Moonshiners Monitor, Vol. 1.5

[lchronister]

Along with the arbitration decision on Jay Lee and extension for Jeff McNeely the Moonshiners signed two other players to contract extensions just before they could declare for free agency.

The bigger signing was a 4-year deal worth a total of $18 million to infielder Jack See, who is expected to be Greenville's starting second baseman next season.

See hit .313/.352/.526 (128 OPS+, 33.7 VORP) with 23 doubles, 29 homers, 103 RBI and 80 runs in 546 at-bats last season. He spent 142 games at second, putting up a .991 fielding percentage, and also saw time at first base, third base and shortstop.

"See is a solid veteran with some good pop in his bat and pretty solid fielding," Greenville general manager Levi Chronister said, "and we are glad to have him back in the fold for the next few years."

Signing a guy who will turn 34 early next season to a 4-year contract might not be the best long-term move, but the Moonshiners front office was willing to take the risk to keep a known quantity.

"We knew we were going to have to replace at least one infielder next season," Chronister said, "and we didn't want to have to replace both. Signing Jack was the better all-around option, and we expect to have enough cash to buy out the last couple years of his contract if it ends up coming to that."

Greenville also inked catcher Lemuel Mattis to a 3-year deal worth $563,500 a season. The 31-year-old backstop hit just .154/.163/.205 in 39 at-bats with the Moonshiners next year, but has the talent and ability (14/12/4/9/11) to be a productive backup next year.

"Given how weak the catchers who were about to hit free agency looked as a group, we wanted to make sure we had someone on the roster who could play the position if we couldn't sign someone away from another team," Chronister said. "Mattis isn't the greatest catcher in the world, but he gives us a known quantity behind the plate and keeps us from having to try to find two catchers in free agency."

The Moonshiners did lose one important part of last year's team to free agency -- Jim McNiven.

The 34-year-old infielder hit .300/.379/.463 (122 OPS+, 25.7 VORP) with 19 doubles, 19 homers, 68 RBI and 55 runs in 477 at-bats last year, playing 115 games at first base and 15 games at second base.

"Jim is a solid hitter and a great veteran presence on a team," Chronister said, "but we needed to get younger and cheaper so we couldn't bring him back. We wish him the best of luck wherever he ends up."

Greenville also saw infielder Tanner Boyle (.277/.303/.395 in 458 at-bats), catcher Robin Larker (.237/.318/.423 in 468 at-bats) and reliever Gabriel Plasencia (2-0, 3 saves, 5.59 ERA, 1.63 WHIP in 56.1 innings) decline arbitration and file for free agency.

[ronzonie7]

McNiven was always a solid bat, but I was certain he'd go to FA. Surprised you ponied up for See.

[lchronister]

McNiven was always a solid bat, but I was certain he'd go to FA. Surprised you ponied up for See.

I wasn't a fan of the potential replacements in FA, really, especially if I had to replace the entire right side of the infield. After the Alleyne deal was confirmed I considered withdrawing this offer and seeing if I couldn't find a 2B in the offseason (or maybe even play Alleyne there and hope his defense didn't kill me), but I just wasn't impressed with what could be out there (especially if some of the better guys signed extensions before filing). I didn't think $4.5 million a year for a guy with a .877 OPS was unreasonable. The only issue I see here is his age, but it was a risk I was willing to take.

[recte44]

Someone is going to get a steal in Larker.