly through the Minors if his hit tool can take the next step forward in the Minor Leagues.
Goutfish Acquire: 1B/3B Jeimer Candelario (1/$14)
Maulers Acquire: OF Drew Waters (Minors)
The Maulers completed their trio of trades by shipping corner infielder Jeimer Candelario to the Goutfish. Candelario saw a drastic improvement in 2020 after subpar seasons in 2018 and 2019 and the underlying numbers point to his step forward as something sustainable moving forward. He provides eligibility at first and third and will lengthen an already deep Goutfish lineup.
The Maulers landed outfielder Drew Waters who could provide value at the big league level for Ferraro as soon as 2022. Waters didn’t play well at Gwinnett at the end of the 2019 season but, it was 26 games and 119 plate appearances. That came after he completely dominated the Southern League hitting .319/.366/.481 with a 144 wRC+. The lost 2020 season in the minors robbed him of a chance to quiet some concerns about his approach at the plate and an oblique injury this spring did the same.
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