So what do you do when you aren't signing any free agents but have a boat load of cash lying around to spend? You sign international free agents and blow your load on one of them (
) The Lumberjacks just spent and extreme amount of their available cash this off-season in a move that won't help the current state of the franchise but will push an already top 5 farm system even higher up the list. The Portland Lumberjacks dished out over $21 million to sign Greek prospect Cosmo Maganas and bring him into the Lumberjacks fold. Magana is a 17 year, left handed hitting outfielder that some scouts say could be a huge bat in the next 5 years. Maganas projects to be a big but but could be slightly weaker in the field and doesn't possess a lot of speed.
"We looked at this one way" commented team General Manager Chris Wilson, "we had a lot of cash and cap space cleared for this season. We didn't see a lot of targets that truly change the trajectory of this team for 2058. So we decided to look down the road. We have a top 5 farm system and adding more pieces there can boost our changes in the next few years. We know these IFA signings are a gamble. Fortunately for us, with our current state, we can take that gamble and see how it plays out. Hopefully for us, it works out. Either way, things for 2058 don't change."
The huge cash spend on Maganas does restrict how much free agent cash the Lumberjacks have available this off-season. Finances suggest the team still have about $25 million it can spend on free agents, which would likely mean the team is looking at around an $85 million payroll for the 2058 campaign. It likely suggests the team will continue to look for bargain players to try and field as competitive of a team as possible while also beginning to implement some of the younger guys into BBA playing roles.
But if fans aren't excited about 2058, it appears the front office hopes seeing guys like Maganas and Mynorli Gaajlimitz coming on the horizon will keep fans interested peaked.