May 13, 2058
by Banjo Jackson
Nashville, TN
In wake of the news of Juan Rivera’s torn hamstring, the Bluebirds looked how to fill the hole in the lineup. Sure, they could fill it within and just wait for Rivera to return from injury since they sit atop the Heartland and look to be the team to beat. But with $20 million of cap space available, why not spend it?
“We honestly were just gonna run with who we had,” said GM Chad Nason. “Then we saw Jacksonville trying to unload a veteran slugger in a salary dump, so we took a gander. We got a prospect out of the deal, too.”
The aforementioned slugger is former Frick League foe, Donald Miller. Though his best days are behind him, the veteran leadership Miller brings to the table along with being able to still hit right handers well will help fill the void left by Rivera’s trip to the injured list. Miller averaged 32+ HR over the past three seasons so he’s still got some gas in the tank, but his time in Nashville might be short. Rivera is scheduled to return in six weeks and there are only 27 roster spots available, which means there likely won’t be room for a DH on the bench.
RF Donald Miller
For helping loosen their payroll by about $6 million, the Hurricanes also sent RHP Armando Ortiz to Nashville. The 20-year-old was sent to Single A. Ortiz has a high floor and low ceiling with no real spot in the BBA, but Nashville hopes they can develop him into a star pitcher like they have with so many others in recent years.
