The Milburn Mallards have announced the signing of 1B Jody Carroll to a multi-year deal today. Terms of the deal were not available immediately, but rumors are the deal is for seven years at a salary of $750,000 per season. Carroll, one of the top free agents available this offseason, is a thirty-one year old from North Charleston, South Carolina. He has spent his entire nine year career with the Los Angeles Seraphs.
In 1979, Carroll batted .257 with a .381 On-base percentage and a .460 slugging percentage. He slugged 26 home runs while knocking in 102 RBI. For his career he has hit 187 home runs while knocking in 635 RBI. He is a two-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, three-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and has two Big Leagues Series titles during his time with the Seraphs.
I am almost certain I overpaid for Carroll, but he becomes our biggest home run threat, and at a position we needed to upgrade. The fan reaction to his signing are amazing, and has increased fan interest significantly. With one of my goals from Mr. Jacoby being to increase attendance, this should help tremendously with that. This will move Alex Thigpen to the bench. He is only making $73,000 this season, so I will most likely not trade him, unless he forces my hand with his attitude. I’m not expecting that to be an issue, but we’ll find out soon enough.