[Westheim]

Preparing for the rule 5 draft was not that hard. Our farm did not hold a lot of boys that absolutely positively had to be nailed in place. Going in, we had only 33 players on the expanded roster.

We added 3B Mike Crowe (the one with the broken kneecap), who was on the DL, but did not add double borderline (so, unlikely to succeed in a callup) SP Luis Martinez (AAA) and CL Raúl Mejía (AA). Mejía would miss all of next season to a torn rotator cuff, and you never know what will be left of him after that, so I highly doubt any team would be dumb enough to pick him up. We added AAA MR Pancho Padilla and AA SP Esteban Flores. That was it. Even Flores was double borderline, too, to be honest.

So, four spots open on the 40-man roster at this point. We need an outfielder, and at least one reliever from outside. Would the rule 5 draft hold something for *us*? We had never had any permanent luck with our picks, sometimes not even short term luck.

December 1 – Ex-RIC SP Harry Griggs (118-83, 3.39 ERA) signs a 4-yr, $4.4M deal with the Condors, which makes the 28-yr old one of the top 10 earners in the sport starting this season.
December 1 – 31-yr old LF/RF Jean-Claude Monnier (.267, 64 HR, 336 RBI), who has never had more than 397 AB in a season, signs a 5-yr, $4.46M contract with the Stars. Monnier was last with the Crusaders.
December 1 – Rule 5 draft: 27 players are claimed in the process of the draft. The Raccoons lose SP Luis Martinez to the Cyclones and MR Jaime Feliz to the Scorpions.

Well, I forked up.

December 3 – Ex-RIC SP Russ “Papa” Ewing (65-54, 3.38 ERA) signs a 7-yr, $5.88M contract with the Cyclones.
December 10 – The Warriors grab RF/LF Djordje Nedic (.302, 62 HR, 419 RBI). The 28-yr old ex-Falcon will make $4.42M over the next five years.
December 12 – At age 35, former Bayhawk INF Roberto Rodriguez (.292, 36 HR, 784 RBI) gets another big pay day from the Miners, signing a 3-yr, $3.33M contract.
December 14 – Last year’s CL Pitcher of the Year, 32-yr old SP Neil Stewart (175-146, 3.28 ERA) cashes in big, with a 4-yr, $4.64M contract from the Warriors.
December 14 – 34-yr old SP Arnold McCray (159-148, 3.25 ERA) joins the Thunder on a 2-yr, $1.86M contract. McCray was with the Canadiens since 1992.
December 15 – At age 25, SP Aaron Anderson (80-69, 3.89 ERA) is already a free agent, and the former Warrior gets a 3-yr, $3.25M contract from the Thunder.
December 15 – The Canadiens ink ex-SAC 1B Bill Mosley (.282, 125 HR, 588 RBI) to a 3-yr, $2.31M contract.
December 17 – The Raccoons sign former Titan OF Alejandro Espinoza (.253, 17 HR, 204 RBI) for 2-yr, $500k.
December 17 – Ex-NAS C Antonio Escobedo (.293, 32 HR, 190 RBI) joins the Falcons for 2-yr, $1.14M.
December 18 – More money is shelled out as the Capitals strike and sign ex-OCT RF/LF Vonne Calzado (.339, 50 HR, 385 RBI). The 28-yr old will earn $6.1M over five years.
December 24 – New home for ex-OCT SP Makoto Kogawa (69-63, 3.94 ERA), who signs for 6-yr, $5.64M with the Gold Sox.
December 30 – Ex-DEN CL Cory Maupin (22-21, 2.86 ERA, 124 SV) signs a 1-yr, $472k contract with the Scorpions.
January 2 – Denver also grabs RF/LF Salvador Vargas (.296, 87 HR, 692 RBI). The 33-yr old signs a 3-yr, $2.73M deal.

Espinoza will be a backup, and he is capable of playing all three positions well. His strengths are blistering speed, a refusal to strike out, and a great arm and good range in the field. He won’t hit .300 and won’t hit many home runs, but that won’t be for what he is going to be employed anyway. And is not like we will need a 5-star free agent in the outfield, because our starting outfield is fearsome enough with Kinnear, Reece, and Green. We need good backup, and Espinoza, 26, is that. Him and Newton are sufficient, I’d say.

So, that left only the bullpen to fix. Money constraints will have us be confident that Vinson can stink less as the starting catcher than he did last year.

It is now January 10. I reached out to a veteran righty before Christmas and he has not come back to us yet. (No it is not Jackie Lagarde)

I have to stop here and do some thinking because we received a trade proposal from the Wolves. They want Marvin Ingall, and they offer 36-yr old ex-closer Rick Evans, who will make a bloated 750 grand this season in the final year of his contract, plus a 22-yr old closer prospect in Ricardo Huerta.

I don’t want no piece of Evans, much less of his contract. Evans was a prime closer, but he had two rough years in Salem now, and we have enough pitchers, who have had rough years. But Huerta is a very interesting guy. Whether he can be a top notch big league closer remains to be seen, but he has a good cause. He was an EIGHTH round draft pick by the Titans in ’92, and since then has done grueling things to minor league hitters. One issue with him is movement, he gives up his share of home runs, and that would be amplified in Portland for sure. Can we get Huerta for less? I don’t even talk about not trading Ingall, but can we get something else in place of Evans that will not burst open our 1996 budget?