[Westheim]

On November 18, the Raccoons had only three proper outfielders left on the 40-man roster after letting Cookie Carmona, Steve Hollingsworth, Abel Mora, and Adam St. Germaine depart via free agency, and also passing AAA backup Devin Mansfield through waivers to put him on meal money to begin the 2028 season. Those three outfielders were recently anointed Platinum Sticker Rafael Gomez as well as the two guys from the meh category, Greg Borg and Juan Magallanes. That was all – everybody else had been shown the door. Of course that still left some utility potential; Jarod Spencer could still play a decent leftfield, and Rich Hereford had many talents. But the Raccoons were certainly in the hunt for a centerfielder.

Why should it not be Adam Braun? At 29 years old, the outfielder was well in his prime, and had just walked off the Titans for his first sniff of free agency. He was primarily a corner guy, but had sufficient range to play a serviceable centerfield (and more so than Rafael Gomez or Rich Hereford). His career OPS was .799 and he had 81 homers. Here was a problem though. Those numbers were good, but they were not outlandish. What was outlandish were Braun's contract demands (and never mind he'd cost a first-round pick), seeking a 9-yr, $36M contract to start discussions.

The Raccoons were still the Raccoons, ran by a sad-sack caricature of an owner that had holed up in his fortress in the Mexican mountains to avoid the Feds there that were after the taxes on his undeclared revenues from the refining and funneling to the US of … eh, tomato … juice. Yeah, it's really about the tomato … juice. AND THAT IS ALL I KNOW.

The Raccoons could not dole out a $4M deal, especially not for nine years, in good conscience to a 29-year-old guy that had ONLY a .799 career OPS. Remember the time they gave a 7-yr, $23.1M deal to a 29-year-old guy with a career OPS of .810? Yes, of course that was ****ing R.J. DeWeese. He went on to bleed the Raccoons for $16.5M and returned a line of .232/.325/.431 with 111 HR and 387 RBI in the next five seasons, while torturing rookies and publicly feuding with, well, everybody, before we somehow snuck him into the Thunder's books in the deal for Josh Stevenson. And then he batted .225/.330/.399 in the last two years of his contract, hitting just 13 more homers, and he was never in a starting lineup after his age 35 season. That ***hole.

There were alternatives, rest assured. F.e. Ian Coleman, coming off the Loggers at age 31. Something must have happened to him three years ago, because he used to be a .350 batter and now was a .270 batters (hitting .350 only against the Raccoons these days). What he brought to the table was top-notch centerfield defense, and also a mangled body. He had not played in more than 121 games in a season from 2021 straight through 2026, but had been in 157 games this year, batting merely .265/.328/.364 with eight homers and 56 RBI. There was value to that package – but it could just as well end up on the DL in May and never come back…

We also spotted a budget solution that you had probably never really heard of – Leo Otero. Now, he was 33, and had rarely if ever been a starter for any of his teams, most recently the Miners. He had a knack for getting on base, but not really for slugging it. There was another problem – the Raccoons didn't need anybody for the top of the order. Or if they did, it should be a real upgrade…

Somebody like Joe Vanatti. Now, Vanatti was not a free agent. He was on the Pacifics, and expensive. But our head scout (Miguel Something?) singled him out as a neat trade target. Top-notch defense (and a Gold Glover earlier), and he was also quite quick on the bases. Vanatti was a guy that could be slotted into the #2 hole behind Ramos. The price was probably going to be steep, though, and the Raccoons also had to dump something of value to the Pacifics, because after resigning Nunley and Kearney they had not enough dough left into the budget to accommodate Vanatti's $2.48M contract that would run through 2029.

At least the Pacifics were willing to talk about my ideas.

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November 24 – The Pacifics trade 27-yr old LF/1B Eddie Pence (.260, 13 HR, 107 RBI) to the Miners for 26-yr old 1B/3B Jonathan Morales (.285, 32 HR, 283 RBI).
November 25 – The Buffaloes sign ex-MIL LF/CF Ian Coleman (.308, 64 HR, 560 RBI) to a 6-yr, $7.32M contract.
December 1 – Rule 5 Draft: 16 players are selected across two rounds, but the Raccoons are not affected.
December 2 – The Cyclones ink former Titans OF Adam Braun (.282, 81 HR, 444 RBI) to a 7-yr, $23M contract.
December 2 – The Pacifics sign ex-TOP 1B/2B Chris Owen (.302, 125 HR, 743 RBI) to a 2-year contract, as part of which the 33-year-old will receive a total of $5.28M.
December 2 – Former Stars right-hander SP David Saccoccio (8-14, 4.10 ERA) signs a 6-yr, $12.18M contract with the Indians.

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The Pacifics were talking, but we could not agree on a deal. They had shed some relief pitching in free agency, and I was willing to offer a pair of relievers, but not an outrageous combo like Jonathan Snyder AND Ricky Ohl. And, people, no, you can't have Alberto Ramos. He is all MINE. Err, ours.

It wasn't like Vanatti was the only outfielder out there. There were alternatives after all even though Ian Coleman was off the table (and for a reasonable price, but not a reasonable duration). The same for Braun, who got a DeWeeseian deal from the Cyclones, which was where DeWeese came from to the Raccoons the previous decade.

Brr, DeWeese.

The Pacifics were also showing keen interest in some of our starting pitchers, but I was not necessarily keen on trading any of them with all the uncertainty engulfing our rotation come Opening Day, with a big red X next to Kyle Anderson's name and a huge oscillating question mark in regard to Mark Roberts. In anticipation of a potential move I reached out to Ian Prevost at some point. Prevost doesn't have flashy numbers and missed all of the 2026 season, but you have to know the circumstances. This was a guy who had spent most of his career as a Logger, yet had compiled six consecutive 14-win seasons. That was not a trivial achievement for a Logger, ever.

Next up are the winter meetings. Oh, and there is also a Hall of Fame ballot out, and it has lots of Raccoons on it!