[Westheim]

(has a really good laugh) Ha-ha-ha-haah, you won't - … you won't - … (wipes away a tear while Slappy and Chad – in full costume – fist-bump on the couch) you won't believe what I … (giggles)

I claimed Dwayne Metts off waivers.

Well, yeah, ufff. I don't really – it came over me. If you dare to remember, Metts was traded to the Cyclones last summer in the Terry Kopp deal, then was traded in a minor deal to the Bayhawks at the winter meetings. The Bayhawks ran out of room and put him on the street, and that's where the Raccoons swooped in, and just to be clear, we are talking about a 29-year-old .241 batter with six home runs in barely a season's worth of at-bats in his career, and who has no options and no room on the roster.

I think I have reached the age where I don't really notice my advanced level of cruelty to small animals anymore.

Then again, Metts was actually worth 0.7 WAR last season … virtually the same as Omar Alfaro. This – while a traumatizing revelation – says probably more about the monumental bust Alfaro than about Metts. But this is also the point where I have to point out that WAR is a bogus stat and means nothing, and Omar will be a star and the Raccoons will be back in the World Series at some point. Soon. Very soon.

Very, very soon.

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February 2 – The Crusaders sign 29-year-old C Armando Leal (.283, 59 HR, 415 RBI) to a 3-yr, $1.98M contract. The switch-hitter played for the Blue Sox and Rebels in 2024.
February 3 – After four years away with the Falcons, C Tim Robinson (.261, 191 HR, 668 RBI) signs with the Titans again. The 35-year old receives a 1-yr, $830k contract.
February 8 – The Knights trade 3B/2B Jaylen Rolland (.271, 23 HR, 147 RBI) to the Gold Sox for OF/1B Cory Briscoe (.282, 3 HR, 63 RBI).
February 26 – The Pacifics add ex-OCT SP Bryan Hanson (79-57, 3.51 ERA) for 2-yr, $4.56M.
February 26 – In a trade between the Titans and Wolves, 27-yr old LF/RF Matt Owen (.292, 23 HR, 144 RBI) and a prospect go to Salem while Boston is the destination for 29-yr old LF Yasuhiro Kuramoto (.283, 69 HR, 360 RBI).

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Ron Thrasher made only four appearances for the Loggers in 2024 before being diagnosed with a ruptured UCL. Ultimately subjecting to Tommy John surgery, the 37-year-old two-time Reliever of the Year hoped to be back in action by his 38th birthday in late April, but nothing will come of a comeback. After a setback in recovery and another tear reappearing after he began to throw again, Thrasher had to announce his retirement just before training camp opened in late February. A Raccoon for 11 of his 15 major league seasons, Thrasher went 48-45 with a 2.49 ERA and 204 SV in 922 games, striking out 1,088 batters.

Thrasher was the Warriors' #42 pick in the 2006 draft and soon enough shot into the top 10 in the prospect rankings. Starting games in the minors, he pitched a no-hitter at the single-A level in 2008 before getting traded three times in less than two months in 2009, mostly involving bit players. Via the Wolves and Canadiens, Thrasher ended up with the Raccoons, along with returnee Ricardo Huerta and cash in exchange for Sergio Esquivel, and made his major league debut the following season at age 23, instantly blitzing baseball by going 29 innings in 42 outings with a 1.86 ERA, 11.8 K/9 and no home runs allowed. He remained a mainstay at the tough end of the Raccoons' pen throughout the 2010s and up to and including their 2020 late-heartbreak season.

He was an All Star and a Reliever of the Year with the Raccoons once; he was an All Star twice, Reliever of the Year once more, and won two rings with the Titans.

Now he's gone.

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Jonathan Toner signed a $336k last-ditch deal with the *Loggers*; Ruben Pelles signed with the Stars for $256k; Brian Petracek was picked up by the Condors for $248k; the Cyclones take a $550k flyer on Frank Kelly coming off two Tommy John procedures in 24 months; Wade Davis joined the Pacifics for $310k;