2059.16: San Fernando Position Player News & Notes

[BaseClogger]

5/26/2059

• Fareed bin Sa'eed was claimed off waivers by Phoenix. Bin Sa’eed was a casualty of a numbers crunch in the San Fernando upper minors outfield. Since he was on the 40-man roster waiving him exposed him and did not allow me to pull him back. The excellent defensive center fielder flashed some pop but had a .291 OBP in AA Anderson. In 209 career BBA games with Yellow Springs he only managed a .231 OBP.

• DH Don Moore was traded to the Montreal Blazers in exchange for prospect Calvino Vanni. Moore was claimed off waivers by the Bears in 2054 and from 2055-2057 was a consistent middle-of-the-order threat for us. Last year he traded some homers for doubles, which happens, but he also walked less and saw his BABIP dip. In 2059 his power remained elusive while his batting average fell to .162. League scouts still think the 29 year-old has what it takes to produce but we couldn't continue to give him at bats. He's a change of scenery candidate in Montreal. In exchange for retaining 50% of Moore's $7.5M contract we acquired Vanni. The first baseman didn't fit in well in Montreal's gap power-focused organization. The 18 year-old is still a ways off and should open the season soon in rookie ball.

• The open roster spot from the Moore trade was given to newly promoted Miguel Montero. Montero was a useful part-time center fielder on the 95-win 2057 San Fernando team but struggled last season before injury. He proved healthy with a .346/.373/.551 batting line in AAA and we felt our roster could use another right-handed hitting outfielder.

• The Bears recalled second baseman Takeichi Suzuki from AAA Brooks. Despite batting .295 last year as a rookie the 23 year-old struggled to make consistent contact during his first stint in San Fernando this season. We're hopeful his .315/.373/.500 batting line in AAA shows the lefty hitter is reenergized. We DFA'd the rapidly declining Dick Walton to clear roster space. We expect him to spend most of the season in DFA limbo since his $11M contract will prevent teams from claiming him off waivers.

• Amid Kasim suffered a strained abdominal muscle and will miss 5 weeks on the injured list. Kasim hadn’t been with the Bears for long but already utilized his plus-plus power against right-handed pitching to smack three home runs in 34 ABs. The lefty corner outfielder hit 158 dingers in just 2,174 ABs playing for Omaha from 2051-2057. Kasim's contract was purchased when Sonny Bigalow hit the IL. He did not play professional baseball in 2058.

• Replacing Kasim on the active roster will be another veteran minor league signing, Cordell Vaughn. Like Kasim, Vaughn is a left-handed corner outfielder. He isn’t quite the power threat but hit the ball over the fence 39 times for Long Beach in 2057. He spent part of the 2058 season on the Madison Wolves roster.