[Westheim]

Besides starting pitching (and the perpetual underwater construction site that was the bullpen), the Raccoons would also look at opportunities at least to fix that one spot in the rotation that had been really inefficient in 2064, shortstop. Yukio Aoki and Pablo Novelo had largely split the duties there right down the middle between them while also spotting second and third base for other players. They hit .262/.354/.325 and .263/.319/.385 between them, both getting roughly 360 PA each. They came out below a 100 OPS+, even while mostly facing opposite-handed pitching.

Casey Ramsey was a free agent, coming off the Condors. He was a 30-year-old shortstop, consistently hitting well over league average, with 123 and 129 OPS+ seasons in 2063-64. He was quite good (but not great) on defense, had quite a bit of speed, and while he wasn’t a slugger, and didn’t draw many walks, he would add another .300 bat to the lineup. The drawback was that he was a type A free agent and looking for over $6M a year. He’d also be batting like seventh. It was probably too much for a #7 batter.

Behind Ramsey, there wasn’t a lot in free agent shortstops. The Loggers’ Danny Miller and Titans’ Jonathan Watson had never found league average, ex-Gold Sock (and longtime Titan) Willie de Leon was quite erratic season-to-season, and with his lack of range was better suited for third base anyway. Ryan Spehar was 35.

Maybe it was better to keep that sub-standard platoon in place for the time being… at least they were making less than $1M between them.

+++

November 24 – INF Nick Kelly (.271, 13 HR, 201 RBI) is traded from the Blue Sox to the Wolves in exchange for INF Myung-joo Park (.279, 5 HR, 130 RBI).
November 28 – The Stars pry Rookie of the Year RF/LF Juan de Luna (.267, 24 HR, 79 RBI) away from the Scorpions for 1B/OF Jin Imamura (.283, 22 HR, 136 RBI) and a prospect.
November 28 – Vancouver sends right-hander Duarte Damasceno (40-38, 4.63 ERA, 6 SV) to the Knights, along with a prospect, for C Willie Villafan (.232, 22 HR, 99 RBI).
December 1 – Rule 5 Draft: 12 players are drafted onto new teams. The Thunder draft AAA 1B Jon Herbert (.248, 10 HR, 65 RBI in 2064) away from the Raccoons.
December 2 – L.A. acquires INF Chris Sullivan (.261, 17 HR, 200 RBI) from the Rebels in exchange for MR Allen Tinsley (21-13, 3.69 ERA, 7 SV) and #31 prospect 1B Dan Vaughn.