We Got Wood - 45.04 - Velasco Option Declined By Team

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He signed a contract with Portland last year. The contract was for 3 years with options built in. He never threw a single pitch for the Lumberjacks. And he never will. At least under that contract.

The Portland front office announced today that the team had declined the team option for Julio Velasco. Velasco was signed last year and nabbed by the Aviators from Wichita in the Rule 5 draft. After a rash of injuries derailed a good portion of his 2044 season, Wichita returned Velasco back to Portland. His injuries meant he'd spend the final month on the Injured List. After a set back this past week in his recovery, the organization decided to pay the $1 million buyout to let Velasco be a free agent.

"He had missed 6 weeks due to other minor injuries" commented General manager Chris Wilson, "those were prior to this most recent one that's had him on the shelf now for close to 7 months. While he projects to be ready to pitch in 2045, we just don't want that risk. If we keep him, we have to play the balancing act with the vesting option for 2046 and that's just not something we want to do right now. In the end, it's just best for us to eat the loss with the buyout and move on from the Velasco debacle all together."

Velasco, who still managed to log 86 innings last year despite the injuries, posted a 3.87 ERA and 0.8 overall WAR in 2044. The 37 year old veteran has played for 7 different organizations in his career, not counting Portland, who he never pitched for!