-Manama Tribune
January 1st, 2043
The Manama Pearls have signed their new starting third baseman, 3B James Holman, to a 2-year, $8.8 million deal.
"We're really proud today. This is such a great signing, and we really can't wait for our fans to interact with this young man," GM Lowery stated at the player introduction press conference. "He not only brings the balance we want from a defense/offense standpoint, but he brings leadership and BBA experience."
Holman has played 5 years in BBA, 4 of which came with the Des Moines Kernels, and 1 with the San Fernando Bears. Consistently batting in the .240 to .260 range against BBA pitchers, and the prospect of moving his solid shortstop glove over to third base, has the entire Pearls' front office excited. "He's just a great piece to add to an already blossoming team." Manager Roger Brown added at the press conference.
The Manama Pearls finally have new hope at the third base position. After a tumultuous run of starters, from former-MVP 3B Jose Roman to 29-year old 3B Rob Thomas, the Pearls could not find an everyday starter that had the balance the front office wanted from their third baseman. That search has ended on the first day of 2043, a year of hope and optimism for the Pearls' front office.
--
After reaching such a high in 2040 by winning the BURT Player of the Year award and becoming the cornerstone of the Manama Pearls infield, Jose Roman fell into a steep decline. Roman's power started to disappear, hitting 10 fewer home runs in 2041, and then another 10 in 2042. His average dropped and plateaued at .250 and his strikeout totals increased. It all came to an end in September of 2042 when the Pearls released Roman outright. He couldn't find a new job for two months, and eventually retired. However, for Roman, his story does not end that way. UMEBA's newest expansion team, the CSKA Army intrigued Roman enough to come out of his brief retirement, and sign a $750k, 1-year deal for the upcoming 2043 season.
In between Holman and Jose Roman, Rob Thomas had a decent 2042 campaign by batting .270 in the 73 games he played in, but his glove was such a liability that the Pearls started scrambling for a glove to match the offensive production and relegate Thomas to a DH-role. When asked about how the Holman signing will affect Thomas, GM Lowery responded, "To be honest, I think Thomas is excited about the focus he can put into action at the plate. We've spoken to him, and he's 100% on-board with the plan we have in place."
--
The Pearls are not done with their 2043 free agency deals as they are working to fill the newly-added Rookie-League ball-club, the Chongqing Stallions, with UMEBA-hopefulls. The Stallions will not only be home to a group of new ballplayers, but it will give some of the Pearls' 2041 and 2042 draft class a new place to call home and develop.
Diamonds and Pearls 2043.2 - New Face at the Hot Corner
Moderator: jiminyhopkins
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests