That's What Cheesehead - 00.04 - Wolves Dump Walton
Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 8:17 am
Just months after signing a three year extension with the club, and 2 seasons removed from a 22-5 season, the Madison Wolves have decided to cut ties with pitcher Robert Walton. In what has been described as "salary cap issues", the Wolves basically dumped the right handed pitcher for near nothing. As Walton will move from the cold winters of the northern Midwest, he'll now get to enjoy the bright sunlight of Hawaii, pitching for the Tropics.
"We really didn't want to trade Walton, at least not in the way we did" said General Manager Chris Wilson. "We liked having the added pitching depth. We still had plans of using Robert as either a 5th starter, or as a long reliever with the possibility of starting if need be. But our salary issues took a huge hit recently and we were forced to cut ties with someone. That someone, wound up being Walton."
The salary cap issues that Wilson mentioned stem mostly from the club's arbitration dealings that witnessed the club taking some huge salary hits. JL MVP Bopper Kengos' salary went from $300,000 to $8.5 million this off-season. Jarvis Murphy saw his salary jump from below $1 million to $5.5 after a successful 1999 season that saw him hit well over .300 with an OBP of over .400.
"We had hoped that our salaries would stay in the $92-95 range after arbitration" said Wilson. "Early reports showed that we would still be ok, even with Walton on our payroll. But the arbitration hearings didn't quite go our way. So we were forced to make an unpopular move. The trade hurts us, especially in the depth department, but we still feel as though we have a solid team and a team that will once again compete for a divisional crown and a World Championship."
Coming to Madison in the deal is Triple-A reliever Gary Jeffries. Jeffries possesses very little chance of ever making it on the staff in Madison.
Robert Walton spent 7 seasons in Madison, compiling an 84-87 record and 4.16 ERA in 220 games.
"We really didn't want to trade Walton, at least not in the way we did" said General Manager Chris Wilson. "We liked having the added pitching depth. We still had plans of using Robert as either a 5th starter, or as a long reliever with the possibility of starting if need be. But our salary issues took a huge hit recently and we were forced to cut ties with someone. That someone, wound up being Walton."
The salary cap issues that Wilson mentioned stem mostly from the club's arbitration dealings that witnessed the club taking some huge salary hits. JL MVP Bopper Kengos' salary went from $300,000 to $8.5 million this off-season. Jarvis Murphy saw his salary jump from below $1 million to $5.5 after a successful 1999 season that saw him hit well over .300 with an OBP of over .400.
"We had hoped that our salaries would stay in the $92-95 range after arbitration" said Wilson. "Early reports showed that we would still be ok, even with Walton on our payroll. But the arbitration hearings didn't quite go our way. So we were forced to make an unpopular move. The trade hurts us, especially in the depth department, but we still feel as though we have a solid team and a team that will once again compete for a divisional crown and a World Championship."
Coming to Madison in the deal is Triple-A reliever Gary Jeffries. Jeffries possesses very little chance of ever making it on the staff in Madison.
Robert Walton spent 7 seasons in Madison, compiling an 84-87 record and 4.16 ERA in 220 games.