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Six-Season Deal Keeps Star
April 26, 2044: Twin Cities – Early in the afternoon, Dong-po Thum made himself an even richer man by signing a six-season contract that will give him control of up to $119M dollars in income, and is likely to pay him at least $24M more in bonuses. A few hours later, he strode to the plate with teammates Arvin Duggan on third base and Luis Pena at second, and proceeded to rip a line-drive single up the middle to score them both. The Nine would go on to win the game 2-1.
Ernesto Ramos got the win with a dominating 7+ inning outing, and Al Colbert picked up his ninth save on the year, but afterward all eyes were on Thum, whose projected travails had been oft-discussed.
“I think I would have walked him, to be honest,” said manager Sam Brewington. “I mean, I don’t mean to be an armchair quarterback for another team so take it with a grain of salt, but it was kind of Dong-po’s day. I think maybe I’d rather have faced Rex (Foster) with the bases loaded.”
Regardless, the game is done, as is the deal Thum signed, which is structures in such a way as to back load a pair of big checks in year five and six in return for a payment plan that Nine GM Ron Collins called “more comfortable.” Thum will make $11.75M next season, then $14M, $16M, and—assuming he opts in--$16M in year four before receiving $62M over the following two seasons. With bonuses, the total package could be worth $140-$150M.
SIGNING FIRST IN MANY ROADBLOCKS
“I’m excited to get this done for our fans,” Collins said when he broke the news at a community outreach luncheon. “Everyone knows that getting Dong-po settled was a big priority.” He went on to outline how he felt his work wasn’t done, and touting the deals the team had made with Rex Foster and Roberto Ramirez in the days before completing the Thum deal.
“We’re really trying to fit a 20 gallon team into a 10 gallon hat, but the fans here in Yellow Springs deserve another Heartland Championship, so we’re working on that as hard as we can. One step at a time.”
