Squirrels Part Ways With Latos

In a three player deal, the Springfield Flying Squirrels of Republic sent SPer Mat Latos to the Michigan Miracles for OFers Josh Willingham and Andy Dirks. The move comes as somewhat of a surprise knowing that Latos was the key piece in a deal that sent CC Sabathia packing. "It's time for us to move on from that deal. We made a calculated risk in dealing CC, with high hopes for the further development of Mat. We appreciate what Mat has given this team, but we needed to add some offense for a run at the Western Division Title," said GM Adam Anson.

Josh "The Hammer" Willingham will immediately step into a starting OF role for the Squirrels, and looks like a strong potential extension candidate. Willingham has 8 HR on the season, and is now officially the Squirrels' leader in that category and second on the team in RBI. After the draft, it was widely speculated and acknowledged that the Squirrels had one of, if not the, worst OF's in all of eMLB. However, with the quick development of Mike Trout and adding Josh Willingham, the Squirrels' OF is beginning to take shape.

HellBoy comes back to Springfield

Hellickson will look to solidify the Squirrels 2012 rotation.

In an interesting move, the Springfield Flying Squirrels of Republic traded for SPer Jeremy Hellickson today, in a deal that seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Hellickson was acquired along with RPer Phil Coke and OFer Ryan Sweeney in return for OFer Michael Brantley, and RPers Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood. Wood and Marmol were expected to be a solid hold/save combo for the Squirrels this year, but with the recent demotion of Marmol and the injury and inconsistent performance of Wood, the two quickly became expendable. OFer Michael Brantley, who is off to a mediocre start has potential, but was not overly valued by the team with the recent call up of Mike Trout.

The big prize here, though, is Hellickson. Hellickson appears to be building upon his success as a rookie and gives the Squirrels a respectable starting five. Questions still remain for nearly every one of the top five SPers, but at least on paper, Wainwright, Sanchez, Billingsley, Latos, and Hellickson look pretty formidable.