2061.20: Bears Offseason Look Ahead - Arbitration

[BaseClogger]

9/24/2061


Below is a list of San Fernando players who will be arbitration eligible this offseason along with the game's estimate for their next salary.

RF Tommy Harrison - $7.7M
This once looked like a no-brainer but Harrison has struggled in 2061. He's only got 1.2 WAR, by far the lowest output of his career. His power numbers are down, his batting average dipped, and he's made 7 errors in the outfield. It's the defense that's supposed to give him an advantage over the rest of the glut of left-handed corners in our org. He's still only 26 years old so we'll offer him a contract and expect there to be a trade market if needed.

LF Chris Hall - $5.5M
Hall is the opposite story of Harrison. He was almost non-tendered last offseason but he's rebounded in 2061 to slash .276/.368/.519 with 29 homers and his constantly improving defense has him as the primary left fielder heading into the postseason. He could find himself on the trade block too thanks to our depth of left-handed corner outfielders and need to cut some salary.

SP Morgan Tomsett - $4.8M
I prioritized negotiating an extension with Tomsett before Yuu Suzuki which should tell you how important I think he is to our franchise. Alas, we couldn't come to terms since he's still limited to no longer than three years. We'll happily re-sign him at this bargain price and reopen extension talks next season when he reaches five years of service time.

SP Morris Chapa - $2.0M
Chapa flies under the radar a little bit because he's only a 45 OVR and only joined the rotation full-time in 2060. But he's got a 3.94 FIP and 3.2 WAR accrued in 156.2 innings pitched so he'll be a steal to return as our fourth starter at $2M.

RP Steve Fuller - $1.8M
Fuller's scouting report doesn't blow you away but a 3.13 FIP from a left-handed reliever is nothing to sneeze at. I don't foresee us letting him test free agency, especially if we let a couple of the other guys below go.

RP Dvimurdhaan Sameer - $1.7M
Sameer is a fine pitcher but he's played at a replacement level this season. He's got one year of team control remaining and is our most likely non-tender candidate. He's just not throwing many innings for us. The biggest factor working against Sameer in my mind is that he's right-handed.

CL Bryan Longstaff - $1.4M
The Longstaff train keeps chugging along at 38 years old. As of this writing he's got 40 saves and I can't imagine even at his age I'll pass on this bargain for a reliable closer.

RP Samir Qasim - $1.0M
This guy came over in a midseason trade with Austin in hopes he'd fulfill his full potential ratings. Qasim hasn't and as a result has been one of the last guys in the bullpen pecking order. He's still only 28 years old and left-handed but unless he bumps he'll be non-tendered.

RP Bob Butler - $900K
Now 29 years old, Butler still hasn't lived up to the potential of his scouting report but he did post a sub-4.00 FIP this season. His ERA is a run higher but at least that's keeping his asking price low. Easy tender.

[RonCo]

Longstaff is such a great BBA story.

[BaseClogger]

Longstaff is such a great BBA story.

I probably should have written more about whatever the hell he was up to while a free agent from 2053 to 2057.

[Trebro]

Longstaff is such a great BBA story.

I cannot believe what he's become after failing so hard his last season at Indianapolis.

[BaseClogger]

Longstaff is such a great BBA story.

I cannot believe what he's become after failing so hard his last season at Indianapolis.

Looks like he had poor BABIP every year in the minors. Maybe it was bad defense. The peripherals and ratings were always there. There used to be a bunch of these decent looking relief pitchers available in free agency during the early to mid 2050s. Every once in a while somebody would sign one and they'd go on a run in the BBA. Glad that era is behind us.