As happened to Habib bin Ameen last off-season, it looks like the Dev Monkeys have turned their sights onto Mark Kimball this past season.
Mark signed a 6-year/$52.7M contract the summer before the current front office took over the reins. At the time, the signing looked pretty solid as he was in the midst of turning in his third consecutive 2.5+ season. A mere 6 weeks after that signing, Mark was out for 6 months with a broken bone in his elbow.
After spring training in 2059, Mark’s overall current/potential rating went from 60/60 down to 55/55. In the spring of 2060 it decreased to 50/50 and the Dev Monkeys kept chipping away this spring to brin it down to 45/45.
The front office issue at this point is that Kimball still has four years and $34.1M left on his contract. Although the last two years are a team option with a $1.7M buyout in 2063, there is still some rocky navigating to do with the team salary cap versus his remaining salary.
Time will tell if there is an uptick to offset the dev bumps (he is still 29 years old), but the tea leaves are not looking the greenest at this point – unless you are Mark Kimball’s accountant.
