As mentioned before, Jayden Harsnett will pursue a bigger contract this off-season than the one guaranteed him by the Lumberjacks for 2041 as he chose to opt-out of one more guaranteed deal before a team option in 2042. It will be a risky bet for the 34 year old veteran who had his best year in 3 seasons. Above average defense and ability to get on-base are still positive attributes to the aging player who hopes someone out there needs a corner outfielder this off-season. Our projection is Harsnett signs for less than he would have made this year.
Also heading to free agency will be our late season closer Jose Perez. Perez, the team's top reliever in 2040 and Rue 5 pickup, will hope a 0.7WAR in 2040 will be enough for him to earn a little more than the league minimum in 2041. He's actually been a slightly above average reliever, but we don't expect anyone to go big on him. Perez may go to a team for under $1 million this season. He's probably a best fit for one of those Minor League contracts with a major league guarantee after 30 days.
Our top starting pitcher in 2040, Manuel Soliz, will also be walking in 2041. Another Rule 5 pickup, Soliz posted a 1.7 WAR over 31 starts despite a 7-14 overall record. The club decided to let Soliz walk because, well, he wouldn't talk to us for an extension. Not to mention he'll likely sit on the Free Agent heap for quite a while so if Portland really needs pitching again in 2041 he may be available for really cheap this year.
The final departing name, and the one that will keep GM Chris Wilson interested in watching where he goes, is Steve Dempsey. For the first time in his career, the 34 year old will be on the open market where he will definitely get far less than what he's used to making. His contact ability has gone down. His ability to steal bases is still high despite a loss in speed. What will be interesting to see is what are Dempsey's demands early on in the open market. He's 174 hits shy of 3,000 and 14 stolen bases away from 900 for his career. He can't play defense at all anymore. Does a team have a spot for him? He won't go to a contender because they won't need a guy like Dempsey unless he wants a low salary and a team wants a Pinch Hitter. That's what he offers. Or he offers a team just looking for news a chance to generate that with his chase for 3,000 hits.
As for who all else filed for free agency, here is the complete Portland list....
C Cisco Molina becomes a free-agent.
C António Velázquez becomes a free-agent.
LF José Valenzuela becomes a free-agent.
1B Alejandro López becomes a free-agent.
LF Aldo Zanderink becomes a free-agent.
RP Eiichi Tanaka becomes a free-agent.
RP Arturo Pérez becomes a free-agent.
RP Carlos Valdivieso becomes a free-agent.
1B Jean-Paul Hubert becomes a free-agent.
RP Andrya Baldaev becomes a free-agent.
SP Ludwig Charles becomes a free-agent.
SP Keizo Kaneko becomes a free-agent.
SP Dennie Gestel becomes a free-agent.
SP Jeffrey Wood becomes a free-agent.
C Zong-yuan Au becomes a free-agent.
CF Jesús Ramis becomes a free-agent.
SP Claudio Gómez becomes a free-agent.
2B Moromao Hirose becomes a free-agent.
LF Walt Hawkins becomes a free-agent.
RP Fernando Guzmán becomes a free-agent.
RP Héctor Martínez becomes a free-agent.
RP David McGowen becomes a free-agent.
RP Scott Roux becomes a free-agent.
C Alfredo Gabriel becomes a free-agent.
C Octávio Valenzuela becomes a free-agent.
RP Elroy Stroombeek becomes a free-agent.
LF Guo-quiang Lang becomes a free-agent.
C Edward Fleming becomes a free-agent.
B Hou-kang Teoh becomes a free-agent.
2B Garrett Barnett becomes a free-agent.
1B Juan Menéndez becomes a free-agent.
SP Lance Carter becomes a free-agent.
RP Clint Gentry becomes a free-agent.
RP Gabriel Espinosa becomes a free-agent.
RP Javier Venegas becomes a free-agent.
1B Hark Li becomes a free-agent.
