[BirdWatcher]

Some of the biggest free agents on the market are starting to be grabbed up and yesterday it was announced that recent Denver Brewer second baseman Justin Banks has inked a 5-year deal with the Jacksonville Wolf Pack. Reportedly the Brewers never entered negotiations with Banks and were happy to take the supplemental first round compensation pick in the upcoming draft and hand the position over to one of their top prospects, Nick Mull (whose name has come up in trade proposals this offseason).



Denver fans, though, understandably aren't happy with this outcome as Banks was one of the more productive players in his two years with the club. It could be argued, given that the contract he signed with the Wolf Pack isn't that outrageous financially, that the Brewers should have tried to keep him, and that argument likely has merits. Then again, he will be 31 by the time the upcoming season starts and the Brewers are clearly committed at this time to a youth movement (with a few obvious exceptions: see Atwell, Jim).
It was a perfectly understandable acquisition for the reigning SJL East champion Jacksonville team as their starting second baseman last season, Blake Muller, had a -1.0 WAR season at age 29 this year. Granted, they do also have 25-year old Shigochiyo Yasuda waiting in the wings with a captain's makeup and decent skills so there will be some balancing act needed to get both Banks and Yasuda the playing time they deserve.


A few days earlier the St. Louis Redbirds announced the signing of veteran former MVP Mike Shervey to play first base for them in 1987. This likely pushes Rookie of the Year Gus Reyna to DH, but it does also add to an already pretty power-laden and dangerous middle of the order. On the other hand, Shervey is 31 and injury prone and combined with 33-year old third baseman Steve Whitehead who is also fragile, this could be a risky move. And certainly not a long-term plan. Still, it does indicate a determination on the part of management in St. Louis to build on progress the team made last season and although the farm system is weak (21st out of 24) they do have a few younger players starting to blossom and could have at least an outside chance of contending in 1987.



(Note: news report lists him as a third baseman but reports out of St. Louis indicate he'll actually be moving to first base.)

The Los Angeles Spinners have signed veteran free agent starting pitcher Ryan Rystrom, who the past two seasons has shown some signs of being a late bloomer, finally beginning to reach his earlier perceived potential. Rystrom is durable and smart and while his stuff is pedestrian his movement is elite and his control above average. He employs a nasty forkball as his out pitch and pairs that with an above average slider (but not much else). It looks like he will likely slot in at the #2 spot in the rotation- a rotation that is somewhat underrated and runs deep. Doesn't look like a game-changing move for L.A. but seems like a decent get.