We Got Wood - 45.02 - Wareham Calls it a Career

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While most of the bad contracts opted to stick around in Portland, the Lumberjacks did get one saving grace this week in terms of flexibility. Just moments after accepting his $5 million player option, Reece Wareham instead opted to retire from professional baseball all together. The 37 year old veteran spent 15 seasons in the BBA with 9 different franchises.

"I think my time has finally come to an end" announced Wareham at a press conference today. "I've watched my playing time with teams diminish over the years. It's a hard reality as a professional athlete to admit you just aren't good enough anymore. My stats, playing time, and the fact I've been on 8 different teams in the last 7 seasons is telling me something. Perhaps I should listen!"

Wareham had some solid seasons over his career, despite the hard fall off of his ability later in his career. With Havana, Wareham was consistently an average of 3 WAR a year guy. He hit for power, topping out at 47 homeruns with Jacksvonville in 2038. He ended his career with 360 homeruns, a solid total for a guy who played in the middle of the infield for most of his career.

Portland had signed Wareham last off-season to a $5 million contract hoping he could secure a spot at 2B, but it wasn't meant to be. Wareham played in just 51 games while posting a career worst -1.3 WAR. This was in large part due to a .108 batting average and .424 OPS.

The departure of Wareham clears of $5 million in cap space for the 2045 season. The club will look to be fiscally responsible with that space.