Galaxy Gas 2060.03 – Arb Decisions in Bullpen

[DugoutDesperado]

The Valencia Stars used the arbitration decision to keep most of their bullpen in tact once the verdict for relievers Jonathan Bryant and Siua Hooheno were delivered.

Reliever Siua Hoohena saw his salary raise from $1.6M to $2M for the 2060 season. Siua had a record of 2-1 with an ERA of 3.92. he appeared in 38 games over the course of the 2059 season striking out 49 batters in 44 innings while walking 14. With his WAR calculation for 2059 coming in at 0.5 critics would most likely come to the conclusion that he his slightly overpaid at the $2M clip.

Southpaw Jonathan Bryant came out of his first arbitration off-season with his salary going from the league minimum of $500K to $1.3M this upcoming season. The 27 year-old appeared in 44 games last year with a 3-0 record and a 3.14 ERA. He had a WHIP of 1.05 with a WAR of -0.2 last year. Rumor has it that he may be cast into the back end of the starting rotation if a bonafide starter is not added during this off-season.

The Valencia bullpen was 4th in ERA within the Frick League last year so it was a goal of the front office to keep as much of it in tact as possible. Mop-up reliever Johnny Rice (3-0 with a 6.40 ERA in 36 games) will not return, but the big blow is letting go of 39 year-old Martin Roman. Martin went 2-6 with 37 save in 57 appearances last season, but the front office felt a multi-year $5M+ price tag was too much for the aging veteran.