As it is designed to, limiting myself to just the one FA signing per year makes the business a very tricky one. Not just in selecting that one player, but in pitching the deal - within reason - in a way that you get your man, because if you get stuck in a bidding war and don't get the deal done, by the time it's all over there's nobody left as a Plan B.
When I saw the impending FA list, I knew immediately who that man was. And thankfully, unlike last year's fiasco with El Diablo, this negotiation went super smooth. We went in (wicked) hard early, haggling only a little under his demands, and that seemed to scare the others off so that the deal went through without a hitch.
And what a deal it is for our club.
Hard to know why the Red Sox let him go. At just 23 and with one of the biggest bats in the league, he is a prime asset. For us he is clearly the missing piece in our lineup. Our HR total last year was 75. Jimmie had 21 all by himself. At four, with Wells and O'Doul behind him, pitchers will have little choice but to try and get him out, so we expect that total of his will rise greatly.
A massive get.
We also lock up our ace for a good part of the rest of his career.
