[Westheim]

The offseason began in earnest with a waiver claim, as the Raccoons snatched 25-year-old C Erik Wheeler (1-for-3, 0 HR, 0 RBI) off the damn Elks. Wheeler had sat on the bench for the last two Septembers and didn’t figure into our plans for the major leagues either, but he was a sound option for depth at AAA. The Elks had tried to take him off the 40-man roster, and the Raccoons’ own 40-man roster was full to begin with. Infielder Vince Lutch, 26, who had rotted away in St. Petersburg for the last four years, was designated for assignment to make room for Wheeler, who was assigned to AAA right away.

Next thing up, the Raccoons signed medium-sized extensions with two pitchers. First up was Antonio Prieto, who is touted as potential closer in certain circles, and who signed a 4-year, $2.7M contract that would escalate from $450k in ’38 to twice that in ’41, and would buy out two years of free agency for the right-hander.

Three years of free agency were bought out from Bryce Sparkes, who came slightly more expensive than Prieto. The right-hander from the frozen wastes of the north signed a 4-year deal worth $5.9M, with $1.1M in the upcoming season and $1.6M for the three years thereafter. As a quirk, he’d make twenty grand *less* in 2038 than what he got in arbitration for 2037, but he liked the big number at the bottom of the list, I guess.

No contract extension was signed with right-hander Derek Barker, who was 33, and eager to sign one big contract that would take him through to retirement. Since the Raccoons wanted to sign him only to have some sort of depth for potential trades during the winter, and for no more than two years, the parties did not come to terms.

That sealed the fate of the only outright free agent that we even attempted to keep around. Fernando Garcia had been very good for us after the trade from Dallas, but ultimately was too expensive, and if Jeff Kilmer could shake off the .217 BABIP he’d be a much better deal than last season; the Raccoons fully intended to enter the 2038 season with the same catching duo as they entered 2037 with, Kilmer and Morales.

Rich Vickers signed a $350k contract as November began, avoiding arbitration with him, which left only Ed Hooge and Preston Pinkerton. The Raccoons resolved to non-tender Pinkerton to make room for significant upgrades on the bench, and Hoogey would eventually settle for $400k.

That was a job well done – no arbitrator to screw us over once again!

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October 29 – The Raccoons claim 25-yr old C Erik Wheeler (.333, 0 HR, 0 RBI) off waivers by the Canadiens.
October 31 – The Capitals acquire INF Alex Castillo (.254, 58 HR, 291 RBI) from the Bayhawks in exchange for 37-yr old lefty reliever Adam Moran (81-67, 3.49 ERA, 167 SV) and a prospect.

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Outfielder Danny Serrano retired at age 39; the switch-hitter had been most prominent as a member of the Aces in the 20s, but had also played for seven other teams in his later years. He had won no fewer than three batting titles, with Vegas in 2026 and 2027, and then again in his only season with the Crusaders in 2030. Despite that, he became a reserve soon after and will not garner major support for the Hall of Fame.

Couple of minor leaguers became free agents, including C Chris Manning, OF Jason Keller, and for major relief: SP Darren Brown. The extremely irritating right-hander had not appeared for the Raccoons in 2037, but had pitched to a 13-12 record and 3.60 ERA in St. Petersburg, walking 119 guys. With annual despair assignments in Portland between 2032 and 2036 he had piled up 32 appearances (28 starts) for an 11-11 record and 3.93 ERA, while also walking everybody with legs.

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2037 ABL AWARDS

Players of the Year: SAL C Morgan Kuhlmann (.303, 32 HR, 112 RBI) and IND 2B Dan Schneller (.324, 36 HR, 101 RBI)
Pitchers of the Year: SAL SP Phil Harrington (17-3, 2.89 ERA) and BOS SP Tony Chavez (17-10, 2.62 ERA)
Rookies of the Year: PIT OF Adrian Wade (.308, 14 HR, 66 RBI) and VAN SP Matt Sealock (15-9, 2.61 ERA)
Relievers of the Year: LAP CL Jermaine Campbell (4-8, 2.24 ERA, 40 SV) and TIJ CL Steve Bailey (7-5, 1.69 ERA, 37 SV)

Platinum Sticks (FL): P LAP Dave Christiansen – C SAL Morgan Kuhlmann – 1B WAS Adam Avakian – 2B DAL Hugo Acosta – 3B WAS Rich Falzone – SS NAS Billy Bouldin – LF SFW Melvin Hernandez – CF SAC Chris Sandstrom – RF WAS Scott Martin
Platinum Sticks (CL): P TIJ Jimmy Driver – C VAN Timóteo Clemente – 1B SFB Kevin McGrath – 2B IND Dan Schneller – 3B TIJ Shane Sanks – SS MIL Ted Del Vecchio – LF POR Manny Fernandez – CF POR Justin Fowler – RF TIJ Willie Ojeda

Gold Gloves (FL): P SFW Jose Medina – C SFW Ethan McCullar – 1B RIC Dan Sarro – 2B CIN Elijah Williams – 3B NAS Jim Allen – SS SAL Jose Castro – LF DEN Rich de Luna – CF SAL Armando Herrera – RF TOP Miguel Reyna
Gold Gloves (CL): P NYC Brian Frain – C IND Elliott Thompson – 1B POR Jesse Stedham – 2B CHA Oscar Aguirre – 3B POR Dave Myers – SS BOS Antonio Gil – LF BOS Willie Vega – CHA Jonathan Reyna – RF CHA Jerry Aguilar

Not a bad haul! Kinda surprised Stedham got a gilded mitten and when I look at Del Vecchio I think that Berto’s better in every aspect but the cute six homers that Del Vecchio hit, but the Loggers have no joy as it is, we’ll let them have that one…

Schneller, the 2037 homer king and certified beast, will be a free agent this time around, but the Raccoons have neither the resources nor the space to accommodate him. Not that I am married to our #23 pick; it’s just not possible.

The Raccoons will pull enough crazy stunts as is, with Berto and Myers flicking positions – so, yeah, the second we get a third baseman to win a Gold Glove, we place him elsewhere. We used to own third base defensively; between 1981 and 1991, Raccoons won the Gold Glove at the hot corner six times; Cam Green in 1981, then Mark Dawson four times, and finally Ben O’Morrissey, the despicable scum, in 1991. And that was it, for a disturbingly long time. The only Raccoon to win a Gold Glove at third between O-Mo and Myers was Matt Nunley, twice (2024, 2030).