The Brooklyn Robins today announced that backup third baseman Chris Limón has filed for free agency.
The 35 year old Puerto Rican native made a name for himself for the Twin Cities River Monsters in the early 40's and was considered to be one of the top hot corner players in the league during his prime. Even making the 30-30 club on two occasions. By 2036 though, his career had derailed and he became an albatross. After a few fledgling years in Twin Cities trying to find the fountain of youth, Limon moved on to an uneventful season in Wichita before coming back to the River Monsters in 2040 to achive the same results.
The Robins snagged Chris off the scrap heap in April of 2041 and signed him for a cool $2 million. His role was to be the short side of a platoon at third base. In less then 200 at bats, Limon posted a.221/.375/.437 line with 10 HR and was 7 out of 8 in stolen bases. Sure, not eye popping numbers. But 1.1 WAR from your backup infielder is definitely respectable. At the very least he held up his weight on the team and some might argue that he excelled in the role given.
Limon asked to be traded to a contending team at the deadline and Brooklyn was more then willing to do so for pennies on the dollar. They found no takers. With Brian Dixon on the verge of filing a service time manipulation grievance with the BBAPA, The Robins have no choice but to let Limon take his final pitch with the team and trot down the line to his next stop.
One misstep that Brooklyn made here was not giving Limon more playing time down the stretch. His 1.1 WAR is close, but not likely to garner a 2nd round comp pick. A few more at bats may have pushed him through the threshold. When asked about the strategy, the Brooklyn GM was quoted as saying, "We need to clean up our details. We are not as good as other teams in that area".