Well, certainly a different team on paper
and on the field.
A winning spring, a calm, fun, quiet clubhouse and just one injury, though it was a big one. Jin-soo Kim goes down in the camps final week and will miss the season after having shoulder surgery. Luckily there is a ton of bullpen depth to alleviate the blow.
The net result of turning over this roster?
Season ticket projections estimate an 84% increase in sales, 64% increase in attendance per game, and a 125% increase in revenue per game.
Both Hernandez and Miller are faces of the game locally and internationally. Anderson, Quezada, and top prospect Elijah Raymond are all household names in the Baltimore area as well as rising stars on the national scene. We blew the league away in WAR added over the winter at 12.2 with the next closest team at 1.5!
Probably the most stunning news as we approach opening day 1993 is that last years AL MVP, OF Ian Shephard, remains unsigned! He and a few other star players are now trolling at almost 1/3rd of their initial asks this past winter, looking for a job.
Along those lines, 26 year old OF Nate “Hat” Jackson remains unsigned. The left-handed-hitting slugger broke his ankle early last year and then came back and sprained the same ankle on his rehab assignment. At years end he had a slash line of .222/.351/.349 in just 20 games. He's a monster talent. A corner OF who has 100 steal speed and instincts as well as a legitimate 3 hole bat with power. His ask is down to 1.3 million and we've decided to make a move, while at the same time quietly notifying GM's around the league that young Danny Parra is available.
One of the many calls inquiring on Parra was Milwaukee. They came to the table offering SP Ben Zagorski. Ben is rated as the game's #3 overall prospect as a 20-year-old. He was the 16th overall pick in June and went 14-7 3.07 at AA Athens.
Jackson, whom we assumed would be an easy sign, has turned out to be asking for more than we were led to believe and talks went back and forth with him refusing a 3-year deal. He wants just a single year at close to 2.5 million. We cannot afford that but I do not believe that will stop a potential Parra deal should it be worked out. Acquiring a young power arm with that much ceiling is something I do not believe I can pass up. I believe with the bevy of young OF prospects (including our #1 in Raymond) I can replace him.
Columbus stuns the league, inking two.
The Columbus Chargers are clearly in “win now” mode and they proved that today. Signing reigning AL Cy Young winner 40-year-old Josh Ott ((19-6 2.20) to a 2 year 6.3 million dollar deal and a member of the Apostles world series winning club, all-star, and silver slugger winner SS Omar Catano inked a 5-year deal to join them as well. The 27-year-old Catano was a catalyst in San Diego's drive to the series and Columbus now factors into everyone's post-season conversations.
Two other stars also inked deals prior to opening day. All-star and Silver Slugger winner Sergio Valero signed a 3 year 7.8 million dollar deal with a full no-trade clause to patrol CF for the Milwaukee Ice Wolves.
The Columbus deal was apparently in reaction to the news that Dallas continued its crazy off-season by inking former Columbus closer and Saves leader Roberto Montoya to a 1 year 2.6 million dollar deal.
I didn't expect our winter to fly under the radar, and it didn't. League prognosticators apparently think very highly of this rebuilt club, picking us to win the East by a large margin as well as getting huge seasons out of free-agent signings at 1B and in the pen. Going to have to watch Houston too, what a season they're supposed to have. Only team predicted to pass 900 runs. Sacramento as well.
Not only that, but the new prospect rankings are out. Our Japanese import shows up at #1! And Raymond “drops” to #3 but the club ranks first in the organization rankings for 1993 with the top two offensive prospects. Check out SF. They come in ranked 2nd and possess the games top two pitching prospects. Our top P prospects check in at 19 and 20 with Gonzalez being just 16 years old and working at our International Complex.
I am awaiting word from Ice Wolves GM Russ Para as the club boards the bus to head to the park for opening day. I'll keep the phone on vibrate....