[Westheim]

December came, and I solved all of our problems with one swoosh with my Raccoons-branded flyswatter.

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December 2 – The Raccoons acquire 31-yr old INF Elijah Williams (.261, 17 HR, 393 RBI) from the Cyclones for a package of three pitchers: 30-yr old SP Colt Willes (58-53, 3.63 ERA), 27-yr old AAA SP/MR Bob Thomson (1-2, 4.61 ERA), and 23-yr old AAA SP/MR Tyler Canfield (0-0, 7.20 ERA), plus $1M in cash.

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The Cyclones were rebuilding – they had the time and patience to see whether there was anything left to Colt Willes, and would pay roughly one third of his salary for 2038, with the Raccoons packing the rest, but at least we had cleared that roster spot. Thomson was probably never going to amount to more than long relief, but he was a groundballer and the Raccoons’ defense hadn’t been the best in recent years, *and* there was the problem of small sample size. Canfield had only made a handful of relief outings. The Cyclones were high on him; we weren’t.

Williams, a former #12 pick, was a top-notch defensive infielder with a defensive shortstop’s bat. That was alright – he was going to be paid like a defensive shortstop for the next two seasons! He was also a team leader personality and got along well with everybody. I wondered whether he’d also get along well with me.

Say, Berto, that guy is just as old as you are, and yet he is a so much better defender! How come you can’t range to your right and left anymore? – (Berto burps, then reaches for another turkey drum, with one paw firmly stuck in a bowl of mashed potatoes)

This added another bat to the infield tussle. Williams was right-handed so would obviously at least platoon with Berto as well as play late-inning defensive replacement for him, but he could also spot Cosmo and Myers a day off. This would work well as long as you didn’t expect any offensive heroics from him. He had NEVER made it to being even a league-average batter; his best ever OPS+ in a season had been 96, in 2036, but he had missed plenty of time there. In a qualifying season his best was a 93 (’32), and for his career he was an 80 OPS+ batter. But he brought two Gold Gloves to a team that didn’t have many of them, and he brought the right mindset (bench job) and attitude (team first, him second). Big W, this deal! Add in that we a) got rid of Willes and b) avoided parting with Nelson Moreno, our best pitching prospect in a while, who’s popular with ALL teams, and this was already shaping up to be the biggest coup since the Blue Sox fleeced us for all of Dennis Fried’s Hall of Fame career for three games of Raúl Castillo.

Vickers was still hanging on to that second bench job. There was however no point in keeping some of the other players around any longer. Everybody with no chance to make the Opening Day roster was reassigned at this point, which included reliever Francisco Pena, catcher Matt Hartley, and then a multitude of infielders: Jose Brito, Jon Caskey, and Steve Nickas. The only infielder that we wanted no part of that was not reassigned was Chiyosaku Maruyama, who was out of options.

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December 3 – The Stars sign ex-CHA C Ernesto Huichapa (.286, 149 HR, 566 RBI) to a 2-yr, $7.08M contract.
December 4 – Salem sends SP Jose Alaniz (24-17, 3.44 ERA) to the Miners for 1B Bill Jenkins (.297, 2 HR, 15 RBI).
December 5 – The Stars blow more money on another catcher, signing former Gold Sox backstop Danny Zarate (.263, 152 HR, 784 RBI) to a 2-yr, $4.4M contract.
December 5 – A trade wit hthe Gold Sox sees the Stars pick up 27-yr old OF Sean Calais (.292, 14 HR, 121 RBI) for two prospects.

December 6 – Ex-WAS 2B/SS Keith Spataro (.287, 66 HR, 667 RBI) signs a 3-yr, $8.72M contract with the Buffaloes, which is a bold move for a team with a 36-year-old middle infielder.
December 6 – Former Miners SP Matt Moon (61-63, 3.50 ERA) returns to the Falcons via free agency, signing a 3-yr, $4.26M contract.
December 10 – The Crusaders pick up Richmond’s SP Jamal Barrow (19-28, 4.49 ERA) for two prospects.
December 10 – More pitching in Dallas, with the acquisition of SP Antonio Vega (30-22, 4.10 ERA) from the Aces, who receive a prospect.

December 11 – The Stars also get outfielder Will Korecky (.232, 36 HR, 184 RBI) from the Canadiens, plus a prospect, in exchange for SP/MR Alexander Lewis (16-29, 4.10 ERA, 7 SV).
December 11 – Another pitcher goes to New York, with SP Joe Feltman (27-29, 4.47 ERA) being acquired from the Scorpions for two prospects, including #56 SP Craig Czyszczon.
December 11 – The Bayhawks part with SP Ben Lipsky (118-100, 3.53 ERA), who is dealt to the Cyclones for RF Bobby Hennessy (.247, 11 HR, 56 RBI) and a prospect.

December 12 – The Aces reunite with ex-SAL 3B Chad Armfield (.286, 49 HR, 405 RBI) for 2-yr, $2.64M.
December 12 – The Indians get a new reliever in Michael Donovan (16-9, 3.38 ERA, 6 SV) and cash for a prospect.
December 12 – New York acquires 2B Mario Duenez (.262, 45 HR, 349 RBI) and cash for MR Michael Zabek (5-5, 4.55 ERA) and #22 prospect CL John Steuer, who was drafted two years ago and traded three times now.
December 12 – The Loggers send 1B Salvador Ayala (.263, 19 HR, 137 RBI) to the Buffaloes for #52 prospect INF Quadir Randle.
December 14 – The Rebels pick up 33-yr old 2B/SS Alex Majano (.308, 29 HR, 657 RBI) from the Cyclones, along with a prospect, parting instead with 28-yr old 2B/3B Ben “Nine Fingers” Freeman (.279, 84 HR, 437 RBI).
December 17 – Former Indians outfielder Oscar Mendoza (.262, 97 HR, 499 RBI) ends up with the Warriors for 2-yr, $2.44M.

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Former Raccoons finding a new home: only Preston Pinkerton, who signed with Sioux Falls for $288k;

And there’s another Hall of Fame ballot out!