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Task: Make offers to potential free agents (or not), including minor leaguers
There are 10 possible free agents. King, Bennett, and Jackson will not be offered a contract. Minor league contracts will be offered to Dayton CL John Nicholson (who will be promoted to Lexington) and Dayton MR John Douglas (because he is left-handed). The rest will be allowed to test the market unless my new scout comes in raving about one of them.
Task: Offer long-term contracts to young stars, avoiding future arbitration
This is a new item that may not appear every year. I have a unique set of circumstances that offers this opportunity. My 2008 budget has some room but my 2009 budget is very tight. I can solve a problem by offering extensions to players that have large arbitration estimates for 2009, but are not eligible for 2008 arbitration. The negotiating tactic is to offer them 400% more money in 2008 ($2M vs. the minimum $450K salary) in return for taking 200% less in 2009-11 (avg. $3M vs. $5-6M). The players that fit this strategy are Pedro Dominguez, Eduardo Sanchez, and (for a lesser amount) Cristo Rodriguez. I hope to reduce the potential payroll gap in 2009 by $10M with this strategy, and then I can probably increase my spending to keep the rest of the core together.
Louisville Colonels: projected secondary roster for 2008 (36/40 players)
Starting Pitchers (8): Westaway^, Luna^, Alexander^, Ordonez, Wilkerson, Hernandez, Gonzales, Spencer
Relief Pitchers (10): Garza, Brooks, Jones, Davies, Trejo, Quinones, Merced, Bryant, Guthrie, Rodriguez
Catchers (3): Bland^, Stanley^, Landreth
Infielders (8): Brown^, Guy, John, Rodriguez, Simon^, Martinez+^, Marshall, Mata
Outfielders (7): Morgan^, Dominguez, Sanchez, Hartman, Gonzalez, Craig, Blair
+ = out of minor league options
^ = has right to refuse minor league assignment
Players listed in italics have not yet been added to the secondary roster.
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