The Hawaii Tropics extended RP Utbah ‘Crawdad Me’ bin Muta on a two-year deal worth $5.84 million. ‘Crawdad Me’ is just a season removed from his reliever conversion and had a smoke and mirrors performance in 2061.
“We just want to see what he can do these next couple of seasons before making a decision.”, said GM Jim Walker.
Next up for an extension was SS Carlos Schumann as he was rewarded with a 5-year deal worth $38 million. Schumann arrived in Hawaii via trade with Valencia and supplied the Trops with leadership to lead the team to the playoffs. He doesn’t walk much, strikes out less than 100 times a season, hits the ball all over the park, steals some bags and plays good defense.
“Worth every penny.”, newly minted Hawaii Manager Amato Cruz said.
The Trops then signed one-year extensions with injured players Julian Rivera, Jose Ordonez and first baseman John Harris. Rivera receives $2.5 million, Ordonez $1.37 million and Harris $1.6 million. Rivera missed all but 62 games last season but hopefully he will get a full season back with the team. Ordonez tore is UCL after making 9 starts and either be moved to the bullpen or end his two-way playing days. He produced 1.3 WAR as a DH/LF last season in 153 at bats. Harris has played passable defense at first and hit 52 homers combined the last three seasons. Hopes are that he can stay consistently at that 20-homer area.
1B Jake Diamond didn’t make the team out of spring training and was non-tendered in arbitration making him a free agent.
Time also ran out for Yodo “Fungo’ Sato, Gerardo Rea, Kinzo Iwamoto and Niegloslaw Woywitka.
Sato was a good fill in player but not good over the long haul. Gerardo Rea has been slowly deteriorating as management has watched his HR/9 rise. Kinzo Iwamoto had a nice season in 2062 but the team isnt sure how much he has left in the tank while the player is asking for a long-term deal. Woywitka had a fantastic season going 16-6 but now he wants a long-term deal the team is unwilling to pay. His K/9 has dropped from 7.6 his first season on the island to 6.1 his third season. His HR/9 has also jumped to 1.3 while OSA reflects that his HR Rate is below average. (At least in my view).
“We have some cap space and some money this off season giving us the ability to sign players close to the $110 million cap. Stay tuned.”, Walker stated.
