(Previous boletines semanales: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
(Previous quarterly review: Q1, Q2)

When the Administrative Council of the Liga Nacional Puertorriqueña first allowed trading after the 1888 season (when the Caciques, after being stymied on three previous attempts, finally won their first championship), they wisely forbade it during the actual campaign. Commissioner Domínguez, who had managed the Plataneros in their earliest incarnations, specifically mentioned the difficulties his players faced in finding houses each year they had to uproot themselves to play baseball for a few months.

By 1901, of course, the situation was different. Even after the devastation of the Bienio Sangriento, trains crisscrossed the country in enough density to allow for somewhat easy transportation across the island, and every team had been around for long enough that they had either secured or built permanent housing for their players. Some sponsors, with the infinite wisdom of the capital class, justified the little money they spent on assembling their rosters with the supposedly exorbitant cost of housing and feeding their players.

For the Administrative Council, this meant they could extend trading into the season, though they chose to set a new deadline at the midseason break that heralded the annual Partido de Campeones, in order to give traded players a chance to make necessary arrangements. As expected, this also magnified that week's ability to grab headlines, as not only would the best players in the league soon be meeting in an epic midsummer dance—but some of them would leave with different partners.

Some years, that drove teams to complete deals even before the official deadline, just to get ahead of the competition. In 1901, when the last day of trading was July 20th, 13 deals were carried out on the 15th, with another 16 joining them on the actual date.

On July 22nd, 1902, with teams very aware of the army of premium talent made available by teams in dire need of spot-filling, fresh prospects, or occasional payroll cuts, they made 28 deals, with the deadline still a day or two away.

Let's get into them. For each player involved, we'll give you their position, age, and overall/potential ratings if there's a gap, and then offer brief comments on the thought process behind the move. We'll rate each trade as a push (neither team benefits), balance (both teams benefit), win (one team benefits more than the other), or fleece (one team benefits absurdly more than the other).

Vega Alta 🔨 sends:
C Domingo López (22, 35 OVR / 40 POT)

Morovis 🦵 sends:
LHP Jackson Fielding (33, 44 OVR)
1B Daniel Martínez (21, 20 OVR / 46 POT)

Morovis has a very old catching room, but this was probably not the best way to refresh it. At least they're not likely to miss the men they've sent back to Vega Alta.

Our rating: Push.

Toa Alta 📜 sends:
C Draco Robles (21, 20 OVR / 40 POT)

Lares 🗣️ sends:
RF León Gamboa (23, 35 OVR / 48 POT)
LHP Darren Pierre (31, 36 OVR)

The ultimate in "c'mon, do something" trades, this piddling move between the Poetas and Patriotas mostly tells you how little Lares is asking for from other teams. Robles profiles decently well as a backstop, but he's unlikely to be ready in time with the Patriotas' current surfeit of arms, and their ongoing problem is that they strike out far too much to punish opponents.

Granted, neither Pierre nor Gamboa is likely to contribute much to the Poetas in the short term, since they have plenty of decent hitters: what they need is an actual top half of the rotation.

Our rating: Push.

Bayamón 🤠 sends:
3B Ismael Hernández (24, 46 OVR)

Yauco 🌰 sends:
LHP Belerofonte Bernal (40, 38 OVR)
1B Nereo Flamenco (22, 20 OVR / 49 POT)

First, let's get one thing straight: this is a two-player trade, because we're fairly certain there are just a few months left in Belerofonte Bernal's LNP tenure, and he's not spending any of that time pitching for the Vaqueros during games.

Now, of the two players involved in this trade, Hernández is almost certainly the real contributor in the future, and that mostly because he can play first, second or third base competently. Former Guardián de Dorado Flamenco, like many other players, will either bounce around some more or simply settle into a comfy spot as a 1B/DH type on a team that doesn't have anyone better to provide a decent bat.

Our rating: Push.

Rincón ⚙️ sends:
1B Rubén Macías (19, 20 OVR / 48 POT)

Loíza 👹 sends:
LHP Dámaso Acosta (32, 39 OVR)
2B Luis Escobedo (22, OVR / 48 POT)

More than anything, this trade seems to have been motivated by the Vejigantes wanting Macías, whom they must consider a better bat than anything we're seeing out of him. Acosta and Escobedo aren't huge prices to pay in return (technically, Escobedo isn't even a price to pay, as he's currently on a contrato simple), and if we thought either of them would be worth mentioning in the future, this would be a Rincón win. Instead, we expect Acosta to end the year playing outside of Puerto Rico and Escobedo to likely have become part of a trade package for a true top-flight player.

Our rating: Push.

Humacao 🌧️ sends:
C Telégono Soto (21, 27 OVR / 46 POT)

Yauco 🌰 sends:
RHP Amancio Murrieta (34, 46 OVR)

Given that Soto is an extremely glove-first catcher whose offensive production is unlikely to even reach league-average, the only way this trade makes sense for Yauco is if he can serve as the backstop of the future for a bunch of young pitching prospects . . . but the Corsos have exactly one of those.

Normally, getting a pitcher for a player you weren't going to use for several seasons would be a great deal, but Amancio Murrieta is a three-pitch reliever running a dire 4.26 FIP in under 50 innings. The likelihood of Humacao getting any use out of him is remote.

Our rating: Push so hard it's a novel by Sapphire.

Aibonito 🐔 sends:
1B Alfonso Tavárez (20, 20 OVR / 44 POT)
C Enrique Veracruz (24, 50 OVR)

Moca 🧛 sends:
LHP Alberto Echeverría (35, 48 OVR)
3B Andrés Rico (22, 47 OVR)

This looks like a four-player trade, but we suspect the real objective was to trade Veracruz for Rico, and neither team would budge until others got thrown in. As hitters, they're very similar anti-lefty bats with some possible defensive upside, and Moca needed a new battle-ready catcher when they knew they'd be moving Tarango. The Polluelos have a set infield with Tovar, Santos, Ortiz, Márquez and Nava, but Rico can play several of those positions at backup.

Echeverría would seem to be a swingman pitcher capable of rotation or bullpen work as La Nevera needs him, but he's proven not to be particularly adept at either assignment, and Tavárez is yet another middling bat who may at some point find his way onto a roster as a 1B/DH type.

Our rating: Balance.

Vega Alta 🔨 sends:
C Paulino Franco (24, 53 OVR)

Arecibo 🐺 sends:
1B Cedric Warburton (34, 66 OVR)

When Warburton's iffy -1.6 runs cost and 110 OPS+ is an improvement on both your first basemen's performances—you know, at the infield position generally considered the least defensively important—you know you're in some trouble. Unfortunately for the Maceteros, everyone else knew that, and so the Lobos were able to further stock their cupboard with great defensive catchers by grabbing Franco, who will one day be a mighty field general as their load of pitching prospects matures into truly dangerous rotational weapons.

This does mean that Vega Alta is down to one catcher at the moment, though they presumably intend to move Luis Reyes or Juan Pacheco into Franco's old backup spot to compensate. Either way, they'll have a much better bat at the cold corner.

Our rating: Balance.

Rincón ⚙️ sends:
RHP Amancio Luna (37, 54 OVR)

Coamo 🏃 sends:
CF Diego Medina (31, 59 OVR)

Amancio Luna has been very, very slowly getting back on form after a horrendous April. He finally posted a 2.64 ERA in July, much closer to his 2.56 season FIP, but he's still, you know, 37 years old. His once-devstating forkball is starting to lose its shape, and even if he does regain his full form in spurts, it's a good question whether he'll be able to maintain it longer than an occasional start.

Medina, meanwhile, would presumably take over starting duties from Bernabé Morales, who has severely fallen off in 1902 in the field (1.051 to 1.023 EFF) and at the plate (138 to 51 wRC+). Given the importance of a great centerfielder to Rincón's typical defensive philosophy, and Coamo's great-but-not-transcendent pitching, this seems like a match made in heaven. It's unfortunate that Rincón had to give up one of its legends to upgrade their roster, which isn't typical procedure for La Máquina, but it might get them a deeper run than usual into the postseason.

Our rating: Balance.

Guayanilla ⚡ send:s
RF Astolfo Valdez (33, 52 OVR)

Trujillo Alto 🥟 sends:
CF Miguel Ángel Montoya (19, 20 OVR / 51 POT)

A perfect night at the trade block: a team that badly needs players whose production can hold off a Carolina team punching far, far above its weight, and a team that's very open about needing to fill the cellar for the next few seasons. There's not much else to say: Montoya could turn out to be a very exciting corner OF for the Relámpagos in 1904-05, but Valdez's superior defense and better slugging should give the Macabeos another bat they can rely on.

Our rating: Balance.

Isabela 🐓 sends:
2B Etelfrido Vásquez (38, 63 OVR)

Las Marías 🍊 sends:
RHP Aquiles Ledesma (31, 53 OVR)

Vásquez was a very, very good hitter in 1901, but he lost his permanent spot in the lineup when the Gallitos signed on-base savant and defensive wizard Abdón Rodríguez in February. After a frustrating season of games at first, second, and both outfield corners, you can see here he might want to go elsewhere, and the Crestús just had to find actual value for him.

They're getting it in Ledesma, a workhorse pitcher who's reduced his FIP by about 50 ticks in 1902 and has maintained a 128 ERA+ that would play on almost any team in the league. Isabela, in particular, would love to have another well-above-average arm to bolster one of the most unfair rotations in the entire LNP. That'll let them say goodbye to Vázquez, who can play multiple positions at which the Agridulces could use a guy who can actually bat.

Our rating: Balance.

Maunabo 🦀 sends:
CF Ángel Rodríguez (25, 63 OVR)
CF Juan Valles (22, 33 OVR / 50 POT)

Mayagüez 🎖️ sends:
LHP Benjamín Centeno (22, 20 OVR / 67 POT)

If you've seen what Maunabo's pitching supply line looks like, you can't blame them for this move. Centeno may not be a true top-flight pitcher, especially if his control never properly locks in, but he could stabilize the rotation in a few seasons, and a great #1 pitcher is often the first piece a team manages to put in place.

Meanwhile, Mayagüez has Jesús María Castillo as outfield marshal, and while he remains a good defender in center, his offense has become problematic enough for the Capitanes to look for help elsewhere. González is a perfect fit here: still a very good defender whose bat is below average, but at least he's acceptably below average, and there's time for him to turn his season around.

Our rating: Balance.

Aguadilla 🦈 sends:
RHP Jaime Galaviz (20, 20 OVR / 75 POT)
RHP Generoso Muñoz (20, 22 OVR / 72 POT)

Loíza 👹 sends:
2B Louis Lewis (33, 69 OVR)

The Tiburones are in a tight playoff hunt where they need to hold off both of the other teams in their division. Unfortunately, they have an excellent defensive second baseman who can't make contact with a baseball to save his life.

The Vejigantes might just be four games back of the Macabeos, who are currently in line for a playoff seat despite having a losing record, but they seem fairly convinced that this isn't their year. By giving up their best hitter, they've secured a possible future through Galaviz (who began the year as a Prócer) and Muñoz, who currently look like future Excelentísimo contenders. If even one of the pitchers Aguadilla sent over were ready for primetime, we'd consider this an outright Loíza win—but if that were the case, Aguadilla would've kept them.

Our rating: Balance.

Lajas 👽 sends:
RHP Efraín Naranjo (21, 20 OVR / 76 POT)

Moca 🧛 sends:
RHP Amancio Silva (24, 20 OVR / 34 POT)
C Perseo Tarango (30, 70 OVR)

Despite being in pretty good shape to make the postseason, the Marcianos decided to load for bear during the second half, and were apparently quite willing to sacrifice future glory to do it. Efraín Naranjo is the kind of pitching prospect that can radically change a team's fortunes in the long term, and the Marcianos lost one of their definitional talents to pry him loose from storage in Carolina.

In exchange, they get a very bad reliever they are unlikely to ever use and a man generally considered one of the best all-around catchers in the game. Perseo Tarango has traded some of his defense to become a much better hitter, and it's given the Rebeldes offense a shot in the arm they badly needed. The Marcianos could use that punch too.

Our rating: Balance.

Cidra 🕊️ sends:
1B Adrián Murillo (22, 39 OVR / 48 POT)

Barranquitas 🤵 sends:
LF Ruy Barrera (36, 64 OVR)

After many years of putting up with Columbano Rubio's subpar defense on account of his owning the most disciplined set of eyes on the island of Puerto Rico, the Próceres are ready to move on. The man is 41, and he is not hitting the ball with any consistency in 1902, though his four triples are something of a wonder for one of the slowest runners in the entire LNP.

Murillo is an easy answer to that, in that he'll at least be a middling hitter who avoids striking out, which the Próceres really like. The problem is that, to get him, they gave up Barrera, a stunning all-rounder who looked set to eclipse his quite good 1901 season. Sure, he's 36, but the core skills are all there. Barranquitas could've, and should've, asked for a little more.

Our rating: Cidra win.

Guánica 😁 sends:
C Francisco Prado (29, 65 OVR)

Camuy 🦇 sends:
RHP Juan Ramos (30, 57 OVR)

This is what happens when your star catcher cuts his OPS+ in literal half and still can't field as well as needed to help the league's most absurdly-loaded roster. Camuy's backup Alcántara has been doing quite well in limited duty, but that's because he's played in only 26 games total. It made sense for the Románticos to look for a catcher who could field or hit, and they found their savior in Prado. A catcher batting .219 just doesn't get to command 2,500 pesos for long.

Well, not unless a team like Camuy, which has no issue inflating its payroll, swoops in and offers the pitcher that got churned out of their rotation. Ramos may not stick in his new southern home either—though his FIP of 2.79 would be lower than two of the current Guánica starters—but he gives the Amigos an extra arm to play with, and unlike Camuy, with only one game over the Atles, they need all the help they can get.

Our rating: Guánica win.

Guayanilla ⚡ sends:
2B Miguel "Cheo" Enríquez (32, 63 OVR)

Santa Isabel 🐎 sends:
LHP Santiago Gómez (22, 20 OVR / 44 POT)

The Eléctricos must think Heráclito Martín is truly the second baseman of the future, judging by how easily they traded away the man who plays the same position and is currently slashing .321/.387/.379 when they're the third-worst team in Betances at scoring runs, especially when their exchange is a lefty who is currently sitting at a 4.85 ERA and looks unlikely to do much better for the next several seasons.

Enríquez won't turn Santa Isabel into a playoff team all by himself, but Gómez definitely won't be a playoff-caliber pitcher unless there's a truly staggering seismic shift in the LNP.

Our rating: Santa Isabel win.

Comerío 🕷️ sends:
3B Natán Zaragoza (22, 20 OVR / 41 POT)

Manatí 🏛️ sends:
RHP Miguel López (30, 46 OVR)

Zaragoza is a versatile enough player, if you need a guy who can play both corners and right field, but Miguel López would immediately slot in as a decent #4 in the rotation, and as a team that needs to build bats and keep arms, the Atenienses could've used him more than his replacement on the roster.

Our rating: Comerío win.

Guaynabo 🌐 sends:
RHP Isabelino Sánchez (36, 45 OVR)

Luquillo ☀️ sends:
IF Procopio Guadalupe (34, 51 OVR)

While neither of these players are such incredible stars that most teams would miss them, it is worth pointing out that Isabelino Sánchez is, at best, an average pitcher who's gotten lucky in 1901 and 1902, and is due for a long-awaited return to form.

Guadalupe's not exactly the cure for everything that ails Guaynabo, but he's a hometown boy who's good enough to take over for Mateo Estrada at the hot corner, and probably could've hung around Luquillo when their pitching prospects came of age. Perhaps they hope to use Sánchez as an unofficial pitching coach for the soon-to-be rookies. If so, there may be intangibles we're not seeing here, but as it stands . . .

Our rating: Guaynabo win.

Río Grande 🦜 sends:
C Pío Corona (28, 51 OVR)

Aguas Buenas 🐴 sends:
SS Manuel Salgado (26, 56 OVR)

At the beginning of this year, Aguas Buenas had one catcher, and he was doing terribly, with a high-water mark of .448 OPS and costing his team somewhere on the order of 20 runs. They signed a new backstop who can at least field his position, and then apparently decided that the experience had been so nightmarish that they needed to stock up on catchers.

That's the only explanation we can provide for why they'd trade their excellent defensive shortstop, whose 80 wRC+ is perfectly acceptable under the current circumstances, for a pinch-hitting catcher with 14 ABs under his belt.

Our rating: Río Grande win.

Jayuya 🏔️ sends:
RHP Astolfo González (20, 23 OVR / 78 POT)
1B Dagoberto Mercado (23, 36 OVR / 46 POT)
RHP Hugh Wiseman (30, 39 OVR)

Trujillo Alto 🥟 sends:
LHP Ignacio Lozano (18, 20 OVR / 43 POT)

If you're related to Mercado or Wiseman, we apologize, but frankly, no one gives a damn about either of them: this was a cover-up for a pitcher/pitcher trade, and we'll be shocked if Lozano's iffy command leads to anything but incredibly frustrating performances. Jayuya does not have the kind of defense that can counteract the extra baserunners he'll put on.

While González simply doesn't have the stamina to hang in games for longer than an inning or so, if the Macas can turn him into the five-pitch closer he sure looks like he could be in the future, their bullpen immediately becomes one of the most dangerous in the league. Mostly because they've currently just got former Cabo Rojo starter Curcio Cruz sitting there and throwing occasional innings.

Our rating: Trujillo Alto win.

Ciales 💪 sends:
2B Kane Hitchcock (32, 53 OVR)

Caguas 🧺 sends:
RHP Silvio Ramírez (23, 40 OVR)
LHP Isabelino Sánchez (26, 46 OVR / 48 POT)
C Juan "Humoso" Sánchez (19, 20 OVR / 50 POT)

What was your favorite part of the Caguas era of Juan "Humoso" Sánchez? Was it the part where he lasted all of 42 days in metaphorical gold-and-black before getting traded again? We kid, especially because Sánchez has defense iffy enough that he may be limited to a backup role for whichever one of Cástico Martínez or Pánfilo Valenzuela receives the nod from the front office, or possibly getting traded a few more times before he finds a manager willing to start him.

In return, the Vales gave up a player who was stuck between several playing spots, and all of them had better players as alternate possibilities. Hitchcock's by no means a bad ballplayer, and he'll likely be a bright spot for Caguas once he's over the change of scenery, but a catcher who might bat higher than 7th is a rare bird indeed.

Our rating: Ciales win.

Lajas 👽 sends:
C Nicasio Domínguez (23, 46 OVR)

Luquillo ☀️ sends:
C Greg "the Thrill" Steward (36, 55 OVR)

Luquillo knows they're supposed to look for players that make their team better, right? They have three pitching prospects who could've used Steward's experienced hand behind the plate. Instead, they sent him off for a younger catcher who is unlikely to match Steward's acceptable offensive production.

The only reason this isn't a fleece is because Steward is old enough that he's unlikely to have much left in the tank, but in the meantime, he's far more likely to contribute to the 1902-03 Marcianos playoff runs than Domínguez is to help Luquillo get there.

Our rating: Lajas win.

Maricao ☕ sends:
CF Aluino Trujillo (31, 64 OVR)

Vieques 💀 sends:
3B Esteban Arbona (19, 28 OVR / 44 POT)
C Noé Mazariegos (21, 22 OVR / 39 POT)

Yes, Trujillo is a decade or more older than the two prospects Maricao's getting in return, but he's also an actual baseball player who can either play a middling center field or switch to a corner to maintain his defensive prowess in his thirties. Arbona and Mazariegos might develop into productive players, but it's far less likely, and the 1902 edition of the Vieques side simply doesn't have the juice to take advantage of this trade. It would've been better for Maricao to wait until deadline day and see if they could pry loose a better return.

Our rating: Vieques win.

Las Piedras ⚒️ sends:
1B Dylan Collins (28, 65 OVR / 68 POT)

Fajardo 😤 sends:
RHP Santiago Cruz (19, 20 OVR / 55 POT)
1B Aramis Reyes (19, 20 OVR / 45 POT)

It's not like Cruz and Reyes aren't actual baseball players, but the Menestrales don't need actual baseball players to reverse their current fortunes: they need either massive injections of prospects or superstars, and while Dylan Collins is not currently having a great 1902, he's much closer to the latter than to the first.

Getting traded to the reigning champs only makes it more likely that Collins will break out of his current doldrums, while it's likely Cruz and Reyes are at least 2-3 years away from contributing to their ballclub. By then, it's likely the Cariduros have Julián Barrera and Diego Sánchez sitting in the rotation, and Liga Hostos is screwed.

Our rating: Fajardo win.

Guaynabo 🌐 sends:
CF Albán Sánchez (33, 75 OVR)

Juana Díaz 👑 sends:
RHP Eduardo Ayala (21, 20 OVR / 49 POT)
C Julio Ortega (27, 51 OVR)

Whatever the Reyes did to convince Guaynabo this was a good idea, they'd better hope no one ever uses it on them. Sánchez is an excellent CF whose baserunning and hitting complement a great defensive game, all three of which Juana Díaz needs in a spot that's been mostly ruled by whimperbat Eumeo Velásquez. In return, the Reyes give up a pitcher that's unlikely to ever become a threat, given his flyball-heavy style and extreme splits, and while the loss of Ortega might sting in the long term, they have Mario Hernández on deck to take over at the backup spot.

Granted, Sánchez is 33, but to a team with a good track record of developing big-time players, that should mean two or three decent seasons before they need to find a successor.

Our rating: Juana Díaz fleece.

Cayey 🐂 sends:
RHP Javier Olivarez (29, 60 OVR / 62 POT)

Santa Isabel 🐎 sends:
RHP Pedro González (22, 20 OVR / 50 POT)
RF Darío Rodríguez (23, 20 OVR / 46 POT)

Though Olivarez is a very skilled pitcher, it's easy to see why Cayey felt he was disposable: at 29, he's got 6-7 years on both of their upcoming arms, and there's zero guarantee that a 35 or 36-year-old version of him would perform as well as he has in 1902. Trading him at this juncture makes a certain amount of sense.

What doesn't make sense is trading him for two young and middling players who will one day be less young and just as middling. Olivarez has the kind of upside that should've commanded a premium return in prospects, and there are teams like the Petroleros that would probably benefit from a top-flight pitcher, but neither González nor Rodríguez looks likely to do much beyond stick on a roster longer than they should.

Our rating: Santa Isabel fleece.

Guaynabo 🌐 sends:
1B Florentino Moreno (38, 53 OVR)

Quebradillas 🏴‍☠️ sends:
C Faro Martín (30, 56 OVR)

We have no idea why Quebradillas agreed to this, unless they've been losing a lot of games specifically because they don't have a pinch-runner ready. Guaynabo received a fairly good, all-around catcher for a still-speedy-but-old first baseman who can't hit well and can barely play any other position.

Our rating: Guaynabo fleece.

Cayey 🐂 sends:
C Rogelio Martínez (34, 60 OVR)
LF/1B Nicodemo Turiño (24, 47 OVR / 48 POT)

Hatillo 🐄 sends:
3B Miguel Montoya (21, 20 OVR / 46 POT)

Even given their other trades, why Cayey agreed to this is anyone's guess, given that twentieth-century scouting was far more centralized. Why they were willing to give up a great defensive catcher and a first-base prospect when they badly need to score runs is even more of a mystery.

At any rate, Hatillo loses nothing to gain a couple players who will be helpful in the next two or three seasons, and they'll need that kind of help to keep momentum against the Murciélagos.

Our rating: Hatillo fleece.

That's our coverage of all 28 Tradestorm deals. We'll be back soon with our regular weekly posts, but we wanted to try something different for such a weird day in LNP history.

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