Blowing in the Wind 2057.3: Jacksonville Re-Signs Mark Thomas

[aaronweiner]

After long-term offseason negotiations between Jacksonville and last year's #3 starter Mark Thomas, the lefty agreed to return to the club despite some hard feelings between himself and the team manager, Farri Agymah. The two had openly argued about Thomas' delivery while the latter was going through an inconsistent patch, and Thomas, never one to easily let an argument go, refused to re-sign with the team until now, when he was unsigned in April. Thomas struggled a bit in his first start back, but he didn't have Spring Training, so the team is hopeful that he can play his way into shape.

"I know I have the reputation for being a little bit difficult to deal with, but this really irked me," said Thomas. "I'm a professional and I do things a certain way. I wasn't going to come back easily."

Thomas' return is a strange one for the Hurricanes. He is unlikely to replace any of the top three starters, and Jacksonville signed Arthur Dunn to help out the rotation this offseason. Dunn hasn't been bad so far, but based on his last two seasons Thomas is probably an upgrade.

"Mark's been really good for us, and I'm glad he was able to get over our disagreement," said Agymah. "We're happy to have him back."

Thomas was one of the first signings when Aaron Weiner took over as GM in 2055, and he was very successful for the Hurricanes, winning 31 games in three seasons with a 3.94 ERA over three seasons. The team was hoping he would not opt out of his $7.5 million deal, but not only did he do that, he ended up signing with the team for less money.

"It's not a good financial deal for me, but nobody else came calling," said Thomas. "I had a lot of success here and I'm happy to sign a one year deal to show I can still do it."

Jacksonville is currently 23-15, in the second wild card position and on pace for another 90-win season.