Crusaders News! 2037.3 - What to Do About Shortstop?

[Ted]

Who Will Play Short Next Year?
October 22nd, 2037
Offen Sichtlich der Kunstgriff

You know .. the worst thing about Jesus Flores pricing himself out of a Crusaders uniform is that the team won't even get a comp pick. His stellar 2035 and 2036 campaigns ballooned his arbitration awards. So I, and I'm sure many of you resigned ourselves to his impending departure. Still, there is always that comp pick. Er ... well there would have been if Mr. Flores hadn't regressed so dramatically this past year. So yeah ... no comp pick. That's right, go ahead and put up your worst offensive season in your career as you demand 15 million and don't budge. Oh, except for July, the only month you hit at an above league average rate and raised your asking price to 17 mil. You know, when you were on pace for a whole 2.2 WAR. I suppose if you don't hit at all, you have to find some way to be offensive. *sigh*

Sorry, Crusaders fans. I apologize for my tone. I'm a bit down. Getting settled back here in the states is tougher than I expected. I had a whole summer without Mama. *sigh* I think the worst part of being back is the food. I live (once again) in California. I never thought I'd say that. But when Mama makes Schweinskopfsulze, it's best to eat Schweinskopfsulze. Half an hour of choking down gelatinous pig parts is better than days of Mama remind you how hard she works for her ungrateful Offie.

So, shortstop. It think it's unlikely Flores will be back. Even should his agent come to his senses in free agency, Flores will likely want a multi-year deal and it that doesn't make sense with minor leaguer Daryl Pris coming along nicely. Pris, only 21, was a 4 win player in AA this past year. He's striking out a bit too much to expect him to be a big league option in 2038, but the Crusaders scouts believe he'll solve those problems in time. That means either finding a stopgap solution from free agency or making a trade for a rental. Regarding free agents, Brett Compton and Flores look like the best options. Well .. both of those players will command multi-year deals. Another possibility could be moving Claudio Defazio back to short, a position he hasn't played much since 2032. To his credit, Defazio still takes reps there, looks comfortable at the position, and has stated he's open to a move if it would help the Crusaders win. What a guy! The second base free agent crop this year does look a bit more short term deal friendly. Still, I don't know if I like the idea of moving Defazio. He's umm ... been a little rickety recently. Maybe moving to a more physically demanding position isn't the best idea, especially since moving off short in the first place was prompted by a throwing arm that was only marginal for the position five years ago.

Oooooh.. sorry Mr. Defazio. I hope you didn't read that. You're the best! If you think you can play short, who is Offie, a lowly blogger to question you?

Okay ... so there are options. Maybe I can come up with some trade ideas for the front office to ponder.

[Spiccoli]

Drafting Shortstops is such a depressing affair. I've tried for several seasons to find a good one to eventually replace Mark Wareham.... without any success. At this point, I'm just hoping for a random bump from a surprise late round pick.

And there sure are some amazing young shortstops now emerging... so jealous.

[Ted]

I'm pretty geeked about Pris (who didn't link when I wrote the article and that's now fixed.) He's one of my favorite types of players. Good glove, generally stays cheap due to mediocre bat, 2 win type guy. Start are great, but you gotta have these guys too. He just won't be ready for 2038. (You made this guy, right Ron?)

[usnspecialist]

he looks like a good one for sure, nice versatility too.

[RonCo]

Yes, he's my custom Ammy... he has fun SFnal roots, too.