Between the famous Bull Durham quote, “I am the player to be named later” and time between the trade and the announcement of the PTBNL (Player to be named later) there is an air of…weakness to being designated the PTBNL in a trade. That is not the case as this All-Star team will show you. This is the PTBNLAST2013.

First of all, the rules. For the sake of my time and sanity I only went with players that were designated as the PTBNL and are current players either in the minors or majors. I then, in my infinite wisdom, decided which ones to put at each position on the diamond or in the rotation. The very nature of the designation allowed for a LOT more pitchers than hitters or else I my have done a full 25-man roster out of this.

For those of you that are wondering, I’ll quickly explain what a PTBNL actually IS. As the name suggests, the PTBNL is a player to be named at a later date that is being involved in a trade right now. The decision of which player it ultimately will be comes down to negotiations between the two teams from a list of players that is created by those teams at the time of the trade. If no decision can be made about who the PTBNL will be within six months of the trade becoming official, then cash considerations are generally accepted in place of the PTBNL. Normally this is a throw-in type player, but as we’ve seen in recent trades (LAD-BOS megadeal/COL-CLE Ubaldo trade) the PTBNL can be a high level prospect as well. In those trades, RHP Allen Webster was ranked #95 prior to the trade and RHP Drew Pomeranz was ranked #61 prior to the trade. Other times, the player really is just a throw in and luckily becomes something. Without further ado, here is your starting lineup (not a batting order).

Starting Lineup

C – George Kottaras – Kansas City Royals – Trade involving Kottaras: 8/31/2006 – Boston Red Sox trade David Wells to San Diego Padres for a PTBNL – Resolved on 9/5/2006 with George Kottaras to Boston Red Sox

1B – David Ortiz – Boston Red Sox – Trade involving Ortiz: 8/29/1996 – Minnesota Twins trade Dave Hollins to Seattle Mariners for a PTBNL – Resolved on 9/13/1996 with David Ortiz to Minnesota Twins

2B – Marco Scutaro – San Francisco Giants – Trade involving Scutaro: 7/28/2000 – Cleveland Indians trade Paul Rigdon, Richie Sexson, Kane Davis and a PTBNL to Milwaukee Brewers for Bob Wickman, Steve Woodard and Jason Bere – Resolved on 8/30/2000 with Marco Scutaro to Milwaukee Brewers

3B – Joaquin Arias – San Francisco Giants – Trade involving Arias: 2/16/2004 – Texas Rangers trade Alex Rodriguez and cash to New York Yankees for Alfonso Soriano and a PTBNL – Resolved on 4/23/2004 with Joaquin Arias to Texas Rangers

SS – Sean Rodriguez – Tampa Bay Rays – Trade involving Rodriguez: 8/29/2009 – Los Angeles Angels trade Alexander Torres, Matt Sweeney and a PTBNL to Tampa Bay Rays for Scott Kazmir – Resolved on 9/1/2009 with Sean Rodriguez to Tampa Bay Rays

CF – Coco Crisp – Oakland A’s – Trade involving Crisp: 7/19/2002 – Cleveland Indians trade Chuck Finley to St. Louis Cardinals for Luis Garcia and a PTBNL – Resolved on 8/7/2002 with Coco Crisp to Cleveland Indians

RF – Michael Brantley – Cleveland Indians – Trade involving Brantley: 7/7/2008 – Cleveland Indians trade C.C. Sabathia to Milwaukee Brewers for Zach Jackson, Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson and a PTBNL – Resolved on 10/3/2008 with Michael Brantley to Cleveland Indians

LF – Jerry Sands – Boston Red Sox – Trade involving Sands: 8/25/2012 – Boston Red Sox trade Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Nick Punto and cash to Los Angeles Dodgers for James Loney, Ivan De Jesus, Allen Webster and 2 PTBNLs – Resolved on 10/4/2012 with Rubby De La Rosa and Jerry Sands to Boston Red Sox

While that lineup isn’t a “murderer’s row” on the level of the vaunted Los Angeles Angels of 2013, batting Crisp leadoff, Scutaro 2nd and Ortiz third is a fine top of the order and with the all around play of Brantley and the (projected) power of Sands this lineup has the capability of holding its own in the majors.

Rotation

LHP – Gio Gonzalez – Washington Nationals – Trade involving Gonzalez: 11/25/2005 – Philadelphia Phillies trade Jim Thome and cash to Chicago White Sox for Aaron Rowand, Daniel Hagwood and a PTBNL – Resolved on 12/8/2005 with Gio Gonzalez to Philadelphia Phillies

RHP – Jorge De La Rosa – Colorado Rockies – Trade involving De La Rosa: 3/26/2008 – Colorado Rockies trade Ramon Ramirez to Kansas City Royals for a PTBNL – Resolved on 4/30/2008 with Jorge De La Rosa to Colorad Rockies

LHP – Tyler Skaggs – Arizona Diamondbacks – Trade involving Skaggs: 7/25/2010 – Arizona Diamondbacks trade Dan Haren to Los Angeles Angels for Joe Saunders, Rafael Rodriguez, Patrick Corbin and a PTBNL – Resolved on 8/7/2010 with Tyler Skaggs to Arizona Diamondbacks

RHP – Zach McAllister – Cleveland Indians – Trade involving Zach McAllister: 7/30/2010 – Cleveland Indians traded Austin Kearns to New York Yankees for a PTBNL – Resolved on 8/20/2010 with Zach McAllister to Cleveland Indians

RHP – Drew Pomeranz – Colorado Rockies – Trade involving Pomeranz: 7/30/2011 – Colorado Rockies trade Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland Indians for Alex White, Matt McBride, Joseph Gardner and a PTBNL – Resolved on 8/16/2011 with Drew Pomeranz to Cleveland Indians

That pitching staff actually has quite a bit of young potential in it, who knows if it will pan out, but you can dream on it. The problem is that if and when these pitchers are really good (other than Gio Gonzalez) many of the starters in the field will be put out to pasture. Luckily, I don’t have to worry about that for this.

Relief Pitchers (there were a lot of these)

LOOGY – Scott Downs – Los Angeles Angels – Trade involving Downs: 8/25/1998 – Chicago Cubs trade cash and a PTBNL to Minnesota Twins for Mike Morgan – Resolved on 11/3/1998 with Scott Downs to Minnesota Twins

SU – Dale Thayer – San Diego Padres – Trade involving Thayer: 8/24/2006 – Tampa Bay Rays trade Russell Branyan to San Diego Padres for Evan Meek and a PTBNL – Resolved on 9/15/2006 with Dale Thayer to Tampa Bay Rays

CL – Luke Gregerson – San Diego Padres – Trade involving Gregerson: 12/4/2008 – St. Louis Cardinals trade Mark Worrell and a PTBNL to San Diego Padres for Khalil Greene – Resolved on 3/23/2009 with Luke Gregerson to San Diego Padres

I’m not sure how I feel about my 8th and 9th innings guys both being from the Padres just based on your classic idea of the Padres, but Thayer and Gregerson have both shown solid play out of the ‘pen both this year and in recent years. Downs is a fantastic lefty that ruins fellow lefty hitters so he will fit the left-handed specialist role nicely.

Honorable Mentions

LHP – Ted Lilly – Los Angeles Dodgers – Trade involving Lilly: 12/22/1999 – New York Yankees trade Hideki Irabu to Montreal Expos for Jake Westbrook and 2 PTBNLs – Resolved on 3/17/2000 and 3/22/2000 with Ted Lilly and Christian Parker to New York Yankees

LHP – Neal Cotts – Texas Rangers – Trade involving Neal Cotts: 12/3/2002 – Chicago White Sox trade Keith Foulke, Mark Johnson, Joe Valentine and cash to Oakland A’s for Billy Koch and 2 PTBNLs – Resolved on 12/16/2002 with Neal Cotts and Daylon Holt to Chicago White Sox

RHP – Frank Francisco – New York Mets – Trade involving Francisco: 7/1/2003 – Texas Rangers trade Carl Everett to Chicago White Sox for 3 PTBNLs – Resolved on 7/25/2003 with Frank Francisco, Josh Rupe and Anthony Webster to Texas Rangers

C – Crash Davis – Durham Bulls – Trade involving Davis: UNKNOWN

Ted Lilly has put together an underrated career in the majors despite being at the end of the road and Frank Francisco, while currently sporting a 5.00+ ERA as a closer, was a good reliever for a long time. I included Neal Cotts because he is mowing down left-handed hitters this year and is doing so after not having pitched in the majors since 2009. Finally, I felt the need to include THE player to be named later

This team isn’t going to go out and embarrass the competition, but I would be happy to put this team up against the Houston Astros and Miami Marlins of the world. Leave comments below if you think I’ve made a terrible mistake outside of creating this team in the first place or if you have an idea for the batting order.