2 hours 15 minutes passed, and all players full time and reserved were assigned to their teams. However, the action of the draft was far from over – players were getting traded left and right. So we want to recap all of the recent trades, give them some grades and reviews and review some updates on the current season.

Trade #1

Mohammed Abdalla		Abbasali Kermalli
Imtiyaz Kara		Damien Ramnauth

Bucks – B-
For the Bucks, they add an experienced player in Abbasali Kermalli who provides some surefire power and is a nice addition to their already existing power hitter in Ali-Raza Nasser. However, he also comes with an injury history and a potential to miss the finals. The addition of a strong corner infielder will help, but the mobility is going to be a problem. The addition of Damien Ramnauth is a gamble for this team, a player they know so the chemistry is a good addition, but the Bucks are hoping that Damien ends up is a Mohammed Abdalla lite. It will take some time for this deal to sway in favour of the Bucks, for now, we’re sticking with a B- for the Bucks on this one.

Lions – A
The Lions add two players that have experience and a competitive fire. Adding Mohammed Abdalla gives them some speed in the outfield, but he’s a player that is still raw and maybe not as polished as Abbasali Kermalli. He hits with power, albeit not as consistently but this is an upgrade for the Lions. Getting Imtiyaz Kara gives them a solid infielder, but perhaps one that has taken a step back in recent years. Regardless adding a player that has strong understanding of how to win and has been in the finals for the last 2 years versus a relative unknown was a good gamble. We like this trade for the Lions and are giving them an A, but as the season goes on the Bucks gamble on Damien may swing this one in their favour.

TRADE #2

Ali Manek		Miqdad Jaffer
Salim Chagani		Abbas Chagani

Eagles – C+
The Eagles make this trade for one reason only, to get Miqdad Jaffer on their team. Their belief is that he will provide a halo effect for the team, making all of the rest of the players on the team better. However, Ali Manek, is the better player – so they definitely lost on this one. The other players in this trade are more interesting. Salim Chagani took a more prominent role last year as a captain and showed that he can play, while Abbas Chagani was largely flying under the radar last year – we think they’re roughly the same player and the Eagles may have come away with a steal on that side of it, but time will have to tell on that. For now both players the Eagles traded for are worse than the players they traded – C+.

Falcons – A+
Conversely for the Falcons, they get the two better players in this deal. They replace two outfielders with an infielder and an outfielder, so the next deal they make will make some more sense. Overall, this one was a shrewd move that played on the Eagles need for a coach for a lot of their rookie drafted players. It may eventually work out for them, but just going by the players we have – this one is wildly in favour of the Falcons.

TRADE #3

Hussain Habib		Irfahn Khimji

Bucks – A
With the Bucks not quite done, they made one more move with the Falcons to shore up their infield and allow their captain to play in his natural rover position. They lose a little power by giving up Hussain Habib, but with a team that has plenty of it, this was a worthwhile trade. The Bucks now seem solid in all their important positions, add some mobility and speed with Irfahn Khimji, and look to be just about set for the season to begin.

Falcons – B+
The Falcons needed to make this trade, with the addition of Ali Manek, the shortstop position was covered and Irfahn Khimji would be playing out of position had they kept him. The addition of Hussain Habib gives them another outfielder that they lost when they traded away Miqdad Jaffer. Habib also brings some more power to this lineup which after the initial draft they were in desperate need of. In isolation, this is a little bit of a loss for the Falcons, but overall this makes their team much better an one that will be competitive for the season.

Season NEWS

As for updates to the season, here are some important things to keep in mind

• Diamonds have all been booked, however, we will be starting 30 minutes earlier than last year (9:30AM instead of 10:00AM)
• 5 Games per day, and more double headers for all teams
• If you haven’t already, login to Team Snap and let your captains know your availability.
• Season starts on May 21 before taking a break for Ramadhan
• Trade Deadline: April 9, 2017