Days after Series hopes dashed, Outlaws start 2019 selling

After hearing news that the St. Louis Apostles swept the Joplin Miners in the 2018 World Series, a flurry of deals were announced signaling the start of the 2019 offseason. In those deals, we see Flagstaff and Salem hooked up.

“Flagstaff has dealt utility player Enrique Hernandez to the Salem Cowtippers in exchange for young prospects Tristan Casas and Bryson Stott,” Outlaws GM Greg Newgard announced.

“We’re stuck in a spot between contending and not,” Newgard added. “We’ve floated some names out to teams to gauge what sort of interest there was and we had immediate hits for Hernandez. We feel we added a couple of quality infielders to this team with Casas likely playing on the corner while Stott profiles up the middle. Our farm club is heavily leaning toward pitching, so we felt we needed to beef up the other side some here.”

When asked if this signals the Outlaws are rebuilding, Newgard paused. “I think so, we have salary flexibility and a strong core, but the losses of Sale and Grienke are going to be hard to overcome right now. The rotation is decimated, so we’ll see where the offseason takes us. We’re still looking to put our best team forward, it just depends on if the focus in 2019 or beyond.”