Dugout Dirt 49.03 - Canes and Costa Agree to Extension

[DugoutDesperado]

With the $25M freed up in payroll with the release of Dary Pris and Jose Zuniga, the first item of business was to sign first-baseman Pancho Costa.

The Canes and Costa came to terms with a four-year/ $64M deal that should solidify Jacksonville’s first base needs through the 2052 season. Costa plays great defense at first base to go along with his many offensive accolades over the past few seasons.

Costa was brought to Jacksonville at the trade deadline as part of the Chris Kelly deal with Twin Cities. Since that time Costa has hit 149 homers while stealing 270 bases and maintaining a .300 batting average. Over the last two seasons, Costa has compiled an 11.2 WAR and had stolen base totals of 72 in 2047 and another 56 steals in 2048.

“Costa’s numbers in 2048 were unreal”, said teammate Cristo Munoz who was another player included in the Chris Kelly trade and had a league-leading 45 saves himself. Pancho had a batting slash of .328/.376/.600, hitting 38 dingers, driving in 107 runs to go along with those 56 steals while being a defensive highlight reel when he is not at the plate.

When asked about his new contract, Pancho stated “It’s nice to be recognized for your work, but all in all, I am just having fun in our home stadium with the fans providing a great atmosphere in which to play.”