Hold My Log - 51.11 - Filling the Holes Part 2 (Outfield)

GM: Chris Wilson

Moderator: 7teen

User avatar
7teen
BBA GM
Posts: 9806
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2010 7:59 am
Has thanked: 223 times
Been thanked: 1135 times

Hold My Log - 51.11 - Filling the Holes Part 2 (Outfield)

Post by 7teen » Sun May 29, 2022 10:46 am

Part one of this series discussed the decline the Portland Lumberjacks face with its moves in the corner infield. Part 2 will focus on the changes in the outfield, most notably centerfield.

Leaving Portland
Portland lost two key pieces to it's Pacific winning team from a year ago this off-season. Wilson Alomar was traded to Twin Cities to free up some salary cap space this off-season. In losing Alomar, the team lost a stable outfield presence who had spent 4 seasons with the club. He also takes with him over 20 homeruns, 100 RBI, and a 2.8 WAR from last season. Po-sin Shi decided to opt-out of the final 2 years of his deal that would have paid him $4.4 million each of the next two seasons to pursue free agency. It paid off as Shi inked a 1-year deal recently with Yellow Springs that will pay him $8 million in 2051. Shi takes 37 stolen bases, an above average ability to play centerfield, and a 3.4 WAR with him. Finally, the platoon option in CF, Sergio Salazar departed via free agency after just 1 season with the Lumberjacks. Salazar only logged 135 at-bats in 70 games but hit .326 while posting an above replacement WAR at 0.7.

Filling those spots
Second year player Jiao-long Ma will be tasked with filling the void left by the departing Alomar in the corner outfield. Ma got his feet wet some last year in sub roles and spot duty throughout the season. He logged 278 at-bats over his rookie season with minimal success. He hit 10 homeruns but hit just .227 and posting a 0.2 WAR. Portland will need to see huge growth in Ma this season to help fill the weakness in the offense. In CF, it's still anyone's guess. Manny Garcia signed a 1 year, $1.2 million deal this off-season to fill the spot left by Shi. Garcia has an above average glove in CF, but his bat leaves a lot to be desired. Portland is counting on a lot from Garcia considering he spent more time in AAA last year than in the big leagues. He saw just 11 games with Twin Cities last year, posting just a 0.1 WAR. He did have a 2.4 WAR in AAA. Finally, Hadji Ufanisi will fill in as a platoon guy against lefty pitching in the outfield this season for Portland. Ufanisi was the piece acquired in the Alomar trade. Ufanisi put up a 0.7 WAR last season in combined action with both Calgary and Twin Cities.

Fiscus' Takes
"We've lost a lot in the off-season. We are putting a lot at stake that Ma is ready to take the leap into a starters role, replacing the output of Alomar. If Ma can do that, then perhaps we can have an offense that can help us compete for a Pacific title again. We are still searching for some more options in the OF, especially another pair of platoon guys in both CF and the corner outfield. Smith will hold down his spot regularly with minimal time off. But he'll still need a rest occasionally. Ufanisi can help there but we'd like another option or two to help spell Garcia against lefty pitching."

Net WAR Loss/Gain
-5.9
Chris Wilson

LB Surfers 95-96
FL Pac Champs: 95

Madison Wolves 99-2039
JL MW: 99-2009, 17, 20, 21
JL WC: 12
JL: 01, 04, 09, 12
FL Heartland: 32
FL WC: 31, 33
BBA Champs: 04, 09

Portland Lumberjacks 2040-
FL Pacific: 50
FL WC: 49, 51
FL Champs: 49, 51

Vic Caleca TN of the Year 2046

Return to “Portland Lumberjacks”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests