We Got Wood - 44.07 - Lumberjacks Sign Morales for Rotation

[7teen]

It's becoming a habit. Free agency rolls around and Portland uses some of their funds to snatch up another starting pitcher for the rotation. In 2040 it was Feliciano Rafael. Last season it was Pedro Rocha and Hector Amaral. But with the departure of Amaral this season (he opted out of his contract for 2044 that would have paid him $20 million this seaso) the Lumberjacks found themselves with some extra money to spend this off-season and went out and nabbed yet another top arm on the market. Portland signed Kevin Morales to fill the void left by Amaral and hopefully cover up the shell of a pitcher Rocha has become.

Morales' deal with the Lumberjacks is a pitcher friendly 3-year deal with options and opt-outs. Each season will pay Kevin $10.5 million assuming he plays for Portland all 3 seasons. He can opt-out of his deal after year 1 if he so chooses and has a player option for year 3 that gives him the luxury of deciding whether he wants to be a Lumberjack that long. So basically, Morales controls his fate for each of the next 3 seasons.

"We wanted another pitcher and we got one" said Portland GM Chris Wilson. "We now feel we have 5 solid arms for the rotation with the option of a young guy or two and some bullpen guys who could fill in as well. Our pitching wasn't that bad last year and we feel it should be in a similar shape for 2044. We don't have a true number 1 ace but we have 5 very serviceable arms for our rotation that we feel can help us win games all season long."

Morales will join the aforementioned Rocha as the two veterans of the staff. He'll also join last year's rookie duo of Francisco Franco and Terrence Kelly. The 5th spot is up for grabs. Ray Verhoeve held the spot last season but rumors of a top prospect Gusby Pinkerton debut in 2044 are swirling around the Portland organization.

[RonCo]

With the kids coming up, this could wind up being a pretty decent rotation.