[Westheim]

The winter meetings were a crucial junction in the offseason in most years, but this year I felt like I had to split myself in four to cover all the bases at the Cleveland Municipial Airport Dulton Hotel. There were so many free agents that needed sugar-coating, and a couple GM’s that had to relieved of the burden of their prospects, or even established players.

I did waste some time here and there, though, f.e. with the Canadiens. The damn Elks had a left-hander I coveted, 28-year-old Tim Abraham, who had led the CL in saves in 2046 with the Condors, the only year he was a full-time closer to begin with. But they wouldn’t give him up for anything I threw at them, not that I had much to throw. I wasn’t throwing Rafael de la Cruz, for example. I was still being haunted by the good old Dennis Fried trade to the Blue Sox…

By the winter meetings, we were offering a total of $39M in contracts to players, of which $11.75M would be for 2049, with another 2.6M to spare, almost half of that cash.

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December 6 – The Miners sign ex-TIJ SS Tony Aparicio (.283, 179 HR, 950 RBI) to a 2-yr, $11.2M contract.
December 6 – The Condors in turn grab former Indians closer Tommy Gardner (30-25, 2.71 ERA, 177 SV) on a 3-yr, $9.04M deal.
December 6 – Right-handed former Rebels starter SP Marc Hubbard (77-88, 4.04 ERA) gets a 4-year contract with the Knights signed, which will see him earn $14.56M.
December 6 – Former Blue Sox SP Matt Sealock (167-102, 3.30 ERA) signs a 2-yr, $7.68M contract with the Warriors.
December 7 – Former Warriors RF Matt Diskin (.317, 130 HR, 620 RBI), only age 27, changes hats in division by signing a 5-yr, $26.48M contract with the Pacifics.
December 9 – The Raccoons sign former Crusaders closer Julian Ponce (105-86, 3.52 ERA, 126 SV). The 35-year-old left-hander will make $5.1M over three years.
December 11 – Portland goes on to sign right-handed SP Dave Hils (117-107, 3.65 ERA), a 32-year-old free agent coming off the Stars, for four years and $22M. The Raccoons forfeit their first-round pick to the Stars.
December 11 – The Crusaders add 1B/LF/RF Ed Haertling (.267, 92 HR, 528 RBI) as a free agent off the Titans, spending $8.96M over four years on the 31-year-old left-handed batter.
December 11 – The Capitals acquire the Loggers’ INF Ricky Espinoza (.278, 126 HR, 469 RBI) in exchange for three prospects.
December 11 – The Wolves add ex-SFB CL John Steuer (54-54, 3.26 ERA, 243 SV) for 2-yr, $2.92M. The 32-year-old Steuer had an injury-ravaged season and pitched in only six games for San Francisco.
December 13 – Dallas restocks on pitching with L.A.’s left-handed SP Mike LeMasters (126-87, 3.64 ERA), who is acquired from the Pacifics for five prospects, none ranked.
December 13 – New York sends lefty SP/MR Tony Negrete (9-20, 4.39 ERA) to the Gold Sox for two prospects, including #100 SS/3B Jesus Nunez.

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Stingy bullpen becomes stingier, the headline in the Agitator should have read, but instead they complained about the lack of Players of the Year on the roster. Well, I’m very sorry that Matt Waters got snubbed!

So Dave Hils is our new big addition. Big money for sure. Same money as Maldo as a matter of fact, and the contracts will expire at the same time. Hils throws 93 with the fastball, adding a sinker, slider, and changeup to the mix. He has exceptional control, walking just 1.5 batters per nine innings, and survived years and years of pitching in the Dallas shoebox or very decent ERA’s. He won an ERA title an CL Pitcher of the Year when he was still with the Crusaders in 2043, and he led the FL in pitcher WAR a second time in 2046, despite only posting a 3.81 ERA then. Hils *definitely* fortifies the rotation, which now consists of Wheats, Hils, Wolinsky, and Merino. Merino as #4 is pretty good!

Ponce promises sharp left-handed relief with a 90mph fastball and a treacherous curve. He is nominally a groundballer, but when he hangs one, he hangs one, and those are often not seen again, which made him give up 17 bombs across the last two seasons, which is a lot for a guy pitching only 129 innings in the same span. Fortunately, they were mostly solo shots. Him and Lynn give the Coons a truly dazzling pair of lefties, and there should always be a lefty alternative to Nelson Moreno now – more flexibility in the late innings, thus more saves and wins, that was the logic here. And I had a hunch that every game might count in ’49.

Former Raccoon with a new contract: Jeff Wilson and the Scorpions came together for $830k;

There is a Hall of Fame ballot out, by the way. We know some of the guys on there!