Grading the Deals of a Busy Rookie GM
The first half of the 2028 season has been rough for the New York Roar. New General Manager Greg Kingma sees his team in 9th place and struggling on the field. He may have missed watching his team play live due to negotiating trades with other teams across the CBA. The Roar have completed 6 trades already and Kingma has been on the record about not expecting to move anyone else before the upcoming trade deadline.
With so many moves to look over, we can make an early analysis and see if the rookie front office executive is holding his own in the competitive CBA world.
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NY sent:
OF Eric Bohnert
FLO sent:
SP Chris East & Conditional Pick
Grade: A-
Kingma’s first trade was to get rid of his most talented player on his major league roster, Eric Bohnert. The outfielder had produced well for the Roar each of his 5 seasons but missed the entirety of 2027 with a ruptured tendon in his finger. The Florida Giants sent a promising pitcher, Chris East, and a draft pick for the Bohnert.
So far this season Bohnert is really struggling at the plate but still playing good defense in RF. East, at 18 years old, is being pushed with the Dev-B team and holding his own against older, experienced hitters.
Kingma should be happy with the deal and fans have accepted the move after time since Bohnert was in last season of his contact and unlikely to resign.
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NY sent:
4th pick in 2028 amateur draft
MIA sent:
10th, 17th, 58th, 2029 2nd round pick, & $2.5 million
Grade: B
The blockbuster trade for the Roar leading up to the start of the draft. It would be hard to argue that Kingma didn’t receive enough to move down in the draft. Joe Dixon & Preston Rasmussen were the players selected with the 1st round picks and Kingma will need them to produce in the majors to help this trade be as successful as the Roar need it to be. Kingma has already indicated that the cash received in the deal will go towards making a big acquisition in the international amateur market in the winter.
Sources indicated that multiple teams were interested in trading for this pick and Kingma focused on this deal since his scouts saw the 2028 as a deep draft class and some stars could be picked with later in the first round.
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NY sent:
SP Qi-chao Kuang
AUS sent:
OF Jesus Morales
5th & 6th round picks
Grade: D+
This trade certainly looks like the one most likely to be regretted by Kingma. Kuang has worked hard to become a good starting pitcher after being selected in the 6th round of the 2024 draft. Over a season and a half in the majors Kuang has a 15-9 record and a 3.40 ERA in 37 starts. Some thought that he would be hard to trade since he is under contract for 4 more seasons.
Scouts are divided on the potential of Morales. He will certainly draw walks, but making contact and outfield defense could make it difficult for him to make it to the show.
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NY sent:
RP Fernando Aparicio (2.5 year loan)
OFs Mike Mansfield & Brad Clarke
BRO sent:
2nd, 3rd, 4th, & 5th round picks in 2028 draft
SS Jose Perez
Grade: B-
Kingma added a lot of picks in the 2028 draft and most of them came in this deal with crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Bulldogs. Kingma was clever in making sure Aparicio went out on a loan since his return would hopefully coincide with the Roar contending to get promotion out of the Bronze League. Mansfield should be a solid contributor but was expendable for the rebuilding Roar.
After a strong month in the youth academy, Perez has already been promoted to the B team at the age of 18. The biggest risk in this deal will be if Aparicio suffers an injury and returns to the Roar in 2031 as a less dominant pitcher.
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The other pair of deals by the Roar were giving up some of their extra 2028 draft picks. They were able to acquire a future 2nd & 3rd from Philadelphia for three picks late in the 3rd round.
Hours later, three 5th round picks were sent to San Diego for a major league ready relief pitcher (Ernesto Lopez) & a young outfield prospect (Merlin Seneca).
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After the draft, most scouting services still see the Roar as the deepest minor league system in the Bronze league. With a little luck and good player development the Roar could be setting themselves up for success after a couple of seasons.
