[Westheim]

In early January, I trimmed our minor league teams a bit of dead weight, releasing about two hands full of players. Nothing really worth noting among them, and I think the highest pick among them was fifth rounder Joseph MacKellachie from 1992, who had had two most horribilistic seasons at the A level. At age 23, he should look for a proper job that is far remote from baseball.

The Raccoons had sat atop BNN’s WAR gains chart with a +2.3 mark since free agents had filed. Since we didn’t to any trades or signings since then, our mark didn’t change, and it took other teams until January 25 to catch us. There, the Miners inked outfielder Lucio Hernandez to also reach +2.3 WAR.

Ultimately I didn’t do any trades at all for the rest of the offseason, and limited myself to signing minor leaguers in areas we were in need, mainly depth for starting pitching.

January 9 – Ex-DAL 1B/2B Antonio Esquivel (.278, 105 HR, 728 RBI) settles on the Canadiens for 2-yr, $1.62M.
January 25 – Former Pacifics OF Lucio Hernandez (.321, 66 HR, 467 RBI) signs a lofty 6-yr, $5.54M deal with the Miners.
February 1 – The Condors secure the services of 1B Fred Rodgers (.309, 70 HR, 778 RBI) for 3-yr, $1.84M.
February 9 – Ex-DAL CL Matt Sims (60-53, 2.38 ERA, 311 SV) signs a 3-yr, $1.7M deal with the Capitals. Been waiting for some time for this.
February 10 – Former Buffalo SP Fernando Chavez (69-80, 3.80 ERA) signs a 2-yr, $1.09M deal with the Cyclones. The 29-year old Chavez lost 19 games in 1993 due to underwhelming run support in Topeka.
February 12 – The Buffaloes console themselves with the addition of former Warrior SP Manuel Paredes (64-80, 3.72 ERA). The 31-year old will earn $1.22M over two years.
March 3 – Longtime Raccoon MR Richard Cunningham (76-57, 2.87 ERA, 121 SV) gets a 2-yr, $948k contract from the Scorpions. Cunningham last pitched for the Thunder.
March 3 – Ex-SFB OF Dave Burton (.291, 55 HR, 404 RBI) signs a 2-yr, $1.09M deal with the Stars.
March 3 – Bouncing around, 27-year old left-handed SP Jon Robinson (68-62, 3.87 ERA) is taken in by the Warriors on a possible bargain deal: 1-yr, $330k.
March 7 – 31-year old SP Vernon Robertson (93-65, 3.79 ERA) remains in the CL North, signing a 3-yr, $1.3M deal with the Indians. Robertson was employed by the Canadiens the last few years.
March 16 – The Stars add SS/3B Mike McCain down the stretch. The 29-year old ex-Pacific receives a 1-yr, $346k contract. For his career, McCain has hit .269 with 40 HR and 311 RBI.

Matt Sims obviously played his cards the right way, but I was not willing to play the game. We will make do with what we have.