We Got Wood - 43.01 - Oh Not Offered Arbitration. Will Become Free Agent.

[7teen]

The guy who was looked at in year 1 as being the potential face of a new franchise will no longer be a Portland Lumberjack. Sadaharu Oh III was told today by team General Manager Chris Wilson that the team would not be offering him a contract and therefore allowing the 26 year old to become a free agent. Oh had spent 3 seasons with the club.

After a successful early career spent in Las Vegas, Portland acquired Oh as part of a post-expansion draft trade with the Sluggers that sent veteran relief pitching to the gambling capital in exchange for Oh. In his first season with the Lumberjacks, Oh put up solid numbers and many saw him as the potential face of the franchise. He posted an .824 OPS in that first season with Portland while hitting 23 homeruns and putting up a 1.3 WAR. However Oh quickly fell into bad graces with the Portland front office for reasons unknown by many.

In his second season, Oh saw nearly the same amount of playing time and at-bats, but his stats dropped. Struggling defense and the inability to produce top level DH numers saw his WAR dip down to 0.5 as he only mustered 15 homeruns and a .792 OPS. Numbers that still aren't terrible, and good enough for a young franchise, many were still ready to follow Oh for a few more seasons in hopes he'd be a guy fans could rally around for a few seasons. But Oh fell into real bad graces, again for reasons not known, in 2042.

Oh, who never suffered an injury, watched as his games were cut to 53 total as the team allowed Jon Mick, an aging vet going nowhere, take most of the DH cuts. Oh also watched as newly signed free agent Lionel Crepin stole the hearts of management with his ability to swing the bat. Oh became the odd man out, and his performance showed. Oh hit just .146 in 2042 while producing a career worst .577 OPS and -0.7 WAR. Demanding a contract of north of $3 million in aribtration this off-season, the front office has elected to let Oh walk.

"We have other options" stated Chris Wilson during a brief press conference today. "We have some better fielding options in right field for next season and some younger guys we are going to give the at-bats to at the DH spot. Paying Oh that amount doesn't make much sense to us moving forward."

Portland is projected to have close to $70 million in available cap space this off-season to bolster the roster for 2043.