[Westheim]

December 4 – Pitching ace Kiyohira Sasaki (95-54, 3.18 ERA) is inked by the Knights for 5-yr, $3.65M.
December 6 – C Miguel Fuentes, a former Condor, takes his 1,164 career hits to Dallas. The 31-yr old will receive $1.96M over three years.
December 6 – Star shortstop Eddy Bailey (.296, 58 HR, 401 RBI) is signed by the Knights for 6-yr, $4.98M.
December 7 – The Raccoons add 2B/SS Sergio Martinez, a 28-yr old career .283 hitter, as a challenge to their existing middle infielders. Martinez will make $400k over two years. They also add former Coon MR Frank O’Rearden on a minor league contract.
December 7 – The Knights keep buying, adding C Joreao Paulos, 31, for 7-yr, $4.92M. This might be a bit expensive for a career .249 hitter with average power.
December 7 – The Canadiens add a closer in ex-CIN Chris Nelson, who has a 2.23 career ERA with 64 saves.
December 7 – Alfonso Aranda returns to Oklahoma City in a trade with Indianapolis and in exchange for MR Jorge Mora and a minor leaguer. Aranda is 34, and a career .312 hitter, who has had two rough years now.
December 8 – MR Tim Moss signs a 1-yr, $135k contract with the Raccoons. Moss, 31, is 19-20 with a 3.75 ERA in 303 appearances for Boston, L.A., Pittsburgh, and Topeka in his 9-year career.
December 8 – The Blue Sox trade for outfielder Ronaldo Cabrera (.305, 116 HR, 575 RBI) and send MR Jesus Cortez (2.74 ERA for his career) to Sioux Falls.
December 10 – MR Justin Neubauer is claimed by the Indianapolis Indians after being put on waivers by the Raccoons.
December 13 – Star 1B Ramon Diaz, 28, (.333, 30 HR, 377 RBI) settles on the Gold Sox for $2.83M over four years. Diaz was with the Rebels so far.
December 14 – The Buffaloes add renowned slugger Engjell Vulaj (.301, 82 HR, 641 RBI). The 32-yr old outfielder will earn $3.32M over five years.

I negotiated with SP Bill Smith, who is top-of-the-rotation material. He absolutely *insisted* on 5-yr, $4.37M, which is a hefty sum to fit into a budget. I went to $3.65M before giving up at the end of the winter meetings. He is 117-100 with a 3.24 ERA, his record tainted by pitching for the Pacifics when they were most horrible. He was 45-26 for the Canadiens the last three years. At 29, you could have fun for a long time with him.

Sergio Martinez has never batted below .267 in a season, and is a capable middle infielder, at about a quarter the cost that Dimian Barrios demanded. He can’t play third base as effectively, which is about his only drawback apart from a higher K rate and a career .324 OBP. So, he’s no leadoff batter, but could contribute well in the #2, #6, or #7 spots.

It’s December 15. Adding a starting pitcher will be hard. Jorge Valdes is on the market, demanding money similar to Bill Smith, and he is very much comparable to Logan Evans, and one of those ill-command guys is enough.

Gah, if I could just sign Smith at reasonable money…