The Brewster

The Yellow Springs Nine are pleased to announce that first baseman Emílio Navarro, designated hitter Roberto Gabriel, and pitcher Héctor Delgado have all signed one-year extensions to avoid arbitration.

Navarro, who just completed his fifth season with the team, batted .277 with 26 home runs, 41 doubles (a career high), 89 RBIS, an OPS+ of 126 and a WAR of 3.2, also a career high. He'll play for the Nine in 2065 on a salary of $4,120,000.

Gabriel was one of two All Star starters for the Nine in 2065, alongside shortstop Leslie Hartman. He finished his fourth year with the Nine setting career highs in home runs (46), RBIs (125), and slugging (.561), all of which led the Frick. He also batted .282, with an OPS+ of 137 and a WAR of 3.7. Gabriel will make $3,500,000 in 2065.

Delgado, who was hampered by injury in 2064, will be paid $860,000 in 2065. He pitched only 67.1 innings for the major league team, with a 2-6 record and a 5.88 ERA. In 2063, he was 10-8 with a 3.56 ERA in 194.2 innings, alongside a 1.09 WHIP.

"It's been a longstanding policy of mine not to go to arbitration," said GM Rob McMonigal. "I'm always happy to find a way to work with our players during their formative years to find a salary that's agreeable to us both. And because of that, we have much better luck, I think, at pursuing extensions, like we did for Don Anderson recently. Cory McGuire was another one. Fan favorite Burhan Tahir got one, too, after a few successful agreements. It just makes for a better relationship.

"I'm very pleased to stay here," said Navarro. I think we're poised for something big, and I want to be a part of that."

"It's been an amazing year," said Gabriel. "Not bad for a guy from Cuba, eh? I'm happy to be a millionaire so young, with years in front of me to get an even bigger deal. I do wish the BBA would consider letting us to deals sooner. I'd love the security Don has, but I'll have to wait my turn."

"The Nine believed in me when Long Beach had given up," said Delgado. "I'm very grateful to them for that, and I look forward to being a Nine for a long, long time."

All three players will be making appearances throughout the community in the off-season. Look for those dates soon.

I like Delgado a lot. He is a sneaky good player. Had a bad year in the pen last year but was a solid backend lefty starter the two years behind that.

Your rotation is going to be sick. Copley, Garcia, and Martinez paired up with the two veterans. Then you got Delgado in the pen for insurance. That is a very good and deep rotation.