Slugger Shavings 2052.1 - A New Dawn

[RT60]

New Sluggers' GM BP has had a busy offseason, his first with the team after getting lured away from Buenos Aires.

"How could I turn down the opportunity to be GM of one of most successful franchises in the league? I mean, one of only two teams with over 1500 Elo in the past decade? After looking up just what Elo was, I was sold and on a plane to Louisville."

A quick review of the team's transactions log shows that GM BP evidently didn't realize the amount of minor league free agents that needed extensions. They all promptly filed, causing a flurry of new minor league signings just to meet league roster minimums. Time will tell how the balance of talent has shifted after such a rookie move.

Other than those minor league transactions, the team remains largely unchanged from the team that almost got by Portland in the first round of the playoffs last year. The only material addition to the starting lineup is the return of Ernesto Alfonso, a career .330 hitter who spent the 2046-2049 seasons in Louisville, via a trade with El Paso that saw recent 2nd-round pick Edward Joseph Pfeffer go the other way.

"I saw this guy being floated by El Paso, and I was intrigued. Here was a guy that has always had a high average and OBP, and always a solid threat on the basepaths, but never able to enjoy being a full-time starter except for the 2043 season in Seattle. My boss was telling me I need more stolen bases, and I realized I needed a DH, so I thought why not lock him up before taking a chance in free agency? I know many are asking why would I trade for a 32-year-old part-timer getting 7M/year for three years that was out for months with a concussion last year instead of starting a prospect like Ryobe Watanabe or getting a left-handed power hitter that can take advantage of my park's asymmetrical dimensions? I guess I felt this guy deserved more. He now has the chance to start every day for a contender. If he can hit his lifetime average or even close to it, I'll be happy."

Unfortunately for BP, team owner Millard Dovale has not publicly held back on his thoughts about the trade. "What the f$%&!? I told him he needed to re-sign my favorite player Dave Houston. That 7M Alfonso is getting took that opportunity away, and it made it us make some other unexpected cuts. What an idiot. I can see why they wanted to get rid of him in Buenos Aires."

Aside from Mr. Houston who is now with Long Beach, other notable departures from Louisville included Francisco Salgado (now with San Antonio), Enrique Hernandez (still unsigned), Peter Sanders (still unsigned), and Mark Moon (still unsigned).

[Jwalk100]

Peter Sanders fell off a cliff.