by Valerie Davies for the Yellow Springs World
As per GM Rob McMonigal's usual practice, the Nine avoided arbitration with infielder Tristan Colenutt and newly acquired pitcher Ty Vannatta, signing both before the hearings.
Colenutt, acquired in 2057 to provide strong defense at shortstop if nothing else (and last year, he basically provided nothing else, batting only .220 with an OPS of .551, both career lows), signed a one-year extension for $880,000. This was a bit lower than his reported asking price of $950,000 but higher than what an arbiter may have decided, which my sources pegged at around $800,000. Still, while Colenutt isn't ideal as a starter and I would expect McMonigal will shop around for a new shortstop (rumors have it that Sammy McNeill, a familiar name for all Nine fans, should be available), he does provide a Zone Rating of 5.7, a range of 4.47 and only 11errors. The team can (and has) done far worse in that position before.
Vanatta, being a pitcher, got a higher salary despite arguably lower results. He received a contract worth $930,000, which was under his ask for about a million. It's possible the Nine might have won with a counter in the $850,000 range. Vanatta has a lot of baggage and a career ERA of 5.36. If McMonigal hadn't just traded for him, I'd have expected this to be a non-tender. But I think the goal is to see if the Nine's coaching staff, which has been pretty good with pitchers, and a more pitcher-friendly park, can make the difference. He was 0-1 with a 3.99 ERA in 5 starts for his new club. He'll be in the mix to start, but could also move into the bullpen in a relief role, since the Nine tend to keep pitchers on a strict count and relievers who can go 2 innings or more are useful.
When asked, McMonigal offered a few remarks praising Colenutt.
"I love what Tristan has done for us to stabilize the shortstop position. Yes, his bat is a bit thin, but we moved up to the middle of the league in defensive efficiency and fourth in errors. That's a huge jump and part of why we made such a large improvement. Plus he's one of the most versatile players I've ever met."
And what about Vanatta?
"He is aware he's a work in progress," said McMonigal.
Not mentioned and so likely to be non-tendered are outfielders Devayana Koganti and Pael Millares. Koganti's power intrigued, but after a promising, 31 HR, .250 average, 1.9 WAR 2056, he regressed to the point of being sent down in 2057 (a year he batted .187 with -1.3 WAR) and did not do much better in 2058, hitting just .214 with only 20 HR and -.5 WAR. His defense was lousy as well (career -6.5 ZR in left field), adding up to a player McMonigal really has no choice but to cut bait on.
Millares was a waiver pick up designed to fill space and provide days off for regulars. He did that and nothing more, batting .210 with a WAR of .2. He was a positive defender in the field, which was useful, but not enough to pay over league minimum for him.
In both cases, the Nine can easily upgrade, and probably already have with the arrival of Edgar Barron and the trade for John Hopkins near the deadline. At least the fans can hope so. There's still a lot of work to be done to get this team to 75 wins, let alone 85.
