When John Stanley reported to the front office that he wanted a $7 million contract extension to stay as Portland's backup catcher last season, management nearly laughed him out of the stadium. They may not have laughed him out but Stanley definitely left the premises after the season searching for the fortune that will never come his way. Granted, his departure did leave a slight hole on the Portland roster. While replacing a guy who played just 48 games a year ago may not seem like a huge problem, it is when you're looking at it in the terms of a backup catcher.
"Having a second catcher is huge" said GM Chris Wilson. "While we are blessed to have a stud number 1 guy in Allan Uecker, he can't play every game. While you might be able to get by with a barrel scraping guy at nearly any other position, you can't at catcher. You need a guy who you can trust to play 40-60 games a season that won't be a complete waste of breath and salary. Stanley was that guy for us last year, and good luck to him in his search for a playing fortune."
Stanley hit .353 last year in a backup role with 7 homeruns and OPS over 1.000. Regardless of how you cut it, replacing that and his 1.4 WAR in a cheap way was not going to be easy. But the Lumberjacks think they found their man.
Portland announced today that they have signed Farid bin Mubarek to be Uecker's back up in 2062. bin Mubarek played for division rival Bikini last season and did exactly what Portland will need from him this season.
"59 games. A .700 OPS. A WAR over 1. It's a great fit for us" Wilson chimed in on bin Mubarek.
In fact, over his last 6 seasons, bin Mubarek has posted a positive WAR in each of them. He's posted 6 total WAR over the last 6 seasons, and even the dumbest of fans can do that math.
"He's an upgrade defensively from Stanley" added Wilson. "His bat is solid. We see no reason why we won't see another 1+ WAR out of him this season. We think it's a steal for us. bin Mubarek should likely be starting for someone in this league but he comes here willing to be Uecker's backup. Sometimes you have to pay guys a little more than you'd like when you know you're getting good quality play" concluded Wilson.
Farid will earn just over $2 million next season to be Uecker's backup.
"I'm just glad to be staying in the Pacific" said bin Mubarek on the signing. "At least playing here I know I have a shot at a ring."
