Wearing Their Shoes
The human side of the trade deadline
What do you think it’s like for Jack Flaherty today?
On the baseball side, I assume he just goes about his regular routine, even though he may not be pitching in five days but in six or seven or eight depending on the results of the next four. Does he watch video and read scouting reports of the Twins, knowing there’s a good chance it won’t be him that faces Minnesota on the evening of August 1 but not wanting to be caught unprepared should a deal not happen?
How awkward is it in pitchers meetings and in the clubhouse? Does he feel like he’s a dead man walking as people start, intentionally or not, planning like he’s not going to be here soon? Does he start to remove yourself from friendships that have grown up over the last few years, hoping the pain is lessened when the call comes?
Does he walk around on pins and needles, always wondering when a text is going to come through or the clubhouse guy taps him on the shoulder to say, “Mo’s looking for you.” Does he pack some of the non-essentials to speed things up or does he leave all the packing until a move is made so he doesn’t have to really face that he is leaving until the last possible moment?
Flaherty let the situation hit him yesterday, which probably helped lead to the ending of his start being a bit deflating. It’s clear to at least some that this organization meant a lot to him. Like almost any relationship, it had its ups and downs and sometimes Flaherty didn’t come across as fans would like. We saw him make significant connections, though, to legends like Bob Gibson and Adam Wainwright. It’s the only place he’s ever known in the big leagues. Whatever happens, it’s not going to be easy on the young man.
What do you think it’s like for Jordan Montgomery today?
In some ways, he’s in the same situation as Jack Flaherty, but with a little less definition. He’s set to take on the Cubs on Friday night. There’s a good chance he’ll make that start but there’s almost as good of a chance that he won’t. He’s got to be ready for it while knowing it could be taken away from him literally minutes before game time.
Perhaps it’s a little easier for Montgomery, though. He went through this last year, leaving the organization that developed him fairly suddenly, without a lot of rumors and possibilities, a clean break that hit like a bolt of lightening. This year, at least, he doesn’t have the deep roots and he’s got experience with the process.
However, this year the rumors and speculation are rampant. Like Flaherty, he’s waiting on the seemingly inevitable notification that John Mozeliak needs to meet with him. He’s had to deal with all this swirling around him for weeks now, unlike last year. Does that sort of pressure, that sort of uncertainty get to a player? Is it harder to concentrate on getting ready for the Cubs when you might see the Red Sox next?
There’s probably a little frustration on Montgomery’s part as well because, if it were up to him, he wouldn’t be going through this. He stated back in the spring he was open to an extension but that the club had never reached out to him. If they had made that move then, he probably wouldn’t be in limbo now.
Experience probably makes the actual trade easier for Monty, but he’s likely ready for the speculation to cease.
What’s it like for Paul DeJong today?
Another player that has only known St. Louis, DeJong’s name has been out there for a while as a possibility for a team needing a bat and a good glove at short. His name comes up in trade articles and in radio discussions. After all this time, he might be wearing a new uniform.
And he might not. DeJong doesn’t have the inevitability around him that Flaherty and Montgomery do, especially since the Dodgers have traded for not one but two players that have shortstop experience in the last couple of days. Does that make it harder on him? Does he not want to get his hopes up that he’s staying? Or maybe, after being the brunt of fan disappointment for a couple of years, does he not want to get his hopes up that he’s going?
At least as a position player DeJong doesn’t have to look ahead, doesn’t really have to worry about whether he’ll make his next start. He can get ready for tonight’s game and if he’s traded before it, he can prepare for his new opponent tomorrow. The baseball side of things isn’t quite as complicated for an everyday player, especially one that won’t likely be a starter if he gets dealt.
The human side, though, can be tricky. You don’t make a big trip to the grocery store, for instance. You might start thinking about some of the logistics, but without knowing where you are going or when you’ll be moving, it’s more theory than helpful practice. If you are renting, this late in the game you are paying for August at least because there’s no time to clear out and end the lease, but you still start seeing who can maybe come and pack up your place if you get sent to Seattle or something.
The uncertainty has to be a little bit of a distraction, as much as players say that it isn’t. I would think it’s increased in a situation like DeJong’s, where there really is a 50/50 chance he’ll stick around—not enough to get comfortable but not enough to start mentally preparing for the change.
What it’s like for Jordan Hicks today?
Katie Woo has reported that the club and Hicks are engaged in extension talks, which should be a good thing for Jordan’s piece of mind. However, those talks come with a catch—if they don’t get done in time, the club is likely to move him.
Granted, much of the negotiations are going to happen with Hicks’s agent, the Ballengee Group. Still, that’s a little extra pressure. How much do you want to stay with the organization you came up with? Enough to agree to a deal that isn’t close to what you would get on the free agent market? Enough to give on certain points that you would probably press on if you had more than a couple of days to hammer out an agreement?
Hicks at least has a little bit of control that the rest of these folks don’t have. If he wants to stay in St. Louis—which he’s stated is a goal—he can agree to the extension. What happens when that desire to stay conflicts heavily with what you believe you are worth, though? How do you reconcile those two things?
The extension talks also probably make it harder to mentally prepare for a trade, right? You’re focusing on what you can do to stay, but if you hit that wall at whatever deadline the club has set, all of the sudden you may have only 24 hours before you are in another town wearing another uniform. Life comes at you fast, after all.
With that on his mind, he still has to be ready to take the ball in a situation where there’s no margin for error, no place for any split focus. As a reliever, he never knows when that situation will come—or when a situation might have been his last.
What’s it like for Nolan Arenado today?
Unlike everyone else listed, Arenado doesn’t have to worry about the trade deadline for himself, no matter how many national columnists think it would be just wonderful if he got shipped to the Dodgers. As he said, he opted in for a reason. He’s going to be in St. Louis for a long time, probably the rest of his career. He can go about his business. Move along.
Yet he’s been through this kind of thing before with the Rockies. He’s seen people he respects, people he calls friends sent out to far-flung locales because his team wasn’t good enough to be in the pennant race.
Arenado’s desire to win is legendary. There’s no one on this team that cares more about putting up Ws than he does. His passion for the game is well-evident. So to see the Cardinals in a spot where they are trading off pieces and knowing that likely means the rest of this season is a wash can’t sit well. He understands it logically, no doubt, but that baseball player always thinks that they are one good run away from being right back in the hunt.
When the calls start coming, when Flaherty and Montgomery and maybe DeJong and Hicks and others are gone from the clubhouse and likely young, inexperienced faces take their place, it’s probably going to be frustrating for Arenado, who thought he’d left losing baseball behind in Colorado. The saving grace is that, unlike the Rockies, this isn’t part of a long-term plan that might or might not come to fruition. Arenado expects to win in 2024 and that fits with expectations of the Cardinals as well.
Some of you are probably saying, “Hey, there are people that deal with this and worse on a daily basis and don’t have millions of dollars and an organization to help them cope with the details.” Which is completely true. Insecurity, transition, uncertainty, these things are not limited to baseball at the trade deadline.
I don’t think the fact that some people have it worse doesn’t mean we can’t try to empathize with players, though. They have advantages, sure. Many make more in a game than I do in a year. Take that away, though, and they are still 24-34 year old men (which, at my age, means they are still boys) traversing unknown waters. The players are people and while we often deal with them in the abstract, as pieces in our entertainment, every once in a while it’s a good thing to realize, money or not, they have emotions as well.
As the trades come, obviously be excited about the return and what that means in a baseball sense. But spare a thought for those coming and going as well.
Great article.