[Biggp07]

Jason McLeod arrived home hours after leaving Venezuela on the team jet yesterday. He claims to have found some intriguing prospects, though the only one worth mentioning was Luis Contreras, a 16-year-old starting pitcher.

Luis Contreras is a tall 6-foot-8, 210-pound starting pitcher from Barquisimeto, Venezuela. At his best, his repertoire should include an excellent curveball with good rotation, a decent slider, a fringe fastball, and a fringe changeup. You might be able to tolerate long fly balls and walks, but combining both could cause problems. He might still be surprised, but at this point, I don't see him as more than a depth organizational player. He has been assigned to our international complex for further assessment and observation over the next few years to see if he develops a better personality. Still, at this point, I’m very skeptical.



Before heading out on this road trip, as we approached the final week of the regular season and after receiving the official notice of our elimination from the playoffs, I decided to visit John Sherman in his office to discuss a few matters with him. During that meeting, although it was his lowest priority, I brought up the request to upgrade left field. I wanted to leave him some positive news rather than the overwhelmingly negative summary it seemed to be.



So, I convinced him to recognize that the clubhouse chemistry was much improved this year and that I believe it will continue into next season. He seemed satisfied with that so that I might keep my job.



As far as our finances sit going into the off-season, I think we are pretty good. Our free agent arbitration is minimal, and we have culled the pricey ones from the list before reaching the point where we’re stuck with them.



Our cost-effective players have maintained an excellent payroll ratio, but I need to decide soon on a few highly paid players other than Salvy and Bobby. Our attendance remains steady, and future payroll costs into 2026 seem manageable for now.



Finally, our record is at least respectable compared to our 2021 record of 74-88, with six more regular-season games remaining, and a chance that we finish with 70 wins, currently sitting at 68-88, with a .436 winning percentage. If we can do that, I’ll be happy.