BOSTON — PSD’s newest general manager and president took the helm in Boston just after the league’s busiest in-season event: the July 31 trade deadline.
While Alec Snyder would have liked to get the offseason plan in motion before it even started, the benefit of having some down time actually accomplished that in a roundabout way.
“Coming into the hot seat after the trade deadline passed gave me the opportunity to take my time and evaluate both the Red Sox’s needs and the patterns of GMs around the league,” Snyder said. “This was my first league without a scouting feature, which meant I had plenty to learn about the tendencies of GMs who all have the same exact numbers to play with.”
The obvious needs for the Red Sox were to free up money. Aging but consistent star infielder Dwayne Condon was signed to a front-loaded deal that still rendered him a hefty percentage of the team’s payroll through his age-38 season. First baseman Dave Miller and center fielder-turned designated hitter Jim Reid each were signed to deals that far overcompensated their value.
What became clear to Snyder, he said, was the need to shake things up. Even after an 86-76 finish that took Boston beyond the Wild Card round of the playoffs in a surprise upset of the Chicago White Sox, teams like the Havana Sugar Kings – the eventual 2059 World Series winner – and the Baltimore Orioles were well ahead of Boston in the AL East standings and in roster depth.
The duelists enlist
Boston’s most coveted prospect, outfielder Joe Mitchell, received an onslaught of interest from teams, sources said. But two teams reached out to Boston at the onset of free agency with interest in Mitchell as the key component to a salary dump: the Vegas Blackjacks and the Milwaukee Brewers.
Snyder declined to delve into negotiation specifics. But sources familiar with talks said Vegas and Milwaukee took divergent approaches to achieve the same endgame: bolster a weak farm, even if it meant spending dollars in dead money to do the deal.
For Vegas, that meant add talent, or the ability to gain it. For Milwaukee, that meant a net gain in prospect potential.
Neither was a likely suitor entering talks. Both NL teams have no DH slot in the lineup to play either Miller or Reid, let alone both. And Reid, a former Gold Glove recipient, has become a liability in the field, while Miller’s bat has all but evaporated.
Vegas was the first to inquire, sources said, though Milwaukee didn’t trail far behind. The Blackjacks’ opening offer consisted of Miller, Reid and Mitchell, along with a minor-league reliever and a first-round draft pick. After Boston talked Vegas’ GM, Wils, down to a second-rounder, talks hit the precipice of completion.
“[I’ll give you a] firm handshake for taking over these shitty contracts,” Wils told Snyder with a laugh, according to those familiar with negotiations.
But the Red Sox took pause with the offer, a Boston source said. The draft pick and prospect may have been more than the team was comfortable with, and Snyder didn’t want to look like someone who leaped at the first offer.
When Milwaukee came calling, Snyder said he would consider any offer that brought talent back to Boston and eliminated the extra pieces beyond Mitchell and the “Dump Duo,” as Snyder had come to call them around the organization.
Brewers GM Alex countered with an alternative: a trade including Condon instead of Reid that would send better major-league talent back to Beantown.
Boston considered the deal, given Condon’s salary, and even thought about pivoting on Condon alone to Milwaukee while accepting Vegas’ offer.
There wasn’t enough certainty around Condon to Milwaukee, though, and Snyder decided the priority was to package Miller and Reid together with Mitchell, as there wasn’t another prospect with Mitchell’s appeal who could also lure teams to take on bad contracts.
Under those terms, Milwaukee’s proposal closely resembled what would be the final deal: Jose Fernandez and Greg Thompson were offered in exchange for Boston’s trio.
Snyder went back to Vegas for a counteroffer, sources said. Vegas was said to be willing to trade anybody on its major league roster if it meant getting Mitchell into its depleted farm system.
The problem was that none of its players matched the potential of Thompson on the pitching side and Fernandez at the plate. Milwaukee was strongly in the lead.
En garde: guns drawn, shots fired, players traded
Nevertheless, Boston sources said Snyder liked one specific player on the Blackjacks roster whose value outweighed the combined value of Fernandez and Thompson, in his eyes.
That meant the only thing that could change was the addition of even more talent. Neither Snyder nor Wils could believe how talks had progressed.
“Damn,” Wils said. “That escalated quickly.”
“I, too, did not expect to be in the leveraging position,” Snyder shot back with a chuckle. “But here we are.”
Boston had already gone back to Milwaukee and discussed names to become the third piece coming back from the Brewers. After about 20 minutes of back and forth discussion, the two clubs settled on Ben Gore, a young, promising right-handed pitcher.
In Vegas’ system, Boston identified one prospect who had to be part of any ensuing talks. Snyder told Wils who he wanted.
Wils didn’t blink.
“He wins,” Wils said, not knowing who his competition was.
Wils had expected the finalists to be one of the Yankees, Indians or Beavers, according to sources. He was surprised to find it was a fellow NL contender.
Even though he voluntarily withdrew from the bidding, Wils shared with his colleagues his regret soon after the deal was consummated without him.
“I already regret not countering your last ask,” Wils said.
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