Bye Bye Bertram
Mounties Stumble Along
by Caitlen Sullivan
Vancouver Sun Sports Reporter
August 18, 2035
We’re back from a vacation in Saratoga Springs, NY where the torrential rains did their best to spoil a horse racing vacation. They failed. We did OK at the track, drank a LOT of beer, saw many old friends, ate some wonderful meals, and had a great time.
We’ll skip all the boring game news except to point out that José Zamora threw a gem just yesterday. He went eight and a third in a 4-1 win over Hawaii allowing just eight hits in a 4-1 victory. The big news was his fifteen strikeouts (and only a single base on balls). Nice job, José! Other than that, the Mounties continue to struggle along well behind Calgary and Seattle in the Frick Frontier.
Let’s get to the big news.
Bertram Hahn is gone!
In a controversial and precedent-setting deal, Vancouver traded Hahn to the Jacksonville Hurricanes in exchange for 40-year-old Frank Thomas and $7,000,000 in cash. As part of the exchange Vancouver agreed to retain 70% of Hahn’s salary (approximately $10 million of $14.4 million) through 2039. Hahn has a team option for 2040 which is now totally the responsibility of Jacksonville. (By rule, team option years are not covered by salary retention.)
The salary retention aspect of the deal, a concept theoretically legalized in the latest BBA player agreement, had never been used. Never prohibited in the BBA constitution, it is now clear that salary retention is a viable concept that can be used in negotiating trades. Vancouver has been seeking a final judgment on salary retention as a bargaining tool in ridding itself of Hahn’s contract. While several clubs had voiced interest in acquiring Hahn as a viable designated hitter candidate, no one seemed very interested in taking on his salary without receiving a treasure trove of prospects in addition to Hahn. Salary retention provided another bargaining tool to use.
Jacksonville acquires Hahn as a DH at the reasonable salary cost (to them) of $4,311,000 per season through 2039. If they keep him in 2040 by exercising their team option, he will cost them the Full $14,370,000 for that year. More likely they will buy him out at a cost of $2,455,500. Hahn rejoins the team he starred for from 2030 through mid 2034. In 2032 he hit 48 home runs and knocked in 148 for the Hurricanes. He should certainly enjoy playing again at Fidelity Financial Park, a much more power hitter friendly facility than Northwoods Outpost.
Vancouver immediately adds $7,000,000 in cash to their bank account and will now go into next season with about $5,000,000 in its cash bank. That eliminates the need to dip into the team’s rainy day bonus fund to cover what would have been a net loss at year end. Hahn will cost Vancouver the odd $10 million every year through 2039 and that amount will count toward the salary cap. While sounding ominous, Vancouver has no plans to get anywhere near the salary cap in the immediate future. And $10 million per year is significantly less than the $14.4 million per year that was in the team’s financial plan.
Thomas, who makes $4.4 million, is a popular guy to have around. He is in the twilight of a storied career, spent primarily with Carolina, in which he has 500 home runs and 1,891 RBIs. If he does not choose to retire at year end (he will be 41 in November), he has a team option for next season ($4.0 million). Right now it is unknown whether Vancouver will exercise that option. There is no buyout clause, so rejecting the option could save Vancouver the $4.0 million next season. However, saving another $4 million next season will not be significantly important given that the Mounties will a) almost certainly turn down Valentín Colón ’s $14.26 million team option and b) be rid of Juan Rodríguez’s $5 million salary for failure to meet vesting requirements.
So how are Hahn and Thomas performing? Thomas was hitting .249 with 11 home runs and 59 batted in for Jacksonville. He will first appear with the Mounties in tonight’s game at Hawaii. Hahn was hitting just .104 with the Mounties with a single home run. He joined Jacksonville last week as their designated hitter. Alas, he got off to a horrific start with just two hits in seventeen at-bats (.118) although he did hit a home run.
Specially designed Bertarm Hahn La-Z Boy recliner chair.
Useful as an addition to a dugout bench, this very lightly used furniture piece
was not sent to Jacksonville as part of the Bertram Hahn trade.
Best Offer Accepted!
